After a heavy 4-1 defeat to Premier League rivals Brighton last weekend, things are looking pretty bleak at Crystal Palace right now. Across the last 17 league matches – nearly half a season's worth of football – only Nottingham Forest (14) and newly-promoted Burnley and Sheffield United (both nine) have picked up fewer points than Roy Hodgson's side (16).
Wins
4
Draws
4
Losses
9
Goals scored
20
Goals against
33
Points
16
League rank
17th
To make matters worse, Michael Olise is now facing a two-month absence after aggravating a hamstring issue. Olise had experienced discomfort in that area in the midweek win over Sheffield United, but Hodgson still took the risk of bringing him on with his side 3-0 down against Brighton, and he paid the price.
What's more, defender Marc Guehi is out for a number of weeks too, while Eberechi Eze will join him on the treatment table as games against relegation rivals Everton, Burnley and Luton creep into view. Predictably, in such miserable circumstances, the manager's position is coming under scrutiny.
Textor wants Hodgson out of Palace
According to The Guardian's Ed Aarons, who offered a Hodgson update, Palace's primary shareholder John Textor has been in favour of a managerial change for "several weeks" now. However, he hasn't spoken with chairman Steve Parish over the past seven days.
Parish has "strongly contemplated" dismissing Hodgson and has sounded out potential replacements, but key targets are apparently reluctant to take over with little time to make an impact.
There's a feeling among certain members of the board at Selhurst Park that the club missed an opportunity to make a change after the 5-0 defeat at Arsenal last month, when there was a 10-day window to prepare for the next game against Sheffield United.
Root of Palace's problems is clear
Palace's biggest problem isn't that they sacked Hodgson – it's that they reappointed him as manager in the first place. It's been around 11 months now since the club parted company with Patrick Vieira, a decision that was justified in the midst of a 12-game winless run that seemed destined to end in relegation.
Hodgson returned to South London and carried out the firefighter role effectively, safely guiding the Eagles to an 11th-place finish with an 11-point cushion to the bottom three. When Vieira had been sacked, the gap was down to just three points.
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The 44-year-old has an impressive track record in the game.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
There was a renewed feel-good factor around the club at that moment, but the smart sporting move would have been to shake hands and embark on another new project. Instead, Palace fell into the trap of appointing Hodgson on a permanent basis, ignoring the warning signs from his earlier tenure.
They hadn't offered him a new deal ahead of the expiry of his contract in 2021 because they felt they needed a refresh and a change of direction, so going back to the Englishman was clearly a regressive step. In that sense, it feels inevitable they've ended up repeating the cycle, except this time there appears a very real threat of relegation.