The Roy Hodgson dilemma: Crystal Palace face fork in the road as manager decision looms
Potential short and long-term implications are huge for Eagles chief Steve Parish
t has been a surreal season for Crystal Palace, having been saved by 75-year-old Roy Hodgson when he was plucked from retirement to become caretaker manager in March.
At the time, Palace were the only side in Europe’s major leagues without a win in 2023.
After taking over from Patrick Vieira, Hodgson guided Palace to five wins from their final 10 matches, lifting them from relegation danger to an 11th-place finish.
It leaves chairman Steve Parish with a big decision this summer.
The argument against keeping Hodgson on essentially boils down to the question of whether it wastes a year. Hodgson’s love for football has evidently not abated. He has retired twice, halted retirement twice, and now vowed never to retire again — in case he is drawn back in once more.
But Hodgson is no spring chicken and he does not represent the long-term future at Selhurst Park. Some supporters feel replacing him this summer would hasten Palace’s progress and avoid treading water. He won’t be in the dugout forever, after all.
It has been mooted that if Hodgson stays on, he will mentor first-team coach and ex-Palace defender Paddy McCarthy, preparing him for the top job. But if Hodgson does well, Parish would surely feel ambitious and want a more experienced and esteemed head coach to raise the levels further still. McCarthy would be in his first job in management.
If Hodgson does poorly, fans will remind Parish he could have cut out that year-in-limbo and just hired someone this summer.
Palace supporters of the opposing view may simply feel Hodgson should be rewarded for the way he turned their fortunes around this season. And Hodgson knows the club, having enjoyed a successful four-year stint as manager between 2017 and 2021.
Hodgson and Parish get on well and it was telling when, in March, the chairman turned to the retired Hodgson in a time of need.
Hodgson also got the best out of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise towards the end of this season, and under his stewardship, the pair can thrive next season. That would put his eventual successor in an excellent position. They would either inherit an awesome frontline or a hefty transfer budget, were they to leave.
Parish must determine which option serves Palace best.