Palace to sack Hodgson, hold meeting with possible successor

Crystal Palace’s match against Everton on Monday is supposedly the last before a new coach takes charge.

An excellent performance towards the end of last season helped the Eagles escape relegation. Thus, Roy Hodgson was rewarded with a one-year contract extension for his efforts.

Nevertheless, due to their recent dismal performance, the London side are now sitting in 16th position in the Premier League. In fact, it is just five points higher than the bottom three.

From 2017 until 2021, the ex-England manager led the team for four years. He returned to lead Palace a decade after signing a short-term contract with Watford. Nevertheless, he announced his resignation after the Hornets’ relegation to the Championship.

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He said that he did not anticipate taking on another management position in the Premier League. Now, almost a year into his second stint, the Crystal Palace team has reached a critical point of disintegration, both on and off the pitch.

Getting a huge victory against Everton at Goodison Park on Monday will be very important for Crystal Palace as they face a relegation six-pointer. In their previous 21 matches against the Toffees, the Eagles have managed only two victories.

Palace already have Hodgson’s successor

Reportedly, Oliver Glasner was appointed in Hodgson’s stead, according to Fabrizio Romano’s Thursday assertion. The Austrian, who is highly regarded for his excellent work as manager of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, will now take over for Hodgson.

Glasner departed Eintracht Frankfurt after last season. But once Hodgson was taken to the hospital, the announcement was canceled.

However, Eagles chairman Steve Parish met in private with Glasner on Friday, even while head coach Roy Hodgson still remained in the hospital. The 49-year-old was reportedly present at Tottenham’s 2-1 home loss to Wolves last weekend, as reported by The Sun.

It seems that John Textor, a key stakeholder, has chosen Glasner to succeed Hodgson at the helm of Palace. At Selhurst Park, he is both ready and eager to face the task. But Hodgson is “ready to get out of bed and lead Palace at Goodison Park on Monday”.

Does Glasner have a better record than Hodgson?

On the other hand, Romano said on Saturday that Glasner would “take his first Palace training session on Tuesday,” providing yet another update. For the crucial match against Everton, this indicates that either Hodgson or his assistant Paddy McCarthy will be in charge.

During his 45-year managerial career, Hodgson has coached several clubs and national teams. These include Inter, Fulham, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich, and Palace.

Meanwhile, Glasner took over as Eintracht manager from Adi Hutter for the 2021-22 campaign. After finishing fifth in the Bundesliga the previous term, they dropped to 11th this time around. However, they won the Europa League with a penalty shootout victory against Rangers.

The 49-year-old’s squad placed eighth in the Bundesliga last year. They made it to the Europa Conference League, but Napoli eliminated them from the round of 16.

Glasner coached Wolfsburg to a seventh- and fourth-place finish in his two seasons there before joining Eintracht. The next season, in 2020-21, he departed to lead their Bundesliga adversary. Not only that, but he has also led SV Reid and LASK, both of which are Austrian teams.

Photo: IMAGO / Sven Simon