#selhurst

Roy Hodgson, the Grandfather of Football, has been managing professionally for 44 years. And while he’s not really known for delivering swashbuckling, flashy football these days, but there is a serenity about the way he goes about the job and how his teams perform.

When Crystal Palace brought him in, they were in for a relegation fight and needed someone who could get them organized and get enough results to stay up, and stay up they did. Considering the “possession-based” disaster left by Frank De Boer, I’d say it was one of the best turnarounds I’ve ever seen. Fast forward to the start of this season, and NO ONE was talking much about Crystal Palace or what they would accomplish this season. “Survival” was the goal, anything else was a bonus. Then came the 2-1 win over Manchester United (we don’t talk about that). Then the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, a four-game unbeaten run, another draw with Arsenal followed by a draw with Manchester City, followed by a four-game winning streak. Fast forward again to today and Palace is sitting securely in 14th and if they had even one consistent goal scorer, they could’ve been sitting in 10th with three games to go.

Roy doesn’t make a lot of noise, his teams don’t typically play at a high tempo or with a lot of flair or lengthy possession, but they sure get the job done. And while I’ve been critical of Crystal Palace in the past for often lacking ambition, I have to give this man credit for what he does and how he does it. With a slightly better squad, he could probably challenge for a Europa League spot next season. But one thing’s for sure: as long as he’s at the helm, that ship is not going down.

Our cameras were present during Thursday’s session at Carrington.