Crystal Palace reappoint Roy Hodgson as manager until end of season | Football News

[ad_1]

Roy Hodgson has been reappointed Crystal Palace manager until the end of the season.

Hodgson, 75, returns to manage his boyhood club for a second stint after Palace sacked Patrick Vieira last week following a run of 12 games without victory.

The former England manager takes over with Palace fighting for Premier League survival, sitting three points above the relegation zone with 10 games to go.

Hodgson said: “It is a privilege to be asked to return to the club, which has always meant so much to me, and to be given the important task of turning the team’s fortunes around. Our sole objective now is to start winning matches, and to get the points necessary to ensure our Premier League status.”

Palace’s next game is at home to Leicester when the Premier League resumes after the international break on April 1.

Hodgson has been appointed despite stating last May, when he was coming towards the end of a short spell in charge of Watford: “I don’t think I shall be putting my name forward anymore for further stories in the world of Premier League football.”

Paddy McCarthy, who took caretaker charge of the Eagles’ 4-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, will be Hodgson’s assistant manager while Ray Lewington returns as first-team coach. Dean Kiely will continue as Crystal Palace goalkeeping coach.

Chairman Steve Parish added: “I would like to welcome Roy and Ray back to the club. We are obviously in a very challenging period but we believe that Roy’s and Ray’s experience, knowledge of the club and players, alongside Paddy can help fulfil the immediate requirement of keeping us in the league.”

Analysis: Palace don’t have time to take risks

Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge:

“Steve Parish has gone with Roy Hodgson because short-term he knows what he brings. I was speaking to Palace fans after Vieira’s dismissal and they wanted Marcelo Bielsa.

“I said, ‘Bielsa, for the last 10 games?’ That’s not how he works. We know this from when we were talking about the Everton job.

“Roy Hodgson knows the club inside-out and there were those shots when he returned to Palace as Watford manager and you just got the feeling that he thought, ‘This is my home’.

“We spoke to him on our transfer show in January and he said we when he was talking about Palace, he just loves the football club. He spoke so highly about Wilfried Zaha and the players that are there now.

“They say the table doesn’t lie but it does in a way this season in terms of teams that are around 12th, they don’t have time to take risks. Steve Parish will look at this and think, ‘I have a fanatastic working and personal relationship with Roy Hodgson’ and it seems the best move for him now.

“You could tell in January he wasn’t retired. He wanted one more go.”

Crystal Palace’s remaining Premier League fixtures

April 1: Leicester (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

April 9: Leeds (A) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm

April 15: Southampton (A) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

April 22: Everton (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

April 25: Wolves (A) – Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm

April 29: West Ham (H) – Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

May 6: Tottenham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 13: Bournemouth (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 20: Fulham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 28: Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Comment