Roy Hodgson - Manager

I think this is sensible. Big bonus for Roy if he achieves the unlikely safety and another crack at premier next year for him. Otherwise get younger longer term appointment in championship.

 

Just don’t see what’s in this for Hodgson unless he’s been told there’s a reasonable chance of an extended deal if he keeps us up.

Old and nothing to prove. Just can’t see what’s in it for him personally.

 

I'd be surprised if he's willing to stay on longer than this season, but the first part is a reasonable point - similar to Rangnick at Man Utd, given his experience and attitude he should at least be in a decent position to give the Pozzos some pointers as to where some of the major issues are and where they can improve in their setup both on and off the pitch.

 

Maybe he's been finding retirement boring and feels that after his rest he still has a bit more to give as a manager? He clearly enjoys the job otherwise he wouldn't have stayed so long at Palace. A quick and easy extra payday whatever the outcome will also of course still have some appeal.

 

Like they take any advice!

 

I agree with this principal, but unfortunately we’re now in a position where its always Premier League or bust. A young longer term coach in the championship will only get time if they’re keeping us in the top two. No time for things to bed in or make mistakes at all.

 

Like he's going to make it to the end of the season!!!

 

Easy money, knowing he's likely out by the end of the season with a million+ to add to the pension pot - no-brainer.

 

Whether it works out or not, surely we must all recognise the further warning signs this sends out about the owner? Going from Ivic, to Xisco, to Ranieri and then to Hodgson in 1.5 seasons! It’s clear he has no idea whatsoever about what he wants this club/team to be.

 

With the Italian managers mentioned it may have taken longer negotiations to get them so they may target them in the summer. If they knew they had a good chance to get Hodgson in quick until the end of the season i not got a problem with it as i think we will go down anyway with the occasional game where we might stop the opposition from winning.

 

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I think we recognised the warning signs many managers ago!

 

And clearly he loves working, the pressure, the match days, all of it.

 

Feels like less pressure to bounce back now we have cut out Deeney/Gray/Success. Reckon we could have a 3 year plan if needed. Don’t think this is how Pozzo will act next year, but just my view.

 

He bottled it with Ivic and has just doubled down on the old ‘we’re the stability’ ever since.

We’re now in a position where it’s always going to be Premier League or bust. Nobody will ever get the opportunity to make mistakes in either league now.

People say we should’ve kept Dyche which obviously never would’ve happened, but he had to take Burnley down as a young up and coming manager before he could then establish them as a PL team. We’ll never, ever give that opportunity to anyone now, it’s instant success or out of the door and on to the next.

 

Monster bonus maybe? Makes sense for all parties.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/them...hodgson-crystal-palace-tactical-analysis/amp/

Good read if you have time.

 

Which in turn, and I know it’s long in the tooth, makes that statement made at the end of the last PL season quite distasteful.

I think they feel that getting promotion means they actually heeded what they said in that statement. But clearly it was nonsense.

Lessons learned. Joke.

 

Gave up reading when it mentioned the following: " The systematic way that they play is actually quite simple and although taxing and demanding of the players". This lazy lot won't buy in!

 

Not convinced we have enough able players to do all that. Lol

 

That's a fair comment. There is a cycle of firefighting in all these appointments. I think Ivic was carefully considered, but he failed. Munoz was a remedy to Ivic and it worked. But it was blatantly obvious Munoz would not be able to compete against the best coaches in Europe with one of the weakest squads. It was an unfair ask of him, and I cannot understand what possessed them to retain him.

Apart from the fluke/fairytale at Leicester, there was nothing to suggest Ranieri was the right guy. His recent track record in England was pretty bad. I understand getting someone with experience and the Italian link, but he's a family friend. That's always a big mistake. This cost us a few games in the end. He should have gone after the West Ham debacle, and any other Pozzo coach would have, but they gave him three more games (all winnable) and we just squeaked 1 point. Hodgson should have come in after Munoz. For me, it was a no-brainer.

But Hodgson is not a long term solution. He is another quick fix. I think this could work out though, just in the way that Pearson probably would have had it not been for the Covid interruption.

Next season, depending which league we are in, we really need to nail down this head coach position. Three head coaches per season is just not sustainable. It has to change.

 

This is a radical change! Normally we alternate between attacking and defensive coaches, experienced and inexperienced, but following the resounding success of Ranieri we've gone for more of the same. Lesson learnt.

 

Now I know he eats food, I'm in!

 

To be honest I don't think it's the right time to bring in a younger inexperienced manager and rebuild. I believe the time to do that would be at the end of the season.

 

Young and inexperienced don’t have to go hand in hand. I’d agree with you if we were rolling the dice with 10 games to go - but there’s plenty of the season left.

 

Agree, it was just in response to the comment we’ve given up on the PL, when in fact this appointment suggests the exact opposite.

 

My thoughts when the news broke last night were omg no way, but after sleeping on it then I can see the logic behind it.

It's basically the Big Sam approach that some people wanted, but with different personnel.

An experienced fire-fighter, who keeps unfashionable sides up. A wealth of knowledge, if not exactly a reputation for excitement.

This has to be seen as a horses for courses appointment. If we'd have sacked Xisco in the summer and appointed Hodgson, I think all of us quite rightly would have given up on the spot. But we've given Hodgson a short-term contract until May. Nothing more. And with one sole objective. Keep us up. Use all your years of experience and knowledge to keep us out of the bottom three come the end. Then walk off into the sunset, and let us (hopefully) appoint Diego Martinez or some other promising younger coach with a longer term vision in mind.

I don't care much for Hodgson personally, or his boring style of football, and normally I'd be aghast about this BUT I really think it could be a sensible short-term signing considering what's needed.

If we have to have an old head in charge, I'd far prefer him to Ranieri. Yes I called him an idiot elsewhere, but in fairness that's the public persona he's tried to cultivate with his dilly dang routine.

And why has Hodgson taken the job when he's 74 and enjoying his retirement? Simple. All managers have egos. The same characteristics that make them all think they can succeed with a problem player where nobody has before. He's a footballing man. He wouldn't have been able to reject the challenge of trying to keep up a half-decent squad of players with almost half the season left and with us not adrift at the bottom (as we were when Pearson came).

Hodgson didn't need this job. He's accepted it because he doesn't see us as a doomed case. That has to be good news I think.

 

Director of football, yes; head coach (or joint head coach with Ray), not sure. Fingers crossed!

 

In terms of PL survival, getting rid of Munoz at the end of the season (like we did Joka) and then bringing in Hodgson (like we did QSF) would’ve made a lot of sense to the majority of people.

Certainly a lot more sense than first keeping Munoz on at all, then bringing in Ranieri because he was Gino’s mate, and then ultimately hiring Hodgson anyway.

 

Watford players ‘buzzing’ by the appointment of Roy and Ray. He arrives with the aim of putting a defence together and sharpish. Can he do it quickly enough though?

Also from Sami

 

His source has got to be Ben Foster, surely? No other player would use the word 'buzzing'.

 

Yes, we got the worst of both worlds with the Xisco situation. There was certainly an argument for being ruthless in the summer. We didn't, and were then on the back foot when it went wrong (and I know we have our different opinions on how wrong it actually went, so no sense arguing these again)

But I stand by my guess that had we fired Xisco in July, and excitement levels on here grew about his possible successor etc, and then we unveiled Hodgson, I think there would have been meltdown.

He's a short-term saviour (hopefully), but I don't think many here would have welcomed him on a 3 year deal last summer.

 

I didn't have a problem in keeping Munoz at the time. He got us up, ok to me for him to be given a shot.

 

A manager telling players ‘how it is’ isn’t what we need though. That’s always been far too simplistic an outlook because we have had it before and it doesn’t work. The players still know they can get him fired in a few months.

The one and only massive obstacle is the short-termism if the owner. We can have every type of manager under the sun (we pretty much have done) and for as long as the owner see’s fit to sack them in 6 months or less, then it doesn’t matter.

This new tactic of hiring geriatrics just makes it’s even easier for him.

Nothing changes until the attitude at the top changes. And this appointment isn’t a sign of that. Just like the signing of Samir wasn’t an indication they were suddenly taking the team’s ultimate weakness seriously.