Roy Hodgson makes shock return as Crystal Palace boss

Roy Hodgson has made a dramatic return to Crystal Palace as he has been named as their manager until the end of the current season.

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Hodgson, 75, came out of retirement to try and rescue Watford last season but failed and has been out of work since as many believed he would not be in the Premier League again.

He previously took charge of Palace from 2017-21 and stabilized them as a Premier League club but Palace’s owners hired Vieira to take them in a different direction.

They have now returned to Hodgson to bring stability as they face a relegation scrap with 10 games of the season to go. They currently sit in 12th place in the table but are just four points off the bottom and three points above the relegation zone.

Hodgson will lead the management team with Paddy McCarthy named as his assistant and Hodgson’s long-time assistant Ray Lewington will also return to Palace as first-team coach.

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Latest Premier League news Statement on Roy Hodgson being re-hired

“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,” Palace chairman Steve Parish said.

Roy Hodgson commented: “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. Crystal Palace is known for its fighting spirit, and I have no doubt that all our supporters will fight with us, beginning with the visit of Leicester City a week Saturday.”

Palace have a very winnable run of games to finish the season as their last 10 games sees them play eight teams currently in the bottom half of the table.

Hodgson will make them tough to beat and he’s already proved he can get the best out of Wilfried Zaha on the counter. That is what Palace need to move further away from the drop zone.

Why did Crystal Palace move on from Patrick Vieira?

Patrick Vieira was fired by Crystal Palace amid an 11-game winless skid dating back to the start of 2023.

Vieira was appointed to replace the retired Roy Hodgson ahead fo the 2021-22 season, in which the Frenchman guided Crystal Palace to a 12th-place finish.

It is an interesting time to change managers, to say the least, and with Crystal Palace scoring just 22 goals in 28 Premier League games this season, their main issue has been in attack.

“Vieira’s relationship with the hierarchy was not so great.”@David_Ornstein gives us a behind the scenes look at why Crystal Palace fired Vieira and who could take over the manager position.#MyPLMorning | #CPFC pic.twitter.com/8rRyVWMk4a

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 17, 2023

Palace said the following about Patrick Vieira’s firing: “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made. Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status.

“That said, Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues. He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and respectable 12th placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival.

“Patrick has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service.”

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