Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace: Can Roy Hodgson survive as struggles continue?

As the end of their thrashing at Arsenal approached, Crystal Palace fans unfurled a large banner which made clear their frustrations with the club’s current predicament.

It read: “Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards.”

A defeat for a side in the bottom half of the table at title-chasing Arsenal is not, in isolation, a poor result.

But for the Eagles’ supporters it was the latest in a bad run of form that has them sliding closer towards relegation trouble – they are 14th, five points above the drop but 18th-placed Luton have a game in hand.

“It is a struggle,” Palace boss Roy Hodgson said.

“There’s no doubt we have to keep looking over our shoulder and we are in a relegation battle, no question about that.

“I believe the team and club, and the group of players we have, are more than good enough to get us away from the relegation zone.”

Hodgson believes, but the fans are clearly losing patience.

Potter watches amid speculation over Hodgson futureCrystal Palace fans made their frustrations known towards the end of the Arsenal match with banners criticising the club’s board

It is just seven months since 76-year-old Hodgson was hailed a saviour after guiding Palace away from trouble last season following his return to the club in March.

He arrived following a 12-match winless run and had an immediate impact as Palace won three games in a row.

Just two defeats in his 10 games in charge at the end of last season ensured they stayed up comfortably and hopes were high among the club’s fans that Palace would kick on this season.

That has failed to happen and while long-term injuries to some key players has undoubtedly not helped, there are some who feel Hodgson should be doing better with the tools at his disposal.

“Roy Hodgson has been brilliant for Crystal Palace, but it comes to a point eventually where you think, ‘When do I stop?’,” former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“If you are thinking of the team and the club itself and the next generation of managers coming through, who individualise the players they coach, you think maybe it is time for a change.”

Watching on in the stands at Arsenal was former Brighton boss Graham Potter, who has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April last year.

“He could be a good option if Roy does leave,” Walcott added.

“I think this result and the way Palace have ended the game has been pretty poor.”

Analysis – not enough done to support Hodgson?

BBC Sport’s Alex Howell:

In midweek the signs that the Crystal Palace supporters were turning against manager Roy Hodgson were there. The chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ were heard as Eberechi Eze was substituted with the team 1-0 down at Everton in the FA Cup.

If that hadn’t grabbed the attention of the hierarchy and the manager at Crystal Palace then the banner the fans displayed during the 5-0 loss to Arsenal will have.

Frustrations have been building for a long time with a number of supporters feeling more should have been spent on the squad in the summer.

Talisman Wilfried Zaha left and the club signed Matheus Franca for around £26m, Dean Henderson for £20m, Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer and Rob Holding for a small fee. Only Lerma has played regularly for Palace this season.

Some feel that more should have been done to support the manager and that the money should have been better spent on other areas of the squad, when it was clear that Hodgson was going to be staying on after his successful spell as interim last season when he replaced Patrick Vieira.

Crystal Palace have won just one of their past 10 Premier League matches

The club are focused on the long-term future of Crystal Palace and the work on the new main stand is due to start, with money being put aside for that expensive work. This has meant tough decisions have had to be made on where the club invests.

Exciting young players with high potential have been signed, but it could be argued that does not marry up with Hodgson’s ideals of building a solid team and favouring experience.

Injuries have also been cruel to the Palace manager. Michael Olise was out for nearly six months with a hamstring injury before returning for nine games, scoring five goals before picking up a new hamstring injury in a different part of the muscle.

Eze has also been on the treatment table at different parts of this season, meaning the manager has not been able to field his strongest attacking side for most of the season.

When Hodgson took the job he was billed as a safe pair of hands to help the club reach the next stage, but with just two wins in 14 games it may be those in charge of the club feel something needs to change to stop the slide.

The transfer window has been open for 20 days but the club has not brought in any new players – fans will be hoping there are some new faces brought in imminently.

Blades clash to be decisive?

Hodgson is in his second spell at Palace, having previously been in charge between 2017 and 2021.

His overall record stands at 197 games, 65 wins, 48 draws and 84 defeats.

Hodgson said after the Gunners defeat that he understood the fans’ frustration and that he accepts some of it will be aimed at him.

“The manager always take responsibility,” he added.

“It makes me feel sad and disappointed of course because I think we are doing the best job we can do.

“But I am a manager of a football club that is not in a good position at the moment. Everything that happens to managers in that position will happen to me.”

Next up for Palace is a home game against Sheffield United on 30 January.

It feels like a fixture where anything less than three points could prove decisive in determining whether the club take action to save their season.