Ahead of Saturday’s fixture against London rivals Tottenham, Palace fans everywhere should keep a keen eye out on club developments; Roy Hodgson is set for crunch talks with chairman Steve Parish regarding his future, among other topics.
As Roy Hodgson celebrates two years since his appointment to his boyhood club, it has emerged via The Mirror that he looks set to extend his stay. His existing two-year contract extension is set to expire at the end of the season, and in that time, he has proven to be a rock of stability.
Taking the helm at a time where his Dutch predecessor, Frank de Boer, had lost an abysmal four games in a row without a goal, Hodgson was faced with a seemingly unassailable task. Yet, Hodgson managed to steer the Eagles away from the dreaded drop, with a respectable 12th-place finish at the end of the 2017/18 season.
This was no small feat; it broke records as no team with such a poor overall start in Premier League history had managed to avoid relegation at that point. So far since Roy’s appointment, 93 points have been won over 33 wins and 20 draws. Among the highlights include last season’s 3-2 wins away against both Arsenal and back-to-back champions Manchester City.
Upon reflection on his tenure as manager, Roy stated:
It has been a very good two years, I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
I wasn’t 100 per cent certain that I necessarily wanted to come back into full-time football. But it has always been the club of my heart and the heart of my father.
So, what is on the agenda at these proposed talks?
Chiefly, having already signed a two-year deal extension in August 2018, Roy appears keen to extend his contract further. More importantly, Roy has shed important insights on what is currently occupying the club’s resources and energies.
We have put down a date next week where he wants to sit down and talk, not just about my contract but about the future of the club.
I’ll canvas some of my opinions on that subject as well. I will wait and see what he has got to say and I shall make up my mind on any proposal if there are any after that.If they are keen on me staying, I don’t think it will be a major problem but I am also fairly sanguine about that as well. It has been a long career and one day the curtain will come down on it, but I don’t fear that curtain coming down.
On the other hand I have got no desire to pull the cord either. If I wasn’t working as I am working, I would miss it – there is no question of that. You don’t rush in to put an end to something you are going to miss.
Lastly, Roy added a touching note about his hopes for Crystal Palace, and how fans across London and the wider world will hopefully view him:
If I was going to leave any legacy at the club it would hopefully be: while [Hodgson] was here, the club played properly, the club did its very best to get results but most importantly of all, the club was every bit as strong – if not stronger – when [Hodgson] left as when [Hodgson] came. That would be [Hodgson’s] goal as manager of the club.
Read Crystal Palace verdict
Roy will undoubtedly have left a mark on the club when his career does come to an end. More importantly, however, it is clear that a youthful fire still fuels Hodgson’s career – a fire he has no intentions of quashing any time soon. At this rate, Hodgson still has plenty of Palace history left to write.
