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Roy’s return steers Palace to another season in the Premier League
In a season of managerial changes, 15 in total, few could’ve foreseen that Roy Hodgson would end the campaign as Crystal Palace manager, coming out of retirement for the second time.
Patrick Vieira was beloved in South London, leading Palace to 12th and an FA Cup semi-final in his first season in charge.
However, Vieira was gone by mid-March this time round, after the Eagles had endured a wretched start to 2023, failing to win any of their first 12 fixtures.
But, a quirk of the fixture list meant they’d exclusively played teams above them during this period, meaning their last ten games were primarily against those strugglers below.
Thus, Roy Hodgson returned to SE25 and immediately turned the tide, winning his first three games in charge, turning a goal-shy team into 1970 Brazil.
Palace smashed Leeds 5-1 at Elland Road and then beat West Ham 4-3, with Roy producing swashbuckling football he certainly is not renowned for.
Amazingly, from 12 November onwards, the Eagles were either 11th or 12th in the table, spending 115 days in exactly 12th, despite not winning 12 consecutive matches and sacking Vieira during this period.
All of this means an 11th consecutive season in the top-flight is coming to Selhurst Park.
This is a feat that shouldn’t be taken for granted, given that Palace’s previous longest-stay in the first division was only four years, achieved in the early ‘70s and early ‘90s.
Can Crystal Palace thrive in a post Wilfried Zaha-era?
As was the case when Vieira arrived in 2021, Palace have a lot of players out on contract, including club captain Luka Milivojević, Joel Ward, James Tomkins, Jeffrey Schlupp, Jordan Ayew and talisman Wilfried Zaha.
Now 30 years old, Zaha has made 458 appearances for the club since his debut in 2010, with that brief and unhappy spell at Man United now a decade ago.
At this stage, it seems unlikely the Côte d’Ivoire international will stay at the club he joined as a 12 year old, although it’s not yet been ruled out completely.
Unlike as would’ve been the case a few years ago, Zaha’s exit would not be a complete catastrophe, with Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise ready to take on the mantle.
In fact, this may be blasphemous to say, but some would argue Eze and Olise were actually better when Zaha was out the side due to injury, given more responsibility and freedom.
The other talking point, of course, is who’s going to be Palace’s manager next season.
Roy Hodgson could stay on for another year, although Steve Parish and rest of the board are exploring other options, with Graham Potter possibly the leading candidate.
Whatever happens, Crystal Palace will finish 11th or 12th next season, because that’s just the vortex in which they exist.
