MIRACLE WORKER
From a joke team to the great escape, all hail Roy the . . .
OCTOBER 13, 2017, is not a date that will stand out for Crystal Palace supporters but it should. Quite possibly, this was the day their season turned on its head.
Roy Hodgson had arrived at the training ground with the club having won none, drawn none and lost seven in the Premier League, all without scoring a goal.
One person told the Palace manager that, technically, it made him 007. Hodgson, in no mood to jest on this particular morning, straight-batted: ‘I’m not a James Bond fan.’
This was no time for jokes. Hodgson realised Palace had become one themselves as bookmakers were offering odds on them to go down in history as the Premier League’s worst team.
It was the day before a London derby against Chelsea and the 70-year- old decided something had to be done, so he took training, then held a team meeting at Palace’s Beckenham base.
According to one insider, he asked the players for their trust — something they had not shown his predecessor Frank de Boer. He also told them they should ‘die’ for the shirt or find the door.
The wake-up call worked. The next day, with Wilfried Zaha back in the side following injury, the Eagles beat Chelsea 2- 1 at Selhurst Park. Suddenly, the great escape was on.
It culminated in this 5-0 win over Leicester City which leaves Palace as good as safe with two games to go. When asked how he pulled it off, Hodgson only wanted to praise his players.
‘It’s easier sometimes to be the one who prepares rather than the one who has to go out and give performances,’ Hodgson said. ‘For me, football will always be about the players.
‘We are in the cult of the celebrity now and people do get a lot more recognition as managers and coaches than they did many years ago. Some of them get raised up on pedestals to be super-human beings. But 27,000 people don’t come to see me, they come to watch the players.’
Some of the spotlight should be on Hodgson too. When appointed, his age was brought up by a few critics. So too was the way he left England after their Euro 2016 exit. ‘Well, it’s a fair point,’ continued Hodgson, who turns 71 in August. ‘I’m not young. I feel young but I’m not young.
‘The most important thing is I’ve got very good coaching staff who have helped me enormously. I’ve been blessed with a good group of players that were vilified after the first four games and they weren’t exactly being feted after the next three, either.
‘Seven games, no points, no goals and minus 17 (goal difference).
‘But not for one moment did they start trying to turn against the messages that we were putting forward to accept a lot of blows. A lot of the blows have been down to misfortune.’
Palace had five different goalscorers on Saturday as Zaha, James McArthur, Ruben LoftusCheek, Patrick van Aanholt and Christian Benteke — yes, even him — got in on the act.
They have two Premier League games left against Stoke City then West Bromwich Albion but can start to think about building for next season. Keeping Zaha would be very useful.
‘The fact is, he is not going to stay because of my blue eyes,’ Hodgson said. ‘He is going to stay because he likes playing at Selhurst Park. He likes the club and he thinks this is the right place for him. A lot will depend on what offers come to the club.
‘The only thing I can say with any certainty is there is nobody at the club — myself or my coaching staff or his fellow players — who want him to leave.’
This was embarrassing for Leicester. Claude Puel, a softlyspoken coach who looks like he would not say boo to a goose, should be concerned.
It is now looking likelier that he will not be in charge of the club next season and Puel said: ‘This is speculation. There were quality training sessions and hard work this week. To explain this performance, it is difficult. It’s difficult to finish together strongly and to have a response.’
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Hennessey 8; Ward 7.5, Tomkins 7.5, Sakho 7.5, Van Aanholt 8; McArthur 8 (Schlupp 83min), Milivojevic 8, Cabaye 8, LOFTUS-CHEEK 8.5 (Lee 86); Townsend 8 (Benteke 86), Zaha 9. Subs not used: Speroni, Sorloth, Wan-Bissaka, Kelly. Scorers: Zaha 17, McArthur 38, Loftus-Cheek 81, Van Aanholt 84, Benteke 90 (pen). Booked: Cabaye. Manager: Roy Hodgson 8. LEICESTER CITY (4-4-1-1): Hamer 3; Albrighton 3, Maguire 3, Morgan 3.5, Chilwell 4; Mahrez 3, Choudhury 3 (Silva 46, 4), Ndidi 3 (Dragovic 51, 4), Gray 3; Iheanacho 4 (Diabate 46, 4); Vardy 4. Subs not used: Jakupovic, Simpson, Fuchs, Barnes. Booked: Silva. Sent off: Albrighton. Manager: Claude Puel 3. Referee: Mike Dean 6. Attendance: 25,750.