FRIGHT
Hodgson goes into a match without a centre-forward for the first time ever
ROY HODGSON has seen everything during his 40 years in top-flight management – but has never gone into a big league fixture without a recognised centre-forward.
The Crystal Palace boss was rocked by the loss of influential forward Christian Benteke (top right) for six weeks with knee ligament damage. And with Connor Wickham (middle right) out with a longterm injury and Fraizer Campbell (bottom right) released over the summer, he does not have a replacement. The timing of the injury could not have come at a worse time for the 70-yearold former England boss, with Palace losing all six of their Premier League games so far this season without scoring a goal. With a daunting visit to Manchester United today, Hodgson has to find a solution and could be forced to play winger Bakary Sako out of position following his goal against Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup.
Hodgson said: “Losing Benteke is a major blow. We’ve no alternatives. He’s a quality player, a proven goalscorer, even though it hasn’t started well this season for him.
“Sako was bought as a left winger. He’s a powerful man and a very powerful striker of the ball, especially with his left foot.
“He doesn’t have a lot of experience playing up front but we were satisfied with his performance against Huddersfield, with his work rate, his application. And of course the fact he scored a goal.”
Hodgson had taken charge of close to 600 games and only once faced a situation like this – when he used Jason Wilcox as a makeshift centre-forward for Blackburn in September 1998 in a UEFA Cup tie against Lyon.
Rovers drew 2-2 and Wilcox was sent off late on. “We had terrible injury problems at Blackburn,” said Hodgson. “We signed Dahlin to cover Sutton and Gallagher. “Gallagher broke his arm and Sutton went missing with a heel injury. “Dahlin was injured when we signed him, so we found ourselves in a difficult position and Jason Wilcox played centreforward. We played well though.” Hodgson gave United’s Marcus Rashford his first England cap and now has to find a way of stopping the striker. He said: “He’s in great form, isn’t he? A player we gave a debut to and I’m please to see it was a move that’s been justified. In the year and a bit since he played against Australia he has just gone upwards and got better and better. “When I selected him he was basically a United sub coming on from time to time and now is one of their star men. It’s a concern for us how we can make life difficult for these players. But it will have to be done as a team.”