Hodgson is on hand to derail party

REALLY, who better to extinguish the giddy thrill of a £100million spending spree than Roy Hodgson, 71 years young and celebrating a new contract at Crystal Palace?

Hodgson has seen it all before many times over and as hype reaches new levels in modern football the wise old owl retains an appreciation of the value of a stability and the chemistry of a settled side.

Jeff Schlupp smashed home from close range to allow Hodgson’s Palace to dampen the party atmosphere at Craven Cottage on 41 minutes.

Wilfired Zaha completed the job for the visitors with 11 minutes remaining, converting Aaron Wan-Bisaka’s neat pass.

Hodgson said: ‘We showed the quality we are capable of in the second half.’