[Sports] Roy Hodgson: Crystal Palace boss to leave at end of season

[Mr.Talha]

 

Manager Roy Hodgson will leave Crystal Palace when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The 73-year-old former England boss said: "The time is right to step away from the rigours of top-flight Premier League football."

Hodgson has been in charge of Palace since September 2017.

His final match will be against Liverpool, one of his former clubs, at Anfield on Sunday.

LIVE: All the latest reaction to Hodgson's announcement
"It's been a particularly rewarding period of my football life and career to have been able to spend these last four seasons with Palace," said Hodgson, whose last game at Selhurst Park will be against Arsenal on Wednesday.

"I feel now that at the end of another successful season, in which we have secured our Premier League status, the moment is right for me to step down from my responsibilities of being a full-time manager.

"I have had so much support from my wife and family throughout my career and I have been contemplating this decision for some time, and now I believe the time is right to consider them and to see what the future holds for me."

Hodgson, who began his playing career at Palace and supported them as a child, replaced Frank de Boer as manager with the club bottom of the Premier League having lost their first four matches of the season without scoring a goal.

Despite losing his first three games in charge, he guided Palace to an 11th-place finish. They have finished 12th and 14th in subsequent seasons and are currently 13th with two games remaining.

"It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to work alongside Roy, who is both a magnificent human and an outstanding football manager," said Palace chairman Steve Parish.

"I know how much it has meant to Roy managing the club he supported as a child, adding to his distinguished and unparalleled career in football management.

"His record with us simply cannot be overstated - he is the only Palace manager to secure four years in the Premier League and he has helped give us stability in the most turbulent of times.

"We will be forever grateful for his immense contribution."

Hodgson, who is the oldest person to manage in the Premier League, began his managerial career 45 years ago with with Swedish side Halmstads.

He has managed 16 teams in eight countries, including the likes of Inter Milan and Udinese, as well as the Switzerland, UAE and Finland national teams.

Aside from Palace, he has managed Blackburn, Liverpool, West Brom and Fulham in the Premier League, guiding the Cottagers to the Europa League final in 2010.

He took the England job shortly before Euro 2012 and led the Three Lions to the quarter-finals, but two years later they were knocked out at the group stage of a World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Hodgson's team won all 10 matches in qualifying for Euro 2016 but he stepped down after a 2-1 last-16 defeat by Iceland left him with a record of three victories from 11 games in major tournaments.

Hodgson replacement will have 'impossible job'
Speaking before Hodgson confirmed his departure, former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club that his successor faced an "impossible job".

"You have to look at the job Roy has done there - they have always stayed up pretty comfortably. He is not everybody's cup of tea because of the brand of football but in terms of doing a job and keeping owners happy he is the perfect fit," said Sutton.

"It's an impossible job for whoever has to replace him. The squad will need a big overhaul with so many players out of contract."

Former Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who played under Hodgson at Fulham, also told 5 Live: "I think when you look at his time, especially at Inter Milan, the Italians were renowned for having that defensive system, being very rigid, very organised and Roy loved that.

"When we started that at Fulham - players were pulling their hair out because the training sessions were monotonous, and it was about drilling a certain system.