Crystal Palace reappoint 75-year-old Roy Hodgson as manager

South London club Crystal Palace have reappointed former England manager Roy Hodgson as manager until the end of the season.

The 75-year-old replaces Patrick Vieira, who had also replaced Hodgson at Selhurst Park in July 2021.

Vieira was axed following a 12-match winless run in all competitions. Prior to his exit, Palace had not scored in four consecutive matches and failed to win a single match in 2023.

Hodgson was in charge at Watford from January to May 2022, leaving after they were relegated to the Championship.

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“It is a privilege to be asked to return to the club, which has always meant so much to me,” said Hodgson.

“Our sole objective now is to start winning matches, and to get the points necessary to ensure our Premier League status.”

Ray Lewington also returns to Palace as first-team coach with Paddy McCarthy named assistant manager.

“I would like to welcome Roy and Ray back to the club,” said Palace chairman Steve Parish.

“We are obviously in a very challenging period but we believe that Roy’s and Ray’s experience, knowledge of the club and players, alongside Paddy can help fulfil the immediate requirement of keeping us in the league.”

Palace sit 12th in the Premier League table but are only three points above the relegation zone following their 4-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday.

Hodgson’s first game in charge during his second spell will be at home to Leicester on 1 April.

Will Hodgson’s experience be enough to help Palace avoid relegation?

Hodgson’s managerial career has spanned over 45 years. He has managed teams like Inter Milan, Blackburn, West Brom, Fulham, Liverpool, and Palace. He has also managed the national teams of Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland.

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The experienced manager led England from 2012 to 2016, but they failed to qualify from their group at the 2014 World Cup. Hodgson resigned after a shock 2-1 defeat by Iceland in the last 16 of Euro 2016.

Crystal Palace reappoint Hodgson to help the club avoid relegation to the Championship. This is expected to be the manager’s primary objective.

Following his appointment as Palace manager in 2017, Hodgson helped the Eagles avoid the drop in the four seasons he was there.

A big reason why Crystal Palace have decided to reappoint Hodgson is that he already knows a good number of Palace’s vital players.

Hodgson will largely hope he can help the likes of Odsonne Édouard, Jordan Ayew and especially Wilfred Zaha recover their goalscoring exploits again.