Adam Sells gives his verdict on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace exit – as rollercoaster ride could be on the cards

I will level with you up front. I am not a fan of rollercoasters. It seems the Crystal Palace 2021-22 version is about to start up again. This one’s got a new high speed, twisting and turning with some long dark tunnels that make you feel like you don’t know where you are going, surrounded by people we’ve never seen before and nobody has any idea who the driver is.

Will it all come to a juddering halt?

Having been on that ride for some 45 seasons, most of us that are now the wrong side of 50 are more content with the serenity of the ‘teacups’ these days. Preferring to take our time and enjoy the degree of comfort, ensuring that the old ticker isn’t beating too fast and the anxiety levels are flatlined.

For those of you who have read my previous musings over recent seasons, or listen to my dreary South London tone, you will know I have a huge admiration for Roy Hodgson.

Again, I will level with you. I think he is the greatest the club has ever had at the helm.

No other manager has ever kept the Eagles in the Premier League for four consecutive seasons.

After arriving in 2017, few thought there was a chance of survival. Seven defeats, no goals.

Croydon’s favourite son turned it around with Palace finishing 11 points above the drop zone. The 5-0 victory over Leicester City that season would live long in the memory, the best performance seen in SE25 in the Premier League era. Ironically it was the type of display that the owners might have imagined witnessing when they employed Frank de Boer.

The following year Roy’s boys ended the campaign 15 points clear of the bottom three, the highlight being the victory at the Etihad, with Manchester City having won every one of their other 18 home games.

A comfortable finish, nine points clear of the relegation places followed in 2019-20. This with a hugely depleted squad that had safety pretty much secured prior to lockdown.

This time around Hodgson’s men were sixteen points away from the dreaded drop on the final day.

The biggest margin between Palace and relegation in their Premier League history.

With the assistance of his trusted lieutenant Ray Lewington, there was a calmness about Palace at the top table that I can’t ever remember. A well-prepared, well-coached, organised outfit, that never gave you the feeling of butterflies in the stomach.

It was not one I was familiar with, but one I was rather enjoying.

All this was achieved with the lowest net spend of any club in the Premier League over four seasons.

The club’s transfer activity incredibly provided a profit of around £11million, which in the modern Premier League era is unheard of.

A common argument was the size of the club’s wage bill and the quality of the squad at his disposal, suggesting that fans were entitled to expect more.

The wage bill currently sits around 12th in the Premier League and though it is fair to point to the fact it is high in relation to the club’s income, there are only eight clubs that have been in England’s top-flight longer than Crystal Palace.

Fourteenth spot achieved, with a wage bill that sits 12th in the division and a net spend that has the club 20th, seems like a coach that is exceeding expectations to me.

In Crystal Palace terms one can understand that fans consider that there is a good squad of players, and it seems that talking about resources not being sufficient when the club has four players earning a six-figure weekly salary is slightly strange.

But the harsh reality is that this is not huge in terms of the competition that the club operates in and with an ageing squad which has been ravaged by injuries. It would be fairer to suggest overachievement as opposed to underachievement should be the narrative, particularly when it has been done with half of the squad serving out their respective ‘notice periods’, AKA the remaining months on the contracts.

In central defence for example, the wages of five players may well cost the club close to £20million per season but, in reality, how often has Hodgson been able to call upon them? Without gradual evolution, a major overhaul is now required.

Despite his advancing years, I would have loved to see Roy stay on. In the early part of the year when questioned by the media, it seemed he would be very happy to continue his work, with no suggestion that he was ready to call it a day.

In early February, following the win at Newcastle United, Roy’s response to questions about signing a new contract had me sensing that perhaps change was forthcoming.

Press speculation regarding potential successors began to emerge and rumours of various candidates being met by sporting director Dougie Freedman were rife.

Perhaps, without a contract offer and with a new direction seemingly sought, Roy decided to take matters in his own hands?

As an absolute gentleman and the ultimate professional to the end, I guess we will never know his innermost thoughts, but Roy could certainly be forgiven for feeling that his work was under appreciated.

Social media after each defeat is predictably full of angry and hostile comments about a man who continued to defy the odds, whilst anybody and everybody outside of Selhurst Park continued to extoll the virtues of Palace’s wily manager. Not being able to see the wood from the trees, is a phrase that springs to mind.

As another saying goes, nothing is forever and I for one won’t miss the meltdown that follows every result from fans who seem to think that Palace are entitled to beat all comers despite the aforementioned disadvantages.

So here we are…a brave new world awaits. The club, it seems, would like to completely revamp the squad and playing style, with a (dare I say it) model similar to Brighton & Hove Albion. Young players with ascending values, a young coach with a playing ‘identity.’

Who will lead Palace into the new season? So many names. So many pros and cons.

Eddie Howe appears to tick some of the boxes – but was relegated with Bournemouth having spent considerably more money than Palace afforded Hodgson in the same period.

What about Frank Lampard? A well-rounded guy with experience at the top of the game. Did he make the most of the resources at his disposal at Derby County and Chelsea? Should he have done better? Did he do better than he should? One that may be argued by many over a pint.

Sean Dyche would represent a safe pair of hands in a similar way to Roy. But would fans like the style? Would the board pay the required compensation? Would he want to leave the job at Burnley given his proven track record and put it all on the line?

Steve Cooper and Valerian Ismael have done great things in the Championship, with the latter outperforming coaches with bigger budgets to take Barnsley to fifth. Neither have Premier League experience and Ismael has not managed to exceed 50 matches at any of the four senior teams he has taken charge of in Germany, Austria and England.

Could the recently departed Nuno Espirito Santo be an option? It would seem certainly sensible to gauge a level of interest. Having left Wolves by mutual consent, does he have the desire and drive to bounce straight back with Palace?

Steve Parish does have a track record of getting things right and his part in Palace enjoying its most successful spell in its entire history should never be underestimated. This will be another huge call he and the board must make.

Then there is the issue of playing staff. With just 14 players contracted from the first-team squad, major surgery is required and fast. Added to that, the new coach will have to manage without two of the club’s bright young talents in Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson for the rest of 2021 and the task looks even greater.

It is essential that a sizeable pot of cash is available to make these changes and some very clever work is going to be a necessity in the transfer market.

The concern is that over the past four years the club’s transfer business has been extremely disappointing. Long-talked about targets have not made it to Beckenham and a ‘sticking plaster’ approach has often been prevalent.

Better-known players with Premier League and Championship experience have generally worked out, but the vast majority of the ‘unknown quantities’ have not. The likes of Alexander Sorloth, Max Meyer and Jaroslaw Jach did not enjoy success in SE25.

The jury is very much out in regard of Jean-Philippe Mateta. The notable exception being the brilliant Vicente Guaita, who has been a huge positive. Given the number of players required urgently, the work of Freedman and his recruitment department is going to come under much scrutiny.

With Hodgson no longer in place, his rumoured reluctance to sanction many targets can no longer be an issue. That is of course, if it ever was? The grapevine would often suggest so, but in truth I find it hard to believe there is a football manager at any level who doesn’t want better players.

Another criticism levelled at the now departed coach was not wanting or trusting young players, but again, the names Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tyrick Mitchell, Eze would suggest that also to be wide of the mark.

There is much hope in many of the academy prospects. This may prove invaluable in time, but nobody can be certain until those steps are made. Speaking from experience, there is a huge gulf between youth team and first-team football and there is always a right time.

Since Freedman returned to the club, there has been very little from him publicly in terms of addressing the fanbase and laying out his blueprint, roadmap or whatever fancy term is used these days about the future strategy. It’s going to be a huge summer in SE25. The mid-table mediocrity that was once craved by all is no longer enough and if the club want to achieve more, they must spend accordingly, recruit shrewdly and find a coach that can oversee a revolution. All in a matter of weeks.

I have three real hopes…

It seems that this is a high risk strategy and I hope that things can be taken forward in the desired manner.

I also truly hope that in time Roy Hodgson’s work will be looked upon with the fondness and respect that is warranted.

Finally, I hope the feeling of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’ isn’t ringing around in my head 12 months from now.

Hold tight!

Over to you Dougie…