On Thursday, Crystal Palace’s manager Roy Hodgson became unwell and needed medical assistance during a training session. The team was reportedly considering hiring Oliver Glasner as his replacement, and it seems that the Austrian is close to finalizing the deal after engaging in advanced negotiations on the same day.
At the last minute, Palace had to cancel a press conference scheduled for Thursday because Hodgson was unable to finish it at the team’s training facility in south London. Assistant coach Paddy McCarthy took over when Hodgson became unwell and needed medical attention. In a statement, Palace announced that Hodgson fell ill during the morning training session and the press conference could not continue as planned.
Hodgson’s health has suffered multiple times this season. In September, the 76-year-old, who holds the record for being the oldest manager in the Premier League, was unable to attend Palace’s game against Aston Villa due to illness. Palace’s chairman, Steve Parish, was planning to fire Hodgson after discussing with Glasner on Thursday. After losing to Chelsea on Monday night, Hodgson’s position was closely examined, and Parish reportedly concluded that a change was necessary due to the team’s poor performance of four wins in 18 league games, putting them at risk of relegation.
Glasner, who has been without a job since departing Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of the previous season, was selected by Palace as their top candidate after their attempt to convince Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna to take over was unsuccessful. It is reported that Glasner has had discussions with Parish and Palace’s sporting director, Dougie Freedman, and is nearing a deal worth approximately £4.5 million per season.
Glasner, a 49-year-old ex-defender, guided Eintracht to triumph in the 2022 Europa League by defeating West Ham in the semi-finals. Before that, he served as the coach for Wolfsburg for two years and gained recognition with Linz in Austria.
Palace rehired Hodgson in March to take over for his successor, Patrick Vieira. His successful performance earned him another contract with the club, where he previously served as manager from September 2017 to May 2021. However, this season has not been as successful for the team due to injuries and they are now facing the possibility of being relegated.
Hodgson recently described Palace’s predicament as “the toughest period of my career for one reason, and that is that the fans have turned so much against us”. The Palace defender Joachim Andersen was pulled away from an angry exchange with fans after a defeat at Brighton and banners have called for the board’s removal and referred to “no shared vision, no structured plan”. One banner displayed at the Chelsea game took aim at “weak club culture and direction”.
Hodgson’s expected departure would appear to signal the end of a long and distinguished managerial career that began with in Sweden with Halmstad in 1976 and has included spells with Inter, Fulham and Liverpool.
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Recently, Hodgson has faced challenges due to injuries to two of his key players, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, who are known for their creativity on the field. Olise, who had been recovering from a hamstring injury, returned to play against Brighton but unfortunately had to be substituted after only 10 minutes due to a limp.
During the January transfer period, Palace spent the most money in the Premier League. They acquired midfielder Adam Wharton from Blackburn and defender Daniel Muñoz from Genk.
Source: theguardian.com
