Back in 2021, it was time for Palace to say goodbye to Roy Hodgson.
The legendary manager took charge of 162 games for the Eagles in a four-year spell that began in 2017, but it was time to move on from the then-74-year-old and onto a younger, fresher project in Patrick Vieira.
Two years later, Hodgson made a comeback to Selhurst Park following, as remarkable as it seemed unlikely, following the sacking of Vieira. It was a move that failed to excite the Palace faithful, with the veteran manager agreeing to lead the side in a fight against relegation.
He did so, very well. So well in fact that as we head into the 2023/24 season, Roy Hodgson remains the man in charge in south London.
Palace finished last season on fire following Vieira’s dismissal, with a 5-1 battering of Leeds the kick-starting a quick rise out of an almighty relegation battle that involved half a dozen teams until the last few games of the season.
The Eagles lost just two of their final ten league games, rebounding after winning just one of their previous 14 matches post-World Cup. It resulted in an 11th place finish, an amazing reward after how gloomy the future looked in mid-march.
Hodgson, deservedly so, is back to try and do it all again this season, but this is a new-look Palace side, which leaves an air of uncertainty over the club as they travel north to welcome Sheffield United back to the Premier League in gameweek one.
Arrivals and departures
Unfortunately for Palace, the majority of this has been centred around those who have left the club this summer rather than who has joined.
Wilfried Zaha’s future at the club always felt uncertain, but somehow, despite numerous summers and years of rumour and speculation, the winger remained at his boyhood team.
After two decades of football which began at the club academy at the age of 12, Zaha’s love affair with the club and the fans has now finally come to an end. The winger accepted a contract offer from Galatasaray in late July, meaning a fairy tale ending at Selhurst Park like the fans imagined has faded away.
The winger played 458 games for the club, and now Palace have a Zaha-sized hole to fill in their starting XI.
The blow is made worse by the transfer speculation surrounding Michael Olise who has a £35m release clause in his contract. Whether the French winger remains in south London beyond this transfer window feels unlikely.
It’s been a largely uneventful window in terms of incoming for Palace. The club have made just two signings – Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Bournemouth and exciting 19-year-old Brazilian winger Matheus Franca from Flamengo for an estimated £18m.
Expect more activity from Hodgson and Co. before the end of the window, especially if a side trigger Olise’s release clause.
Can Palace replace Zaha?
Losing Zaha, especially when a £200,000 a week contract was on the table for him, made the blow just that little bit more difficult to take. Not getting a penny for his services after multiple rejected bids from the likes of Arsenal in years past hurts too.
Palace embarked on a new strategy following the appointment of Vieira in 2021 – buy low and sell high, then use that profit to reinvest and go again. It’s a model we see often in the Premier League these days, but it can become a risky one if recruitment isn’t finding the right players.
The Eagles will look enviously at rivals Brighton, the kings of this model. The Seagulls signed young players like Marc Cucurella, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, developing them into quality assets for the side and highly sought after (and expensive) options for the big clubs in the transfer window.
Palace have to get this summer right if they are to build for the future and look to improve on last season’s 11th place finish.
It’s Eberechi Eze time
2022/23 was a breakout season for young attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze. Six goals in the final ten games of the season helped lift Palace out of the fight for relegation, and the former QPR midfielder was rewarded with an international call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad as a reward for such form.
With Zaha departed and Olise seemingly headed for the exit door, the pressure and level of expectation on the shoulders of the 25-year-old is greater than it ever has been before.
Eze has often been the sidekick to the superheroes like Zaha in the Palace starting XI. Now he must elevate himself to fill the boots of Selhurst Park’s departed hero in a side in which goals could be difficult to come by.
Can Hodgson deliver on expectations?
Hodgson is a trusted, safe pair of hands, which is why he was given the job ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Upon his return last season he produced what was expected of him – survival, and they did so by playing entertaining football.
Hodgson going public with the club’s ambition of finishing in the top half this season shows his faith in this current crop of players, but the squad could look a lot different by the time the transfer window closes – for better or for worse.
Whether Roy can replicate the success he had with this team at the tail end of last season remains to be seen, but the club clearly trust him to do so after choosing his experience over younger, potentially sexier options available in the manager market this summer.
Strongest XI
Johnstone; Ward, Guehi, Andersen, Mitchell; Doucoure, Lerma; Matheus Franca, Eberechi Eze, Jeffery Schlupp; Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Predicted finish – 13th
Hodgson galvanised this team last season and it became a no-brainer for those in charge at Selhurst Park to hand him the reigns for another season.
His second permanent spell at the club has been rocky due to uncertainty surrounding star players leaving, meaning the task of improving on last season’s 11th place finish has been made that little bit trickier.
As mentioned, this team could look a lot different by the end of the transfer window if Olise departs and targets are acquired with that windfall, but right now a top half finish for Palace would be a hell of an achievement as the shadow of the loss of Wilfried Zaha hangs over them.
