The Croydon native, 76, accomplished a great deal for Palace, but the strain of a challenging last season eventually got to him.
Roy Hodgson must have realized he was on borrowed time as he hobbled off the field on Monday night following Crystal Palace’s devastating late loss to Chelsea. Never having thought it would come to this, the manager who first visited Selhurst Park as a six-year-old in the 1950s made his victorious return to his hometown club less than 11 months ago, replacing Patrick Vieira.
A campaign that seemed to be taking a toll on Hodgson for several weeks as his squad struggled with injuries and bad form, making him the Premier League’s oldest-ever manager—a record he held even prior to picking up Palace chairman Steve Parish’s SOS call last March. However, it was a very worrying development to learn that last Thursday during a training session he became ill and needed to be sent to the hospital for examinations. The former England manager has said that he will step down three months earlier than expected, citing this season as a major source of anxiety. He issued a statement saying, “Given recent circumstances, it may be prudent at this time for the club to plan ahead.”
Both Roy Hodgson and Oliver Glasner
Oliver Gleasner takes over as manager of Crystal Palace following Roy Hodgson’s resignation.
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Three days before Palace’s season opener against Sheffield United, Hodgson turned 76. However, he demonstrated that he still had all of his old battling spirit when he got into a brawl with Max Lowe, which resulted in a blow to the ribs from a player half his age. Lowe remarked, “His abs are stronger than I thought.” Roy reportedly expressed his satisfaction at his response, saying, “I didn’t know he still had it in him.”
Despite choosing to remain on for another year, Hodgson—a Croydon kid who has never been shy to show his nasty side—made a respectable start to Palace’s post-Wilfried Zaha era. However, a medical scare on the morning of the game against Aston Villa in September served as a reminder of his frailty.
Hodgson described the entire ordeal as “frustrating and very disappointing,” mostly because they were unable to determine the exact root of his problems. “People can’t be 100% certain what caused that attack which put me in a hospital suddenly after expecting to have lunch and go to the game, despite all the excellent treatment I received – the tests and the way people were racing around to really look after and check on me,” he said.
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