May 3, 2024

La Ronge Northerner

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Crystal Palace are preparing to sack Roy Hodgson, and Oliver Glasner is the main candidate to take over

Crystal Palace are preparing to sack Roy Hodgson, and Oliver Glasner is the main candidate to take over

Crystal Palace is set to sack its coach, Roy Hodgson, while former Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner appears to be the most prominent candidate to replace him.

Hodgson (76 years old) will leave Palace in 15th place in the Premier League table, just five points above the relegation zone after three wins in the last 19 matches.

Glasner has been out of work since leaving Eintracht at the end of the 2022-23 season with a year remaining on his contract, having won the Europa League and reached the German Cup final.

Palace announced on Thursday afternoon that the pre-match press conference, which was scheduled to take place at 1:30pm (GMT), had been canceled after Hodgson fell ill during the morning training session.

Palace earned seven points from the first four matches of the season, but achieved only three victories since September and was eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round against Everton.

The 3-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on Monday evening was their fourth in five games, while during the humiliating 4-1 defeat to arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium the previous weekend, a section of away fans called for defeat. Hodgson and Chairman Steve Parish leave the club.

Banners raised by Crystal Palace fans during their 5-0 loss to Arsenal last month (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Hodgson is serving his second spell at Palace, having been re-appointed on a short-term contract in March 2023 following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira. After steering the club clear of the relegation zone, with five wins and three draws in 10 matches to finish 11 points above the relegation zone, he signed a one-year contract last summer.

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The former England coach spent four years coaching Palace between 2017 and 2021. He signed a short-term contract with Watford in January 2022, but confirmed his departure after the team's relegation to League One, and said he did not expect to take over. Another managerial job in the Premier League, before returning to lead Palace 10 months later.

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Hodgson's coaching career spanned more than 45 years with teams including Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and Palace, as well as Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland.

Meanwhile, Glasner replaced Adi Hutter as Eintracht coach at the start of the 2021-22 season. They finished 11th in the Bundesliga after finishing fifth the previous season, but won the Europa League after beating Rangers on penalties in the final.

Last season, the 49-year-old's side finished seventh in the Bundesliga and qualified for the Europa League, while being eliminated from the Champions League by Napoli in the round of 16.

Prior to taking over as Eintracht coach, Glasner was head coach at Wolfsburg where they finished seventh and fourth in two seasons, then left at the end of the 2020-21 season to take charge of their Bundesliga rivals.

His other former clubs include Austrian outfit LASK and SV Red – having spent his entire playing career with the latter.

Palace returns to English Premier League matches on Monday when it travels to Everton.

(Top photos: Maja Hettig/Getty Images)