Roy Hodgson has confirmed he will leave Crystal Palace at the end of this season when his contract runs out.
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Hodgson, 73, is the oldest manager currently in the Premier League and it was widely expected he would retire at the end of this season.
However, the former Inter Milan, Blackburn, Fulham, West Brom, Liverpool and England boss said he is leaving his options open over a return to management, or another role in the game, but will take a break after leaving Palace.
During his near four seasons in charge of Palace, Hodgson has kept them away from relegation danger and made the owners a profit in the transfer market. Not bad at all.
With Palace now looking for a new manager and 12 players out of contract this summer, change is coming at Selhurst Park.
The right time for all concerned?
All in all, this was the best choice for everyone.
Hodgson, a boyhood Palace fan, has well and truly done what he was asked to do by the club. He was appointed in 2017 with Palace rock bottom of the table after the Frank de Boer experiment went horribly wrong with seven-straight defeats to start the season.
Since then Palace have had 11th, 12th and 14th place finishes and they sit in 13th heading into the final two games of this season.
Hodgson has got the best out of his resources, with Palace tough to break down, well-drilled and in Wilfried Zaha and now Eberechi Eze, they have two attacking talents who are lethal on the break.
If Hodgson decides to keep managing, you feel like an international job will be next in line for him. Perhaps even a sporting director role?
Whatever he does, he will do it with class, as one of the nicest managers in soccer history has respect from all corners of the game.
Who is next at Palace?
There are some really good candidates for this job, with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe one of the leading contenders.
Current Swansea City boss Steve Cooper and Burnley manager Sean Dyche are also candidates, while Frank Lampard is the favorite with the bookies. It will be very interesting to see which way Palace go here.
Chairman Steve Parish has always dreamed of bringing players through their academy and into the first team and Zaha, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and now Tyrick Mitchell are all proof that it can be done.
With the likes of Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Emile Smith Rowe, Jadon Sancho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and many others all growing up in south London, there’s no doubt that this particular area of England’s capital city is full of talented youngsters.
If Palace can bring in a manager who puts faith in youth, the best young local talents will be attracted to join them over Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and others at academy level.
Eddie Howe would surely deliver the most attractive team, but Palace may be wary after the De Boer debacle.
Lampard’s name could perhaps allow Palace to bring in players they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Lampard would be a gamble, but there’s a growing sense that Palace will make the former Chelsea boss their next manager.
Hodgson has done a really important job to stabilize Palace over the last few years, but getting the decision on his successor right is even more important.
