Andros Townsend has now said that he thinks Crystal Palace should have seen this poor run coming under Roy Hodgson – and suggested it was the wrong decision to sack Patrick Vieira.
The 32-year-old made the comments when speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live before Crystal Palace suffered a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday.
So, what did Andros Townsend say about the situation at Crystal Palace? Let’s take a look…
Andros Townsend baffled by developments at Crystal Palace
Well, the Luton Town No.30 has now sent a message in the direction of Steve Parish – questioning what the Crystal Palace Chairman actually expected to happen after reappointing Hodgson.
Townsend – who praised the Eagles earlier this season – said: “A few years ago when Roy Hodgson left, Crystal Palace went with Patrick Vieira – the young up and coming manager who wanted to play on the front foot – and from the outside it looked like it was working, even if they had a sticky period.
“Then they decided to go back to Roy Hodgson who, at 75, 76 years of age is not going to come out of retirement and be Pep Guardiola. You know what you are going to get. I don’t know what was expected.”
Roy Hodgson should have been replaced
The decision to rehire Hodgson was a major gamble, but it paid off at the end of last season as the 76-year-old impressively oversaw five wins and three draws from his ten matches in charge.
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However, that should have been the end.
Contextually, that thrilling end to the 2022/23 campaign involved a favourable run of fixtures and some good fortune when it came to keeping everybody fit.
An entire campaign was always going to be a different animal entirely for Hodgson, and the man from Croydon is showing genuine signs of struggling to deal with Premier League football at this stage of his managerial career.
After Monday’s loss to Chelsea, Crystal Palace have now won just two of the last 15 games across all competitions – relegation form, to say the least.
