“I won’t miss a thing”: Last round for Roy Hodgson?

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It has been more than thirty years since Roy Hodgson (76) achieved something historic with the Nati on November 17, 1993. Switzerland qualified for a World Cup against Estonia in the Hardturm for the first time in 28 years.

While the venerable stadium has long since been razed to the ground and Zurich is still waiting for a new building, Hodgson is still the coach. After the man from the London suburb of Croydon returned to Crystal Palace last March and saved the club from the threat of relegation, he surprised everyone. He did not take a well-deserved retirement, but stayed with the Premier League club.

But it is now becoming clear that Hodgson has experienced his ‘Last Christmas’ when it comes to football. Crystal Palace has not won its last eight games and has fallen to fifteenth place. The Londoners’ lead on the relegation places is now only three points. There has been speculation about successors for some time, especially since supposed preferred candidate Steve Cooper was fired from Nottingham Forest.

‘I’m afraid I’ve been in football too long’

Hodgson is not deterred by this. Other things bother him. Above all, the VAR, which also played a terrible role in Crystal Palace’s last game when a penalty was awarded in the final phase after Chelsea joker Noni Madueke got stuck on Eberechi Eze. “We have to accept that there are two referees in every game and every time something happens on the pitch and the referee makes a decision you have to wait a few minutes in case someone whispers in his ear,” Hodgson growled.

A few weeks ago, the indestructible former England coach had already spoken out in a monologue about modern football. “It absolutely makes me sick – the interpretation of the hand rule, the yellow cards for timed play and the behavior of the players,” he complained after the defeat to his former club Liverpool, in which his ten-man team took first place. in injury time: 2 against. “I’m afraid I’ve been in football too long and games like this make me realize I won’t miss anything when the day comes to leave it all behind me.”

But some observers doubt that despite all the bitterness, Hodgson will never return to football. After all, he once said that his wife Sheila was happy “when I get up and go to work every day.” And there are always moments when his mischief shines through and he has fun. Just like the last time two weeks ago, when his team equalized late in extra time against treble winner Manchester City after being 2-0 behind with a penalty. He couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at his raging coaching colleague Pep Guardiola, which made headlines, even though Hodgson insisted afterwards that he had not laughed at the successful coach.

Source : Blick