Crystal Palace are expected to confirm the departure of Roy Hodgson as manager later this month, with focus beginning to turn to who will replace the former England boss at Selhurst Park.
Hodgson, 73, is coming to the end of his contract at Palace, having kept them in the Premier League for four straight years since taking over in September 2017.
But, with many supporters dissatisfied about the standard of football, and with a number of players allowing their contracts to run down, it is believed that the Palace board are looking to take the club in a new direction.
Frank Lampard
Some bookmakers have out-of-work Frank Lampard as the odds-on favourite to take the Palace job this summer.
The 42-year-old’s tenure at Chelsea may not have ended as he’d have wished, but Lampard showed enough at Stamford Bridge to suggest that he could well be a manager of Premier League calibre. His time at Derby also underlined Lampard’s ability to play attacking football, something that the Palace fans would certainly welcome. And the former 106-cap England international is also a London boy through and through.
The Palace job would be perfect for Lampard, giving him a chance to prove himself in the top-flight without the pressures of a mega club like Chelsea. Whether Lampard would be right for Palace is hard to say at this early stage of his managerial career.
Just two lads who grew up in Croydon
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) May 14, 2021????#CPFC | https://t.co/utMcYSlISB pic.twitter.com/FpqCOqOs9P
Eddie Howe
The reputation of Eddie Howe may have taken a nosedive with Bournemouth’s relegation last summer, but the 43-year-old’s work at the south-coast club would seemingly make him an ideal fit for Palace.
Howe’s talent for bringing in young players and getting the most out of his squad saw Bournemouth stay in the top tier for far longer than many had predicted when they gained promotion in 2015.
He has been out of work since leaving Bournemouth by mutual consent last summer, but Palace would likely face competition for his signature, with Celtic among the clubs heavily linked with the coach.
Valérien Ismaël
Former Crystal Palace defender Valérien Ismaël has emerged as a managerial candidate following his outstanding work with Barnsley in the Championship.
Ismaël has transformed Barnsley this season – who were without a win in seven games when he took charge in October – steering them to a place in the play-offs and receiving plaudits from pundits and players alike.
“Without a doubt, if the manager wasn’t here, I don’t think we would be where we are now,” Barnsley striker Cauley Woodrow said at the end of the regular season. “Obviously it’s down to us players when we’re on the pitch, but ultimately there are people behind the success, the way we set up, the way we want to play.
“That’s been down to the manager and we’ve bought into it. Credit to the manager, his mentality. He’s a very strong man in terms of knowing what he wants from his players.”
If Barnsley fail to win the play-offs then the 45-year-old could be open to a move.
A number of other candidates have also been linked with the Palace job, including Sean Dyche, who is believed to be open to a new challenge after almost a decade at Burnley.
Fulham’s Scott Parker and Swansea’s Steve Cooper have also been mentioned as possible candidates, while Patrick Vieira is another manager believed to be looking for a Premier League opportunity having been out of work since his sacking from Nice in December.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3bpHiNO
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