Crystal Palace fans held up banners protesting the club’s ownership and management as they were beaten 5-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates.
Arsenal had taken a 2-0 half-time lead from two corners, before Leandro Trossard finished off a counter attack on the hour and substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored twice in added time to seal a devastating victory.
After the full-time whistle, Palace manager Roy Hodgson stood motionless for five minutes, taking in both the severity of the defeat and the contents of the banners.
Palace are 14th in the Premier League but just five points above the relegation zone having won just two of their past 16 games.
Fans also booed Hodgson and sung “You don’t know what you’re doing” during Wednesday’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay defeat at Everton after the 76-year-old substituted Eberechi Eze on 64 minutes.
Considering Hodgson justified that decision by saying the club needed Eze ready for the game against Arsenal, the manner of defeat is only likely to increase frustrations.
Displayed throughout the game in the away end of the Emirate, one banner read: “Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards”. Another said: “No shared vision, no structured plan, Parish out, Yanks out,” referencing co-owner chairman Steve Parish and majority owner John Textor.
Palace have finished between 10th and 15th every season since their promotion in 2013-14, a stagnation which has begun to frustrate fans who want more than simply Premier League survival.
The club have only made it past the third round of the FA or Carabao Cup once in the last five campaigns and have scored the third-fewest goals in the Premier League in 2023-24.
Hodgson said that the club are “working hard to try to bring a couple of players in” during the January window, but there is currently no concrete sign of incoming players.
Palace have a relatively kind upcoming fixture schedule, with games against three sides currently below them in the table between now and the beginning of March.
Yet if they do not win all of those games, scrutiny on Hodgson and the ownership is only likely to intensify.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/jhZpzVx
Post a Comment