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Former Crystal Palace striker Neil Shipperley has praised Roy Hodgson for the job he has done with the Eagles and urged fans to be realistic in regards to what the club can achieve.
What did he say?
Hodgson joined Palace in September 2017 following the sacking of Frank De Boer and led the Selhurst Park outfit to an 11th placed finish in his debut season, which was then followed by 12th last time out.
When asked how he feels the former England boss has done, Shipperley told Football FanCast, “I think he’s done a great job, a really good job with what he’s been given. We haven’t really spent much money and if we don’t spend any money he’s going to have his work cut out again.”
The 44-year-old former England U21 international also explained that he believes the fans expect too much of Hodgson, adding, “You have to be realistic and not all fans are realistic. You have to actually analyse what’s gone on here. We’re not spending any money and I don’t think Roy is recruiting any of the players; it’s down to Dougie Freedman and that’s out of his hands. You’ve got to be careful what you wish for because I think he’s got the best out of these players.”
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More investment needed
When De Boer was relieved of his duties in 2017, Palace looked in real trouble. They had lost each of their first four league games without scoring a goal and sat rock bottom of the Premier League table. Things did not immediately get better under the new boss, but they grabbed their first win – and points – of the campaign against Chelsea on October 14th and then went from strength to strength.
Indeed, the club have not spent much money since Hodgson arrived – nobody spent less than the paltry £10.67m they shelled out last season, whilst they have parted with more cash than just one club in the top flight this summer as well – and so he must be applauded for the work he has done by leading them to survival relatively comfortably in each of the past two terms.
Having control over transfers appears to be seldom seen in the Premier League nowadays, but that doesn't mean that clubs aren't signing new players. Having received £45m from Manchester United for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, there should be money to spend this summer. With the increasing financial power of all clubs in England's highest division, it is unlikely that Palace will be able to once again get away with failing to strengthen their squad. Whilst Hodgson may have done well until now, Freedman and the fans should not expect it to continue much longer without more investment.
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