Should Crystal Palace back or sack under fire boss Roy Hodgson?
Stick or twist? That is the question on the lips of Crystal Palace supporters right now - and perhaps the club’s board too.
Make no mistake: Roy Hodgson is under pressure. A broadly popular figure among the Selhurst Park faithful, a man of Hodgson’s experience will know that he could find himself out of a job unless results improve.
A 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on Saturday means Palace have now lost four of their last five games and six of the last eight. Since the beginning of October they have collected only five points, a Premier League low.
There are mitigating circumstances. Palace have been hamstrung by injuries for much of the season. Ebere Eze, Cheick Doucoure, Tyrick Mitchell, Odsonne Edouard, Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson, Rob Holding and Jes Rak-Sakyi are currently on the treatment table.
Michael Olise has started just three matches. Only Joachim Andersen and Jordan Ayew have appeared in all 16 Premier League fixtures, and the latter is now suspended for Saturday’s trip to Manchester City after his contentious red card against Liverpool.
Hodgson was not dealt the strongest hand either. Palace’s squad depth looked thin even before the injuries began to pile up. Only one of the four summer arrivals - Jefferson Lerma, a free agent - was signed to go into the starting XI. Palace did not acquire a senior replacement for Wilfried Zaha, their greatest ever player.
Yet it would be hard for Hodgson to argue that he is getting the best from the tools at his disposal. Only Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than Palace, while only Burnley have a worse home record. The football under Hodgson towards the end of last season was exciting; now it is moribund.
His comments after a 2-0 home loss to Bournemouth last week did not exactly impress the Palace fans. Hodgson suggested their negative reaction to a poor performance came from overinflated expectations. The supporters had been “spoiled” over the last decade, Hodgson said. He later walked back that statement but the damage had already been done.
Still, this is by no means a straightforward decision. Hodgson has kept Palace in the Premier League on four occasions in the past. He knows what it takes to stay up and, in all probability, would lead the Eagles to safety again if he is given the whole season in the dugout.
A mid-table team like Palace are always going to go through sticky spells. They have done so before under Hodgson and found their way out.
But the board cannot take anything for granted, even if Palace remain relegation outsiders for now. The promoted clubs are all showing signs of life, while Everton under Sean Dyche despite their points deduction are already four clear of the bottom three.
Steve Parish, who still has day-to-day control of the club despite owning only 10%, has not been afraid to act decisively in the past. Many felt he prematurely dismissed Patrick Vieira in March but that proved to be the right decision. He was ruthless in firing Frank de Boer after just four games in 2017/18. Neil Warnock, something of a short-term placeholder as Hodgson is now, was fired in December 2014 when Alan Pardew became gettable.
In an ideal world, Palace would get through to the summer and then make a long-term appointment. More managers will be available then and there should be money to spend after a low-key window last time out. But if Palace feel their Premier League status is in jeopardy before then, we can expect them to act.
Hodgson is safe for now and an adverse outcome in Saturday’s clash with Manchester City is unlikely to move the dial. But even a boyhood Palace fan with credit in the bank cannot outrun bad results forever.
