It’s fair to say that after Roy Hodgson took over at Crystal Palace last season, it seemed that a huge weight had been lifted off the player’s shoulders.
Patrick Vieira, for all of his evident success in the game, couldn’t get a tune out of a brilliant crop of young players, and whatever Hodgson did, it worked – and how!
From looking like certainties to drop into the relegation dogfight, the elder statesman of the Premier League ensured that his side, in the end, stayed up with ease.
It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to suggest that if he can keep the team together, the Eagles might have an outside chance of being able to claim a place in Europe.
Unfortunately for the south London outfit, it looks like one player might be getting his head turned by Man City and Chelsea, and that could upset the equilibrium in the Palace dressing room.
Hodgson gave an interview to Sky, which journalist, Fabrizio Romano, tweeted about, and in it the manager doesn’t exactly suggest that Michael Olise isn’t going anywhere.
Hodgson on Chelsea/City interested in Olise: “No one knows at this moment. If there are clubs desperately/seriously preparing a bid and tempting him then he'll decide”, told Sky ????
“I can only wait and see what decision is he will make, he knows we want to keep him” pic.twitter.com/WQzx70bMgH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2023
When you slap a ‘not for sale’ notice on your players it then becomes very difficult, though not impossible, for other clubs to sign them.
A relative shrug of the shoulders is almost encouraging any interested parties to make their move.
In any event, at this stage, all Hodgson can hope for is that Olise sees his future in south London and that he can fulfil his objectives at Selhurst Park.