Roy Hodgson has just signed a new contract which will extend his stay at Crystal Palace for yet another season as the oldest Premier League manager in history continues to extend his record.
It did appear that the Croydon-born manager and lifelong fan was facing the predicament of taking the club he supported down when they endured a run of one win in 11 Premier League matches between December 7th and February 8th. During that wretched run, the Eagles dropped like a stone down the Premier League table from seventh place to 14th.
However, the top-flight’s elder statesman used his wealth of experience to make a subtle tweak to his side, which has seen Crystal Palace win their last three games on the trot 1-0. After the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Everton, Hodgson decided he had seen enough from Luca Milivojevic and replaced the Serbian central midfielder with Cheikhou Kouyate, and the decision paid immediate dividends. The Eagles may have won their resulting three matches by a binary 1-0 margin, but those three results had enormous implications on the Palace’s season, as they now have 39 points and their safety in the top-flight is all but assured.
Kouyate completes roughly the same number of tackles, two, as his Serbian teammate, 2.1, along with fewer interceptions, 1.1 to 1.6, but his selection has been important because the Senegalese midfielder allows others to dribble past him on just 0.6 occasions as opposed to 1.6, as per WhoScored. Preventing the opposition from bypassing the Crystal Palace midfield has helped Hodgson’s side to become more resolute, and they are now a real challenge to be broken down.
The proof is in the pudding with Vicente Guaita having kept three successive clean sheets, something he was unable to manage for ten consecutive matches during the Eagles’ downturn in form. This season Crystal Palace have a better defensive record than Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as Hodgson’s side have conceded a meagre 32 goals in 29 top-flight matches.
The subtle switch to bring Kouyate back into the fold may not have seemed like much, but it has restored Crystal Palace’s defensive stability. That stable footing has been the platform for Hodgson’s success and is the reason he will be on the Selhurst Park touchline for yet another term in the Premier League.
