Former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has delivered his verdict on the appointment of Roy Hodgson.
Former England boss Hodgson is back at his hometown club where he started his career as an academy player.
It follows the sacking of Dutch legend Frank de Boer after just four games – a new record – a decision which has invited criticism from across football.
De Boer paid the price for overseeing a dreadful start which also saw the South Londoners record another unwelcome statistic of being the first club to failed to score in the first four matches since 1925.
Some supporters have been somewhat underwhelmed by the 70-year-old’s appointment, which makes him the oldest manager to land a Premier League job.
But Pardew told Sky Sports’ The Debate that Hodgson will bring vital organisation to the struggling club.
“He knows the history and the DNA of Crystal Palace,” Pardew told The Debate.
“What he will bring is a regimented structure to the group, that something he has done at all his clubs and from his Italian background his teams will be solid and very difficult to beat and of course with where they sit at the moment that could be very useful.
“I think he’s a young 70 and he’s still got plenty of energy and enthusiasm and has a great assistant in Ray Lewington, who I wanted to employ at one time.”
And Hodgson will need every ounce of that energy if the fixture list is anything to go by.
The Eagles will be hoping to get their first points of the season when they face Southampton next given that they then face Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea in consecutive games.
The ‘Italian background’ Pardew refers to is a nod to Hodgson’s two spells in charge of Inter Milan and his time Udinese.
A look at his career shows he rarely stays at a club beyond a year or two so it might not be too long until it is all change again at Palace.
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