Simon Jordan has reservations about Crystal Palace hiring Steve Cooper just days after the out-of-work manager was sacked by Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest.
Speaking to talkSPORT (22 December, 10am) following yet another underwhelming Crystal Palace performance at Selhurst Park, the former Eagles chairman was asked about the prospect of Roy Hodgson making way for a man who has been on the club’s radar since guiding Swansea City to Wembley back in 2021.
Steve Cooper lost his job at his beloved Nottingham Forest earlier this week, replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo at the City Ground.
Crystal Palace like Steve Cooper
But, with the pressure rising on Hodgson after a run of one win in 11 top-flight games, should Crystal Palace strike while the iron is hot and bring in Cooper right now before he is offered another job elsewhere?
Simon Jordan certainly has his doubts, feeling that Cooper would be better off taking some time out of the game and reflecting on why his spell at Nottingham Forest unravelled so spectacularly.
“Cooper is not the fit for Palace now,” Jordan explains. “He needs to recuperate because, ultimately.”
Jordan draws comparisons between the current situation and the one Palace found themselves in seven years ago. The Eagles hired Sam Allardyce after a poor start to the season in December 2016 and, while they did eventually stave off the threat of relegation, there was to be no ‘new manager bounce’ at Selhurst Park.
Allardyce, fresh of that haunting departure from the England national team, suffered six defeats in his first eight games in the dugout.
Sacked by Nottingham Forest
“I remember when Allardyce came,” Jordan adds. “He took a while to get his head in the game because he was still debilitated by the England experience.
“(Steve Cooper) lived and breathed that football club (Nottingham Forest). And I think he was a little bit flaky at the end.
“Of course you (stick with Hodgson until the end of the season). Unless there is a really, really big reason not to, like we are going to get relegated.”
Palace drew 1-1 with rivals Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday, a result which belies a second-half almost totally dominated by Roberto de Zerbi’s visitors.
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