The 44-year-old has an impressive track record in the game.
As the old saying goes, ‘When it rains, it pours,’ and it sure is pouring for Crystal Palace this season.
The Selhurst Park faithful have been put through the wringer of late, with a loss to Everton in the FA Cup, Premier League humblings from Arsenal and sworn rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, and now an injury crisis that sees the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi set to spend a significant amount of time on the sidelines.
With so many things going wrong at once, it’s not hard to understand why fans have been making their displeasure at the board and Steve Parish known in recent games, and while it isn’t all his fault, Roy Hodgson’s lack of results and tedious football has made his position at the club untenable.
So, with news that he’s not long for the hot seat, who’s set to replace him?
The Eagles search for a new gaffer
The fan protests seem to be working in south London, as a report from The Guardian has revealed that Parish ‘strongly contemplated sacking Hodgson’ in the aftermath of the club’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat away to Brighton over the weekend.
However, the report has also revealed that finding a suitable replacement willing to take over before the end of the season is proving to be complicated.
One of the names on the list is former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper, a man who helped guide the Tricky Trees to topflight status, was once tipped for the England job, but was ultimately let go when his team hit a bad vein of form.
So, would the 44-year-old be a good choice to succeed Hodgson?
How does Cooper compare to Hodgson?
Now, while Cooper might not necessarily be the most glamorous of managerial hires, and the way it ended at Forest will inevitably be held against him, his body of work is impressive, and there isn’t an apparent reason why he would fail at Selhurst Park.
His journey in coaching started at Liverpool, where he worked his way up to become manager of the U18s for the 2012/13 season before landing the job of England’s U16 manager for a year between October 2014 and June 2015. At that point, he became the manager of the U17’s for three years and took the team to World Cup glory in 2017.
A triumph as impressive as this understandably turned heads in the Football League, and two years later, he took over Swansea City before finally landing his most recent job in charge of The Garibaldi in September 2021.
So, with a career path like that, data analyst Ben Mattinson’s claim that he would be “the next England manager” makes a lot of sense.
However, for all his impressive experience, he can’t compete with the decades that Hodgson can call on, including spells as the Inter Milan boss and England manager.
That said, in terms of their most recent jobs, the junior coach comes out ahead, as in his 107 games with Forest, he won 42 games, drew 27, lost just 38 and collected 1.43 points per match.
| Steve Cooper vs Roy Hodgson | ||
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Cooper | Hodgson |
| Games | 107 | 37 |
| Wins | 42 | 12 |
| Draws | 27 | 10 |
| Losses | 38 | 15 |
| Points per Match | 1.43 | 1.24 |
| All Stats via Sofascore | ||
In comparison, Hodgson has taken charge of 37 games since returning to Palace last year, won just 12 of them, drawn ten, lost 15 and collected just 1.24 points per match.
Ultimately, though it may be harsh on a man who clearly cares about the future of Crystal Palace, it would be a smart idea from Parish and Co to give Cooper the job, as he has an impressive track record both with junior and senior sides.
