How Roy Hodgson helped steer Crystal Palace away from relegation danger – tactical analysis

When Patrick Vieira was dismissed as manager in March, Crystal Palace found themselves just three points clear of the relegation zone after 27 matches of the Premier League season. A 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium followed, overseen by then Under-21s head coach Paddy McCarthy. Roy Hodgson was then re-appointed as manager until the end of the season.

Fast forward six matches and Hodgson helped Palace pick up a further 13 points, scoring 13 goals and conceding seven in the process. This moved them onto 40 points for the season. A defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur came before a home victory over Bournemouth and an away draw to Fulham, guaranteeing another season of Premier League football at Selhurst Park.

In fact, Palace only picked up 14 points in the 17 matches before Hodgson’s arrival. The turnaround has been remarkable, but how exactly has Hodgson helped to achieve this?

This tactical analysis piece will aim to answer that question by looking at the tactics that Hodgson has implemented as well as an analysis of how these tactics have worked.

Formation and preferred line-up

Hodgson tends to set Palace up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Sam Johnstone has played the last eight matches in goal. He is usually behind a back four of Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guéhi, and Tyrick Mitchell. Midfielders Cheick Doucouré and Jeffrey Schlupp have partnered each other in the middle of the pitch in six of Hodgsons nine matches in charge.

Further forwards, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze have started all of Hodgsons matches, with Olise operating on the right side and Eze playing as the attacking midfielder. Wilfried Zaha usually plays on the left side, with either Jordan Ayew or Odsonne Édouard being used as the lone striker. When Zaha isnt selected, Ayew normally takes his place on the left with Édouard continuing up front.

Palaces attack

Before we go any further, we have to mention the sample size. Hodgson has only taken charge of nine matches since his return. Its therefore too early to suggest that all of Palace’s problems have been solved after a good run of results.

Palace have also had a favourable run of fixtures, playing the likes of Leicester City, Leeds United, Southampton, and Everton recently. However, this is the only data we have at this point, and we’re still able to gain some interesting insights when we look into the numbers a bit further.

Before Hodgsons arrival,