Next Crystal Palace manager betting: Lampard in the frame, but Hodgson still leads way
Published:
Next Crystal Palace manager betting: McCarthy second favourite
Relegation-haunted Crystal Palace are in search of a new manager after Patrick Vieira was sacked following a run of 12 matches in all competitions without a victory.
Palace have spent nine straight weeks in 12th place in the Premier League despite that poor run of form, but clubs further down the table have gained ground and left the Eagles just three points clear of the drop zone.
Here. we look at the contenders to replace the former Arsenal midfielder and their next Crystal Palace manager odds.
Roy Hodgson
Former England boss Roy Hodgson spent four seasons in charge of Palace before retiring at the end of the 2020-21 season. Vieira’s predecessor did not stay away from football for long, and in January 2022 took the reins at Watford.
Hodgson once again insisted he was finished with the Premier League following that spell, but the 75-year-old might be coaxed into the idea of serving as a temporary solution to see the Eagles through the relegation battle before a more permanent appointment is made this summer.
Paddy McCarthy
Under-21s manager Paddy McCarthy sat in the manager’s chair for Palace’s 4-1 defeat at Vieira’s former club Arsenal on Sunday.
Paddy McCarthy led first-team training this morning, and will manage the side against Arsenal on Sunday.#CPFC
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) March 17, 2023
The former Eagles captain has guided the under-21s to fourth place in Premier League 2 Division 1 and will be a welcome familiar face – potentially even to see out the season – while the club, unlikely to want to make a rash decision, determine their next steps.
Frank Lampard
The former Derby and Chelsea boss kept Everton in the Premier League last season, taking charge when the club were 16th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone.
The Toffeee lost 10 of their remaining 18 games, but secured safety with a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace.
However, he was sacked in January following a poor run of no wins in 10 matches in all competitions which left them second from bottom in the table.
Nuno Espirito Santo
Currently plying his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, Espirito Santo, 49, knows the Premier League well after his spells at Wolves and Tottenham.
He led the Molineux club back into the top flight as Football League champions and secured back-to-back seventh-place finishes before a testing five months at the helm in north London was ended prematurely.
Adi Hutter
Won titles in Austria and Switzerland with RB Salzburg and Young Boys respectively, but was most recently at Borussia Monchengladbach where he spent the whole of last season.
Hutter oversaw just 12 wins in 34 matches during his one-year spell which saw the club finish 10th in the table and he left by mutual consent in May 2022.
Probably not the man for a relegation battle in an unfamiliar league.
Marcelo Bielsa
The much-travelled Bielsa has never spent longer in a club managerial role than his spell at Leeds which ended just over a year ago with the club in danger of going down.
Bielsa took Leeds into the Premier League where they remain, but his reliance on small squads and energetic high-pressing tactics may not be the right fit for the Palace board with 10 games remaining.
Could be considered on a permanent basis for next season, though, with a clean slate.
Lucien Favre
Lucien Favre’s second spell at Nice came to an abrupt end in January after less than seven months.
Still, his two years at the helm of Borussia Dortmund, an outfit known for nurturing young talents like Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham, could also appeal to decision makers at Palace, a club increasingly relying on youthful talent like 21-year-old Michael Olise, 24-year-old Eberechi Eze and 19-year-old goalkeeper Joe Whitworth.
Favre was the first coach in BVB history to go unbeaten in his first 15 league games in charge – he would have just 11 to turn things around at Palace.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is among the favourites on a number of bookmakers’ lists to replace Vieira.
Though the Austrian was sacked following an abysmal start to Southampton’s campaign this term, he is no stranger to a relegation battle, having guided Saints out of danger following his December 2018 appointment before he ensured their survival in every subsequent season.
He also has a background in nurturing young talent, something that could become even more important if 30-year-old talisman Wilfried Zaha signs elsewhere this summer.
Michael Carrick
Carrick’s stock has risen after transforming Middlesbrough into Championship promotion contenders.
Boro were 21st in the table and only above the relegation zone on goal difference when he replaced Chris Wilder, but 15 wins in 21 matches have seen them rise to third spot, just six points behind second-placed Sheffield United.
Will Still
Still became the youngest manager across Europe’s top five leagues in October when he was appointed head coach at French club Reims, aged just 30.
Although he was born in Belgium, both his parents are English, but his rise to the top has been nothing short of remarkable and started with a Football Manager obsession.
I’ve only known about 30-year-old Reims boss Will Still for 24 hours and I’m already obsessed with his career arc.
The man doesn’t just speak fluent English and French, he does it with a native accent on both fronts. pic.twitter.com/TmCFOr3gl3
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) January 31, 2023
A video analyst with little known Belgian clubs in his twenties, he became assistant at Lierse until they went bankrupt five years ago, but had a brief spell in charge of Beerschot in the first division in 2021, although the club ended his spell by appointing the more experienced Peter Maes.
His big break came when he was appointed assistant to Oscar Garcia at Reims for a second time after a spell in a similar capacity with Standard Liege. When Garcia was sacked in October, Still took the reins of the Ligue 1 club, who are eighth in the table.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
