Roy Hodgson issues rallying cry to ‘ultra-critical’ Crystal Palace fans

LONDON – Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has urged disgruntled fans not to turn their backs on the English Premier League side, who are in danger of slipping into a relegation dogfight after a poor run of results left them languishing in 15th place.

Palace fans have protested against the club’s owners, with the latest criticism coming after their 4-1 thrashing in February by bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 76-year-old Hodgson, who has managed England and Liverpool among several other clubs, said his team cannot lose the backing of their supporters when they host Chelsea in a London derby on Feb 12.

Fans “are the people we cannot afford to have turned against us because we need them”, said Hodgson, adding: “It’s been the toughest period of my career for one reason, and that is that the fans have turned so much against us.

“If we’re going to win the games and this team are going to do well, they’re not going to be able to do it if the fans are going to be constantly up in arms about everything that’s happening.”

To make matters worse for Palace, they will be without injured duo Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise when they take on 11th-placed Chelsea at Selhurst Park.

“We in particular need (supporters) now because we are in a very weakened situation, and we could do with their assistance and sympathy, because there will be players playing on Monday night who have not played that many games in the Palace first team,” Hodgson said.

“They’re going to need a sympathetic eye rather than the ultra-critical.”

Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino hopes Chelsea’s FA Cup win over Aston Villa can be a springboard for his troubled side to revive their ailing campaign. Pochettino’s men gave arguably their best performance this season to beat Villa 3-1 in the fourth-round replay on Feb 7. It was a shot in the arm for a side who were booed off by fans after the 4-2 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Feb 4.

Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion (S$1.7 billion) on transfers since Todd Boehly’s takeover in May 2022 but have little to show for their vast outlay.

“Before (Villa) we had some good performances, but we are not consistent enough. Maybe it could be the starting point for us, starting to be consistent and to show more often this type of performance,” Pochettino said on Feb 9.

“Always we believe (we can find) momentum and be consistent. Many things from the players and from the team (show we can be consistent).” REUTERS, AFP