‘We want Hodgson out’ – Palace players argue with fans after Brighton thrashing

Assistant coach Paddy McCarthy had to pull Joachim Andersen and Dean Henderson away from the travelling fans

What now for beleaguered Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson? A thrashing in a derby. Fans calling for him to be sacked while his assistant had to pull players away from arguing with the away end.
It started with their star player Eberechi Eze being ruled out with a hamstring injury and ended with Joachim Andersen and Dean Henderson needing to be pulled away by assistant boss Paddy McCarthy for squabbling with disgruntled Palace fans.
In between they were overrun by a Brighton & Hove Albion side who were wholly unrecognisable from Tuesday’s grisly capitulation at Luton. Then there was Michael Olise’s eight-minute cameo after being forced off after being subbed on with injury while captain Marc Guehi also hobbled off after just 26 minutes.
Add becoming the first Palace side to concede four goals in the M23 derby for the first time since 1957 into the mix, it was an evening to forget for the 76-year-old.
“There’s no point complaining or lamenting,” said Hodgson . “But facts are facts: we came here with high hopes and good intentions, but we were beaten by a better team.”
That Palace were so feeble in this usually fiercely competitive derby, will hardly have helped Hodgson’s cause. His team were colander-like in defence, uncompetitive in midfield and toothless in attack. The scoreline flattered them, but Hodgson denied desire was a problem.
“Don’t hit me with cliches. Analyse what happened in the second half.  I’m certain that at 3-0 down at half-time, you would have expected us to trot out, be more outplayed and look at a heavy defeat. Instead we showed an enormous amount of spirit. What more do you want?”
Silent, brooding and alone in the technical area, Hodgson looked broken. The chants explained the Palace hierarchy’s options. “We want Hodgson out,” demanded the incandescent away support. “Roy Hodgson, we want you to stay,” chirped the Brighton fans.  At an age where his peers are watching afternoon reruns of Antiques Roadshow, he remains defiant.
“Wonderful wasn’t it?” said Hodgson sarcastically, when asked about the chants. “What sort of answer do you want? It’s not nice, but my years of management have given me the resilience to cope. I have the strength, resilience and determination to see things though. I’m not going to be cowed and give you the satisfaction of saying it hurts. But everyone wants to be liked, to be praised and to be told they’re the best, so, yes, it was a little bit hurtful.”
“I have a big big big respect for Roy,” said Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton manager. “He’s an example for me, but it’s tough if you’re against this Brighton. We had the poison today.”
In contrast, other than Jean-Philippe Mateta heading in Andersen’s cross, Brighton had a perfect afternoon. Three-nil down at half-time at Luton on Tuesday, they were three up here by the break, first when Pascal Gross lobbed in a corner and Dunk rose above concrete-booted Andersen to head home his first league goal since October.
With most of Brighton’s good work flowing through Billy Gilmour and Tariq Lamptey, starting only his third league games of the season, terrorising uncomfortable new signing Daniel Munoz down the left, Brighton were wholly dominant, while Palace lacked rhythm and lustre.
Two goals in a traumatic minute sealed Palace’s fate. First they struggled to clear a Lamptey cross until the ball was returned. Lamptey crossed deep. Snoozing soundly, Tyrick Mitchell failed to notice Jack Hinshelwood lurking behind him and the tyro headed beyond Henderson.
From the kick off, substitute and debutant Adam Wharton tamely surrendered possession. Gross majestically danced through some feeble challenges and laid the ball off for Facundo Buonanotte, who guided number three into the corner and the Palace fans shared their feeling with rathe more vigour than their team was showing.
For all the high jinks, Brighton began to coast and Mateta’s goal gave Palace a smidgen of hope. Indeed, Brighton roused themselves to inflict further humiliation when Joao Pedro’s delicious one-two with Danny Welbeck ended with the Brazilian curling number four around Henderson.
With Guehi, Eze, Olise and last year’s player of the season Cheick Doucoure, out for indeterminate lengths of time, Hodgson’s Sisyphean task will get harder before it gets easier.
“You don’t have to be a football expert to know it’s going to be a difficult period without those four players, but football throws these things at you. You can’t determine how fans think, but one can only hope they stay with us and help us out.”