Steve Cooper and Julen Lopetegui have been mentioned after Roy Hodgson endured another defeat at Crystal Palace.
It was the Guardian who name dropped the 44-year-old and the Spaniard.
So, what has been said about Steve Cooper and Julen Lopetegui as Roy Hodgson faces the sack at Crystal Palace? Let’s take a look…
Cooper and Lopetegui most likely options for Crystal Palace
Well – according to the Guardian – the Welshman or the Spaniard would find themselves in pole position to replace the Englishman at Selhurst Park.
Saturday’s 5-0 defeat to Arsenal means Crystal Palace have now won just a single game across the last 12 fixtures, with the last 16 outings producing only two wins.
That is relegation form – to say the least – and those in the boardroom at Selhurst Park are now considering a change.
Interestingly, the Guardian add that Graham Potter was actually sounded out about replacing Hodgson back in the summer – along with Cooper.
However, despite being spotted at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, the old Brighton boss is not as likely to replace the 76-year-old as Lopetegui or Cooper are.
Cooper should be the man to replace Hodgson
In our view, Steve Parish should hire Cooper over Lopetegui.
The 57-year-old, who has nine Premier League wins to his name, eventually left Wolves due to problems with the board at Molineux.
Therefore – with issues in the boardroom at Selhurst Park too – Crystal Palace would be taking a major gamble in hiring Lopetegui, who is clearly not afraid to resign in the event of him becoming unsatisfied.
In regards to Cooper, the man who only recently left Nottingham Forest has proven himself as more of a firefighter – something we need in this current situation.
The Pontypridd-born tactician took over at the City Ground when all hope appeared lost, but ended up taking Forest from bottom of the Championship to Play-Off glory in the same season back in 2021/22.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Hodgson could soon receive his P45 in SE25.
