Very valid points, but it would be preferable if we had 11 players running around with energy rather than tired. It's the tired players who lose concentration and make mistakes, as we've seen with Eze recently.

Only part of the facts as you haven't explained why the early subs took place, so here we go:

1. The 67th min sub against Everton saw Olise brought on for his long-awaited first game of the season after his June injury. Had he been fully match fit, he would have started the game.

2. The 2 early 2nd half subs in the Luton game arose out of injuries to Eze and Doucoure - nothing tactical about those 2 subs.

3. The 29th min sub against Bournemouth was another injury related necessity (Mitchell).

4. The HT sub against Liverpool was yet another injury forced one (Edouard).

5. The 34th min sub at the Etihad was another injury forced one (Ward)

6. The 59th min sub against Brighton (Hughes) was the only earliish tactical one as I recall as Hughes was in danger of getting a 2nd yellow.

Take those out of the equation and the complaint about Hodgson leaving his subs till too late has merit. Interestingly, in his post-match presser yesterday, Hodgson said how often Palace struggle to hold on to leads in the last part of games. Hasn't he cottoned on to the fact that players getting tired in the final 20 minutes tend to make mistakes (Eze v Chelsea). Brentford got a second wind with their 5 subs on (think fresh legs for half the outfield positions) and had they taken the chances they should have done, we would have only drawn that game. During that spell when they pegged us back it was crystal clear that we needed fresh legs BUT Hodgson refused to budge until the 86th minute.

Until Hodgson starts to make earlier subs and tactical ones to counter the opposition manager's, we will continue to concede goals in the last 10-15 minutes of matches IMO.

Finally, as someone who sits in the Glaziers section of the main stand, I'm fed up of seeing the opposition players scoring those late goals to win or draw matches.

Edited by doombear (31 Dec 2023 11.22am)

Edited by doombear (31 Dec 2023 11.23am)

What is his fitness status? I haven't heard anything.

Roy just doesn't make early subs unless there is an injury. The fact is that yesterday he had Schlupp and Hughes who we know he trusts, so it was nothing to do with quality or Roy not trusting the subs. Franca hasn't let anyone down or looked out of place in his cameos but once again he comes on so late it must be a bit demoralising for him. We won so it doesn't matter now, but in-game management has been a concern all season.