The assumptions by some that we have only beaten the struggling teams is wrong. We have gained more points from teams above us in the table than those below. Just saying.

Conjunctivitis.com - A site for sore eyes.

I agree with you on this Gary re the timing of his departure but anc it’s a big one if this is also shared by the board have they got a planning processor fir his successor underway?

Bring back Brolin

Overall I think Roy has done an absolutely outstanding job for us and in part I believe a lot of that can be attributed to his genuine love for the club.

We all have different opinions on players and whether they should start and where they should be deployed, however what none of us really know are all the factors at play in the background.

We have no idea if with loan players Roy is sometimes told 'don't play him it triggers an option' or 'do play him we have agreed he will get X starts'. We don't know if Roy has been told to play Wilf in a certain position to keep him happy. We don't know how much say Roy gets in terms of signings.

Managers don't run football clubs and while I believe Steve cares about the club I don't think the other shareholders do care at all other than keeping some value in their investment.

Whilst we continue to have a lack of investment we will not attract a high calibre replacement for Roy.
All that said I think this is one of the best spells we have had in many years. I have supported Palace for over 50 years and yes I get frustrated by our tactics sometimes, by what i feel are the wrong substitutions, the lack of signings and I also realise that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Sometimes you just have to accept the limitations and try to enjoy the rollercoaster ride.

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.

Personally I'm probably going to swerve this thread for a bit, as the argument has become not only circular and tedious, but also poorly conducted.

When something as simple as the club's net spend in Hodgsons time (actually about £10m as Willo points out) is incorrectly inflated to include major, failed signings before he arrived, the alarm bells should ring, and that's before you even get to the stuff that would invite a defamation claim if published in the mainstream.

The major issue though is the misrepresenting of others arguments. I for one have had my fill of cutting, slightly s***ty responses to points that I simply haven't made.

I am under no 'delusion' that Hodgson 'can do no wrong'. I've stated several times that I consider him to play anti-football, and that I am perfectly content for him to be replaced by someone who will do the job better.

At the same time, I recognise that Pulis, Allardyce, Houghton, Dyche and even Benitez have used anti football to keep clubs our size or bigger in the league. I have provided several examples of teams our size getting relegated playing more positively, often spending more than we have. I've asked people to nominate possible replacements for Roy, but not found any of the replies convincing for reasons I've explained in return. I've compared our results under Hodgson to our spend and concluded that, for his faults, replacing him would be a gamble in which the odds are unfavourable.

All of which can apparently be distilled down to me and others being some kind of 'pro-Roy' cheerleaders.

It's harmful to a forum like this, and certainly doesn't constitute 'healthy debate'.

When? Not this season! We have 13 pts against the 12 teams above us (in 13 games) but 16 against the 7 teams below us (in 9 games).

First time in years I’m sitting here relaxed and bored. We are safe with 16 games to go. Got Roy to thank. Like many here I find him a bit frustrating but let’s be straight he knows his trade and is still very good at it.