This season saw another significant date notched into the history books at Palace. One that many will remember as one of the boldest, yet needed, decisions to have been made by the club.
As the Eagles head into an off season safe in the knowledge that they have secured a record sixth successive season in the Premier League with an 11th place finish, it is still relatively raw thinking how different things could have been.
The Premier League said goodbye to three established clubs this season who will ply their trade in the Championship for the 2018/19 season. That in itself is a stark warning to clubs like Palace of what might have been and what could be in future seasons.
That bold decision made in early September altered the course that many believed that the club were on with Dutchman Frank de Boar at the helm. While we will never know quite how things may have panned out had de Boer stayed in charged for the duration of the season, but the signs were not good.
A narrow loss at Burnley, a game that the Eagles should never have lost with the chances that came their way, signalled the end of the disappointing tenure in South London. The appointment of his replacement was perhaps not surprising but came with plenty of reservations.
Roy Hodgson arrived on the 12th September on putting pen to paper on a two year deal. His previous role was a England boss which ended after a desperately disappointing European Championships in 2016, losing to Iceland in the round of 16.
It was the latter that gave a number of fans plenty of pessimism about Hodgson being the right man for the job, just the fact that he had not managed in English club football since leaving West Bromwich Albion in 2012 to take charge of the national team.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Knowing what we know now, there really should have been no fear or trepidation. Fans of both Fulham and West Bromwich Albion told us so. Liverpool fans less so.
It took a while to see some change, some improvement in the results but more importantly, the way the team were playing. Consecutive losses to Southampton and both Manchester clubs put Palace on an infamous seven games without a goal with Chelsea up next.
That result at home to the defending Premier League champions was not particularly the catalyst but it was a major helping hand both in boosting the players confidence, and giving the fans some hope. No team could come back from such a terrible start to the season, could they?
Hodgson along with his right hand man took time to make changes both on the training ground and with appointing staff. There was no manager bounce which has been seen at other clubs but more importantly, there was no real panic. That was saved for the fans on social media, particularly during games which saw meltdown after meltdown.
That had a lot to do with fans caring what Palace do while those a little longer in the tooth had the experience of having more patience. The latter was exactly the tact Hodgson brought with him to the club. It was never any more than the up and coming game, that was the important thing. Not get carried away after a win, and not to get carried away after a loss. Of course, winning breeds confidence but there was always a feeling that Hodgson and his staff kept the players feet firmly on the ground throughout a season that was testing for the most part.
The run of results towards the end of 2017 leading into the New Year stood the side in very good stead and ultimately contributed to the clubs survival this season. The demeanour of the 70-year-old was always one of realism, yet a clear excitement and enjoyment that he was back among club football again.
A management career that has spanned several countries both at club and international level, Hodgson has accrued a wealth of experience since his first role at Swedish side Halmstad in 1976. It was at Malmo that he first achieved real success, a corner of the ground is named after him to this day, ‘Roy’s Horner’. His coaching style had a real influence on Swedish football and started to attract attention around Europe which set him on his road to an extremely interesting journey to Switzerland, Italy, Denmark and beyond.
He has clearly had to use his wealth of experience this season to turn the fortunes of the club around, even more so when describing the injury crisis as one of the ‘worst he has had to manage’. That in itself says everything.
With the additions of Steven Reid and Dean Kiely to the coaching staff to assist Lewington and Hodgson, there was plenty of experience on the training ground but there has to be a very special mention to the medical staff who have also worked wonders.
While plaudits were being heaped on Hodgson the longer the season went on, he was always quick to deflect such praise on to the players who in his mind were the ones doing the business on the pitch.
Surviving this season with time to spare is something that would have been exceptionally hard to imagine considering the position Palace found themselves in.
Fulham and Baggies fans were quite right, we would end up adoring Roy Hodgson come the end of the season. And we do, we really do after a very special achievement.
Not sure what he did in a former life to deserve the freedom of Croydon, but Roy has well and truly achieved legendary status at Palace in his short time with us.
Thank you Roy.
