James McArthur
Luka Milivojevic believes Crystal Palace are back to their best having battled through a horrendous run of injuries over the past few months. Palace manager Roy Hodgson saw his options reduced severely over December and January, with up to 11 senior players unavailable at one point, while Milivojevic himself has been missing through illness in recent weeks
Luka Milivojevic said “[It is an] amazing achievement, Through the season, if you see in the most difficult period of the year in December and January and we played for a month and a half with only 11, 12 [senior] players.We had a lot of injuries, we survived during that period. Not winning many games but not losing a lot games. We drew a lot of games. After that, we had some players back. I think we are back, we are all happy and the atmosphere is great. I am very happy to be back on the field. I was ill for the last few weeks. Lost many kilos, it wasn’t easy for me. But the most important thing is that I am now fit and healthy and I can help my team.”
The Eagles had to wait until late February for their first win of 2020 but have now won three on the bounce without conceding a goal since their defeat at Everton on February 8.
James McArthur spoke effusively of the togetherness of the Crystal Palace squad, in a revealing interview about the group. The Scot midfielder is an integral part of Roy Hodgson’s squad and has become part of the furniture in south London, having clocked up 198 appearances in red and blue since 2014.
James McArthur said “Since I’ve come here, it’s been the best dressing room I’ve ever been involved in. The banter is very good, the togetherness is excellent. If you need to dig someone out you can. All those things are important to have a good changing room. When you’ve got a good changing room, it leads to good things on the park. I think that stats are good. I also think that when you don’t win games, stats become very important to other people. But to us, we try to score one more than our opponent – if it means we win 1-0, great, if it’s 2-1, excellent. We’re not obsessed with changing the way we have to play to try to score a lot more goals that can [also] make you lose a lot more games.Every teams wants to score goals – there’s no team that will say they want to score less goals and become more solid and rigid. But we attack, we create opportunities – maybe we should finish off more chances. But we’re having a good season, and long may it continue – and we’ll keep doing the right things.”
Despite the limited budget and injuries to first-team Palace have virtually sealed their premier league future next season and are 11th in the table with 39 points at the moment. They are currently closer to a Europa League spot then the relegation spots and that is a huge achievement for a side with such limited resources.
Crystal Palace Football Club have confirmed that manager Roy Hodgson has signed a one-year contract extension, which will see him remain at Selhurst Park until the end of the 2020/21 campaign. Croydon-born Hodgson, 72, took charge of his local club in September 2017 and has led the club to respectable 11th and 12th placed finishes in the last two seasons – the club’s fifth and sixth consecutive campaigns in the top-flight respectively.
Roy Hodgson said “I am delighted that the club and I have reached agreement to extend my contract. I am proud of what we have achieved since I was appointed two and a half years ago, and I look forward to us working together for the foreseeable future. Everyone knows how I feel about the club that I supported as a boy, I feel a special bond with the supporters and know that myself, the owners and the players are all working together to achieve the same goal.”
Chairman Steve Parish said “I’m delighted that Roy has agreed to extend his contract with the club, and has reinforced his commitment to help us extend this period of unprecedented stability in the top flight. As I’ve said on many occasions, it is extra special that Roy has a long connection with the club and local community. He has established excellent relationships with everyone at the club, and crucially, the players trust and respect him.”
Hodgson has taken charge of the Eagles on 113 occasions winning 41 matches from them. If he stays on for the duration of his contract at the club, he is most likely going to overtake club legend Jack Tresadern as the manager with the third-highest matches in charge of the club.
Crystal Palace has confirmed that Cenk Tosun has returned to Everton and will undergo surgery next week after sustaining an injury to his knee during training earlier this week.
Crystal Palace said “Tosun completed a temporary move to Selhurst Park two months ago. The 28-year-old played five times for Roy Hodgson’s team but his time in south London has been cut short. The player will continue his rehabilitation under the care of Everton’s medical staff following the surgical procedure. Everyone at Crystal Palace wishes Cenk the best with his recovery.”
AThe Turkish international only played five times for club scoring one goal.
