Since Roy Hodgson's appointment on March 21st 2023, Crystal Palace have won four out of their last seven games, acrewing 13 of a possible 18 points. Before this Crystal Palace had gone 13 games without a win under previous manager Patrick Vieira, which eventually led to his dismissal.

But what has Roy Hodgson changed to get Crystal Palace firing again?

The overall structure of Crystal Palace has not been significantly altered with the new appointment. A 4-3-3 usually being deployed, however under Hodgson the personnel differences has meant that Palace can adopt a 4-2-3-1 in attacking areas and allow Eberichi Eze to play in the number 10 where he is most dangerous.

Under Vieira, especially towards the end of his tenure, Crystal Palace were playing with three central midfielders with more caution and protection defensively in mind. A midfield three of Jeffrey Schlupp,Cheick Doucoure and Luka Milivojevic/Albert Sambi Lokonga was Vieira's go-to midfield choices. This midfield three was chosen to add defensive solidity and create a duelist combination that can win challenges anywhere on the pitch. However this approach saw Palace only score 5 Premier League goals in 12 games.

When Hodgson joined he adopted the same 4-3-3 structure from the get-go. But this time he opted to start Eze in the midfield three, which allowed Palace to transition into a 4-2-3-1 at times with Doucoure and Schlupp covering behind Eze. This really unlocked Eze and his ability to create big chances for the team. Whilst Vieira also did this at times, towards the end of his tenure he strayed away from this which could've been due to the pressure of dropping points and conceding more goals. It is also key to note that since Hodgson's arrival Eze has played 90 minutes in all seven Premier League games, as Hodgson clearly sees him as a key asset to his side.

(Figure 1) (Premier league Youtube)

Figure 1 is an example of the numerical overload Crystal Palace can now create by having a more attacking minded midfielder in the three man midfield. His attacking instincts help Palace create numerical superiority on the counter attack by making breaking runs from midfield areas.

(Figure 2a) (Sofascore) (Figure 2b) (Sofascore)

Figures 2a and 2b show Eze's positioning under Vieira (2a) and then retrospectively Eze's positioning under Hodgson (2b). In figure 2a his positioning is very strained to that left hand side and this is restricting the impact Eze can have on the game. In figure 2b his positioning in that central 10 area allows him to roam around picking up the ball in different areas and affect the game. As you can see by his heat map in figure 2b, Eze is everywhere on the pitch getting involved, linking up play and eventually creating chances.

Under Vieira, Eze was averaging 2 attempted take-ons per 90 and 1 successful take-on per 90. However under Hodgson, Eze has averaged 5 attempted take-ons per 90 and 3.6 successful take-ons per 90 (average from 6 games under Hodgson). These numbers show the free license Eze has been given under Hodgson and that does not stop with him.

(Figure 3) (Premier League Youtube)

Figure 3 is an example of Eze being in areas where he can affect the game, in this particular possession, Eze started the play in midfield passing the ball out wide to Michael Olise, he then continued his run into the box between the Leeds centre-backs and ended up scoring.

Another player who has been given more license is Olise. Olise has played 90 minutes in all seven Premier League games under Roy Hodgson since his arrival, becoming a key factor for Crystal Palace and their success over recent weeks. Under Vieira, Olise was posting an average of 3.1 shot creating actions (SCA) per 90. However under Hodgson, Olise is posting an average of 6.1 shot creating actions (SCA) per 90.

(Figure 4) (BT Sport Youtube)

Figure 4 is an example of Olise being in areas to make attacking actions, and therefore create shot creating actions (hence the improvement in his SCA metric).

Hodgson's ability to let Crystal Palace's talented forwards "off the shackles" has seen their x/G rise from 0.6 x/G per 90 to 1.6 per 90, and this has shown with the amount of goals being scored since his arrival.

(Figure 5) (BT Sport Youtube)

Figure 5 shows how Eze moving into the 10 role, allows him to create triangles with the wingers and midfielders which can free up spaces with quick 1-2 touch passes and movements. This is an important factor within a team's attacking structure, especially when you have talented forwards who can receive and play with the ball in tight spaces (such as Eze, Olise and Wilfried Zaha etc).

Another vast improvement since the arrival of Hogdson is the possession numbers Palace are now posting. Under Vieira towards the end of his tenure, Palace were averaging 39% possession, however Hodgson Palace have averaged 53% possession. But it is important to note the styles and quality of teams played in these sample sizes as Palace were facing more ball dominant teams during Vieira's last games such as Arsenal, Brighton and Manchester City. (stats from Fbref).

Defensively things have stayed rather familiar, both with personnel and style. The main changes have come with Hodgson clearly giving the attacking players a boost of confidence and "unleashing" them in the attacking third.