Roy Hodgson comes out of retirement at 78 to take charge of English club he managed over 43 YEARS ago in shock move
Former England boss Roy Hodgson, 78, has come out of retirement to join Bristol City as interim head coach until the end of the season.
The announcement of Hodgson’s appointment comes at the same time that the club has announced the sacking of Gerhard Struber, who has overseen a disappointing run of results this season.
City are currently 16th in the Championship and are without a win in five games. They fell to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against West Brom last Saturday, and the team was booed three times during the game. City were also recently dumped out of the FA Cup by League One’s bottom side, Port Vale.
Hodgson has been out of management since February 2024, after a second spell in charge of Crystal Palace, and will be in charge for the final seven games of the season.
His first game in charge will be against 18th-placed Charlton at the Valley Ground on Friday, before they host Sheffield United – who sit just a place below them – the following Monday.
Struber took over at Ashton Gate in June following Liam Manning, who had taken the club into the play-offs, departed to take charge of Norwich City.
The former England boss will meet the senior team on Monday, after the international break, before they travel to Charlton on Good Friday for his first game in charge
Bristol City was just the second destination of Hodgson’s well-travelled managerial career – when he was appointed head coach for just four months in 1982
He had recently been critical of the gap between the club’s academy and first team being ‘too big’, as well as voicing his frustrations over the January sales of nine-goal Anis Mehmeti to Ipswich and defender Zak Vyner to Wrexham, strengthening two promotion rivals. Struber’s assistant Bernd Eibler has also departed.
Hodgson said: ‘I have had great conversations with the Board, and I am really excited by the opportunity to help until the end of the season. We will get straight to work and look for a positive performance on Good Friday.’
City were just the second destination of Hodgson’s well-travelled managerial career, in which he also held the post of England head coach between 2012 and 2016.
He moved to the West Country from Swedish side Halmstad in 1980, joining Bob Houghton as his assistant manager from 1980 to 1982 before being appointed head coach in 1982.
But the club’s financial struggles ultimately meant his time in charge was short-lived, and he was dismissed after four months.
‘Bristol City was nothing short of a disaster in that we had only been there for a matter of weeks before the banks started to pull the rug from underneath the club,’ he told the BBC in 2012.
‘My job, when I eventually took over as caretaker manager, was quite simply to carry on in the aftermath of all the players leaving the club and just fulfilling the fixtures.’
Hodgson will meet the senior team and staff on Monday, when they return from the international break.
Hodgson was in charge of England between 2012-16, stepping down after his side suffered a shock defeat by Iceland to crash out of Euro 2016 at the last-16 stage
City are currently 16th in the Championship and fell to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against West Brom last Saturday, where the team were booed three times after a five-game winless run
City CEO Charlie Boss said: ‘Roy’s appointment is about more than the results of the next seven games. Over the remainder of the season, he will help us set the standards and values at the club that we will need to be successful going forwards.
‘Roy is a vastly experienced coach who has achieved and won at the highest level. He will support me, our players, and our football staff as we build towards achieving our potential.
‘We are in the process of appointing a Sporting Director who will have a direct input into the recruitment of a new permanent Head Coach.’
Hodgson was the Premier League’s oldest manager when Palace announced his departure in February 2024.
His position had been uncertain amid a poor run of results, and he then suffered a frightening health scare during training and required medical attention. He was immediately replaced by Austrian Oliver Glasner.
Alongside Hodgson’s appointment, Brian Tinnion has been relieved of his first team responsibilities and will ‘now focus on the Academy Pathway ahead of the new Sporting Director conducting a full review of the club’s football operations.
Boss added: ‘Brian’s expertise is in player development and we feel he is best suited to working with our young players. Developing the talent in our Academy and ensuring there is a clear pathway to the first team is central to our plans.’
