Oliver Glasner has already told Crystal Palace supporters what to expect amid manager news

Crystal Palace were reported to be 'in talks' with former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner even before today's news that Roy Hodgson had collapsed at training. The veteran boss was 'rushed to hospital' but the club has now confirmed that the 76-year-old is 'stable' and 'undergoing tests' in hospital.

It is expected that Hodgson will not travel with the team to Everton on Monday night with assistants Paddy McCarthy and Ray Lewington poised to step in as he recovers. The former England boss has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following a poor run of form that has seen the club muster just four wings in 18 Premier League outings.

The situation hasn't been helped by an awful period of injuries with key stars Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi all needing treatment and missing matches. Hodgson had been due to leave the club upon his contract's expiry this summer but it is now thought that the club will part ways with the manager sooner as the situation becomes more and more difficult to maintain.

A number of names had been linked with the Crystal Palace job, from Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and former Nottingham Forest man Steve Cooper to Premier League legends in Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez. However, it appears that the South London club have found their man in Glasner.

The 49-year-old has been out of work since leaving Frankfurt at the end of last season after two years. Following a tricky start, Glasner led the club to win the Europa League final against Rangers in 2022 and secured a place in the Champions League.

Frankfurt went on to qualify from the Group Stage in the Champions League last season but were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Napoli. Glasner's side placed seventh in the Bundesliga, qualifying for the Europa Conference League, and reached the final of the DFB-Polka.

Crystal Palace supporters will no doubt feel hope that the Austrian can oversee a successful new era at Selhurst Park with a lack of long-term plan in leadership recently. Glasner's appointment, and Hodgson's departure, have not been confirmed by the club but supporters perhaps already know what to expect from the odds-on favourite.

Glasner began his managerial career at his former club SV Reid before moving to LASK in 2015 and then VfL Wolfsburg in 2019. While at the Wolves, Glasner cultivated a side that switched between a back three and back four while getting the best out of striker Wout Weghorst, who bagged 45 times in 84 matches under the manager.

At the time, Glasner explained his philosophy to sports writer Isabella Müller-Reinhardt. He said: “The most important thing is to be authentic. Players have fine antennae and would immediately be able to sense if I was trying to portray myself as something I’m not. It means the players know they can trust me. I also reciprocate that trust with the players and don’t want to control everything. That’s new and unusual for a lot of people in the team."

Glasner is known for giving his players plenty of trust and freedom. There are stories of how in hotels before matches, the manager wouldn't send wake-up calls around the squad and would trust stars to manage their own diaries. He would also ensure his phone was switched off and he was uncontactable by his squad between 10 pm and 8 am as, "what problem needs to be fixed at 10 pm that can't wait until the next morning?"

Despite his relaxed style, Glasner is still a stickler for organisation, as unveiled by former Frankfurt boss Niko Kovac. Speaking before the Europa League final in 2022, he said: “He’s very structured, very well organised, meticulous, observes the opposition very closely and prepares the team very well for them. He doesn’t just let Eintracht run their boots off. He adjusts tactics, tries to simulate the opponent during the week in training. Oliver has transferred his ideas of football well to his team because he works methodically because there’s no chopping and changing.”

At Frankfurt, Glasner most often deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation in a squad that would play out from the back with two central midfielders sitting deeper. It has been compared to the system used at Chelsea when Reece James and Ben Chilwell are both fully fit.

The formation would also see regular positional changes from forward players, which could benefit the versatile Eze and Olise. Glasner's side's pressing has been described as 'not always high or intense, but always intelligent'.

Glasner will, of course, first have to get Crystal Palace picking up points before trying to usher in a new era of football at Selhurst Park. The club sits 15th in the Premier League and are just five points above the relegation zone.

The manager has experience of stopping a run of poor results, with Frankfurt winless in his first eight games at the club. Glasner said: "The easiest way to deal with setbacks is to do something different. We pulled together, rolled up our sleeves and looked forward."