Former England boss Roy Hodgson makes shock return to management with Bristol City
Former England manager Roy Hodgson has made a sensational return to football management at the age of 78 after being appointed interim head coach of Bristol City.
Hodgson, who turns 79 in August, replaces Gerhard Struber at Ashton Gate following the Austrian’s dismissal on Friday morning. The veteran coach has been out of the dugout since February 2024, when he stepped down from his second spell at Crystal Palace. He now returns to the club where he held his first senior coaching role in English football back in 1982.
I have had great conversations with the board and I am really excited by the opportunity to help until the end of the season,” said Hodgson. “We will get straight to work and look for a positive performance on Good Friday.”
The appointment marks a full circle for Hodgson. His storied 50-year career, which has spanned 17 clubs and four national teams, included a brief and difficult stint at Bristol City over four decades ago.
He now inherits a Robins side sitting 16th in the Championship, 12 points clear of the relegation zone but struggling for form. The club is currently on a six-match winless run and was recently dumped out of the FA Cup by League One’s bottom side, Port Vale.
Setting the standards
The decision to bring in Hodgson is part of a wider shake-up at the club. Alongside Struber’s exit, assistant Bernd Eibler has departed, and technical director Brian Tinnion has been relieved of first-team duties to focus on the academy.
City CEO Charlie Boss stated that Hodgson’s arrival is about more than just the final seven games of the campaign.
Roy’s appointment is about more than the results,” Boss said. “He will help us set the standards and values at the club that we will need to be successful going forward.
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.”
Analysis: Why Roy?
At 78, Hodgson is the oldest manager to ever work in the top two tiers of English football. To some, this might look like a step back in time, but for Bristol City, it is a move for “safe hands.”
The club’s hierarchy is currently in a state of flux. By bringing in a man with Hodgson’s gravitas, they buy themselves time to find the right sporting director and a permanent successor for the 2026/27 season without the fear of sleepwalking into a late-season relegation scrap.
For Hodgson, it’s one last challenge. He has never been able to stay away from the grass for long, and the chance to “help out” a club where he started his English journey was clearly too tempting to turn down.
