This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
There is simply no point in making a signing if the manager isn’t even going to give him game time.
Why would a club even do that? If the manager doesn’t want a player, he should certainly not have one forced upon him.
That isn’t to say that Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish and Sporting Director Dougie Freedman have intentionally done just that with Max Meyer and Victor Camarasa, although it definitely appears that way.
Since signing for the Eagles on a free transfer, Germany international Meyer has never been a favourite of Hodgson.
He played just 1,415 Premier League minutes out of a possible 3,420 last season, and has made just four league appearances this season – Hodgson didn’t even include the former Schalke man in his matchday squad last time out against Chelsea.
Another man who didn’t make that matchday squad was Camarasa, and a recent report has summoned even more questions marks over why the Spaniard was even brought to the club.
Hodgson has handed the midfielder just five Premier League minutes this season, and Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo report that the former Cardiff man’s loan agreement could potentially be broken so that Real Betis can sell the player, rather than watch his value steadily decrease in south London.
This just begs the question – why was Camarasa signed?
Also, why was Meyer signed?
Why were they both signed?!
Meyer has cost the Eagles £125k-a-week since his arrival last summer, all for a total of 1,587 Premier League minutes – this equates to £5,277 a minute, which is a huge waste of money for a player Hodgson doesn’t even put in his squad.
The bottom line is this: Parish and Freedman must consult Hodgson over potential signings before actually putting pen to paper on a deal. Otherwise, what’s the point?
The south Londoners may as well just pour both Camarasa and Meyer’s wages into the nearest landfill, for they would be getting the exact same on-pitch results with or without the pair who Hodgson clearly doesn’t want to use.
