“I've been as shocked as everybody within the game of football. [I’ve been] disappointed to see what Steve Parish and Gary Neville have described as some sort of ‘coup.’
“I’m 100% behind everything that’s gone on and been done. I take my hat off, really, to the people who have really gone out onto the front line… lots of people have come out and said a lot of very intelligent things.”
The Eagles manager was full of praise not just for Chairman Parish and the likes of Neville, but also for the fans and how they’ve approached the situation.
“They [the fans] have shown their strength… I think it’s great for me to see that really it’s still the fans that we’re playing for, it’s still the fans that matter the most and it’s still the fans who can bring about such a radical change in the situation which looked as if it was going to be a very difficult one to change.”
Though full of praise, Hodgson offered a sense of optimism and vigilance to move beyond and learn from the entire situation.
“My major hope is it will lead to some sort of reform, people looking into how football is run, not just on a National League level but also on a European level… if there are things to be sorted out I hope this will be the catalyst.”
Having managed two of the 12 teams involved in the European Super League proposals, the manager reiterated the need to see beyond the very top and look towards the fans.
“The fans have been a pretty important part in making sure it’s not just Champions League football, it’s not just Premier League football, it’s about what football means to us, what our club means to us, how we want to feel about our club. I think that’s very very important.
“The fact that people said this is totally against what we want, this is totally against what we believe. [Organisers] have to ask what is important? What do our fans want?
“We’re playing for the fans, they’re the ones buying the tickets, the rights to the broadcast, what do they want? What’s their idea of a fair and credible way of doing things?”