Soccer - Another Hodgson Houdini act makes him season's unsung hero

Soccer Football - Premier League - Stoke City vs Crystal Palace - bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, Britain - May 5, 2018 Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson before the match REUTERS/Peter Powell

LONDON (Reuters) - If managerial awards were handed out for feats of escapology, Roy Hodgson would have few rivals.

The 70-year-old looked to have taken on mission impossible when, three matches into his Selhurst Park reign in October, Palace were rock bottom of the Premier League with seven defeats from seven games, having failed to score a goal.