Hodgson, 78, takes over at Bristol City as Struber sacked

Roy Hodgson has been out of football since leaving Crystal Palace in February 2024 [Getty Images] Former England manager Roy Hodgson has been put in caretaker charge of Bristol City at the age of 78 after head coach Gerhard Struber was sacked. Hodgson returns to the club he managed in 1982 having been out of the game since leaving Crystal Palace in 2024. Struber has been sacked after a run of one win in nine games in all competitions which has seen the Robins slip to 16th in the Championship.

The club had been a point off the play-off places after a 3-2 win at Hull City on 7 February, but are now 12 points adrift of the top six. Long-standing centre-back Zak Vyner and top scorer Anis Mehmeti were sold in January to Wrexham and Ipswich, respectively, while Struber also lost three first-choice defenders to injury in Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson and George Tanner. "The club's recent performances have not met expectations and therefore Struber and assistant head coach Bernd Eibler will leave with immediate effect," a club statement read.

Gerhard Struber won 16 and lost 18 of his 43 games in charge of Bristol City [Getty Images] Struber took over at Ashton Gate in June after Liam Manning, who had taken the club into the play-offs, left to take charge at Norwich City. The Austrian, 49, spent a year managing Barnsley from 2019 to 2020 before spells at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and Cologne and had agreed a deal until the summer of 2028. He had recently been critical of the volume of talent within the club's academy and had voiced frustration over the January sales of Vyner and Mehmeti.

"I would like to thank Gerhard and Bernd for their hard work over the past nine months and we wish them all the best," City chief executive Charlie Boss said. "Roy's appointment is about more than the results of the next seven games. "Over the remainder of the season, he will help us set the standards and values at the club that we will need to be successful going forwards.