Captain Cahill: The veteran defender proving his worth to Palace

In the absence of Luka Milivojević, Gary Cahill was given the armband for Crystal Palace’s trip to West Ham this weekend.

Sparingly used by Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea last season, Cahill looked to be stagnating towards a pretty subdued end to his Premier League career.

The move to Crystal Palace was one which left some people with some questions than answers. At 33, you would be forgiven for wondering how much he had left to give.

What the travelling Palace faithful were treated to on Saturday didn’t resemble an aging player at all but one with confidence and leadership.

The former England defender, who was capped 61 times for his country, marshalled Sebastian Haller well in the first half and matched the Frenchman in every duel.

Out of possession, it was clear Cahill thrived on his role as captain by bellowing constant instructions to his backline and midfielders.

Hodgson was clearly impressed by Cahill and all of his defensive core when asked how much further he could progress with his current squad.

“I don’t know if they can give us any more than they give us. It’s not the popular answer but Joel Ward, Martin Kelly, Gary Cahill, Patrick van Aanholt, McArthur, McCarthy, Cheikhou – basically I think they’re all giving the club every ounce of what they can give.”

Hodgson’s words were displayed by Palace’s diligent performance at the London Stadium. When West Ham looked to press Palace high, it was Cahill who regularly dispelled any danger by keeping possession with ease.

In fact, the 33-year-old recorded a pass completion rate of 95 per cent in the match, no other Palace player achieving over 90.

With Mamadou Sahko on the sidelines, Cahill has made one of the two centre back starting berths his own whilst establishing himself as a leader on the pitch.

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The man that so called ‘won it all’ at Chelsea has now found a new home in London and will be hopeful of extending the Eagles’ good start to the season.

Despite the form of his Palace team, Hodgson was candid about realistic expectations for the south Londoners this season.

“You would have to promise me the finishes will be as good. Because in both the last two years the finishes have been great. If you can tell me that we’ll get just as many points in the last 15 games as we’ve been getting, I will be turning somersaults. I don’t know that we will that’s the problem.”

Hodgson’s practicality may be due to knowing a home match against Manchester City lies next before away trips to Arsenal and Chelsea in two of their next three.

The former England manager will unquestionably be looking for Cahill to continue his leadership of the team in the tough weeks ahead, even when the captains armband is given back to Milivojević.