That’s what we’re always told and Crystal Palace had the poorest points to game ratio of any club in the four top divisions in 2016. Alan Pardew has looked like a dead man walking for some time, saved only by his good relationship with chairman Steve Parrish.
However, Palace’s American owners decided that they could not afford to be relegated and it looks like survival specialist Sam Allardyce will be brought in to grind out results. It was mainly defensive weaknesses, especially from set pieces, that have let Palace down with Pardew favouring ‘expansive’ football.
That’s what we’re always told and Crystal Palace had the poorest points to game ratio of any club in the four top divisions in 2016. Alan Pardew has looked like a dead man walking for some time, saved only by his good relationship with chairman Steve Parrish.
However, Palace’s American owners decided that they could not afford to be relegated and it looks like survival specialist Sam Allardyce will be brought in to grind out results. It was mainly defensive weaknesses, especially from set pieces, that have let Palace down with Pardew favouring ‘expansive’ football.
Pardew has always been something of a ‘boom and bust’ manager, starting well at a club and then fading. At one time he was tipped as the next England manager.
Allardyce lost his dream job as England manager after being caught in a ‘sting’ operation, but such is the need for his particular blend of skills at Palace, that this can easily be overlooked.
Bringing Pardew in from Newcastle cost £2.5 million in compensation and Pardew will reportedly walk away with £5 million to soothe his hurt feelings. However, that is small change compared with the losses that would be suffered through relegation.