Pulis Departs At Palace: Can Anyone Come In And Steady The Ship?
Last season Tony Pulis came in and remarkably saved Crystal Palace from relegation. Actually the Welshman did more than that, he managed to get Palace playing exciting and efficient football and the London side finished an impressive eleventh in the league.
That achievement saw Pulis deservedly pick up the manager of the year award and had the Palace fans looking forward to a long and successful relationship with the former Stoke gaffer.
But things between Pulis and the Palace board never seemed right. At the start, it took a bit of time for the Crystal Palace bigwigs to convince Tony to takeover at Selhurst Park. Seeing Pulis alongside Steve Parish (Palace Co-Chairman) you always got the sense that the two men had a lot of work to do to get on the same wavelength.
It now seems they just couldn’t agree on some key footballing decisions to take the club further. Palace have made some astute signings with Martin Kelly, Brede Hangeland, Chris Kettings and Frazier Campbell all coming in. Plus they’ve managed to tie down Julian Speroni and Marouane Chamakh to longer deals.
But Pulis clearly wanted more in. Deals to get Steven Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson failed to be concluded and they ended up going elsewhere. Palace also couldn’t convince Tom Ince to remain in London, he made the switch to Hull City. It seems at Palace, that Parish and Sporting Director Iain Moody were the key men when it came to transfers and this could have put Tony’s nose out of joint.
If that’s the case then Crystal Palace should have done more to get Tony to stay as he’d done such a great job last season and his experience can be vital for a side like them in the Premier League.
But look, it’s pointless now to discuss the ‘what ifs’. Pulis has gone and will be a wanted man if any other EPL side decides to get rid of their manager early this term.
So who could be next in the ‘Eagles’ hotseat?
Well I think four main candidates could be Malky Mackay, Steve Clarke, Tim Sherwood and Neil Lennon.
Out of those I’d imagine that Malky Mackay would be the leading contender. Malky has previously worked well with Iain Moody at Cardiff City. They both know how the other works and Mackay is also used to being seen as a coach rather than a manager who deals with the business side of a club. The forty-two year old also impressed during his short stay in the EPL last season.
Neil Lennon would also be a new man that knows to trust his scouts and directors to bring in the talent. He also has medals to his name as a boss and Champions League experience. But like Pulis he’d have expected more deals to be done by this stage. Also not scared to give his opinion and that could put off Parish and Co.
After his contentious sacking at WBA last term, Steve Clarke will be desperate to prove himself in England’s top flight again. A respected coach but some still doubt his credentials of being the main man at a club. Could he be a risky appointment?
Tim Sherwood got a taste for management after his spell in charge of Spurs during the 2013/14 campaign. The problem was that he tried to run before he could walk, he wasn’t really ready for the Tottenham job. Would his ego allow him to take the Palace job? Would the ‘Eagles’ fans want him at the clubs helm?
Whomever Crystal Palace decide on, they need to try and make the appointment as soon as possible. They only have two days before their season opener, so obviously no new manager will be brought in before the Arsenal game. But one needs to be in place some time next week, to give the side as much time as possible to get used to the new gaffer for the upcoming season.
It could now be a long season for the London club with the new boss set to put out fires straight away. A relegation dogfight could be in the offing but we said that last season didn’t we?
Posted on August 14th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article
Again a big mistake by tight fisted chairman of cpfc what a joke