He's taken a lot of stick this season but I've always maintained he deserves some patience (and some backing in the transfer market), however following Saturday's loss (and our capitulation in the reverse game) I've quickly lost a lot of sympathy for him. We're brilliant away from home in games that mean f*ck all to the fans, but when it matters we just haven't turned up. I like the bloke but I'm really not sure he understands what these games mean to the supporters. A win at Watford and a Wembley appearance would obviously soften the blow and buy him some more time, but lose that (quite possible) and apart from a potential relegation scrap our season is done by mid-March. If he has any sense he'll go 100% full strength as this is the only thing the fans have left to cling on to this season. If he plays Hennessey, Ward etc. he may as well write his own P45. IMO: win and he deserves to at least see out the season. Lose and I'm afraid he has to go.
I think whether you get to Wembley or not he should go at the end of the season. I think you need a fresh approach as you have a team that should be doing much more than flirting with relegation, which if he stays will happen again next season imo. He’s done as a manager now in the PL.
Was only looking at him the other day and thinking how old and frail he looks. Needs to retire, put his feet up and enjoy the rest of his life.
Ultimately it'll be up to him when he retires completely. Yes he's old but I still think he has the tactical nous, the desire and the respect of the players to continue as a manager for a little while. Maybe not at the top level but definitely in the Championship or a foreign league. Regarding Palace I'd like to think we've had a long term successor in mind since Roy took over, but that would require some forward planning - something we're absolutely terrible at. We'll probably bring Warnock back on a six month deal. If we lose on Saturday I think he'll be allowed to continue 'til May then respectfully shown the door. If we get to a semi-final/final who knows. It might be his decision. The dream would be for him to lift the FA Cup and retire a local hero, but that'll take some doing
An FA Cup win would certainly be the perfect end to his career. Ultimately though it comes down to Palace's approach. They keep on bringing in fire fighters mid season in a desperate attempt to stay up - which has worked for them - but then there's no real plan in place for them to operate in beyond that. Hodgson would have been ideal to do a similar team building job as he did at Fulham and West Brom to create a solid mid-table side, but he's too old now. He'll be 72 before next season. Problem is if they go in a different direction it could be another De Boer and then what? Panic quickly and go for yet another merry-go-rounder and then be in the same boat again in a season or two, or have their luck run out. Palace, along with most of the bottom half, a bit lucky in a way this season that the bottom two have been as terrible as they have and then just above that Cardiff were always going to struggle. We've seen in various games though what this Palace side are capable of. The likes of Sakho, AWB and Zaha are top 6 quality players and potentially the likes of Meyer. The bottom three have barely got a Premier League quality player between them.
Yep there's no doubt we should be doing better with the players we have. I stuck up for Roy for the majority of the season because he didn't have a decent striker to work with, but now we're spoilt for choice and still not performing as well as we should be. Personally I'd go all out for Benitez. He's pragmatic (like Pulis, BFS and Hodgson) but also able to attract and work with top players. He'd be absolutely ideal for us IMO, but he deserves a much bigger job. Failing that I'd go straight in and offer Dyche a 3-4 year deal on good money. He's surely taken Burnley as far as he can and must be itching for a new challenge. He's never going to get offered a top six job so he might be tempted, especially as he spent the majority of his career down south. I think either of those managers would guarantee us a top 12 finish at the very least. Beyond them I'm struggling. We certainly shouldn't go down the FdB route again. You can't completely change your playing philosophy overnight in the PL without seriously risking relegation.
Not sure about Dyche now after watching Burnley against us a couple of weeks ago. His plan B was to launch high balls to 'The Freak' when he came on. I really don't know who fits with us at the moment. Parish must get the next appointment spot on though.
I don't see anyone realistic who's better (Benitez aside). You have to credit Dyche this season. Despite a shocking first half of the campaign he's turned them around (again) and gone on a great run. I'm not sure what else he can achieve there now though. With the squad he has he's still doing a very good job.
Thought we performed reasonably well yesterday without Sakho and Zaha but ultimately it's another loss in a big game. I've stuck up for Roy all season but the stats don't lie. Our home form is abysmal and we shouldn't be involved in a relegation battle with the squad we have. I'll be surprised if Parish persists with him past May but we'll see. I suppose it could come down to who's available. If I was him I'd be sounding out Benitez and Dyche between now and the end of the season to see if they have any interest in jumping ship.
If I were Parish, I’d give Roy until the end of the season and then see if David Wagner fancies getting back into it. Reasonable step up from his previous job for him and no compensation for Palace.
I can see that happening, although I'm not convinced personally. Clearly did a brilliant job getting them promoted and they rode the crest of a wave last season, but when it came down to it he buckled under the pressure and they couldn't beat an egg. It sounded like they got more and more negative and regressed, a bit like us this season but with less quality. I think Wagner would be best going back to the Champ or abroad for his next job personally. The reality is we're an established Premier League London club with a pretty decent squad now. We should really be able to attract a certain calibre of manager.
