Soap opera dashes hopes of stability at crisis-hit Palace
By Keith Weir
LONDON (Reuters) - Crystal Palace fans could scarcely believe their eyes when their team signed off at Selhurst Park last season with a three-goal blitz that helped to end Liverpool’s Premier League title dreams and capped a fine return to the top flight for the London club.
Three months later, Palace have been plunged into disarray by the shock departure last week of manager Tony Pulis, followed by the resignation on Thursday of sporting director Iain Moody.
Long-suffering Palace supporters had been hoping to see the Eagles quietly consolidate their Premier League place under Pulis who performed a dramatic rescue act after taking over a struggling side only last November.
No such luck. Palace have been making early season headlines for all the wrong reasons.
They abandoned plans to hire former Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay when it emerged that he and Moody had exchanged offensive text messages when working together at the Welsh club. Those exchanges cost Moody his job at Palace where he was involved with player recruitment.
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is the latest name in the frame for bookmakers to replace Pulis but caretaker Keith Millen will be in charge for Saturday’s home game with London rivals West Ham United.
The bookies are also not ruling out a return for the departed Pulis, a bizarre twist that would doubtless delight Palace fans. Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood, who was interviewed for the job, has indicated he is no longer interested in the post.
MORE LOWS THAN HIGHS
Stability has always proved elusive at Palace, who were once labelled a "yo-yo" team for their habit of bouncing between the top two divisions.
Founded in 1905, Palace have never won a major trophy. They came closest to breaking that hoodoo in 1990 when they lost an FA Cup final replay to Alex Ferguson's Manchester United after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first game.
Inspired by the goals of rhyming strike force Ian Wright and Mark Bright, Palace finished third in the top division in the following season.
However, that successful era ended in acrimony when Wright left for Arsenal after the then Palace owner Ron Noades was accused of racism over comments he made about black players in a TV documentary.
Older fans are wondering if the south London club has shot itself in the foot again with the shock exit of Pulis only two days before the season started in circumstances that are still not clear.
Club co-chairman Steve Parish, one of four local businessmen who saved the club after a financial meltdown in 2010, says communications with Pulis had become difficult and the manager had cut an increasingly frustrated figure over the summer.
Parish, the public face of the Palace board, says the club needs to spend its Premier League cash windfall wisely, with upgrades to its training ground and its Selhurst Park stadium needed as well as new recruits.
Selhurst Park, with a capacity of only around 26,000, has gained a reputation for its raucous atmosphere and Palace's players will look to use that to lift them to a morale-boosting win over West Ham this weekend.
(Writing by Keith Weir; editing by Toby Davis)