Crystal Palace are three points above the Premier League relegation zone and club chiefs have decided to sack Patrick Vieira with just 11 fixtures remaining.
The Arsenal legend, Patrick Vieira leaves Selhurst Park with the Eagles 12th in the Premier League table. The side is just three points above the relegation zone. Palace have now confirmed that former Eagles defender Paddy McCarthy will take charge Sunday’s Premier League game against Arsenalat the Emirates; and he’ll be joined by U21s assistant coach Darren Powell and goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely.
Former Palace boss Roy Hodgson is a frontrunner for the job until the end of the season. Although it is understood Selhurst Park supremo Steve Parish is keen to give McCarthy a chance at proving he is capable of flourishing in the top job. Vieira’s sacking was announced on Friday, March 17 – which, ironically, is St Patrick’s Day.
Vieira’s backroom staff – Osian Roberts, Kristian Wilson and Said Aigoun – have also left Selhurst Park. Dean Kiely will remain as goalkeeping coach. Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted, “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made.
“Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status. That said, Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues.
“He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and respectable 12th placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival.
“Patrick has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service. We also wish Patrick, Osian, Kristian and Saïd the very best for their futures.”
Vieira was appointed by Palace in July 2021 to succeed former England manager Roy Hodgson. His first season at Selhurst Park was a success, as he guided the Eagles to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-final, which they lost to Chelsea.
Palace started this season well – winning five of their first 13 Premier League games, including a 2-1 victory at London rivals West Ham. Yet they have won just one game since the World Cup in Qatar. Vieira failed to win any of his last 11 league games in charge.
That has dropped Palace into a relegation scrap. The Londoners are just three points above the drop zone and face a battle to stay up, as the bottom nine teams all have a chance of surviving. There are just five points between Southampton in 20th and Palace.
The final straw for Vieira was Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at rivals Brighton. His downfall was Palace’s inability to score. They have found the net just 21 times in the league this term, with only Wolves, Everton and Southampton owning worse records (all scored 20 goals).
That result persuaded Parish to act. Rumours on Thursday night suggested Palace’s chairman was seriously considering giving Vieira the boot. They proved to be true.
The timing of Vieira’s sacking is interesting. As Palace have only 11 games remaining, his successor will not have a lot of time to save their season. In fact, the new boss will have just 10 fixtures to play with due to the Arsenal game taking place in just 48 hours’ time.