There was an inevitability about the termination of Neil Warnock’s contract after the Southampton game. The way the team played as a group was eerily reminiscent of George Burley’s final game in charge when a Jason Puncheon-inspired Millwall trounced the Eagles 3-0 with ease.
I am not one for knee-jerk reactions, but this does not come into this category. For a couple of months there has been a steady decline from a team playing well and getting bad luck, to a team whose belief in their setup and direction had simply eroded away to the point where the game against Southampton was lost before a ball was kicked.
It is very easy for anti-Warnock or those critical of the board/Chairman to say “I told you so” – but let’s face it, you can say that at the beginning of any managerial reign and be proven correct in time. Managers rarely last more than a couple of years and generally leave after a bad run. It’s not so much insight as the law of averages.
To discuss the merits of appointing Neil Warnock you have to first admit the job he did when he was first appointed was excellent. Without his experience, to have a manager come in and immediately provide leadership and direction to pick up points was a big ask. Warnock did that after the horror show against West Ham at Selhurst.
Firstly there was a gutsy, determined 3-3 draw with Newcastle – with returning hero Wilfried Zaha scoring a late equaliser in a “made to be” moment. Warnock jumping around on the sidelines as the goal went in, it was a nice change to have some passion and emotion in the technical area. A difficult home 0-0 draw with Burnley next up did show a bit of a sign of things to come. A strong first half saw nobody take any chances and in the end a Speroni penalty save was the only reason Palace got a point.
Next up was an impressive 3-2 win against Everton. The team played with attacking verve and, despite some issues at the back (evident from the first game of the season,) it was a great win and a pleasure to watch. A second-string Palace were knocked out of the league cup by Newcastle but we still saw a first Palace goal for KaiKai and a debut for Jake Gray, with people crying out for Palace youth to get opportunities.
A comprehensive outclassing of a Leicester team that had just beaten Manchester United 5-3 came next – and it was perhaps the most complete performance under Warnock. Solid at the back, dangerous in attack – and even the doubters were happy to have been proven hasty in writing the manager off before a ball was kicked.
It all turned on the game against Hull however. Outplayed, outfought and outthought – it was a shock to the belief in the stands and in the team for sure. From then on it was a case of mostly decent displays but failing to get what the performances deserved. In between good 45 minutes in games such as Chelsea, Man United and Spurs there were abject displays against Sunderland, West Brom (2nd half) and the last game against Southampton. The frustration of the Villa home game was perhaps the worst moment – to be totally dominant and lose the game 1-0 was hard to take.
The one bright spot in all of that – and it was a glorious night – was the win against Liverpool. The key players were on form, the decisions didn’t go against us and the finishing was decisive and clinical. You really can look at what went right against Liverpool to see what Neil Warnock needed to make a success of the job. Against Liverpool, despite going a goal down, the players never let their heads drop. The seemed clear on what their jobs were and they had the belief to take on their opponents and impose themselves on the game.
There was little doubt that Warnock had spent his time trying to find the balance between attacking and defending – because the squad has struggled to be effective at both in the same game. It’s maddening to watch – but I feel a degree of sympathy with our ex-boss because there quite simply was not a great deal he could do to change it. He had no extra players to change the way we were playing in a way he was comfortable with, so he simply had to set the team up the same each week and almost hope that the key players would be on their game or that the opposition had not bothered to set up to nullify our biggest threat, Yannick Bolasie.
I look to the Swansea game where for 20 minutes we looked like a school football team had won a competition to play in the Premier League for a game, before turning it around and ending the match unlucky not to have three points as evidence of what I think has cost Warnock his job. He was simply unable to get the best out of this team on a consistent basis.
Decision making during games often showed evidence of a man who didn’t have a great deal of trust in his squad to make a difference in a game heading to an inevitable conclusion. In defending him I have often made the case that a substitution does not guarantee a different result and can have an adverse effect, but giving some players 3 minutes as an afterthought was odd.
In all honesty, up until the Southampton game, I (and many others) felt we were simply a side a couple of players short of being safe. A strong left side defender and a stronger, taller, more dangerous striker would allow our current style a better chance of working. What changed for in the Southampton game is that from the first whistle I did not for a moment think that the team knew what they were supposed to do to win the game – or rather they did not believe in what they had been told would win them the game.
Southampton are a good side and there was little doubt we’d find it hard to get a result – but it was easy for them. A correctly drilled defence does not concede that first goal. The complete lack of response after conceding was very “un-Palace” and only the last 5 minutes did we look a team in the same division as our opponents.
The players don’t go bad overnight, so something was lacking. Away from the players and management, whether you agree with demonstrating lack of support at games are not, it was clear the crowd was hugely affected. That is something Palace cannot do without – we need our fans on the side of the club. Once the crowd turns, decisive action is required – and that is what we got.
For what it’s worth, I do feel Warnock can consider himself unlucky for all manner of reasons and, in spite of how it ended, I think he was a logical appointment at the time he was given the role. What I did think at the time, and have subsequently said on many occasions, is that he could never have been considered as anything other than a stop-gap manager. A caretaker in all but name.
I have little doubt he gave all he could to the role – but I always think that the initial reaction to the news is the most true – and mine was one of relief.
What we need now is a similarly decisive action in the appointment. It needs to be forward thinking in terms of the long-term plan for the structure of the club. It needs to be someone who is comfortable with the off-pitch uncertainty surrounding possible takeovers and a Chairman who is having to cover the loss of a Sporting Director by working directly with a chief scout. Someone who buys into a philosophy but has the strength of character to fight their corner and accept their views being challenged.
It’s not an easy task. The current favourites for the job are Tim Sherwood, Tony Pulis, Tony Popvic, Alan Pardew and Dougie Freedman, all ahead of Caretaker boss Keith Millen. I am sure we’ll have a follow up article looking at the candidates in detail, but of that list how many fit the bill>
Sherwood interviewed for the role before it was awarded to Warnock – and it is clear his proposals for taking the club forward did not match the owners’ or he would surely have been appointed. The return of Pulis is mooted – and perhaps the absence of Moody might help that – but in all honesty I do not see it as viable or right for the club. Popovic would probably slot in nicely – and his current struggles in Sydney after an initially brilliant spell are seemingly down to off field troubles more than anything else. Poppa was talked to before and may now feel much more willing to test himself at Premier League level.
The Pardew saga at Newcastle shows no sign of ending, but there feels an inevitability about him being Palace boss at some stage – and I think he’d be a good fit. Dougie’s spell at Bolton hardly inspires, but knowing he has patched up his differences with those in charge and given that SP appreciates how much Dougie gave the club the structure to progress it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.
Millen will once again have a chance to stake a claim- which brings us full circle – that his last Premier League game as a manager was a poor display against West Ham at Selhurst, paving the way for the appointment of Warnock. Given the uncertainty he was working with at the time, perhaps unfair to judge him on that alone – and he has been a calming, steady hand through all our changes of late.
I’d throw the names of Eddie Howe and Michael Laudrup in there myself, but as things stand I am once again struggling to see an obvious path. To me, we need to take a risk and think long-term (if at all possible). The players need inspiring, leading and strong organisation – plus we need to add some match-winners to the squad. Difficult times ahead, but there is a chance to move this club on to the next level with the right decision.
