It was just a couple of months ago that Shaun Derry was in high demand for many clubs and also in line to join Palace as Neil Warnock’s assistant. A clear example of how football can change so quickly, having been touted as the next big thing to being sacked by Notts County within just a few months. For sure he still has a bright future in the game, in his first season he defied all the odds and managed to keep his beloved County up. This season started equally as well and his side looked like the surprise package and amazingly play-off contenders but a terrible run of form has seen the former midfielder lose his job.
I was absolutely gutted to hear the news of Derry’s dismissal, a real Palace legend in reality. Certainly in his second spell for the club Dezza epitomised everything that Palace stood for and without him we would have been relegated in that administration season. The impact he had on that side at Hillsborough was incredible and he led a changing room full on strong men and leaders.
Warnock brought Derry in to most fans surprise but he was influential on our charge to the play offs and helped bring some amazing moments across his time at Palace
It seems cliché now to link Derry with a return to Palace but I am going to go ahead and do it anyway! I would love to see him come in and join the coaching staff in some capacity. The man has clearly shown potential in his 18 months of management and I think a return could benefit both him and the club. Derry could continue his learning as a manager under one of England’s best in Alan Pardew and he could boost the first team squad with his knowledge of the game and his passion for the club. His biggest influence could come on the youth team and his experience as a player would be great thing for the youngsters to feed off of. The argument that will be made is that if he wasn’t a Palace legend would he still be linked with a job but I genuinely think he would, his legendary status is a huge factor but the biggest reason for making a call like this is the benefit I believe he could bring to the club.
From being a manager and stepping down to a coach isn’t something we see often in football and that’s usually down to ego but Derry is still young and I could see him jumping at the opportunity of joining the staff until the end of the season at the very least. I think he is wise enough to know he has still got a lot to learn and asking to help out at Palace can only be a benefit to him. The move would bring him back to where he lives and would take him out of the spotlight for a bit.
I think a role at Palace could help springboard him into his next venture in management and who knows one day, maybe he could be in the Palace hot seat!
Come on Pards you can make this happen!
