Frank De Boer was sacked after just 77 days in charge at Crystal Palace having failed to pick up any points from his five games in charge.
Palace then appointed a steady pair of hands in Roy Hodgson, a man who was proven in the Premier League but his time with England had certainly tarnished his managerial career. However, Roy was back in management at the top level and keen to prove a point, and prove a point he did.
Despite losing his first three games in charge of Palace, Hodgson turned things around and took Palace to an 11th place finish. No team in Premier League history had ever avoided relegation from the top flight after losing their first seven games, this itself a new Premier League record.
It was certainly an eventful campaign for Crystal Palace and here are five things we learned from it.
1. Palace need to keep Wilfried Zaha
Wilfried Zaha scored nince goals in 28 appearances this season for Palace.
Without him, the Eagles would probably have been relegated from the Premier League. Zaha has bulked up and is now impacting games regularly and being the match winner he had the potential to be.
Palace desperately need to keep hold of their star man if they want to build on this season’s mid-table finish.
2. Roy Hodgson redeemed himself after the England disappointment
Hodgson took over from De Boer with the club looking doomed for relegation having not won a game. Roy’s pragmatic and steady managerial style turned things around
He got players like Zaha and Andros Townsend playing at their best and for that he deserves a lot of credit, well done Roy!
3. Christian Benteke is not worth the £32m paid for him
Christian Benteke has had another poor season at the South London club and Hodgson became frustrated with the Belgian striker. 18 goals in 66 games is nowhere near good enough and towards the end of the season, make shift strikers Zaha and Townsend were preferred up top. Palace want £25m for the striker who looks likely to leave the club this summer.
4. Don't appoint a manager with no Premier League experience
When Frank De Boer came into Palace last summer, Palace fans thought they would be watching Total Football at Selhurst Park, something different from their usual style of play. The Dutchman lasted 77 days with five games and five loses, the shortest tenure of any manager in the Premier League. I think the board at Palace have learned their lesson.
5. Luka Milivojevic can take penalties
This season, Luka Milivojevic has scored 10 goals in 35 appearances and was Palace’s top goal scorer. Seven of his goals scored have been penalties and he has been a match winner on numerous occasions for the Eagles.
A hard working central midfielder ,who certainly has an eye for goalm he was one of Crystal Palace’s key players this season.