Crystal Palace have appointed former England head coach Sam Allardyce as manager following the departure of Alan Pardew yesterday.

Allardyce joins the Eagles on a two-and-a-half year deal.

Allardyce given chance to redeem himself following Three Lions embarrassment

Allardyce left Sunderland at the end of last season to take on the role of England head coach after Roy Hodgson stepped down following the Euro 2016 defeat to Iceland. However, the former Newcastle United manager lasted just 67 days in the hotseat he described as his ‘dream job’ having been exposed for giving tips on how to work around third-party ownership of players to undercover investigators.

He was subsequently sacked by the English Football Association after just one game in charge, a 1-0 World Cup qualification victory away to Slovakia.

Allardyce in his solitary game as England head coach | Photo: Getty images / Dan Mullan

Pardew’s successor found swiftly

The Eagles announced in a statement yesterday that they had “asked Alan Pardew to leave the club” after an abysmal run of form in 2016. Palace have won just six league games while losing 22 and have the worst record of any of the teams who have been in the Premier League all year. Although last season’s run to the F.A. Cup final kept Pardew in the job, the start the club has made to the current campaign has been far from promising and he was relieved of his duties following a meeting with Steve Parish on Thursday morning.

Palace are currently seventeenth in the top-flight having won just four times in seventeen games. The 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend was their eighth loss in ten games and patience in the once cult hero had run out.

Allardyce expected to be in charge for Watford clash

The Eagles take on Watford at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day and Allardyce is likely to be in the dugout for the game. Palace then travel to Arsenal on New Year’s Day before Allardyce takes charge of his first home game when his new side welcome Swansea City to Selhurst Park.

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About the author
Sam Smith
VAVEL UK sub-editor. Premier League and Football League accredited journalist.