Premier League club Crystal Palace have announced the sack of former football star and French manager Patrick Vieira, according to reports. Confirming his sack Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish told Sky Sports News: “Of course, it is a shame. I have an enormous amount of time and respect for Patrick [Vieira] and what he did for us. He got us to an FA Cup semi-final and we had a fantastic season last year.”
Vieira was appointed to replace vastly experienced former England manager Roy Hudgson in the summer of 2021 and the former France and Arsenal footballer had fallen short of expectations. He guided The Eagles to 12th position in the Premier League in his debut season but he’s left the club with disappointing form this season. The London club are just three points within the relegation zone and they have failed to win in their last 12 League games.
When Vieira arrived at Selhurst Park Stadium, he had the reputation of one of the most promising coaches of his generation. Alas, the sack is now seen by many as a setback for the 46- year-old, who was initially tipped to coach Arsenal at some point in his career. Vieira’s managerial football career is built around methodical, possession-based football in all the teams that he’s coached. In fact, he thrived at the start of his career with Palace but lost it at some point.
You can blame Vieira for the downward descent of Palace on the table but you cannot take away the fact that Palace didn’t invest heavily in bolstering their squad. Recall that Vieira was given the needed support during his spell at New York FC, where the club made appreciable progress improving from 17th in 2015 to 4th in Vieira’s first season in 2016 and then to 2nd in 2017.
Even when he moved to the Ligue 1 with Nice, he improved the club in all ramifications of their play. His spell with the French outfit ended abruptly but you cannot take away the fact that his career took a positive turn from that moment.
While it will take a good spell at another club to justify his mettle as a good manager, it appears that it will not be long before he’d bag another job, that is if he chooses to return to the sidelines immediately. Right from his days as a player, Vieira has been known to be a vocal leader who does not shy away from responsibilities. He will not be short of suitors but there is no telling if he’d be willing to take up another job or go for a retreat that will help him reflect on his journey as a manager.
As a player, the former box-t0-box midfielder won titles but it is left to be seen if he’d replicate the same feat as a manager.
The odds
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