Well, at least Crystal Palace managed a shot on target this time. Three in fact.
A veritable avalanche by their recent standards. The fact that they managed to provide some semblance of a test for Jason Steele during Wednesdays 1-0 derby defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion was, however, the only thing approaching a positive on another negative night for a team who appear to be sleepwalking towards the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Owner Steve Parish, The Guardian say, is deeply unimpressed by a run of one win – and six goals – in 14 league games. He is not alone in his frustration.
Now, Vieira can point to the lack of a prolific centre-forward. As well as injuries to Wilfried Zaha. Not to mention Palace’s failure to replace last season’s loan star Conor Gallagher. That, however, does not explain why a man who looked like one of the division’s most exciting young coaches not so long ago – Palace battered Arsenal 3-0 at Selhurst Park as recently as April 2022 – appears to have traded in his high-pressing attacking approach for something more akin to Roy Hodgson’s brand of pragmatism.
Patrick Vieira under pressure at Crystal Palace
At least, if Vieira is sacked, the man Parish initially wanted following Hodgson’s 2021 departure is available right here, right now, and potentially willing to take on something of a firefighter role in South London.
“I will definitely go back to coaching,” the unnattached Lucien Favre told CDT a year ago. “I still feel very fresh and enjoy good health. Now that I have recharged the batteries, I want to work for a few more years.
“I’m ready to get back into the game. But I’ll do it only when I find a project that convinces me 100 per cent. Only if I can have people chosen by me by my side. It’s a question of trust.”
Parish certainly thinks very highly of the former Borussia Dortmund, Monchengladbach and Nice coach. The Crystal Palace chairman, per The Guardian, admires Favre’s penchant for free-flowing football and youth development.
“He made me much better, especially tactically. Before, I worked on instinct,” Mario Balotelli once told BeIN Sports; the enigmatic Italian playing comfortably the best football of his career under Favre.
“I discovered a great coach. He is very good tactically, but also in the way he manages the locker room.”
But if Palace are to renew their interest, Favre’s track record for turning around sinking ships may be the most pertinent factor. The softly-spoken Swiss, in the space of one year, took Monchengladbach from the bottom of the Bundesliga and guided them into the Champions League.
Steve Parish likes Lucien Favre
This is not to say Favre could have Crystal Palace knocking on the door of England’s top four by May 2024. But with time ticking away, and with any potential Vieira replacement set to find himself under pressure to make an immediate impact, Favre’s outstanding Gladbach spell could be the blueprint for a similarly emphatic turnaround.
“Yes that’s right,” Favre said when explaining why he turned down the Palace job shortly before Vieira’s arrival. “The timing wasn’t right.”
Nearly two years later, the timing certainly looks right now, from a Crystal Palace perspective at least.
