Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The hunt for a successor to Sam Allardyce has finally come to an end at Crystal Palace with the news that Frank De Boer has been installed as their new manager. After the departure of ‘Big Sam’ immediately after the season ended, the search quickly began in earnest for club chairman Steve Parish.
It has been a search that has not been without setbacks and false starts as they were beaten to the appointment of the in demand Marco Silva by fellow Premier League outfit Watford after he decided to leave relegated Hull (perhaps he was still fuming from that 4-0 defeat at Selhurst Park on the penultimate day of the season, who knows?)
Add to that a whole host of names that had also been linked with the job ranging as far wide from Roy Hodgson to Sean Dyche with the likes of Walter Mazzarri in between. For whatever reason be it unavailability in Dyche’s case or a lack of real inspiration in regards to the former England boss Hodgson, the quest for a new man at the South London helm continued.
Although Steve Parish was adamant that the right appointment would be made it was one in his opinion that was going to have to take all the necessary time. That is fair enough especially as he himself said he did not want the next man to come in and use the club as a stepping stone.
But Palace fans were perhaps looking at the days on their calendar and wondering just when a new man would be appointed to take over from the short legacy of Sam Allardyce. Thankfully those fears have finally been allayed by the appointment of the former Ajax manager Frank De Boer.
De Boer has won plenty of silverware while in his Dutch homeland with a string of 4 successive league titles between 2011 and 2014 at what is now called the Johan Cruyff Arena. A fifth title eluded him in 2015 on the final day and it was at that point that he decided to step down as manager of Ajax.
A forgettable stint at Inter Milan took place early last season with less than 90 days in charge at the San Siro and after being coveted by a number of clubs around Europe in a bid to acquire his managerial services he has decided that Crystal Palace is the right outfit for him to try his luck in the Premier League.
For De Boer the remit will be to not only keep Crystal Palace in the top flight but to also make sure there is no repeat of any relegation dramas which have been the case of the past couple of campaigns. Their is definitely the nucleus of a side here that should be pushing to be in the top half of the table next season.
