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Crystal Palace to decide Frank de Boer's fate in next 48 hours after fourth straight defeat
Crystal Palace are deciding whether to sack manager Frank de Boer after the club suffered a fourth straight Premier League defeat.
Talks were on-going on Sunday night among the club’s owners after Palace lost 1-0 away to Burnley to become the first top-flight club not to gain a point or score a goal in 92 years (since Preston North End in 1924) in their opening games.
De Boer’s future was already hanging in the balance with this fixture having been deemed a must-win by club sources – although while the Dutchman admitted the club has a decision to make he denied he had been given such a stark ultimatum.
Against yet another loss, however, Palace have to consider that this was an improved performance with, crucially, De Boer having listened to the concerns raised with him over his team selection and tactics. Palace had a more familiar feel to them and were unfortunate to lose – something conceded by Burnley manager Sean Dyche.
Nevertheless it would be a surprise for De Boer to survive given how close he was to being sacked during the international break after Palace’s shocking home defeat to Swansea City. He clung on then partly because Palace wanted to get the transfer window out of the way and because he promised changes.
Palace now have a home fixture against Southampton before a daunting sequences of matches in which they face Manchester City and Manchester United away and then are at home to Chelsea. They fear another relegation battle.
An obvious contingency plan is in place for the club’s newly-appointed sporting director, Dougie Freedman, to take control of the first-team should De Boer be sacked. A decision is expected within the next 48 hours on what will happen.
De Boer, who only succeeded Sam Allardyce in June, signing a three-year deal, would be suffer the ignominy of being the shortest-serving Premier League manager if he is dismissed.
The former Ajax and Inter Milan coach was defiant, however.
Asked whether he feared the worst over his future, De Boer said: “I don’t know. I just focus on what I can control and my staff, the players and keep thinking about Southampton from today. That is all I can do. What other people think, they have to decide but when I’m still the manager of Palace I will give 100 per cent.”
Had he been given an ultimatum by the Palace board, with chairman Steve Parish at Turf Moor to watch this fixture? “No, no,” De Boer said. “I have very good contact with the chairman and the board. Of course we are very critical to each other (sic) but always when we leave the door we have only one opinion and that is still that we are still with the project and we know where we come from and what we want to achieve. I’m convinced we are going to achieve it.”
It remains to be seen whether his employers are convinced, although there will be encouragement in this performance and De Boer’s apparent willingness to listen to the concerns that have been raised with him.
Still Palace have now lost at home to Huddersfield Town and Swansea and away to Liverpool and Burnley – they have played better away from home – with an aggregate score of 7-0 and with a squad of players who achieved wins against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea with Allardyce last season.
In fairness De Boer is without, probably, Palace’s three best players with Wilfried Zaha and on-loan Ruben Loftus-Cheek injured and with Mamadou Sakho, such a crucial figure last season on loan from Liverpool, having only just been signed and not yet deemed fit enough.
“I am very disappointed about the result, very disappointed,” De Boer said. “I am not disappointed about how we played. I think it is a fantastic starting point. I will sign for every game if we create that amount of chances against any opponent. You will get your points and get what you deserve. Today we didn’t get what we deserved.”
Was it the kind of performance that will ‘buy’ him more time, though?
“I don’t know, they have to decide,” De Boer said. “I think this is a good starting point and this is what I want to see from any team that I manage. I want them to play with courage and maybe we didn’t start with it but after the goal we showed what we can do. That gives me a lot of hope for the future.”
Burnley manager Sean Dyche – who had been a candidate to take over from Allardyce at Selhurst Park in the summer – said that Palace “looked a more familiar side on paper” which had “worried” him.
“Changing the style of play can be tricky,” Dyche said. “I would have preferred it to be the 3-5-2 they are still learning. We have had to work very hard.” Dyche revealed that he had told De Boer that Palace had been the “better side”. Whether that it is enough to save him remains to be seen.