By Victor Kanayo
Patrick Vieira, Coach of English Premier League side Crystal Palace, has been sacked.
His ouster followed a run of 12 games without a victory in all competitions – with their last win coming against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve 2022.
Meaning, they have been in poor form since the resumption of domestic football, after the World Cup, and have not won a match in 2023.
Talking about why Vieira was sacked, the club Chairman, Steve Parish, in a statement on Friday March 17, 2023 said, “It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made.
“Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status.”
Parish was however, quick to admit that “Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues.
“He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and respectable 12th-placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival.
“Patrick has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service.”
The coach was appointed before the start of the 2021-22 season and led the Eagles to a 12th-placed finish, earning praise for an attacking style.
At the moment, Palace are 12th on the table, three points above 18th-placed Bournemouth, who have a game at hand.
No Premier League team has won fewer points in 2023 than Palace, who have taken five from a possible 33.
Their next league match will be against leaders Arsenal, Vieira’s former club, on Sunday March 19.
Palace final 10 games of the season, will see them face all eight of their relegation rivals.
