As Crystal Palace suffered a 3-0 defeat against a struggling West Ham team last Saturday it must have felt like Déjà vu for Sam Allardyce.
Only last year he was faced with a similar task of securing Sunderland’s Premier League survival.
Palace have not won a game since Allardyce arrived and the latest defeat condemned Palace to 17th position on the table. Only goal difference keeps them out of the relegation zone.
Their next Premier League game will seem them face Everton who will be full of confidence after dismantling Manchester City 4-0.
At the beginning of the season there were high hopes for Palace who targeted a top half of the table finish. Despite a disappointing end to the last campaign, the Eagles enjoyed a trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final and strengthened for the current season in the transfer market with the addition of players such as Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and James Tomkins. The current predicament certainly not one that was envisioned.
The poor run of results this season saw Alan Pardew lose his job with Allardyce quickly secured as manager on a deal until 2019. He has inherited a team that is low on confidence but he has also had to contend with a lengthy injury list that includes James McArthur, Loic Remy, Connor Wickham and Scott Dann.
To complicate matters he is currently without Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako due to International duty.
The former England manager knew the enormity of the task when he arrived and if he had any doubts before then it is crystal clear now.
Big Sam did not mince his words after the loss to the Hammers “It always scares you when you first come in. I am scared that we won’t succeed, yes. Because the last thing I want is to say I’ve come here and say I’ve not been able to save Crystal Palace with a track record which has never had that blemish on it since I’ve been in the Premier League. I don’t want that”
The London-based club is looking to be pro-active in the transfer market in the coming weeks. They have completed a deal for defender Jeffrey Schlupp who has crossed to Selhurst from Leicester and further January reinforcements are in the pipeline. Current targets believed to include Carl Jenkinson from Arsenal and Patrice Evra, who is currently at Juventus.
Sam Allardyce had been here before and the 62-year-old has a wealth of experience. His track record would suggest Crystal Palace is in good hands. But they need to start picking up some points soon because they have not celebrated three points since the fourth of December.
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