Jason Cundy has told talkSPORT that he feels Crystal Palace may have repeated their past mistakes with Frank de Boer by hiring Patrick Vieira to replace Roy Hodgson this summer.
De Boer lasted just five games at Selhurst Park in 2017, with the axe falling on his tenure in September. The Eagles ranked 19th in the Premier League standings after failing to score in four games under the Dutch icon.
His departure marked the swiftest sacking in Premier League history in terms of games, and third-shortest for days at 77. Vieira has now been in charge for 52 days, but his time in the dugout is yet to feature a win or a goal, after two defeats and a 0-0 draw with Brentford.
Crystal Palace’s only positive result under De Boer came in the EFL Cup against Ipswich Town. Vieira cannot even lay claim to that, after the Eagles lost 1-0 to Watford on Tuesday. They now face West Ham and Tottenham in the league before the international break.
And former Chelsea striker Cundy fears how the campaign will unfold for Crystal Palace under Vieira. Having seemingly repeated the mistakes of appointing De Boer after a coach with an entirely different style of football.
“It’s another defeat and it feels like history is repeating itself,” Cundy said. “They had Sam Allardyce the year before Frank de Boer. His team was built in a certain way, then with De Boer it was a handbrake turn.
“It feels a little bit like they’re doing something similar with a safe pair of hands in Roy Hodgson. He did a fabulous job, and now they’ve gone to someone unproven in Vieira. You just get the feeling this is going to be a tough, long season.”
Have Crystal Palace made a mistake by appointing Patrick Vieira?
Chelsea comfortably beat Crystal Palace on the opening day of Vieira’s Premier League tenure with a 3-0 rout. The Eagles also failed to register a shot or a touch inside the hosts’ penalty area during the first-half. Efforts came after the break, but were never threatening.
Vieira took some confidence from holding Brentford to a goalless draw last weekend, yet Crystal Palace lacked an attacking edge. Particularly as the game wore on, chances for the Selhurst Park natives dried up and the Bees gained momentum.
Any momentum Vieira had built was then wiped away after Watford beat Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup. The Eagles commanded large periods of the midweek encounter at Vicarage Road, but the same forward problems proved costly.
If Vieira cannot turn the Eagles’ attacking troubles around, his Crystal Palace tenure may be short. Although it takes time to turn a club around when implementing a new system.
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