Saturday’s calamitous defeat to Swansea City means Palace are above the drop zone on goal-difference only.
Martin Keown has told the BBC that Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew needs to settle on his preferred XI if he is to guide the Eagles away from danger.
The former Newcastle United boss has been subjected to increasing speculation over his future in recent weeks due to a dismal run of form which has seen Palace drop to just two places above the relegation zone.
Palace conceded twice in stoppage time to lose in scarcely believable fashion in Saturday’s 5-4 defeat to Swansea City, with their current position a far cry from expectation at the start of the season.
Pardew had reinforced an already talented squad with England international Andros Townsend and club-record signing Christian Benteke with the money earned from the sale of Yannick Bolasie to Everton.
However, Townsend has been dropped to the bench in recent weeks after a series of sub-par performances, while star midfielder Yohan Cabaye also started the campaign out of the XI.
Furthermore, reliable creator Jason Puncheon was surprisingly left out of the starting line-up for the FA Cup final last season before coming on and scoring the equaliser, leading Keown to argue that Pardew needs to show his key players that he believes in them if he is to galvanise his charges and avoid a repeat of last season’s surprise relegation scrap.
“Every single one of them, at some point, has been axed. Puncheon [being left on the bench] in the FA Cup final was a shocking decision,” Keown told the BBC.
“Who does he believe in? You have to identify the players that can do it for you. He’s got a really good selection of players in his XI and he’s not getting the best from those players.
“He’s got Benteke, he’s got the players he wanted, and that relationship with [chairman] Steve Parish is now going to be really tested because there’s a real loyalty there.
“His record is like a heart rate monitor, it goes up and down quite remarkably.”
Crystal Palace have averaged just 0.71 points per game in the calendar year, the worst record among any club in England’s top four divisions, according to Sky Sports, with 2016 proving to be something of an annus horribilis for a coach who won the LMA Manager of the Year award just five seasons ago after leading Newcastle United to the verge of the Champions League qualification.
Furthermore, after an exceptional start to last season with Palace which had fans dreaming of European football in the coming months, his stock has fallen at Selhurst Park.
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