He's gone but why did it all end so badly for Pards at SE25? Naveed Khan tries to work out why...

‘When you’re the King, you can do anything’ – except, that is, survive in a job after a torrid twelve months which included just six league wins, singling of players out after games and, of course, a sideswipe at the American owners.

It’s only two years since it was speculated that Palace could be set to pay Newcastle United £2.5 million in order to appoint Alan Pardew manager and rarely has the fan base been so united behind an appointment. An established Premier League manager with experience at three top-flight clubs looking to leave a bigger club higher up in the table to come and join Palace. On top of that, a connection with the club lasting a quarter of a century – it seemed to be a match made in heaven.

His start as manager in the league, a 2-1 win over Spurs, was a sign of things to come over the next six months. A reliable defence, a counter-attacking threat and putting Jason Puncheon at the heart of everything positive. Memorable wins over Manchester City and Liverpool, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie excelling and Scott Dann rising to prominence.

Even during this run, there were signs of Pardew seeking to change things and some experimental tweaks. Back-to-back home defeats to West Brom and Hull including the use of Puncheon in a deep position for the first time, the substituting of Mile Jedinak in both games and the perseverance with Yaya Sanogo. Still, a 10th placed finish, a summer with the addition of Yohan Cabaye and the team ended 2015 in 5th place. The dream could be coming true.

Why did Pardew have to go? This image may help explain. #CPFC pic.twitter.com/vDkT6b8Oit

— Tony Fletcher (@tonyfletcher) December 22, 2016

But the wheels came off, at least in the Premier League, and in dramatic fashion. 2016 started with a shortage of goals and mistakes creeping into the defence. While the FA Cup run was engaging, the league form was a concern in the forefront for many and there were question marks about the spine of the team – Wayne Hennessey appeared short of what was required, a new partner for Dann was sought as well as an attacking spearhead.

All of these positions were addressed in the summer window and despite ending the season with two wins in 21 games, with £50 million spent, the fans were again optimistic. And the goals have flowed (at both ends) and for neutrals and the opposition, there has been many an entertaining game. However, the statistics as 2016 comes to an end are damning. 28 points from 38 games being the headline.

Beneath this, other factors which demonstrate the reasons for this and why the decision for Pardew to go was entirely correct; the highest number of goals conceded from set pieces in the Premier League, among the lowest for ground covered per 90 minutes by the team, a high number of goals conceded approaching half-time and full-time. Pardew’s biggest issue throughout his two years has been the defence – just 11 clean sheets in 73 games is alarming and his talk of clean sheets not being a priority for him was the sound of a man in denial about the issues at hand.

Despite the high level of spending during his time here, the squad still lacks depth in crucial areas. The defence has lacked sufficient competition at full-back and has been horribly exposed by Pape Souare’s injury. Jedinak’s departure left a hole in the squad in terms of an enforcing midfielder and on-pitch leader and was not replaced. The squad also as inadequate cover for Zaha and Christian Benteke. The manager’s lack of prioritisation of this issue, particularly in defence, has been key in the team’s struggles.

There have been other indications that his time was drawing to a close – he has publicly criticised Chung Yong Lee, Andros Townsend and Benteke, he has questioned the footballing knowledge of the club’s American owners and has bizarrely claimed defending set-pieces has not been an issue despite statistics to the contrary. Despite his words, the results and manner of defeats have spoken for themselves; as Steve Parish has admitted, change is needed.

Perhaps fittingly, Pardew’s time as manager at Palace has been, to use a cliché, typically Palace. Hope, tangible optimism, a cup run alongside a league slump and in the end, the manager in an untenable position.

With all said and done, Alan Pardew gave Palace fans a wonderful 12 months in the league and five months in the FA Cup. He led a team which gave us hope and for many, their best day out as a Palace fan at Wembley. His departing statement shows an affection for the club and whatever some of us may have thought of him during the course of 2016, he has left with dignity and we wish him the best.

The King’s reign which began with a 4-0 win the FA Cup should, perhaps, have ended after defeat in the FA Cup final this year. Instead, we find ourselves looking for a new manager with the January window approaching; once again, on the hunt for a firefighter.

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Alfie Davis takes a look at Saturday's performance against Bournemouth.

As hoped for in the previous article, two centre forwards were deployed in the Palace starting eleven, signalling intent for a more attacking brand of football for the forthcoming premier league games. The return of James McArthur and Yohan Cabaye allowed Jason Puncheon to revert into a more favoured wide position, while Steve Mandanda gained his first Premier League appearance.

Unsurprisingly, the game was very open and numerous chances were created for both sides. To our dismay however, Bournemouth took the lead thanks to a lofted ball that completely opened up the Palace back four, as King guided it into the corner of Mandanda’s net.

The Palace response wasn’t immediate. Particularly in the first half, our players who have the ability to conjure passes with real quality, often couldn’t do so, failing to choose the correct option or utilise our aerial prowess up front. In spite of this, Bournemouth were penalised after a foolish tug on Benteke, who was facing away from goal. This gifted the home side an opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot - only for Cabaye to squander the chance.

Increasingly urgent, Andros Townsend’s intended cross almost found its way into the corner as Artur Boruc scrambled to keep it out. Without a doubt, the manner in which we played forward was more cohesive and looked as though opportunities were more likely to be forged from open play as opposed to relying on set pieces. A threaded ball saw Bournemouth through on goal to double their lead, but the Palace keeper got down quickly and managed to spread himself well, thwarting the danger before the striker could forge a real effort on goal.

This new style of play breeds positivity; Palace registered a staggering 24 attempts on goal, a huge gulf in comparison to our usual performances. A half time team talk seemed to spur the side on as the Eagles upped the ante, and despite the improved attacking display, one thing that hasn’t changed is the inability to tuck away opportunities.

Commonly a saviour for the side, captain Scott Dann literally rose to the occasion and headed home the equaliser in added time. There’s no secret to what our main outlet will be as a side from now on as fans should expect us to be a real force with set pieces – whether it be our strikers or defenders, headed goals could be on the cards. Undeniably this was equally as frustrating as games prior to this, Palace fans were probably prepared for yet another defeat, despite showing real quality on multiple occasions, only to produce no end product until the final moments of the contest.

A point that was well deserved, if not slightly unfair given the balance of the game, this is a platform to build on and evaluate over the international break.

'He’s just too good for you' sang Palace fans, and Wilf's work made the difference on Saturday says Alfie Davis.

Away from home with the pressure on without a Premier League win, the Eagles travelled to the Riverside Stadium hoping to come away with the proper result – and produced an entertaining display that gave us an invaluable victory.

Similarly to previous starting line-ups, James McArthur started the game in a holding midfield role alongside Joe Ledley in Yohan Cabaye’s absence. This gave Jason Puncheon the freedom to roam in a more forward-thinking position, while Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha rampantly charged down both channels, causing mayhem for the Middlesbrough full-backs.

After end-to-end exchanges, both sides came close to breaking the deadlock and produced an enthralling match, with the ball at either end of the field every few minutes. Interestingly, both sides produced chances to go ahead, but Palace drew first blood as Christian Benteke bullied Daniel Ayala to leap forth and head home Zaha’s precise cross into the opposite corner.

An impressive, attack-minded display from Palace in the opening twenty minutes had Middlesbrough rattled, but Ayala soon redeemed himself and notched a headed goal to level the scores. An opening half where our side had shown the most forward threat all season looked promising; we went into the break with a slightly unflattering scoreline given the balance of the first half. But almost immediately, Zaha made an even larger impact on the tie, and alertly got onto the end of a mistake to then rifle home a clinical left-footed effort past Victor Valdes. The impetus from the side until the second goal was based on attacking football, with the target man approach of Benteke and the lightning pace of Zaha, we were a force that troubled the home side.

However, the game shifted, and the substitutions made by Middlesbrough had a large influence on the course of the game. Alan Pardew’s side were forced to grind out a real defensive performance in the latter stages of the contest, with the final 40 minutes spent protecting the lead. The change in motivation from some forward thinking players such as Zaha and Townsend was clear, and they often didn’t shy from their defensive duties while the side dealt with the ever increasing intensity of the Middlesbrough attack. The defensive tilt was confirmed as Benteke was substituted for his younger brother for his debut, while Mathieu Flamini also made his first appearance for the side.

Often under pressure from the home side and crowd, officials made numerous decisions that benefitted the visitors, with handball claims and a free kick decision in the dying moments that could have gifted Middlesbrough a penalty and a point salvaged. However, the resulting free-kick was defended well and we took away three points that were well deserved given the stand out performances of Benteke and Zaha. With our next fixture against a Stoke side that lost 4-0 at home on the same day, we can take confidence going into Sunday’s match.

One thing we all know as Palace fans, is that nothing is ever simple, and what a masterclass of making things difficult were we treated to on Saturday.

We welcomed an equally disappointed Bournemouth side to Selhurst Park and well, to say they were better than us in the first half is an understatement. They ruined us, they made us look straight out of league one. Saturday's first half performance has to go down as one of the worst I've seen Palace perform.

It all began with Delaney being put under pressure deep in Palace's left flank leading him to loose possession and eventually give away a very Delaney'esque foul. We yet again showed how terrible we are at defending set pieces, well, by defending a set piece terribly. Benteke's clearance wasn't met with any urgency and Arter had all the time in the world to deliver a class ball in to King who slot past Mandanda.

A few minutes later yet again we were put to disappointment with Cabaye's abysmal penalty effort. Many negatives I know but that first half was well and truly negative. An abandoned 4-4-2 system displaced our midfield and put us under too much pressure, both Cabaye and McArthur weren't fit enough to start hence our midfield being torn to pieces. Delaney gave away not one but two completely avoidable fouls.

Now on to positives. That second half was bloody amazing. I haven't seen us play with that much intensity in the league since the good old days of 2015, we ran Bournemouth ragged and showed the difference between an established Premier League side and relegation contenders.

Benteke showed us why he's our record signing, his touch, strength and all round presence steps us up to another level. You can already tell that our new boy is going to do wonders for us. Souare was prolific, bombarding the box with crosses and had a shot just go by the post. His pace and desire to go forward done us wonders in that second half and kept the pressure on struggling Bournemouth.

The two substitutes, Zaha and Chungy were fantastic. Zaha as usual was unstoppable down the right hand side and was delivering some outstanding crosses across the box. Chungy is now safe to say a credible threat, it seems as if he has now adapted to Premier League football and is looking stronger and quicker, he too was brilliant for us in that second half. And how could I forget our front cover man Scott Dann, providing Pardew with what could be a very valuable get out of jail free card.

But my star man for Saturday's game has to be Jason Puncheon. He was outstanding, he was our only spark of creativity in midfield through the whole game and portrayed the leadership and ferocity which we thought we'd lost on Jedinak. He also got the assist which relived every Palace fan from facing yet another spoiled weekend. Punch showed that he can play wherever, putting in 100%, and shining traits of his quality 14/15 season.

Now let's try and endure the ever exciting international break and look forward to seeing our boys in red and blue take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside, to which I'm sure will be a class game.

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