Is ‘Big Sam’ the right man to take Crystal Palace forward?

It has nearly been a month since Sam Allardyce took over the realms at Selhurst Park and after five games, the club are yet to show any improvements under the former England manager.

Since his appointment in December and the sacking of former manager, Alan Pardew, the winless Eagles have recorded two draws and three defeats.

Most notably, the defeat to relegation rivals Swansea City, a team at the time who had no manager and were rock-bottom of the Premier League table.

With only four wins so far this season and a huge 13 defeats, it really is a mountainous task the new manager has set himself. Palace are currently languishing in 17th place and out of the relegation zone on just goal difference.

The Eagles haven’t been in the relegation zone since August, a statistic which is remarkable considering the poor form the club have endured over the last five months. The teams below them in Sunderland, Hull City and Swansea weren’t picking up points either, however, both of the latter have recently appointed new managers too and you never know how a team can react to managerial changes.

The only positive that can be taken from this current nightmare is that ‘Big Sam’ has never been relegated from England’s top-flight division as a manager.

His task of rescuing Sunderland from the drop last season looked an impossible one, but he somehow managed to keep them in the Premier League and his personal pride intact.

Although, I personally did expect him to have made his mark as manager and at least picked up a solitary victory, which is something that still eludes him.

Allardyce has spoken honestly and openly since he made the switch to South East London – perhaps something Pardew let exceed him – and he has publicly expressed the issues the team has.

Whether it has been squad morale or costly individual errors, he has constantly let the players, the fans and the media know what the recurring issues are.

Photo: Charlotte Wilson / Offside.

He recently said he was “scared of failure” at Palace and I think anyone would be considering the dreadful year the Eagles have had.

I do applaud him for taking on such a difficult job, but is it really a difficult job considering the players that he has in his squad?

It’s arguably one of the best club squads he has been in charge of during his managerial career, something just isn’t quite working out and he needs to discover what it is sooner rather than later.

A side who boast the likes of Christian Benteke, Loic Remy, Wilfried Zaha, Yohan Cabaye and Andros Townsend shouldn’t even be in the bottom half of the table, let alone being caught up in a relegation fight.

It has been an extremely disappointing first-half of the 2016-17 season and most Crystal Palace fans are becoming increasingly frustrated with the players’ efforts on the pitch and the lack of control the team has over 90 minutes.

The future does look bleak at the moment and I honestly can’t see how Palace are going to get themselves going. The game next month at home to Sunderland is possibly the most important game of the season. If the club are to stay up, then beating the teams around them will provide vital in the club’s attempts at Premier League survival.

The club haven’t recorded back-to-back wins since September, but that’s all it takes to distance themselves away from the chasing pack, who are a single point behind them.

They boast the best squad of their relegation rivals, arguably the best manager too. They need to use these strengths to gain some momentum, gain some courage and hold out for 95 minutes of a game.

The manager needs results, the players need results and most importantly the fans need some reassurance that they won’t be watching Championship football next season.