There were former England managers everywhere you looked in south London. Unfortunately for Sam Allardyce and his hopes of preserving a record of never being relegated from the Premier League, it was the man he succeeded with the national team who came away with the points courtesy of Luka Milivojevic’s first-half penalty.
But while Roy Hodgson looked delighted with a victory against his previous employers that takes Crystal Palace to 37 points and virtual safety, it was another disappointing afternoon for Allardyce on his return to Selhurst Park. The defeat leaves West Brom still eight points from a safe position and now staring down the barrel of an instant return to the Championship unless they can win six of their remaining nine matches, according to their manager.
“Our finishing wasn’t up to scratch,” admitted Allardyce. “We have to hold our hands up and say that has been our big downfall this season. We just don’t have a natural finisher.”
The 66-year-old revealed this week that his decision to put his proud record on the line when he signed an 18-month contract to replace Slaven Bilic in December had been partly down to the frustrations of being inactive during lockdown. Yet despite facing one of the biggest challenges of his long career, Allardyce has insisted he is still enjoying the experience, even if it is unclear whether his commitment to West Brom will remain as strong if they are relegated.
Having spent five months in this part of the world when he led Palace out of danger and to a 14th-placed finish, Allardyce walked away in May 2017 claiming he had “no ambitions to take another job”.
But despite turning up at Everton a few months later, he also recommended that the Palace chairman, Steve Parish, should appoint Chris Wilder as his successor and with the Sheffield United manager expected to be on the market in the coming days, perhaps that suggestion could eventually come to fruition.
With his contract and those of 12 senior players due to expire in the summer, Hodgson was adamant this week that he has no interest in discussing future plans until their Premier League status is secured.
"My decision to stand at kick-off has been public knowledge for a couple of weeks now. There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn't matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse. I know there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes at the Premier League and other authorities to make change, and I fully respect that, and everyone involved. I also fully respect my team-mates and players at other clubs who continue to take the knee. As a society, I feel we should be encouraging better education in schools, and social media companies should be taking stronger action against people who abuse others online - not just footballers. I now just want to focus on football and enjoy being back playing on the pitch. I will continue to stand tall."
Even if he refused to acknowledge afterwards that must now be assured – “we are not safe,” Hodgson insisted – Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche are potential alternatives to Wilder if the oldest manager in the competition’s history decides he has finally had enough.
Resolving the long-term future of Wilfried Zaha – who started his first game since 2 February after a hamstring injury – will be a major priority of whoever is in charge of Palace next season given only two years of his contract remain and he turns 29 in November.
In a first half an hour that was dominated by the visitors without them ever really conjuring up any chances of note from open play, the Ivory Coast international struggled to find his rhythm after following through on his promise not to take the knee before kick-off.
Three clean sheets in their previous four matches indicated that Allardyce’s methods are slowly seeping through, although there was nothing he could do about Darnell Furlong’s rush of blood that led the West Brom defender to inexplicably handle Zaha’s cross eight minutes before the break.
The penalty was eventually awarded by referee Simon Hooper despite a question mark from VAR over whether Christian Benteke’s foot was onside and Milivojevic – whose brilliant volley from long range had just been tipped over by Sam Johnstone after Furlong’s handball – made no mistake.
It might have been even worse for West Brom had Johnstone not produced a magnificent stop to deny Benteke after brilliant play from Eberechi Eze at the start of the second half. Conor Gallagher and Matt Phillips then both spurned gilt-edged chances to equalise that left Sammy Lee, Allardyce’s assistant, with his head in his hands. An intense hailstorm even forced his Palace counterpart Ray Lewington to seek shelter from the elements in the dugout before the sunshine eventually returned. But for West Brom, the storm clouds refuse to go away.
