Parish is a canny operator. From no club in 2010 to what will be 11 seasons in the PL is no mean feat. Picking up experienced players and keeping them until their careers at this level veers off is a shrewd move. Note also how younger players are being introduced into the fold. Parish must know that instant success doesn't happen over night and is taking things step by step in the right direction.

This!

Parish, can’t be that silly or inept , if we say ten seasons, then thirty other teams ,not clubs, as some have gone more than once have been relegated. So we haven’t made the top ten yet, but at least we have remained in position to try..Ambition is not enough, every team relegated had ambition, certainly not to get relegated yet they did.
I don’t believe Parish’s only ambition is not to get relegated but even if it was he has been better at meeting his ambition than all that lot.

It would surely be erroneous to dismiss the progress under Parish.
The club is in a sound position with many valuable young playing assets and a new training ground.
I’m old enough to remember the old training facilities at Mitcham which I visited on occasion. I’ve used better facilities playing Sunday football so can observe the progress that has been made and it it would be unreasonable not to credit Parish for his contribution to the transformation of the club.
He may not be the right chap to take us forward if we are trying to compete with Newcastle or the aspirational Villa, but this is down to lack of financial wherewithal rather than lack of ambition or desire.
The club is quiet at the moment but clearly there is work going in behind the scenes with Lerma signed and experienced stalwarts being retained.
For what it’s worth I think the manager next season will be either Hodgson or Potter and that it’s already been decided.
I’ve no idea why it hasn’t been announced yet but I’m sure there’s a reason.

You know Parish is doing a good job when even Simon Jordan says he has kept Palace in the EPL for a decade which is not an easy task and something he could only dream on and he obviously does not like him as mentioned in his book. Of course there are things we wish he could have done more e.g. new RB, other players etc.. But that is not just down to him the real money comes from people like Harris, Blitzer, Textor etc..

To be fair though Palace do have a decent academy and they are not reliant on Zaha now. They have many good/very good players in their side now: Guehi, Andersen, Eze, Olise, Doucoure. They do not spend much as well Palace I think the biggest spending was when a lot of players left on free contracts and they were able to get a number of players like Guehi, Andersen etc.. So in terms of that finishing 11th with limited spending is very good. Can Palace finish in the top 10 anytime soon? It will be hard but not impossible.

AI Pardew

Pro USA & Israel