Sounds like Lopetgui will go to Forest. Proper owner with deep pockets

Well if he left Wolves because of lack of funds then Forest would make sense.

One more point

It will be interesting to see if Forest can continue to spend. Wolves themselves spent heavily after promotion, got into Europe, but then found that FFP not only prevented further spending but also required regular player sales. They've been on the back foot ever since.

It doesn't matter who your owner is, it's very hard to keep spending unless you can get in the top four, and the money you do spend will all need to be accounted for sooner or later. 'Later' in this case meaning the duration of an 'FFP cycle'.

There have always been certain managers who do better at big-spending clubs and those who do better at skint ones, but I can envisage a day when two different types of manager flit from one mid-table club to the next based on what part of their FFP-spend/sell cycle those clubs are currently in, because the difference between the happy-spending phase is so vastly different to the belt-tightening one, even at the one club.

One year Wolves spend money we can't dream of, enough to attract the Valencia manager to the Championship. Everyone feels great, the place is bouncing, and it's a case of managing happy, motivated people.

Then, despite success, Wolves are suddenly so skint that their other high-profile manager walks out on them five minutes after arriving, and they appoint someone they think can work on a shoestring in O'Neill. Thats skint despite success, not because of failure. Ask Leicester about it; they did everything right and it got them relegated.

Meanwhile, down the road, Forest (who have achieved nothing whatsoever, especially in comparison to neighbours Wolves and Leicester) were throwing cash around and buying more players that they knew what to do with.

Forest got what they wanted, they stayed up, but already there are reports of a £50m loss that needs fixing. Is appointing Lopetegu a good idea for them, given that he walked out on Wolves because they couldn't spend enough? Christ knows.

I've always thought that any Palace manager would need to work with what we can provide and understand what that is - i.e an O'Neill rather than a Lopetegu.

In actual fact though, we have spent far more under some managers than others. Allardyce really could not have asked for more, nor could Vieria. Roy, meanwhile, seems often to get the s***ty end of the stick!

I wonder if the next Palace manager should be determined not by the clubs medium-to-long-term ambitions, or preferred style of play, or anything else, but by what stage of an FFP spend/sell/skint cycle we are actually in?

Are we about to have one of our little splurges, or are we about to tighten the belt again? Who the feck can ever tell, by the way? - it's impossible to work out unless you know all the contract lengths, the instalment plans on transfer fees, the bonus structures, and Christ knows what else.

Either way, if clubs continue to effectively spend three years' worth of money in one go, then hope it sees them through, managing any club will be a very different challenge depending on where they are in that cycle.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (12 Dec 2023 6.14pm)

Think Mark Bright would be better.

I think O’Neil would be an excellent appointment - he is developing as a manager and learning on the job. I think his in game management is very good and he has a very proactive approach.
Prizing him away from Wolves might be difficult, but I believe his family ties are nearby and who knows he might see Palace as an opportunity that suits his and his young families needs for the next 3 or 4 years? Maybe he’ll bring Derry back with him?

People say Palace will struggle to attract 'ambitious' managers, but I think that depends on one's ambitions.

If you want to manage trophy-winning teams, or teams that compete in European competition with all the highs and lows and status and pressure, then Palace is not for you.

If, on the other hand, you want to show that you are good enough to manage in the premier league and you see that as an aim in itself....

We may not have a huge budget, but the expectations from the club, fans and media are not unrealistic either. In that sense, a manager's chances of succeeding are perhaps greater at Palace than at most of the clubs in the top 10.

Football management has always been one of those jobs where previous experience goes a long way, and the hard bit is getting the first job. Once a manager has shown they can work at this level they will always get chances to manage at this level again.

The Allardyce, Pardew, Hughes, Bruce, Pulis, Redknapp merry-go-round spun for decades on that basis. Even today, just look at how soon O'Neill got back in work after showing he could do the job at Bournemouth. Even Dean Smith got back in.

Palace is a hugely attractive club for anyone wanting to show they can work at this level. The new man will not face interference or huge pressure. The squad will generally be good enough to stay in the league, which will generally be the objective. Achieve that, and not only have you achieved what Palace wanted you to, but more importantly you will be in 'the club' - you will get opportunities at other mid-table clubs forever afterwards.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (14 Dec 2023 2.16pm)