Oh blimey, I've got a bit of a bad feeling about this

I'm going to be controversial and say that I don't believe it. I think it's complete bollocks.

Agreed, tho, 'IF' its true, is this a box-ticking exercise by SP? I mean, he IS a PR man, CPFC only EPL club to currently have a foreign black manager?

If it is Vieira, and it's a big if at this point, why say it's a "huge recruitment mistake"? Any manager we hire could turn out to be that, regardless of his experience. The most popular manager hires of recent years with supporters were probably Taylor and Pardew. Both came with some pedigree. Both were disastrous managers at Palace. So calling a potential new manager a "huge recruitment mistake" before he's even arrived is at best hugely negative (I guess you're a Palace fan because the word "supporter" certainly doesn't fit you) and at worst plain stupid.

On the evidence, Vieira would be a reasonable hire. He's become a manager the "right" way, starting with two years at arguably the best academy in the country (I prefer that route to the "retire and jump straight into the Premiership" approach, personally), then gone on to three years in the states (roughly equivalent to learning the job at a Championship level) where his teams improved every season, ending up second overall in his final year. He went to Nice where his team finished one place better than they had the previous season when they were managed by guess who? Lucien Favre. Sure, he was fired the next year after a losing streak but show me a manager who hasn't been fired once or twice in his career? There aren't many. Vieira may not have pulled up any trees early in his managerial career but he's certainly shown a solid pedigree. Enough to warrant a chance.

Other pluses? He knows English football and the Premier League. You have to think, particularly via Man City and maybe Arsenal too that he has excellent contacts in the game. My guess is that most of our players grew up watching him and most likely respect him. He's won just about everything there is to win in the game. And he's ambitious. I doubt Vieira's vision is to "just stay up" although ambitions may sometimes come at a price. Lastly, what are our other options at this point? Not many who want to come to Palace and are credible candidates unless you want Steve Cooper.

Is Vieira my ideal hire? Probably not. But particularly given the situation in which we find ourselves, is he a bad hire? Definitely not. He's a career winner with decent managerial pedigree who's probably ready for his first really high profile job. He'll command the respect of the dressing room on day one.

If Vieira comes and you think he represents a "huge recruitment mistake" I really do wonder what you're looking for (realistically) in a Palace manager, cos we ain't getting Klopp or Guardiola or, for that matter, Nuno or Lampard.

Edited by sydtheeagle (29 Jun 2021 2.05pm)