January 13 2011

Dougie Freedman

It remains to be seen how Dougie Freedman's managerial career will pan out, reflects Jamesey.

Writing my third managerial "welcome" column in 10 months is becoming rather a chore although the great affection with which Dougie is held by Palace fans gives him a massive start.

So lets's dust off the template and do another one.

Last March it was Paul Hart who arrived as very much a stop-gap manager, his brief to keep us up at all costs. Paul acheived that goal by the skin of his teeth at Hillsborough but his tenure was not extended by CPFC2010.

Whatever your take on Paul Hart, one thing that emerged from his brief reign was the return of Dougie Freedman as his assistant.

When Dougie crossed the metropolis from Barnet in 1995, he was a raw 21-year-old who showed great promise as an intelligent and consistent striker.

So much was written, here and in other media, when Dougie left Selhurst for spells at Leeds and Southend and took his richly deserved testimonial in the summer of '08 that it seems pointless to go over all the old ground again.

As a player, he left Palace in the latter part of the 90s but came back again at the beginning of the Jordan era and stayed for eight years.

During those years, the most memorable aspect, for this writer at any rate, was his partnership with fellow-striker, Clinton Morrison. It was rumoured that although they produced some great goals on the field, they had little in common socially and looking at their respective backgrounds and temperaments it is not hard to see why.

When George Burley was given the nod last June, Dougie stayed as assistant and, even after the sacking of George, stayed on as caretaker although his future would have been uncertain to say the least.

After Eddie Howe, the consortium's Number One choice to succeed Burley, turned down the Selhurst job, little time was wasted and Dougie got the OK.

Many Palace supporters I have spoken to felt that the new manager, whoever he might have been, should have been free of all Eagles "baggage".

We all know the dangers of appointing a much-liked brilliant ex-player at the helm - Peter Taylor and Steve Kember being classic examples.

On the other side of the coin, the appointment of a 28-year-old with no managerial experience, Steve Coppell, led to the club's most successful ever period although it did take a few years for the momentum to build up.

In the coming months, we will see how Dougie shapes up, and I can hardly think that any genuine Palace lover would begrudge him his chance and not wish him good luck by the barrel-load.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

In Depth Jamesey's Veteran View Index