Forgotten Crystal Palace and QPR star gets dismal sacking

Former Crystal Palace and QPR star Jason Puncheon has been sacked as head coach of Cypriot outfit AEZ Zakakiou after just seven matches in charge of the club. The ex-midfielder, who finished his playing career in Cyprus, didn't manage a single win in that time.

Puncheon made headlines when he took the role last month as football fans were reminded of the Premier League cult hero, who quit football in the UK after a loan stint with Huddersfield Town in 2019. However, his second head coach after a spell with Peyia 2014, had come to an abrupt end.

A club statement issued on March 7 read: “AEZ Zakakiou announces the mutual consent solution of its cooperation with Mr. Jason Puncheon, Mr. Dragan Stevovic, Christos Chapatsoulis and George Stavrou. We thank everyone for their excellent and professional cooperation and we wish them all the best on a professional and personal level.”

The 37-year-old has been replaced at the helm by Vladica Petrovic, who counts Novi Pazar and FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac among his former clubs.

Puncheon, who made 169 appearances for the Eagles between 2013 and 2019, may have dropped off the radar of many fans but was managing in the country having been playing his football for Anorthosis Famagusta before his retirement last summer.

Puncheon began his playing career at MK Dons but enjoyed his most notable spells at Southampton and Crystal Palace, where he became a Premier League regular. He bagged 23 top-flight goals while in the UK and was part of the Crystal Palace side that finished as runners-up in the FA Cup in 2016.

The former midfielder also turned out for London outfits Wimbledon FC, where he made his first senior appearance, and QPR. Puncheon only made two appearances for the Rs in an unsuccessful short loan spell.

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The midfielder is, of course, famous for running off the pitch mid-game for Southampton to answer a call of nature before returning to action minutes later in early 2013. The moment has inspired some iconic supporter chants and Puncheon even referenced the piece of Premier League folklore in a celebration weeks later as he pretended to wipe his behind having netted against Manchester City.

When he left Crystal Palace in 2019, Puncheon shared a message of love for the club and said: "I want to say thank you to the fans. I want to say thank you to Steve Parish, you know he brought me here after being on loan. I want to thank all the managers I had. I want to thank Roy [Hodgson] especially because he’s been brilliant for me in this last part. I said about Danny [Young] the kitman, he’s a good man.

"But without the fans... everybody around the football club... It’s a special club, it’s a place that will always stay in my heart – thank you, everyone. I wish the football club all the best for the future."