Inside story: How Patrick Vieira lost his job at Crystal Palace and who is likely to replace him

Patrick Vieira was informed he would not be taking training this morning after the Crystal Palace board decided his time was up following a 12-game run without a Premier League win, LondonWorld understands.

The former OGC Nice manager was desperate to try and hold on to his job and left his home heading towards the training ground before receiving the telephone call that he had been sacked.

He didn’t get an opportunity to have a meeting which would have disappointed him.

Crystal Palace say Steve Parish called the former Arsenal midfielder at 7am this morning.

Yesterday, the board had already started briefing their intentions to reporters, but none of Vieira’s coaching staff really thought they’d be denied the chance to at least face Arsenal and fight for their jobs.

How it all got here

One game that Vieira will feel got away from them will be Brentford away at the Gtech stadium. They took the lead against the Bees and kept it tight till a last-minute loss in concentration led to Vitaly Janelt’s last gasp equaliser.

Had they won that, all the talk of them not winning a game all year would have be blown away and ease the pressure valves on Vieira and possibly save his job.

The draws against Newcastle United, Manchester United at home gave proof of life but the defeat to sworn rivals Brighton and Hove Albion, the first time at the Amex since 2018 convinced the board that a change was the only way forward.

There have been good times, especially last season when the team finished on 48 points- only one point short of their all-time Premier League record of 49.

The FA Cup run to Wembley was the first time they made a return to the national stadium since the days of Alan Pardew but this season was always going to be the real test.

They did not replace the goals and energy of Conor Gallagher who opted to return to Chelsea to boost his chance of going to the World Cup- and to be fair, Palace just didn’t have the money to aggressively push for a deal in the end.

They also lost the experience and guidance of James McArthur who was a calm head when the going got tough and a leader when everyone else was losing their head, his injury has taken the glue off the midfield that did so well last season.

Then the unsung hero was Senegal international Cheikhou Kouyate, who exemplified the hard work that Palace is all about, and was such a key member of the midfield that punched above their weight.

Cheick Doucoure has come in and done a good job, but Palace have spent mid-table money so they were inevitably going to run short at some point.

So with 11 games to go here are the managers that could get the job

There are alot of managers out of job at the moment but the timing might be slippery, Jesse Marsch came close to joining Southampton and he will inevitably be in the hunt for this one.

There have been reports that Burnley’s Vincent Kompany is the club’s first choice but It’s hard to see  that at this point.

Another surprise move could be Shaun Derry, he was one of the assistants under Vieira and fell out with the former manager, but the club kept him on gardening leave and he’s still being paid by Palace, so he could really be brought in to try and help till a substantive manager is named.

Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has also been mentioned as well as Ralph Hasenhüttl and veteran manager Rafael Benítez.

Did Vieira lose the dressing room

The answer to this question depends on which player or agent you have on your contact list. One thing is certain, Patrick Vieira had a good relationship with star man Wilfried Zaha as well as with Jordan Ayew, Michael Olise, Marc Guehi, James McArthur, Cheick Doucoure, Vicente Guiata, Clyne, Jeffrey Schlupp and most of the players who played almost every week.

But like every club there are a few decisions that would have hurt feelings and there will be a few players out there who would be delighted that another man is coming in and they might get a chance to start over again.