Crystal Palace suffered a 1-0 home defeat against league leaders Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime. The result came as little surprise to most observers considering the two teams contrasting fortunes of late in the top-flight.
However, for Palace, it was yet another bad day at the office. The Eagles will be glad to see the back of 2016, a year which has seen Alan Pardew’s men record just six Premier League victories.
The Eagles will head into the busy festive period 17th in the top-flight table, outside the relegation zone by just a measly point. Boss Pardew has come in for fierce criticism of his decisions in recent months and a couple of weeks ago the former Newcastle boss looked to be heading for the Palace exit.
Pardew’s situation was not helped by the fact that the experienced boss decided to question the club's new investor’s knowledge of football. If results continue to be poor then the Palace icon could well be heading for the exit.
Palace’s position seems to be a strange one at the moment. The Eagles have what is arguably their best squad of players in years. In the likes of Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha they have two players highly capable of producing performances of the highest calibre, yet Palace continues to struggle to pick up wins.
There are certain big name players that have struggled to find their best form this season, though. England international Andros Townsend and French central midfielder Yohan Cabaye have both been under-performing.
Palace fans will no doubt be questioning whether a different manager could get more out of the pair. Results must improve soon if Palace are going to avoid being dragged into the relegation dogfight. Some would argue that the Eagles are already in it, but it is far too early in the campaign for predictions like that.