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Why the De Boer and Crystal Palace union unravelled so quickly

When Inter Milan sacked former Ajax and Netherlands international Frank de Boer after just 85 day...



Why the De Boer and Crystal Pa...
Soccer

Why the De Boer and Crystal Palace union unravelled so quickly

When Inter Milan sacked former Ajax and Netherlands international Frank de Boer after just 85 days as manager at the start of last season, it did seem a tad impatient. 

That took in more than 10 games. 

But Crystal Palace's decision to part ways with the former Ajax boss after just five games, almost makes Inter look patient.

The Eagles lost all four of their Premier League games this season under a manager who had arrived with plenty of excitement and plaudits from his time as manager of Ajax.

But clearly something was amiss given how quickly the situation unraveled.

Chief football writer at The Independent Miguel Delaney joined Joe Molloy and Kevin Kilbane to discuss what led to Crystal Palace's decision to sack De Boer so quickly and how it had actually been made prior to yesterday's 1-0 loss to Burnley.

"Myself and Kevin were actually on Match of the Day 2 Extra yesterday and before the game, I was telling Kevin that I got a message asking about the Crystal Palace situation [and that] it looks like it could be done which is bizarre. There had been murmurs for so long," he said.

"Now, to be fair, it did seem as if something was just wrong at all levels of the club regarding this appointment. I think from what I heard, the hierarchy were unconvinced by what was happening."  

While Crystal Palace's performances in their defeats weren't necessarily terrible, the conclusion of many was that De Boer did not have the players available to play the style of football he prefers.

"Even in relation to signings, I heard stories about how they thought that De Boer's indecisiveness cost them transfers, like with Oliver Burke and it just added up to the feeling wasn't right. The feeling at Palace was that if they didn't act, they were going to jeopardize their season."  

Citing a piece by Independent sports editor Ed Malyon, Delaney also shared another nugget: "Apparently, some of the players got irritated when De Boer would join in in training sessions because he was so good!"

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