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Crystal
Palace manager Frank de Boer gestures on the touchline during the English
Premier League soccer match against Burnley at Turf Moor, Burnley, England,
Sunday Sept. 10, 2017. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
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Crystal Palace fired manager
Frank de Boer on Monday after the team opened the Premier League season with
four straight losses.
Associated
Press report continues:
Palace
announced the end of De Boer's 77-day stint in charge in a short statement,
without announcing a replacement. British media reported that former England
coach Roy Hodgson, who is 70, was in line to take over.
In
terms of games played, De Boer's tenure is the shortest of any permanent
manager in Premier League history.
De
Boer, a former Netherlands center back, took over at Palace in June as a
replacement for Sam Allardyce and tried to implement a more expansive style of
play.
His
players have struggled to adapt. Palace is the first team since 1924 to lose
its first four English top-flight games without scoring, the latest defeat
coming at Burnley on Sunday.
De
Boer only lasted 84 days in his previous job at Inter Milan. Before that, he
won four straight Dutch league titles at Ajax.
"We
would like to thank Frank for his dedication and hard work during his time at
the club," Palace said in its statement.
On
Sunday, Palace chairman Steve Parish had called for "some sense" amid
a string of posts on Twitter.
"We
are 4 games in," he tweeted, "it's a terrible start but we have to
stick together."
De
Boer arrived on a three-year deal and with ambitions of making the team
entertaining to watch and integrating more youth-team players. He said his
primary objective was to turn a team that regularly battles relegation into a
stable Premier League force.
Palace
lost 3-0 at home to promoted team Huddersfield on the opening weekend of the
season, with De Boer losing winger Wilfried Zaha - arguably his best player -
to injury.
Palace's
players have looked uncomfortable in converting to De Boer's possession-based
approach, which is a giant leap from the pragmatism, directness and
counter-attacking favored by Allardyce. However, Palace did dominate in the 1-0
loss at Burnley, missing many clear-cut chances after conceding a third-minute
goal from a defensive error.
Hodgson hasn't coached since leaving the England job after the country's elimination by Iceland at last year's European Championship. His last job as a club manager was at West Bromwich Albion from 2011-12.
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