In the second part of Adrian Clarke's look at the three clubs at the wrong end of the Premier League table who changed their manager this winter, he analyses Sam Allardyce's efforts at Crystal Palace.
Conceding two goals per match, up from 1.66, and scoring 0.5, down from 1.1, Palace have yet to turn the tide since parting ways with Alan Pardew before Christmas.
Palace per match 2016/17
| Pardew | Allardyce | |
| Goals scored | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| Goals conceded | 1.66 | 2.0 |
| Shots | 12.9 | 10.0 |
| Crosses | 17.5 | 15.6 |
Inside the final third they have struggled to click.
Allardyce has tried pairing Christian Benteke with Wilfried Zaha and with Loic Remy, as well as using Benteke as a lone striker, but the lack of service into him has posed a problem.
Palace players have training-ground friendly
Benteke is averaging four fewer touches per match than before Allardyce's arrival. His shot count has also dropped from 2.9 to 2.1 per appearance.
The Belgium striker is receiving most of his passes from goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey (67 in the last eight PL matches). He is feeding off scraps and looks isolated. Zaha and Andros Townsend should enjoy good chemistry with a centre-forward such as Benteke.
Although Townsend did deliver a quality assist for Benteke in a 2-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth and Zaha missed two matches at the Africa Cup of Nations, the pair have only passed to the forward 14 times between them since 26 December.
We know Allardyce manager likes his wingers to track back and provide defensive cover for the full-backs, but they must also support the striker far better at the other end of the pitch.
Of late they have been too far away from him.
Service to Benteke (MW18-25)
| Player | Passes to Benteke |
| Zaha | 6 |
| Townsend | 8 |
| McArthur | 10 |
| Cabaye | 12 |
| Puncheon | 22 |
In terms of modifications, aside from blooding new signings Jeffrey Schlupp, Patrick van Aanholt and Luka Milivojevic, the only other tweak to personnel has been Allardyce’s use of Jason Puncheon in a deeper, central midfield role.
Puncheon has not been able to stamp his mark on that position, and in some respects his crossing ability has been not exploited from infield.
Once back to full fitness, many hopes will be pinned on loan signing Mamadou Sakho to help stem the flow of goals against. He could be a key man in the final three months of the season.
Tactically, Palace have experimented with three at the back against Everton, AFC Bournemouth and Sunderland, but results were mixed.
The cagey game plan worked extremely well at Vitality Stadium, but at home to Everton, and for 45 minutes against Sunderland, the side struggled to balance defence with attack.
Too open without the ball, they also lacked creative inspiration, and have since reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Keeping Palace in the Premier League won’t be easy and Sam Allardyce has plenty of work on his hands.
His two main challenges are clear: defensively they must show greater resilience, and in attack Palace must quickly find a formula that creates better opportunities for a proven scorer such as Benteke.
