On Wednesday Crystal Palace announced they have hired Neil Warnock as their new manager.
The vastly experienced Englishman has managed over 1,300 matches in charge of over 13 different clubs since 1980 and takes over from Tony Pulis, who walked out on Palace on the eve of the new season after a boardroom dispute.
[RELATED: Pulis leaves Palace]
Warnock has previously been in charge at Palace, leading the South Londoners from 2007-10, before switching to Queens Park Rangers and leading them to the Premier League.
The fiery 65-year-old is a real character in the game and his vast experience will by vital if Palace are to stay in the top-flight.
In a short statement on the Eagles’ website, they confirmed Warnock will take charge of the side away at Newcastle this Saturday.
Warnock has bags of experience but his old school approach is deemed by some to be outdated in the top-flight. He is a magician at getting teams promoted from the Championship to the PL, he has done so with QPR and Sheffield United in the past and got Notts County to the top flight, but on every occasion he has previously managed in the Premier League, Warnock has come up short. His Sheffield United side were relegated on the final day of the season back in 2007, while he was fired by QPR with the R’s struggling towards the bottom of the standings in 2011. He has never kept a team up in the top-flight.
His aim for Palace will be to keep them up. Nothing more, nothing less.
Palace’s robust midfield and defense will be key to the way Warnock sets his teams up as he prefers a 4-4-2 system and his teams are always well-organized and dangerous from set pieces. Sound familiar? Last season Pulis led Palace to safety by setting his team up in a similar way to what Warnock is expected to do and the players he will have at his disposal are used to playing in the way Warnock prefers. That’s a huge plus. Outspoken. Brash. Old-school. Warnock doesn’t beat around the bush and tells it how it is.
After a summer of scandal and upheaval -- Palace’s Sporting Director Iain Moody resigned last week following the damaging allegations about him sending sexist, racist and homophobic messages along with former Cardiff boss and contender for the Palace job, Malkay Mackay -- the Eagles can now look forward to the final few days of the transfer window as Warnock will look to bolster his squad considerably before the deadline next Monday night. He is said to have plenty of cash to spend, so expect plenty of ins and outs in the coming days at Palace.
He may not be the most glamorous replacement, but Warnock will use all his experience to hit the ground running and try to help steady the Selhurst Park outfit after a turbulent few weeks.