Careful what you wish for though.

It’s interesting that on Saturday it was reported that Nuno was close to being announced as the new Everton manager but today it’s said they are holding further talks with Benitez. I wonder if they have gone off him for the same reason we did and that being the case would we reconsider him if he backed down on his demands?

Highly likely, I would have thought. Nuno was in a strong bargaining position with SP because he had alternatives. If Benitez got the Everton job, his bargaining position would presumably be significantly weakened. And if we thought he was the right man two weeks ago, it'd be bizarre not to rekindle interest if the playing field changed. Until Nuno is in another job, I think he at least remains on the "possibles" list. It's also not beyond the bounds of possibility that Parrish is holding out on making a decision until Nuno is completely ruled out since he appears to have been the prime candidate to date (the only manager we've actively tried to hire). I would guess that until Nuno is off the table, he's still our preferred hire although the chances are lower than they were two weeks ago.

Edited by sydtheeagle (16 Jun 2021 11.58am)

I would strongly disagree with that, yet it's a comment I hear repeated often.

Look at the facts. For a manager, the Premier League is the most attractive in the world. There are only 20 jobs to go around the thousands of qualified bosses around the globe, almost all of whom would love to work in the PL. Of those 20 jobs, three are with promoted clubs so there are only really 17 (or fewer) positions with "established" PL sides. Add to that the fact that we are in London (probably the most attractive geographical destination in the PL) and it's laughable to say our project isn't enticing. Taking the top 6 PL sides, Real, Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, etc. arguably the Palace job is around the 35th-50th most appealing in world football.

Furthermore, we have a fantastic pipeline coming through (Rak Sakyi, Ombilabu, Mitchell, etc.). Yes, we have a lot of players out of contract but that doesn't mean they're all leaving. It just means the new manager gets to hand-pick who stays and thus almost his entire squad which, we keep hearing, is really what all managers want to do. Our new boss won't be inheriting someone else's squad. He'll be building his own. Does this mean it's a big job with a hell of a lot of work to be done? Yes. But is that an unattractive proposition for an incoming manager? I doubt it. How many times in your career do you get a PL job with a chance to do it almost entirely your way.

Additionally, there are other pluses. Our chairman generally has a good reputation as a handler of bosses (four years supporting Roy isn't a bad look for a prospective employee). Our supporters are lauded by both those who've managed us and those who haven't (i.e. Mourninho). Generally, we're thought of as a tight, hard-working, well-run club. Even Nuno was said to be mightily impressed by our vision for the future.

Anyone who thinks our job isn't attractive is kidding themselves. There's a reason Parrish said yesterday there's no shortage of interest in it. What there isn't, presently, appears to be a standout candidate; a "must hire". Deeply frustrating as it is, SP is probably right to hold out for someone who checks all the bosses. That, I think, is the hold up.