My wishlist for a new manager:

1, Knows the league well.

2, Knows the national football culture well.

3, Knows our club and players well.

4, Can work with what we have.

5, Is realistic, and pragmatic about how to get points in our league, but is not ultra-cagey.

6, Is not using our club as a short-term platform to display their suitability for a bigger club.

7, Will respect and prioritise the 40-point mark, and see anything else as a bonus without just settling for 40 points. I.e. if it's 1-1 away from home, we will take that - don't risk the point chasing the win.

8, Is calm, mature, and not likely to fly off the handle behind the scenes.

I struggle to see any foreign coach ticking even half those boxes. So many of the higher-profile foreign coaches are used to competing at the top of their leagues and in Europe. They would only consider us as a short-term platform to get to that level in our league, and almost always seem to come with a dreaded 'philosophy' or 'project'. The chances of a good fit between club, squad and coach are slim if the coach has a defined way of playing based on what works for top six clubs in weaker leagues.

I would go for someone either British/Irish, or at least with experience of living and playing here, who can adapt their ideas sensibly to what we provide and require. Nobody wants to be bored watching the team, but getting hammered every week isn't the better alternative.

Experience of the league is critical I think. I would hesitate to appoint even the most promising Championship managers for that reason, and give priority to McCarthy over any external candidate that lacks premier-league experience.

More than anything, we need someone who the players will get on with through the ups and downs. Our lot don't seem an especially precious or difficult bunch, but an explosive character could still alienate them, which we can't afford.

I get why people are suggesting Potter (I wouldn't say no), I like O'Neill (but doubt we could get him) and can kind of see why Cooper is linked (though I don't know enough about him to know if he is the right kind of character).

You beat me to it !

Old, Ungifted and White

I would be interested in other people's job-spec for the position.

Am I miles away from other people's ideas?

Someone who can repeat Vieira's first season but sustain it. For me it was easily our most entertaining season in our current PL era and we still finished comfortably in mid-table and beat Arsenal and Spuds 3-0, plus Man Utd away and also had a decent cup run. We were braver on the ball, easier on the eye and scored our most goals in a PL season. No-one saw that coming or that the rails would come off in his second season, perhaps highlighting how it's almost impossible to tell how a manager will work out.

Eze is still not 100% so may not start (RH interview - possibly kidology?).

Lerma is only cited as 25% likely to start.

Both may be bench warmers but Eze should be at east a sub.

In my opinion Cooper would be a decent fit for Palace. Tactically, I would say we could improve greatly at set-pieces, and I believe Cooper prioritises set piece training. Secondly, he's been used to fighting in the end of the table we're used to. Thirdly, he stayed at Forest in a difficult situation so I reckon he, of anyone, could handle our board/ model plus, I reckon he won't mind not having no players to integrate into the squad. I suspect he's had enough of that for now. Staying up is all we're going to achieve at best this season, so why not stay up with a manager well set for the summer and next season. I can't imagine being any worse with Cooper - although I would say that Hodgson is certainly more experienced but that goes without saying for anyone really.

Red and Blue Army!