The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made. Groucho Marx

James - he specifically did not say that. In answer to the question 'would he have been sacked if we had won?' he said it would have depended on the performance. I take that to mean that the decision was more or less made but that if we had won 4-0 he would probably have been given another chance.

Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand!

My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.

(Member of the School of Optimism 1969-2016 inclusive)

It does seem to me that the 'stability' that Mr Parish wanted wasn't given enough time to happen and I thought he had said about relegation 'if it happens, it happens' and we'd rebuild from there.
However, even he realised the pressure from fans and declining gates meant he had to act.
My one big worry is this decision has been made without a 'plan B' in place with no realistic replacement arranged. Talk of Hughton, Southgate, Allardyce, etc is ridiculous. Dearly as I'd love Dougie to make a go of it, there's only one name that would get pretty general support - Coppell, but would he want the challenge? To my mind Sean O'Driscoll will very soon become a Premiership manager and he would be a sensible option - if we could afford to pay the compensation. Otherwise, if a 'stop-gap' is needed I'd go for Ray Wilkins.

Man and boy Palace since my first game in 1948 sitting on my dad's shoulders

The decision had to be made sooner or later? If we had won against Millwall, even unconvincingly, Burley would still be in charge, and Parish would have papered over the cracks.

In my eyes, Parish and co have done the right thing.

I'm surprised this wasn't picked up on.

This sort of name shouldn't be allowed on a site of respectability!

And for it's worth, there will always be people who agree and disagree when a chairman does something controversial like come on a fans forum hours after sacking the manager.

For me, He is understandably vague on points, but also insightful on others, and I am pleased that I as a fan am in the know about the past. He has not answered many questions on the future of the club, probably because if he said 'x is the manager', or 'we will announce the manager in x amount of days', then went back on it, people would be in uproar. It is their job to arrange the future of this club as best as possible, so let them do that, and let's collectively turn a page on 2010 as a year for Palace, and focus on making 2011 as prosperous as it can be. Whoever the new gaffer is, get behind him and the team, and do our part to keep the club afloat in this division. After all, we our supporters, are we not?

Edited by serial thriller (02 Jan 2011 10.38am)

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4

Our chairman is a fan first and a somewhat reluctant football club chairman second. Since he became chairman he has tried to keep us in the loop and deserves enormous credit for that, and not the criticism some are giving him.
He has also been honest enough to admit he made a mistake in appointing George Burley so is fielding at least part of the blame. His answers might have been a little selective at times but he is wise enough to know what can and cannot be said publically. The last thing we need right now are either a suit for libel or leaks about who we might be approaching. He also put over a specific view about what should have been possible with the resources available that others could legitimately disagree with. Thats normal. We all have our views.
What we don't know, and he does but cannot tell us, is what was going on behind the scenes. Maybe he could see that the players had really lost confidence in him, or that there was a divided dressing room. Maybe some senior players, or even Dougie who was very close to the guys during the takeover, have been consulted and advised that things were not right. Who knows but the next game ought to tell us a lot. If we see a repeat of the Millwall effort then we will get a total change of staff. If the players come out like men refreshed and fight for Dougie and us then we will know that this was what they really wanted themselves. It has happened many times before and not just in football. Staff lose confidence and belief in what they are being asked to do and either consiously, or unconsiously, let their performances slip.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.