ALLARDYCE RESIGNS AS PALACE MANAGER
SAM ALLARDYCE stunned Crystal Palace yesterday by resigning as their manager, suggesting in a statement last night that it could be his last job in football after a physically and mentally draining season. The former England boss was due to meet club chairman Steve Parish yesterday with a strong chance that their discussion would conclude with his departure after only five months in charge. And although a statement issued last night by Allardyce insisted that the meeting at Parish’s London offices was entirely amicable, it nevertheless came as a shock to the club. ‘In some ways, this has been a very difficult decision to make. But in others, it has been a simple one,’ he said. ‘I will always be grateful to Crystal Palace and Steve Parish for giving me the opportunity to go out with my head held high having helped keep the club in the Premier League. ‘More than that, they gave me a chance of rebuilding my reputation after what happened with England. I felt I needed another shot at being a Premier League manager and in helping to achieve something. As I said last weekend, Palace gave me the chance of rehabilitation. ‘But there comes a time when you have to take stock of what direction you want your life to take — and that’s been the simple part for me. ‘I want to be able to savour life while I’m still relatively young and when I’m still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren, without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager. ‘I have no ambitions to take another job. I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.’