Crystal Palace sacks Alan Pardew

Merry Christmas, Alan.

Crystal Palace relieved Alan Pardew of his duties as manager Thursday following a 2016 that was the worst run of form across all of English football's 92 league teams.

The Eagles are perilously positioned just one place, and one point, above the relegation zone, despite a summer transfer outlay of over £50 million and loyal backing from chairman Steve Parish over much of the calendar year.

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Pardew's payoff is in the region of £5 million, reports The Guardian's Ed Aarons.

"I would like to put on record our sincere gratitude for the tremendous service Alan has given us, both in his time here as manager and previously as a player," Parish said in a statement on Palace's website.

"Following a fantastic second half of 2014-15, the 2015-16 season culminated in only narrowly missing out on winning the FA Cup as well as securing our Premier League place for a record-breaking fourth time. During his tenure Alan's hard work and dedication were without question, he has improved so many areas of the club and we wish him the very best for the future."

Pardew's unbridled confidence sometimes toppled over into acts of slapstick comedy and speech evoking memories of Ricky Gervais' David Brent character in "The Office." The FA Cup final defeat - a 2-1 extra-time loss to Manchester United - included a celebratory dance that haunted him for the remaining seven months of his tenure, and will for much longer yet.

Only in October, Pardew, 55, talked with the Guardian's Dominic Fifield about assuming control of the England national team one day, saying that he would want to win trophies with Palace first before leaving for that dream post.

A good start

Things began well for Pardew when he stepped down from the Newcastle United helm to take over at Crystal Palace, where he was a popular figure through his years manning the midfield between 1987 and 1991. He took the reins in January 2015 with the club languishing in the bottom three, but by May had lifted it into 10th for its best-ever Premier League standing.

Things got progressively worse over the 2015-16 campaign, however, with the work of a respectable defence repeatedly undone by flaccid showings in attack. That nine months culminated in a 15th-place finish.

The 2016-17 preseason signings of Christian Benteke, Loic Remy, and Andros Townsend appeared to address Palace's limp strike force, but the backline has now become the issue. Only the bottom two of Hull City and Swansea City have conceded more after 17 matches.

Pardew's ousting has unearthed a curse as well: Four managers of the last five beaten finalists in the FA Cup have now been sacked the following season.

A familiar front-runner

Gary Rowett (who was recently booted from Birmingham City in controversial fashion), Wales boss Chris Coleman, and former United States handler Jurgen Klinsmann have emerged as potential candidates for the Selhurst Park hot seat. There is one overwhelming favourite for the job, though: Sam Allardyce.

Related - Report: Allardyce's representatives to meet Palace in next 24 hours

The ex-Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland gaffer has been out of work since September, when he was sacked from the England gig after 67 days due to undercover reporters finding him sidestepping the Football Association's third-party ownership rules.

Aside from his chequered past, Allardyce has developed a reputation for hauling teams out of the relegation mire to safety.

Parish added on the upcoming search for a new manager: "With games now coming thick and fast over the holiday period the club are hoping to put someone in place as quickly as possible but have nothing to say about a replacement at this time."