Ian Holloway leaves Crystal Palace by mutual consent

A year is gone since Dougie Freedman left Crystal Palace, and the club is looking for a new manager, once again. Ian Holloway has left Crystal Palace by mutual consent less than five months after leading Palace back into the Premier League and less than a year since taking charge. “I’m absolutely exhausted, to be honest,”he said. Holloway acknowledged he had lost the respect of the dressing room following a terrible start after the club's return to the Premier League. His fate was sealed after Monday's 4-1 defeat to Fulham at Selhurst Park. The goal of keep the club in the Premier League with one of the smallest budget in terms of transfers and wages for a Premier League side, were tough for both manager and club. The co-chairman Steve Parish did not want to fire him, but Holloway confirmed he wanted to leave the club and refused to remain in charge. Holloway's tactics have not been met with his players' attitudes. The same Holloway criticised the habits of many of his summer signings. Palace made as many as 16 signings over the summer and it softened the spirit of the squad, according to the former manager. "We tried to change too quickly," said Holloway. Between the new arrivals, five came on the final day and two – Stephen Dobbie and full-back Florian Marange – did not make the 25-man Premier League roster. At Crystal Palace, Holloway had a win percentage of 30%. Team also lost to Bristol City in the second round of the Capital One Cup. A 3-1 victory at home to Sunderland remained the only positive result from this season for Holloway. Palace seemed not really ready for EPL. On the pitch the team were weakened by the departure of Wilfried Zaha and the loss of Glenn Murray, their 32-goal top scorer, out with a cruciate knee ligament injury. The new group was unable to play the needed kind of football to avoid relegation during the first eight games of this season. Off field, Palace lacked to build the needed environment for a Premier League club. The failed to build an adequate scouting infrastructure. Palace started this season as a Championship club playing against the big boys.