Alan Pardew gets the sack from Crystal Palace for Christmas

Ah, Christmas... A time of goodwill to all mankind.

Unless they're a manager of an underperforming Premier League football club, that is. Since guiding Crystal Palace to last May's Cup Final, Alan Pardew's struggles at Selhurst Park have been well documented, and it's now emerged that the 55-year-old has been sacked by the club. With one league win and eight defeats in their last ten outings, Palace will find themselves hovering just above the relegation zone on Christmas morning, with only a point separating them from 18th-placed Sunderland. According to Telegraph Football, Pardew will receive a compensation package of around £4.8m. A statement from Palace chairman Steve Parish says:

“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.   "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.  "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."

Pardew followed this with a statement of his own:

"I would just like to take the opportunity to thank everybody at Crystal Palace for their fantastic support. In particular a big thanks to the players who gave me absolutely everything and Steve Parish and his Board. Personally I have a lot of good feelings for this football Club and am sad that my time there has ended.  I  feel that I have a special bond with the club and hope that hasn't been affected, I wish everybody associated with the Club the best of luck in the future including of course the fans who have been magnificent. There will be no further comment at the present time."

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