The inside story of how Patrick Vieira became Crystal Palace manager
https://theathletic.com/2673062/2021/07/04/the-inside-story-of-how-patrick-vieir
Matt Woosnam, David Ornstein and more
Perhaps it is best to start by acknowledging what Patrick Vieira will bring to Crystal Palace.
This is a young, dynamic coach who will offer a fresh approach to the role providing the shake up the club feels it requires after four seasons under Roy Hodgson. Vieira will be eager to impress at his first shot in the Premier League, with a two-and-a-half-year spell with OGC Nice, a period that could not be deemed unsuccessful, having culminated in his sacking in December.
That dismissal came after a slump into mid-table last season, having achieved finishes of seventh and fifth in his two full campaigns in charge – the second curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic – and qualifying for the Europa League en route.
In many ways, though, he personifies what Palace intend to build this summer: a reinvigorated team, with younger talent at its heart supplemented by experience. It is a move away from what came before with Hodgson, and the man who drove on Arsenal’s midfield for nine years takes Palace striding into a new era.
There is also an element of glamour to the appointment. Vieira counts several of Europe’s elite clubs among his former teams during an outstanding playing career at the highest levels. He made 279 Premier League appearances for Arsenal between 1996 and 2005 and captained their Invincibles side who won the 2003-04 title without losing a single league game. He is still counted as one of their greatest ever players. His international career spanned more than 100 caps for France, with whom he won both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Vieira, the player, is still cherished with Les Bleus.
He is eager to make his mark back in English football and brings with him experience of both youth team and senior coaching. From those playing days, he carries a weighty reputation. Admittedly, that still has to transfer into management, but plenty who know have spied promise in his approach. He certainly carries a presence.
With it may come a benefit when it comes to recruitment. That he has an instantly recognisable presence from playing at the very highest level both domestically and internationally may well prove a draw when seeking to convince players to join, particularly where there is competition.
That first opportunity to take charge of a senior team arrived at New York City where he cut his teeth in the United States as part of the City Football Group (CFG). Complemented with his first foray into management with Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, there is the potential to assimilate into Palace’s plans to blend youth and experience.
Some viewed the move to New York as the continuation of a process in which he was being groomed to ultimately succeed Pep Guardiola in Manchester when the time came, such was the esteem with which he was held. Whilst that move to America was not a roaring success, there was disappointment at CFG when he opted to join Nice.
The Premier League is an attractive option for the 45-year-old, who last month admitted in an ITV interview that “coming back to England would be a priority”.
Lille and Fenerbahce – who had both also considered Lucien Favre – had been keen on securing him, but his priority was always the Premier League.
Having made a positive, if not outstanding, impression during his initial interview with Palace in April, this is a marriage of convenience which makes a degree of sense for both parties, even if Vieira is under no misapprehension that he was ever the first choice. Rather, he would acknowledge he was some way down the list of candidates.
Vieira will not come with the baggage that a plethora of backroom staff would bring but is likely to be accompanied by Kristian Wilson, with whom he has worked at each of his previous clubs, and at least one other coach.
He is keen to utilise the skills learned primarily with City’s youngsters, and then at Nice – where the 21-year-old striker and promising France youth international Amine Gouiri was secured from Lyon and presented with a first-team opportunity – and implement them at Palace.
That ability and eagerness to work with youth will have been noted by Palace’s selection panel.
He appreciates the enormity of the task that awaits in south London but nevertheless buys into what Steve Parish, the club’s American owners and the sporting director Dougie Freedman have in mind for the club’s progression. That is, essentially, a more sustainable approach.
There is also an understanding of the notion, heavily favoured at least in the early stages of the recruitment process, that there must be a pathway from the youth teams to the first team. That is particularly crucial given both the success of the club’s under-18 side, who concluded their first season in Category One football as runners-up in the Under-18 Premier League South, and the hotbed of talent on Palace’s doorstep in the capital.
Having invested £20 million into their academy redevelopment, and it being viewed as a critical part of the club’s future, the natural path to follow is to establish a first-team manager prepared to develop that burgeoning young talent effectively, with a particular focus and energy set from the top down. Vieira’s willingness to work with this philosophy is a significant tick in the box.
Yes, he was not first choice. Admittedly, the club pursued other options over recent weeks far more enthusiastically before talks ran aground, first with Nuno Espirito Santo and then Favre. But, in the Frenchman, Palace have a manager who buys into their overall project and who will not ask them to overexert themselves financially in the transfer market. That focus on youth is a priority as much as it is also likely to prove a necessity.
His will be a realistic approach, perhaps marking him out from Frank de Boer – the last figure who felt a break from the norm at Selhurst Park – who lasted only four league games back in 2017. The former France international is under no illusions about the enormity of the task which lies ahead but, like the board, he considers the fact 11 senior players’ contracts are expiring as an opportunity for a reset this summer, and a chance to bring that young talent through where appropriate.
Discussions had been promising back in April, but Palace ended up swayed by other targets who had come onto the radar unexpectedly and boasted more experience. Those initial talks were, nevertheless, sufficiently constructive that contact was maintained with the hierarchy while Palace explored first Nuno and latterly Favre, the man he had replaced at Nice.
Favre backed out of a deal to take the job
Once the Swiss delivered the bombshell confirmation that he would not be signing the three-year contract on the table, Palace, having licked their wounds, quickly moved to speak with Vieira once more. While there were suggestions the hierarchy were attempting to revive their interest in Favre over recent days, those were effectively a red herring. Their priority had effectively switched to Vieira after last week’s Swiss snub.
Talks resumed shortly following the conclusion of Switzerland’s Euro 2020 victory over France on Monday evening – a game on which he had worked as a television pundit in London – aimed at securing an agreement. That was subsequently reached in principle in the small hours of the morning.
That then left only the formalities left to be concluded, for all that, this being Palace, there was still the odd pang of anxiety to endure in the days that followed. Even on Wednesday, figures at the club were still debating the merits of the appointment. That was a reflection of the significance put on identifying the right successor to Hodgson in a summer of considerable upheaval ahead of a ninth season in the Premier League. But, in the end, those fighting Vieira’s corner prevailed.
He has signed a three-year contract and Palace finally boast a new manager a little over a month after Hodgson’s final game, and a matter of days before pre-season training is due to commence.
His arrival marks the conclusion of a tortuous process.
Of Palace’s original list of prospective candidates, Eddie Howe apparently had no interest in moving to Selhurst Park – although there is likely to have been some degree of scepticism from the Palace end too – and West Bromwich Albion lured Valerien Ismael away from Barnsley. Steve Cooper of Swansea was given serious consideration.
Other candidates also gradually fell out of the reckoning. Frank Lampard was sounded out once again as talks with Favre hit the wall but is understood to have withdrawn from the process, and Sean Dyche is on the verge of signing a new lucrative, long-term contract with Burnley.
Of the two men actually offered the job, Nuno’s demands created an impasse before all prospects of a deal collapsed, and Favre’s U-turn instigated the switch to Vieira.
There is no concern from his end that his name had appeared some way down Palace’s list, and that others were offered the job ahead of him. He concedes that those who were approached prior had more experience, even more reputational clout as a coach, and that the club’s priority above all else will always be to achieve Premier League survival. The likes of Nuno and Favre were safer options.
Perhaps there is a question over why Championship side Bournemouth did not press forward with Vieira after interviewing him in February, but he was deemed suitable for Palace in the top flight.
The view on the south coast at the time, however, was that a clean slate would have been required for any of those external candidates considered, and that with only a third of the season remaining and the team sitting just outside the play-offs, there was more to lose than gain. Particularly so given there was confidence they would entice their preferred option in Scott Parker at the end of the season.
It was less about Vieira, and more about appointing the most suitable option in those very particular circumstances.
Palace have applied for a visa to be granted, with Vieira having attended an application meeting in Paris on Wednesday, and there ought to be no complications arising from that, while they have also sought authorisation from the FA.
The hope is that he will be in place for the commencement of pre-season training next week to oversee and take stock of the threadbare squad due to turn up with only nine senior players expected. Christian Benteke remains with Belgium at the European Championship, while Cheikhou Kouyate and Jordan Ayew have both spent time on international duty this summer. Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson are both in long-term rehabilitation after suffering serious achilles injuries.
There is also the small matter of working with the hierarchy to determine which of those contracts which expired on Wednesday ought to be renewed, and then to work swiftly to identify key targets and secure fresh faces at the club’s Copers Cope Road training base in Beckenham.
The likes of Joel Ward, Gary Cahill and Andros Townsend are all hopeful of being offered terms to extend their stints at Selhurst Park. Nathaniel Clyne and Scott Dann may also be open to remaining at the club.
Even if he feels prepared for what lies ahead, there is no doubt that this will be a baptism of fire. Their opening fixture, a visit to the European champions Chelsea, is about as tough as it gets, while September sees the visit of Tottenham Hotspur – now under Nuno’s management – and a trip to Liverpool. Games with Arsenal and Manchester City also follow before October is out.
For Palace, the hope will be that the new man at the helm can build upon the stability brought by Hodgson and successfully oversee a summer transition. It is, however, Premier League survival that remains the overarching primary goal.
Achieving that will undoubtedly prove a stern test for the relative rookie, despite all his enthusiasm for the role he is taking on. |  |
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