Glorious!
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/palace-players-unhappy-with-way-pardew-demoted-jedinak-z38k8x5bl?shareToken=a6b8be701e737ad9845633a7b51528cf
Palace players unhappy with way Pardew demoted Jedinak
Rory Smith, Tony Barrett
August 17 2016, 12:01am, The Times
Alan Pardew, the Crystal Palace manager, is facing mounting discontent from a number of players over the handling of his decision to strip Mile Jedinak of the club captaincy and install Scott Dann in the role.
Pardew confirmed on the eve of the season that he intended to demote the 32-year-old Australian — who had occupied the post for four years — despite describing the midfielder as a “legendary” figure at Selhurst Park and adding that he was a “brilliant leader”.
While Dann, is a popular appointment among his team-mates — and can count on the full support of his predecessor, a close friend who has already offered him his advice on the role — a number of players are believed to be unimpressed with the way the transition was conducted.
Jedinak, who has been linked with a move to Aston Villa, revealed in an interview with Fox Sports Australia last week that he was only told that he would no longer be captain in a cursory conversation with his manager. “I had a conversation,” he said. “It was not the longest conversation but I was told of the decision.”
Pardew, the manager, is facing mounting discontent in the dressing roomPatrik Lundin/Getty Images
The discontent is another challenge for Pardew in what has already been an exacting 2016. Though he took Palace to the FA Cup final — losing to Manchester United in extra-time — the club’s form nosedived in the second half of the campaign, winning just two of 21 games after Boxing Day and securing safety only in May.
Their preparations for this campaign have been frustrating too. Though the club — beaten on the opening day by West Bromwich Albion — are hopeful of tying a number of players, including Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon, to new long-term deals in the coming weeks, they sold winger Yannick Bolasie to Everton on Monday and have failed to bring in the high-profile striker that Pardew is convinced they require.
Palace’s attempts to land Christian Benteke have proved fraught. Liverpool rejected a £30 million bid for the forward yesterday because of the presence of a number of performance related incentives that they did not believe were realistic.
As well as guaranteeing to pay an initial fee of £23 million for Benteke, Palace also committed to additional payments worth up to £7 million but the proposed structure of the deal failed to meet Liverpool’s requirements.
Jürgen Klopp, the manager, values Benteke at £30 million but with Palace’s proposal featuring a £2.5 million clause that would only be activated if they qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history and Benteke scoring 20 goals and appearing in 70 per cent of their games, Liverpool refused to do business.
