Both Dougie Freedman and Steve Parish have given a few more details about the departure to the press.
Speaking to the South London Press Parish said that Dougie had a burning desire to reach the Premiership and wanted a budget to suit that in January, but he obviously couldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep when it came to the finances, and unfortunately that left Dougie questioning the desires of the board.
‘There were a lot of issues around what was going to be his budget in January – that is when his obsession with getting in the Premier League came out. He said ‘you don’t share it.’ I can’t really, because there are lots of owners that have spent like that in the past and got in serious difficulties. I want to get there, I dream about getting there, but I can’t make promises that aren’t going to come true. There was a contract offer from us on the table, but he felt he still wanted to talk to Bolton.’
Parish also had a lot of praise for Dougie, what he achieved for us and he thinks in time, the fans will look back fondly on him.
‘He did great things for the club as a player and manager. You can’t say anything different. It’s just so sad he won’t be here to see it through. I’m not going to dance on his record, I got on very well with him. I know the fans will be a bit raw for a while but time heals everything.’
There are similarities with Dougie’s side of the story, but also a few bits where things don’t match.
Speaking to the Croydon Advertiser Dougie explained that it wasn’t about money, it was more about the challenge and job security.
‘It’s not about a lucrative new contract, I’ve got four kids and it’s a little bit about the way I’ve been treated and a little bit of a challenge that I think I can do. There are some good kids at Palace and I’m going to miss working with them, but I just cannot put my career and my family’s lives at risk, even for the love of the club, I cannot do it.’
Freedman added that he was set to speak to Steve Parish this week about loan deals, but with only 6 months left on his current contract, he was uneasy about discussing any permanent moves with his own future in limbo.
Dougie also again talked about clubs showing an interest in him, but his policy was also go through the front door at Palace first, and he did believe it would lead to his own future being sorted out quicker.
‘All I’ve said to those clubs is go through the front door, and if he says no to them, then he will realise other clubs are interested and will come in with a new offer for me. I have not heard back from any of those clubs in terms of if they went through the front door, I don’t know. This time with Bolton, he said to me ‘Bolton have come in for you – what do you want to do?’ And my response was along the lines of ‘Steve, I can’t answer that because I’ve got six months left, so what would you like me to do? He said ‘I can’t stop you going’ but obviously he can, he can say no. So my thinking is that I’ve got six months left, but his response was that it will be up to the board whether we will offer you something, but it won’t be compared to what Bolton can pay you.’
Strange situation when you look at the responses, sounds like Dougie wanted job security more than anything and didn’t feel wanted, but with Parish saying a contract was on the table was it a communication breakdown with each party mis-reading the others intentions?
Certainly doesn’t seem to be an acrimonious split, which just makes everything all the more confusing with how it played out.
Vital Crystal Palace on:
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