After just one year, Crystal Palace’s first-team coach Steven Reid resigned for “personal reasons.”
The 37-year-old, who hasn’t been on the Palace sidelines this season, announced his exit on social media with a brief post.
“Over the last 12 months, I have had an incredible experience at Crystal Palace FC,” he wrote. “A unique club with unique supporters. Regretfully, I need to take a little hiatus for personal reasons before seeing what obstacles are in my way.
It has been an honor to collaborate with Roy Hodgson, Ray Lewington, the staff, and an incredible bunch of players.
Roy Hodgson appointed Reid, who has a Uefa Pro Licence and was Reading’s first-team coach for two years prior to joining Palace, when he took over at Selhurst Park in September.
When Hodgson and Reid arrived, they had yet to win a game or even score a point, but they managed to secure the 11th spot in the Premier League.
The 30-year-old winger is recognized as the greatest player to ever don the red and blue shirt. He grew up on Rothesay Road, which is a short distance from Selhurst Park. He has gone on to become a Crystal Palace icon.
At the age of eight, Zaha enrolled in Palace’s Academy. At the age of seventeen, he made his first team debut, and he went on to make 458 senior appearances in red and blue. On the club’s all-time appearance list, he is ranked third.
After making his senior Palace debut 13 years ago, Zaha has scored 90 goals, including 68 in the Premier League, been named the team’s Player of the Season three times in a row, and established himself as one of the most thrilling attackers in world football.
In the 2013 Championship Play-off Final, Zaha was also the one to win the penalty that opened a new chapter in Palace history by enabling Kevin Phillips to convert from the spot and send the Eagles to the Premier League, where they have been ever since.
In front of his closest friends and family, Zaha just unveiled a painting next to Selhurst Park, immortalizing his famous contribution to the team’s triumph.
“Wilfried Zaha leaves the club having been our best and most influential player,” stated chairman Steve Parish. Even while we all would have preferred for him to stay, it became evident after extensive talks that he desired a new challenge and to travel to a different place before his career came to an end. I think we can all relate to that.
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