Sam Allardyce's rescue mission at Crystal Palace is not going according to plan. The former England boss - who lasted just one game in charge of the national team before being dismissed in disgrace after an undercover sting - was parachuted in at Palace on Dec. 23 with survival in the Premier League being his loan objective. The Eagles had spiraled down the table under Alan Pardew and appeared in very real threat of relegation, but the appointment of a 'survival specialist' such as Allardyce was supposed to change all of that. More...