Sam Allardyce kept Crystal Palace up, but it has proved to be one last hurrah.The 62-year-old is now expected to retire, free to spend his days dancing to Rihanna in Ibiza having never been relegated from the Premier League.Things seem to happen rather quickly in the life of Sam Allardyce.In the last year, he has kept Sunderland up, taken the England job, embroiled himself in a scandal, been fired after one game, and now he has joined and left Palace within six months.However, his stint at Selhurst Park has gone a long way to restoring his reputation.The veteran manager took over from Alan Pardew with the Eagles just a point above the bottom three, but in the end, they stayed up with a week to spare.Shock victories over Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool were the high points of his short time in charge.Several Palace players owe a lot to Allardyce, too, as he got the best out of a squad that was seriously underperforming.With the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke, and Andros Townsend in their ranks, the south Londoners ought to have done better.

Townsend shocked 

Many of them will no doubt be sorry to see their gaffer go. In fact, Townsend posted a cryptic tweet as the news of Allardyce's departure broke.

Now, the winger may have been expressing his shock about any number of things, but it's a safe bet that - like the rest of football - he was left stunned by the announcement.

Early reports, including one from the Daily Mail, suggested he was unhappy after discussing the club's transfer policy with chairman Steve Parish. If that were the case, then Townsend's tweet really would set the cat among the pigeons, but it appears Allardyce simply wants a quiet life away from the Premier League.

Given that Arsene Wenger is 67 and Sir Alex Ferguson didn't quit the game until he was 71, you can't help but feel that Allardyce had more to give.

Allardyce bids farewell 

Yet, Allardyce's statement, released by the club, read:

"This is the right time for me.

"I have no ambitions to take another job, I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League."

Palace are now looking for their eighth manager in seven years.

Who should Palace appoint? Have your say in the comments.