Ah, Christmas... A time of goodwill to all mankind.

Unless they're a manager of an underperforming Premier League football club, that is. Since guiding Crystal Palace to last May's Cup Final, Alan Pardew's struggles at Selhurst Park have been well documented, and it's now emerged that the 55-year-old has been sacked by the club. With one league win and eight defeats in their last ten outings, Palace will find themselves hovering just above the relegation zone on Christmas morning, with only a point separating them from 18th-placed Sunderland. A statement from Palace chairman Steve Parish says:

“I would like to put on record our sincere gratitude for the tremendous service Alan has given us, both in his time here as manager and previously as a player.   "Following a fantastic second half of 2014/15, the 2015/16 season culminated in only narrowly missing out on winning the FA cup as well as securing our Premier League place for a record breaking fourth time.  "During his tenure Alan’s hard work and dedication were without question, he has improved so many areas of the club and we wish him the very best for the future.  "With games now coming thick and fast over the holiday period the club are hoping to put someone in place as quickly as possible but have nothing to say about a replacement at this time."

Pardew's team picked up the fewest number of points in 2016 of any current Premier League side. The reaction to him being sacked wasn't sympathetic at all. That gif was out in force. https://twitter.com/jacksb7/status/811954511107555330 https://twitter.com/ColmVHayes/status/811954496477732864 https://twitter.com/dylanwalsh_/status/811954460520022016 https://twitter.com/TimAdams76/status/811954443352756224 And his poor record in 2016 was brought up. https://twitter.com/DeanColleyPT/status/811954347957485568 https://twitter.com/ZedKay_101/status/811950769549230080 https://twitter.com/JamesCortazzi/status/811954434582474752 With many arguing that there's only one man for the job. https://twitter.com/monkey_sponge/status/811487396189585409 https://twitter.com/WestHam_Central/status/811955355580268544