Crystal Palace 1 Swansea City 2: Angel Rangel grabs late winner in front of watching new manager Paul Clement

A tale of two new managers, and two very different receptions. For Paul Clement, newly installed at Swansea City, an ideal start, Angel Rangel’s goal stealing all three points. Sam Allardyce, meanwhile, faced the Selhurst Park crowd as Crystal Palace manager for the first time, and within 45 minutes, the lukewarm applause had melted into a chime of boos. A reminder, if one were needed, that they are still a little wary of the former England manager in these parts.

In a way, it was a tough game from which to draw too many firm conclusions. Palace might argue they just about deserved a point, given their greater industry in the second half, the quality of Wilfried Zaha’s equalising goal, a penalty appeal that might have swung the game. But that would understate just how hopeless they were to start. The words “QPR under Mark Hughes” are not to be used lightly in this context. Yet in the crud-encrusted Valhalla of Premier League shambles, Palace’s first half here put a strong case for inclusion.

“Obviously that performance wasn’t good enough,” Allardyce said. “Fatigue is the main reason. Swansea had an extra day, and that told. I have to take a bit of responsibility. Picking virtually the same team as against Arsenal was the wrong thing to do.”

Yet the suspicion remains that a squad largely assembled by Alan Pardew is ill-equipped to play Big Sam-ball. The elegant Yohan Cabaye is nobody’s idea of a midfield scrapper. Force the full-throttle Zaha to play as an auxiliary full-back, and you render him a fraction of the player. Once again, Allardyce discovered once again what happens when a team built to attack down the wings, neuters its wingers.

Only when Zaha was unfettered in the second half did Palace begin to look remotely threatening. Trouble being, it also compromised the defensive solidity that Allardyce believes will keep Palace up. So will the arch-pragmatist in Allardyce conclude that his style is the problem, and adjust it? Or will the blame-shifter in him conclude that the squad is the problem, and rip it up this January? Allardyce’s admission that he wanted to bring in “a few new players” suggests it might be the latter.

Swansea still need a few new players of their own, but this was an encouraging way of drawing a line under the disastrous Bob Bradley interregnum. Clement watched the game from the stands, visiting the dressing room at half-time, and will have been reassured that there is still enough spirit in there to beat a path to safety. “He had the security of a fantastic job at Bayern Munich,” said Alan Curtis, in caretaker charge. “I said if I were him, I would have stayed there!”

Clement’s first half-time team talk will have been one of his easier ones. His side led through Alfie Mawson’s glanced header, went close through Jack Cork and Ki Sung-Yeung, were carving up Palace’s left flank - the flank Zaha was supposed to be defending - at will. The frequent criticism of Swansea is that they are simply too pleasant to play against, but here they looked more alert, more tenacious, tougher to break down.

Until Zaha’s goal seven minutes from time, the only time they were truly troubled was when Christian Benteke tumbled over the challenge of Lukasz Fabianski in the first half. A penalty and a red card would have swung the game Palace’s way, however undeservedly, but referee Paul Tierney waved away the appeals. “Outrageous,” fumed Allardyce, suggesting that Tierney’s relative lack of experience may have been a factor.

Still, if there is one thing you can say about Allardyce, it is that he is not squeamish about ringing the changes. Off came Benteke at half-time. Off came Andros Townsend a few minutes later. Back went Zaha to his favoured right wing. Cabaye was pulled deeper, and then shoved further forward again. This was Allardyce trying to inject a little chaos into the game, and when Zaha’s met Fraizer Campbell’s cross with a swivelling volley from 15 yards out, appeared to have saved Palace a point.

Instead, all it bought them was five minutes’ grace. A simple chip down the middle was enough to unpick Palace’s defence. Angel Rangel reacted quickest, tucking the ball under Wayne Hennessey, who should probably have done better.

“Football is a simple game,” Allardyce reflected afterwards. “Exploit your strengths, cover up your weaknesses and score one more goal than the opposition.” Yes, the diagnosis may be simple enough. But as Allardyce knows better than anybody, no club ever changed their manager because things were easy to fix.