Dougie Freedman opens up on decision to quit as Crystal Palace boss in 2012: ‘My circle of influence was wrong’

Dougie Freedman has finally opened up about his decision to leave play-off chasing Crystal Palace for Bolton Wanderers in 2012.

The Scot, a fans’ favourite during his playing days in SE25, opted to quit as the Eagles manager despite them flying high in the Championship at the time.

Freedman, 47, was appointed Palace’s sporting director in August 2017.

He was interviewed about his departure  in the When Eagles Dare Amazon Prime documentary which is available to stream from June 4.

Freedman said: “We played Bolton a few weeks before, and we got a very good result against them. There was no hiding the fact that they really admired our team and really admired the way that we were playing – they were very open in telling me what a great job I had done.

“Back on the bus [after the game], I thought: ‘That’s a club that has just come down, that needs some energy in it.’

The Eagles were fourth in the Championship table – just two points off league-leaders Leicester City – when Freedman decided to join Bolton, who were 16th.

Reflecting on his decision to leave, Freedman said: “My contract was up, I had six months to go, and it was always in the back of my mind: ‘What is the next six months going to have in store for myself?’

“Bolton had made it very, very clear that they would like me to be their manager, and they made it very clear that I was their number one target – it was very flattering.”

Despite meeting with Parish the day following the 2-2 draw with Millwall, where Freedman was offered a new and improved contract, Parish says that Freedman’s desire to leave for Bolton was a ‘runaway train’.

Freedman then added an explanation, saying: “Being a football player doesn’t really teach you how to be a football manager. I was a young manager at the time, and I didn’t really have the experience to handle the attention that I was getting. And of course, one has a huge ego when you’re doing well – it had never happened to me before.”

As the documentary cuts to a photo of Freedman sat alongside his assistants Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming, he adds: “My circle of influence was wrong at the time. I was too impatient. I didn’t really know what I had. I didn’t know what I was building because I hadn’t had the experience to reflect on – it was all on energy, it was all on ego, it was all pushing forward.

“Looking back, I should have maybe taken a few more days to sit down and think what I had on my plate at the time. I don’t think Steve or the board could have done anything else on that Sunday more than they did – it was through my own wrongdoings. It wasn’t the way I would have liked to have left it, but it was the decision I had made.”

When Eagles Dare will launch exclusively on Prime Video worldwide on June 4.