Terry Venables left the managerial post at Palace and Malcolm Allison took charge at the club for a second spell, however, they campaign proved to be a debacle for Palace as they finished the seasons in rock bottom position, demoting the club back in to second division football. Dario Gradi took charge at the club in 1981, a man who helped Wimbledon gain promotion up the league over the years, however he could only steer Palace to a 15th position finish in the second division during the 1981 – 1982 campaign. They enjoyed a fine run in the FA Cup reaching the quarter finals of the cup competition, however suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against the eventual runners up, Queens Park Rangers. Steve Kember was in charge at Palace for part of the 1981 – 1982 campaign and Alan Mullery took charge at Selhurst Park between 1982 and 1984; however the eagles slid further down the second division during this time. Dave Bassett took charge at the club temporarily in 1984 and Steve Coppell was installed as the new manage towards the end of 1984, at the young age of 28 years old. The Eagles crashed out of the league cup as they suffered defeat against Sunderland and suffered defeat in the FA Cup after suffering defeat against Millwall.