defender Martin Kelly for criticism following his
side's 5-0 humiliation at Manchester City.
Kelly's loose header landed kindly for David Silva
to open the scoring inside two minutes at the
Etihad Stadium, before City kicked on with four
second-half goals to give the scoreline a
more emphatic look.
Allardyce had started with five at the back but
swiftly re-shuffled his pack after conceding the
early goal, although he insists his tactics were not
behind the team's hammering.
"Our system did not cause us to concede today's
first goal - our defender had to clear the ball and
he didn't, and from it they scored. Individuals did
not perform to our usual standards. We didn't
really recover form that," Allardyce told BBC Radio
Five Live.
"I did not expect to see what we saw in the second
half, which was very disappointing because we'd
fought back into the game and were keeping
Manchester City at bay.
"But Vincent Kompany was free in our box and
scored their second, and after that we simply lost
control and Manchester City scored more and
more.
"My team was unrecognisable from what I've seen
over the last two or three months - hopefully that
is a one-off and the lads have got it out of our
system ahead of the biggest game of the season
next week at home to Hull.
"But [we were] very disappointing here."
The result leaves Palace six points clear of the
relegation zone, with relegation rivals Hull City and
Swansea City playing later on Saturday.
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