Ok - name me three candidates to take over in the summer.
Given what the likes of Brighton, Brentford and now Villa have been achieving over recent years, all we are saying is you could show some ambition. Yes it might backfire, but you might also have a bit of success and some fun in the meantime. And ultimately, you're eventually going to get relegated anyway by doing what you're doing in the same way all clubs managed by dinosaurs eventually get sucked in (e.g., Bolton, Stoke and Burnley).
The run of fixtures Vieira had before getting fired was also insane, and he was still picking up points in them:
Brighton 1 v 0 Palace
Palace 0 v 1 Man City
Villa 1 v 0 Palace
Palace 0 v 0 Liverpool
Brentford 1 v 1 Palace
Palace 1 v 1 Brighton
Man United 2 v 1 Palace
Palace 0 v 0 Newcastle
Palace 1 v 1 Man United
Palace 0 v 4 Spurs
Chelsea 1 v 0 Palace
11 games against 9 different opponents.. and 8 of them finished in the top 9 of the Premier League - the other was Chelsea (away). You picked up 5 points, which is probably 5 points more than bookies odds would have had you winning, and you lost by more than one goal only once.
From the outside looking in, one of the harshest sackings in PL history. After Hodgson took over you had games against Leicester, Everton, Leeds, Wolves, West Ham, Bournemouth, Southampton and Forest, all in danger of being relegated. Of course you started picking up more points.