To think, most Crystal Palace fans were preparing themselves for relegation in the coming season this time last summer is almost amusing. With no Wilfried Zaha, Ian Holloway scrounging the dregs of the free agent list to put together a reasonable team and very little financial backing to raise the spirits at Selhurst Park, I was amongst those who tipped Palace for the drop. But, after Holloway's dismal start to the campaign, he was dismissed from his position at the club and Palace's fortunes began to change. Tony Pulis replaced Holloway in what was to be Pulis' second club in the Premier League. Well, let's just say, Pulis established his reputation as one of the best managers to keep a team up. The rapid improvement of Jason Puncheon's form was almost scary for sides around Palace. Having arrived when Palace were in deep trouble, Pulis ensured Palace were (not mathematically) safe by around the 30th game of the season. Bolasie, Puncheon, Speroni, Jedinak and Dann were 5 players key in turning around the season for Palace. The game that summed their season up was their 3-3 draw with Liverpool, down and out where many people had written them off but they struck back and managed to salvage a 3-3 draw against all the odds. The season couldn't have gone any better.
Manager: Tony Pulis
Who said football must be played with 6 midfielders? Who said that "wing play" was dead? Who said a bunch of mid table Championship players can't join collectively and form a team that becomes mid-table in the Premier League? Anybody who's said any of the above has been proven completely wrong by Tony Pulis. You don't need 10,000,000 passes in the build up for a goal to be great. Without different ways of playing the game, football would probably be the most boring sport on the planet. Fair enough if one doesn't like Pulis' direct style, but don't slate the man for playing how he believes his team works best. Evidently, with his successes from last season and his days at Stoke, he has some idea what he's doing when he takes charge of a club. Will the honeymoon period be over now though? Is it impossible to build on the overachievements of last season? Well, only time will tell, but Pulis' stock has significantly risen no matter what happens.
Pulis is 16/1 to be LMA Manager of the Year and 28/1 to be the next to leave his post.
Transfers:
In: Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff City, £900,000), Chris Kettings (Blackpool), Brede Hangeland (Fulham).
Out: Jose Campana (Sampdoria, £1.4m), Neil Alexander (Heart of Midlothian), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Cardiff City), Dean Moxey (Bolton Wanderers), Aaron Wilbraham (Bristol City), Jonathan Parr (Ipswich Town), Ross Fitzsimons (Bolton Wanderers), Osman Sow (Heart of Midlothian), Alex Wynter (Portsmouth, Loan), Kwesi Appiah (Cambridge United, Loan), Jack Hunt (Nottingham Forest, Loan), Stephen Dobbie (Fleetwood Town, Loan), Danny Gabbidon, Ibra Sekajja, Quade Taylor, Derek Tieku, Tom King, Alistair Gordon (Released).
Reasonably unexciting would be the only way to describe Crystal Palace's business this summer. The Eagles fans would've been keen to see their owner send out a signal of his intentions this summer by looking to build on the previous season's achievements. The money that staying in the Premier League has gained the club is obviously not going to be reinvested for Pulis to spend here. Having made a profit on their transactions this summer, fans would be forgiven if they ran into a state of worry that the club are moving backwards, but a deeper look would show fans that, once again, Pulis will aim to stabilise the ship. The addition of Fraizer Campbell brings a player who had bright moments whilst at Cardiff last season, but his inconsistency is a huge problem. He really is a player for big teams to watch out for when they make the trip to Selhurst Park though. At 900k, there is very little risk involved with adding the capped English striker. Brede Hangeland is the only other significant arrival for Palace following his release from Fulham. Having been a huge part to Fulham's success under Roy Hodgson, there is minimal risk in adding this Norwegian star as well. However, one worry would be the lack of pace that he and Dann will have when they form their defensive partnership.
A much needed clear out has occured at Palace this summer though. With only 2 players having arrived, I would personally worry about the lack of depth Palace now have- should injuries occur- but, Palace are seemingly adopting a minimalist approach and improving what they do have. The losses of players like Campana, Parr, Moxey, Dobbie and Gabbidon are probably for the best. Although, Dikgacoi is one surprise departure for me as he played some part following Tony Pulis' arrival last season. However, as Steve Parrish has declared on the newly launched Sky Sports News HQ, there will be a Premier League midfielder on his way to replace the new Cardiff City man.
The Blindsman's Flag Transfers Rating: 7-10- So far Palace have cleared a lot of dead wood out of the squad which leaves a huge reduction in the wage bill. Chairman, Steve Parrish (since I wrote the above piece) has declared that there are a few signings on the way, so I don't expect Palace to enter the season with under £1 million spent as it seemed they were going to do. It is key that Palace continue to buy players with Premier League experience to improve their team.
Predicting The Lineup:
Instant flaws are visible from a first glance at that lineup that I've predicted. The full back areas are extremely weak. Entering their second season in the Premier League with Delaney and Ward at full back (even though they both impressed last season) would be a huge cause for concern for any Palace fans. Ward often lacks positional discipline from what I've seen of him which would be extremely odd for Pulis not to rectify over the summer- with Martin Kelly being linked to the London club. Whereas, Delaney doesn't lack the discipline and is often quite good defensively, but he offers little to nothing as Palace attack. I've already expressed concerns about the severe lack of pace in the Palace centre back pairing, but I think Pulis' will more than make up for this flaw by playing an incredibly deep defensive line as he usually does. The midfield pairing of Jedinak and Ledley is absolutely superb and Jedinak impressed me to the point where I'm astonished none of the teams above Palace have made a move for the Australian. The wide areas are extremely strong for Palace and are going to be integral to the team if Palace are to succeed. But, the area behind the main striker should be a cause for concern. It's all well and good having the pace of Campbell, Bolasie and Puncheon running in behind opposition defences, but if there is no players to pick them out, they may get frustrated and refuse to make intelligent runs in behind. With Championship hero Glenn Murray yet to get fully fit for the Premier League, he'll be a great option for Palace should their tactics require changing. Linked with Zaha also, I'd not really see a space for him in the team without losing a key player to last season's success and that is something Pulis will not be too keen to do. Surely their run can't continue this season though? We will once again see the character of these Palace players I think as they prepare for what will be a difficult season.
Key To Success: Mile Jedinak
At the age of 30 you would think Mile Jedinak could be running out of steam, but the Australian and Palace captain enters this season off what was the most incredible in his career last season. Winning more tackles than any other player in the Premier League last season, it is a player like Mile Jedinak who allowed for players like Puncheon and Bolasie to succeed. In a similar way to Nemanja Matic of Chelsea (Yes, at a lower scale), Jedinak's ability on the ball is deceptively good for such a presence in the centre of the park. Securing a place in the 2012/13 playoffs, for Palace, with a late winner vs Peterborough, was surely a sign of the character this man has, but it took until last season for the 2012/13 Crystal Palace player of the year to catch my eye. Having had an excellent World Cup for the unlucky Australia, Jedinak will probably be below his usual fitness levels at the start of the season, but the man who made 38 starts in the Premier League last season will be keen to continue lighting up the Premier League. Maybe not the Palace man to pick for Fantasy Football, but if we're to judge players off of that, we will see a sharp decline in the midfield wonders that are Matic and Jedinaks arriving on the scene in England. My tip for Palace Player of the Year this season.
Prediction: 15th
Don't worry Palace fans, me predicting a dip in your fortunes is probably something which will benefit your club as I have the anti-Midas touch. But, I just can't see Palace sustaining the form they managed in the second half of last season. But, with belief in Pulis, the incredible support Palace have and that terrific midfield, I really think Palace have enough to stay up. Don't be surprised to see Palace in either the League or FA Cup quarter finals this season. Pulis was always keen on bringing Stoke into the latter stages of the FA Cup so he'll be keen to bring the "Magic of the cup" to Palace fans this season. The Blindsman's Flag says there would be very few reasons not to be optimistic this season for all you Eagles fans out there.
Palace are 11/4 to be relegated and 2/7 to stay up this season.
(All odds via Sky Bet on the 12/8/14)
(Comments, RTs, Favourites, Tweets... All appreciated once again)
EVERTON NEXT EVERYBODY.
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