It has been a disappointing season so far for Crystal Palace, particularly after the excellent mid-table recovery last term. Tony Pulis leaving the club at the start of the season was always going to affect the team but they currently find themselves in 18th position and in a real relegation battle. Alan Pardew’s appointment gives the Eagles renewed optimism but the fact is Pardew will have to perform a job similar to Pullis if Palace are to survive another season.
Palace have gone eight Premier League games without a win, and although back-to-back clean sheets suggests an improvement, they still leak goals too regularly. They have been unlucky in matches as well, the trip to Old Trafford being a good example where Palace deserved at least a point in a narrow 1-0 defeat but couldn’t take their chances.
Not having an out-and-out goalscorer has been their biggest problem and Pardew has identified this as an area that must be improved in January. Frazier Campbell is the clubs highest scoring striker with just three goals to his name and Dwight Gayle needs to be given more of a chance up front.
Palace have only scored twice in their last seven Premier League matches and now one of their most creative players Yannick Bolasie will be missing for the African Cup of Nations. Crystal Palace might struggle for goals more than ever unless something is done about it – and quickly.
Whilst even last season Palace didn’t have many high scoring players – Jason Puncheon and Dwight Gayle finished the season joint top-scorers with seven – the difference is Pulis set his team up to be much harder to break down than this side. They have spells of keeping the ball well and making it tough for the opposition to find a way through, but the tendency to sit back and invite teams onto them has been disappointing and ultimately costly.
It is vital that Palace stay up this season as in recent years they have found it hard to come back up quickly after relegation. Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, the Eagles have only spent six seasons in the division including this one, with four relegations to their name.
Last season was the first time they managed to secure Premier League football for a second consecutive season. The last time the club managed to string together more than two consecutive seasons in the top flight, Alan Pardew was still playing for them.
Their inability to establish themselves as a Premier League club in the past 20 years or so is something they can’t afford to happen again going forward. With the Championship becoming increasingly more competitive, and teams having more financial backing than Palace, relegation could mean no Premier League football for the foreseeable future.
It will be hard work for Pardew to keep them up but he’s shown at Newcastle that he is a talented manager capable of getting the best out of his players. The crucial relegation six-pointers against Burnley and Leicester next month will give a clearer picture to which division Palace will be in next season.
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