PREMIER LEAGUE 2015/16 PREVIEW: Crystal Palace
By Ryan Wrenn
It’s fair to say that Crystal Palace shocked many with their 10th place finish in the Premier League’s 2014/15 season. They did so after suffering under the scattershot ways of Neil Warnock for half the season. The arrival of Alan Pardew in January proved to be the dramatic and vital shift Palace needed to not only stay in the Premier League, but also defy expectations. Pardew has already begun to develop the next stage of his Palace management career this summer. It’s entirely possible that Palace might enter the field of upper-table teams contending for Europa League spots.
Last Year…
Tony Pulis’ surprise exit from the team on the day before the season began last August was the first shock of many to a Palace team that was lucky to have survived the season before. Neil Warnock, already a legend at the club for a prior management stint, offered little this time around. He was unable to find any consistency with the team Pulis built and was thus shown the door after the New Year.
Alan Pardew then proceeded to put on easily one of the best performances by a Premier League manager since, well, he had increased the fortunes of his Newcastle side three years prior. Unlike Warnock, he found what made Pulis’ team passably good and improved on it. The longballs became more accurate, the front two became a front three and even a front four. Palace’s shots-per-game ratio increased in concordance with their goals-per-game. It was as if Pardew had found Pulis’ tattered old musket and rejigged it into a machine gun.
…This Year.
Pardew is primed to deliver a full year of such quality as we enter in the 2015/16 season. He’s managed to keep last year’s team intact, re-signing the impressive centre-back Scott Dann to a new contract along the way.
The longball that Pardew so often relied upon last season has returned to prominence, with Manchester United and Southampton both similarly using the oft-reviled tactic to great effect last term. It would not be surprising to see some version of this utilized again by Palace this coming season, though Pardew and company might find it lacks the same potency. Teams will have had an offseason to learn how to cope with Mile Jedinak’s long punts forward to Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha. If Palace prove themselves a mid-table team early enough on, Pardew might have to quickly learn how to cope with teams sitting back against Palace.
Ins and Outs
The best business Palace has done thus far has been the surprising capture of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint Germain and the loan of the promising striker Patrick Bamford from Chelsea. Cabaye, of course, was a crucial component to that aforementioned Newcastle side that Pardew led to fifth place in 2012. His playmaking efforts in midfield might be just what Pardew needs if indeed teams are content to deny Palace space to run onto long balls. Ever-capable of a clever pass or a devastating goal from distance, Cabaye might be a legitimate game-changer this season.
Though less flashy, Palace’s acquisition of Patrick Bamford on loan from Chelsea and Connor Wickham on a permanent deal from Sunderland might be almost as crucial. The two strikers represent the future of Palace’s frontline and should ably replace club legend Glenn Murray as he reportedly departs for Premier League new boys Bournemouth.
Expectations
Crystal Palace will enter a crowded field in the middle of the table. Swansea, West Ham and Everton will each be looking to break into the top six, and might honestly be better equipped to do so.
Palace’s x-factor is Alan Pardew. Another impressive season will go a long way to establishing him as certainly the best English manager in the league, if not one of the best across the board. If he can continue to outthink opponents large and small, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Palace on the edges of a Europa League fight.
Predicted Opening Day Starting Line Up
