Despite defeating bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United 3-2 in a dramatic Premier League clash on home soil in midweek, sizeable problems still exist for Crystal Palace this campaign.
Heading into February, the Eagles sit just six points above the bottom three and with a number of those sides beneath them beginning to string together some important results, manager Roy Hodgson remains under serious pressure at Selhurst Park.
By Nathan Evans
Let’s face it, if you polled 1000 neutral football fans about which team they enjoy watching the most in the Premier League, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to see Palace rank fairly low on that list. In truth, there’s a number of reasons for that, not least the fact that even Palace fans would argue that their side have for a long time now, failed to play the most exhilarating football.
Understandably, that starts with manager Roy Hodgson. When it was first announced that he would be returning to Selhurst Park in March 2023, his reappointment wasn’t exactly met with much fanfare, especially as it bookended Patrick Vieira’s rein which, at first, seemed like it was finally going to shift the focus to creating a more exciting system of play for fans to watch.
The Frenchman ultimately failed in his overall mission and the 76-year-old veteran came in, got the job done, and Palace enjoyed a great run to end their season with a mid-table finish. This time around, though, things are proving to be a little bit different.
With Palace struggling to string results together, they begin the second half of the campaign in a somewhat precarious position, sitting just six points above the relegation zone. A number of recent losses have been greeted by a chorus of boos from the Palace faithful, and when you assess the footage and trawl through the statistics, it’s really not difficult to see why they are frustrated with the current situation unfolding at the club.
Taking just six wins through 22 matches to date, the South London outfit have struggled throughout this season. With a -11 goal difference to boot, it’s been a case of not scoring enough at one end, whilst also struggling to keep the ball out of the net at the other.
As of the start of February, Hodgson’s side have recorded 260 shots in total, with 91 of those on target, both figures ranking them 14th in the competition. The Eagles also rank 15th in both goals scored (25) and for combined xG (26.41), the second figure proving only greater than the current bottom three – which is understandable following promotions – and Nottingham Forest. Their 43% average possession is additionally down on last season, which explains Palace’s relative lack of control through large chunks of matches this term, which has also been a bugbear for supporters.
The downturn in the club’s attacking output is best highlighted when comparing this season to the final ten games of last term when Hodgson arrived back at Selhurst Park. During his run at the back end of the last campaign, Palace averaged 1.8 goals per match, whilst this season, that figure sits at 1.1. Maybe losing talisman Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray in the summer was a big part of that, but there’s other reasons to explain why Palace are being stifled in attack.
Arguably the main problem stems from Hodgson’s main set-up, a 4-3-3 – or sometimes 4-2-3-1 – system which is rigid in form and allows little creative freedom from position to position, especially in central midfield. In fact, he’s started 30 of his Premier League matches during his second spell at the club with that formation, only switching to a five-at-the-back twice, recently, against Manchester City and Arsenal, with little reward. In simple terms, with little change on a game-to-game basis in terms of player roles or personnel rotation, it’s become far too predictable overall, something which obviously only aids the opposition in their preparation for facing Palace.
There’s also defensive concerns compared to last season, with Palace conceding 36 goals across their 22 outings – a figure only better than six other sides in the division. Amongst them are Brighton and Bournemouth but with the pair offering more from an attacking standpoint, they can offset their defensive troubles, unlike Palace at present.
In terms of personnel on the pitch, there’s additionally the unusual problem at Palace that seemingly their biggest success is also their biggest fault at present, as a complete overreliance on key duo Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise could prove a disaster for them if either sustain a lengthy injury spell in the second half of the season. Similar has been seen with the current injury to star midfielder Cheick Doucouré, who’s time on the sidelines has certainly emphasised just how important and integral his presence is to the way that Palace operate.
Over the past couple of seasons, Eze has developed into the heartbeat of this Palace side, with his skillful approach helping him to stand out as one of the Premier League’s most fun and engaging players to watch, both for Palace fans and for neutral viewers. That’s similarly the case for Olise, who nearly made the move across London to Stamford Bridge not too long ago.
In the Premier League this season, the pair have combined to score 11 of Palace’s 25 goals overall. Olise’s nine direct goal contributions is the highest at the club in the league, whilst Eze has had the most shots on target per 90 (1.5), successful dribbles per 90 (3.3) and chances created (33). If either are sidelined in the coming months – which has unfortunately been the case before – then Palace could find themselves firmly in a relegation battle come the end of the season.
The club’s overall recruitment in recent seasons has also seemed a bit wayward, but one huge positive to come out of the winter transfer window was their acquisition of midfielder Adam Wharton from Blackburn Rovers. Still only 19-years-old, Palace have reportedly spent around £20 million on a player that has been viewed by many this season as the best young player in the Championship, and given that the Eagles have apparently beaten ‘bigger’ clubs to his signature, that could prove an incredibly shrewd bit of business in the long-term.
The majority of Palace fans will likely hope that with that capture, the club’s board are now looking to shift their transfer focus going forward on the whole, engaging in a system in which they sign youngsters with plenty of potential before giving them the playing time necessary to develop. That, in a nutshell, has been one of Palace supporters’ other biggest gripes during Hodgson’s second reign at the club. Despite possessing some fantastic talents within their academy, few have seen minutes on the pitch for the first team, due to a lack of rotation, and what is likely a lack of trust.
Whether Roy Hodgson stays at Selhurst Park until the end of the 2023/24 season remains to be seen, but whether he does or not, Crystal Palace have a lot of work to do both on and off the field in the coming months to make sure that they remain a Premier League outfit for the foreseeable future.
(Images from IMAGO)
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