#11 Crystal Palace: Comfortable In Mid Position
Crystal Palace are one of the established Premier League teams these days. Previously viewed as a yo-yo side who rarely stayed in the top flight for more than a year, 2023 will mark the 10th anniversary of their most recent promotion from the Championship. A club of their size can never take Premier League status for granted, but Palace no longer begin every season simply hoping to finish above the dreaded dotted line.
The next step in the coming years will be either qualifying for European competition or winning a first ever major trophy. Neither will be easy. Palace have only finished in the top half of the Premier League once in the modern era. There is still ground to make up on the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, never mind the big six. In knockout competition, Palace reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last term but were soundly beaten by Chelsea at Wembley.
Even so, there is considerable excitement and optimism around Selhurst Park right now. The club has plans to expand its stadium and an impressive new academy facility was opened last year. Palace is now an attractive destination for young, talented players, with Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi among those who have entrusted the Eagles with their development. Dougie Freedman, the sporting director, leads a recruitment team which has done some excellent work over the last few years. And in Patrick Vieira, Palace have a bright, ambitious manager whose expectation of high standards across the board is just what the club needs.
See our predictions for all the teams in the 22/23 Premier League season here.
Ten years ago Palace, then managed by Freedman, were tipped by many to be relegated to League One. Fast forward to 2022 and this is undeniably a club on the up. This Premier League season could be their best yet.
Predicted XI (4-3-3)
Vicente Guaita; Chris Richards, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mitchell; Ebere Eze, Cheick Doucoure, Jeffrey Schlupp; Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Wilfried Zaha.
The coach
Vieira may have exceeded even his own expectations last season. He arrived at Selhurst Park with a mixed track record in management, and was only appointed by Palace after their moves for Nuno Espirito Santo and Lucien Favre collapsed at the eleventh hour.
The Eagles were chosen as one of the favourites for relegation. It was easy to see why. Several regular first-team players had departed along with Roy Hodgson, who had continually kept Palace clear of relegation trouble throughout his four-year tenure. Vieira was tasked with not only overhauling the team’s style of play, but also ensuring they retained their top-flight status.
He achieved that objective with flying colours. Palace amassed more points, scored more goals and conceded fewer than they had in Hodgson’s final campaign. They did all this by playing a brand of proactive, attack-minded football that the Selhurst Park faithful had hardly seen since their promotion to the Premier League in 2013, save for the Alan Pardew tenure.
Equally significant was Vieira’s whole-hearted embrace of everything the club stands for, a move which immediately endeared him to the club’s fans. The worry for Palace fans is that another positive season could lead to their manager being poached by a club higher up the food chain.
Player to watch
After tearing his achilles towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign, Ebere Eze was a peripheral figure last season. The former Queens Park Rangers man was restricted to just six starts in the Premier League, the vast majority of which came in the final few weeks of the campaign. Eze found it difficult to break into a team which was performing well, while Vieira was wary of rushing him back too quickly after such a serious injury.
Conor Gallagher was chosen as Palace’s Player of the Year last term, but he has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell ended. Eze is his most natural replacement. The two players are different: Gallagher’s standout quality is his superhuman energy, whereas the elegant Eze is more of a creative force. Able to play as a No.8, a No.10 or out wide, the 24-year-old will provide invention and guile wherever he is deployed. Palace fans cannot wait to see him back to his best.
Transfers
In
Malcolm Ebiowei (Derby County), Cheick Doucoure (Lens), Sam Johnstone (West Bromwich Albion) , Chris Richards (Bayern Munich)
Out
Chiekhou Kouyate (Released) Luke Dreher (Released), Jaroslaw Jach (Released), Martin Kelly (Released), Nya Kirby (Released)
Our Premier League score card
Goalkeeper: 6/10
Palace’s signing of Sam Johnstone leaves Vieira with three senior goalkeepers at his disposal: the England international, plus Vicente Guaita and Jack Butland. The latter could be sold after less than two years in south London, although the former is 35 and coming towards the end of his career.
It is unclear which custodian will be Palace’s first choice in the upcoming campaign, but the consensus seems to be that Guaita is still the No.1 for now. A fine shot-stopper with smart reflexes, the Spaniard is not particularly adept with his feet – a shortcoming which was far more noticeable under Vieira than it was at any point during Hodgson’s tenure.
Johnstone, who began his career at Manchester United and has been capped three times by his country, would not have joined Palace if he did not feel the starting berth was up for grabs. It would not be a surprise if the 29-year-old ended the campaign as Vieira’s go-to choice between the sticks, but he may have to be patient initially.
Defence: 8/10
Palace were not quite the best Premier League team defensively last term, but theirs was certainly one of the division’s tightest backlines. Only Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Wolves and Brighton & Hove Albion conceded fewer goals than Vieira’s side, while the top four were the only teams with better expected goals against records.
Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen were both superb from day one. Guehi, who will fancy his chances of going to the Qatar World Cup with England, is a modern, aggressive centre-back who will surely join one of the country’s biggest clubs in the next few years. Andersen is Palace’s best passer, with his switches of play a sight to behold.
Tyrick Mitchell was another impressive performer last time out. The left-back has been linked with Arsenal in the past, and the Gunners are surely not his only admirers. Defensively solid, Mitchell grew in stature as an attacking force as last season wore on.
Chris Richards, a centre-half by trade, could take over from Nathaniel Clyne and Joel Ward at right-back, although a shift to a back three has been mooted.
Midfield: 7/10
As mentioned above, the loss of Conor Gallagher is a blow for Palace. The Chelsea loanee scored eight goals and provided three assists in the Premier League last term. He was also influential in leading the Palace press, and no one in the current squad can match his energy and dynamism.
It is not all bad news, though. Gallagher, for all his qualities, is not a particularly creative passer. Ebere Eze, the player most likely to replace him positionally if not stylistically, should make Palace more adept at breaking down stubborn opposition defences. Eze is most likely to play as part of a midfield three, although he can also be used further forward if required.
Cheick Doucoure was Vieira’s top transfer target going into the summer, so the Palace boss will be delighted to have landed him for just €21m. A box-to-box midfielder by trade, he is also capable of playing a holding role and will replace Cheikhou Kouyate in that position.
Vieira has several other midfield options at his disposal. Will Hughes is a tempo-setting passer who will be used when Palace are facing bottom-half sides. Jeff Schlupp makes excellent off-the-ball runs and, as a left-footer, brings balance to the midfield. James McArthur, now 34, shows no signs of slowing down, while Luka Milivojevic should get some game time even if he is now past his best.
Attack: 7/10
Wilfried Zaha remains Palace’s talisman and he was arguably the team’s standout performer in the second half of last season. It was his most productive campaign in terms of goalscoring, with the Ivory Coast international finding the back of the net 15 times in all competitions. A wizard of a dribbler, Zaha is capable of winning Premier League games on his own. Most at home on the left wing, Vieira occasionally positioned him as a central striker last term.
Michael Olise was in and out of the team in 2021/22, but he showed enough flashes of quality to make Palace fans extremely excited for what lies ahead. Olise is only 20 years old, but his decision-making is sound and his end product is polished. The youngster possesses a fabulous left foot and looks capable of getting into double figures for goals provided he stays fit.
Palace’s quality on the flanks is not quite matched through the middle of their attack. Jean-Philippe Mateta is a handful and his ability to both hold the ball up and run in behind makes him a useful asset. He is not exactly prolific, though, with just five goals in 22 Premier League outings last season.
Bench: 7/10
Palace’s current squad is probably the strongest in the club’s history. In midfield and up front, Vieira has enough options to be able to rotate depending on the opposition. Indeed, while Mateta was his favoured centre-forward last term, Christian Benteke’s aerial ability and Odsonne Edouard’s smart link-up play provide the Palace boss with different choices. The same is true on the right-hand side of the attack, where Michael Olise is more potent but Jordan Ayew offers greater defensive cover.
The signing of Chris Richards pads out the defensive options, but the left-back Tyrick Mitchell does not have a natural deputy, with the 18-year-old Tayo Adaramola having been loaned to Coventry City. Joel Ward, Nathaniel Clyne and Jeffrey Schlupp will be the reserve options for Mitchell.
Final score: 35/50
Another mid-table finish beckons for Palace, who could even break into the top 10 if their key players stay fit. Vieira wants his team to be flexible – a switch to a back three has been mooted – and we should see Palace take another step forward as they continue to embrace their manager’s principles. A relegation battle is highly unlikely, but European qualification will probably be beyond the Eagles in 2022/23.
