Like supporters up and down the country, the hope for Palace fans was
that in the week up to the transfer deadline, and on the frenzied day itself,
there would be some significant squad strengthening going on. Palace though have stood still, which in the Premier League is the equivalent
of reversing off a cliff. In this window I couldn’t stop gazing at West Brom enviously
as if I was in the guy looking back meme as Tony Pulis’ baseball cap sashays by.
This will
probably come across as more a stream of consciousness rather than anything
coherent, but then that seems very much appropriate given both Palace’s performance
on and off the pitch, and in their
general approach to this season. ‘Evolution rather than revolution’ was what
was preached, but so far confusion seems to be the best way to describe what is
going on; no-one involved, from Chairman, to Manager, to players to fans really
seems to have the foggiest clue what is meant to be going on, leaving the
muddled mess that has been a three match pointless, not to mention goalless
start to the new Premier League season.
As I say,
people far more learned and informed than this site are looking to try and make
sense of what’s going on, and at time of writing Frank De Boer’s position seems
to be hanging by a thread. Earlier in the week it was reported he’d been given
a stay of execution after some fairly, erm, ‘frank’ talks between manager and
owner, but following what could kindly be termed a disappointing transfer
window, but for most a terrible one, it looks like the Dutchman fears an imminent
axe swinging in his direction. It’s fair to say this wasn’t anyone expected,
although, really, if most of us ask ourselves, what did we expect?
De Boer’s
appointment was meant to be the start of a brave new world at Selhurst Park,
but most would acknowledge that it was going to involve both a leap of faith
and a leap into the unknown. Three at the back, more concentration on passing –
this was going to be a world away from the sit back, let the opposition have
the ball and strike quickly and directly through counter attacking and set
pieces. What we have seen so far is a bizarre hybrid of the two that isn’t working.
Against Swansea we sat back and had none of the ball, so far, so
Pulis/Allardyce, but then when we did get the ball there was no urgency, no
moving the ball forward; complete passiveness with no aggression. There was a
promising performance at Anfield where the team was able to revert to it’s
tried and tested tactic that has taken big name scalps in the Premier League,
but once again, in the ‘comforts’ of home, it was a disaster. Although, it does
feel harsh in a way to completely pillory Frank De Boer about that, after all,
Palace’s very poor home record in recent years against teams of comparable size
and ability has been one of the key reasons behind constant managerial upheaval
and relegation scraps.
Like supporters
up and down the country, the hope for Palace fans was that in the week up to
the transfer deadline, and on the frenzied day itself, there would be some
significant squad strengthening going on. Whatever your view of De Boer,
whether you think he’s the right man for the job, and whether he will still be
here by the time this is posted, the squad as it was as the window closed did
not look good enough for the key task of staying in the Premier League. Waking
up the morning after the night before, I’m convinced the team is in serious trouble.
Palace have
stood still, which in the Premier League is the equivalent of reversing off a
cliff. In this window I couldn’t stop gazing at West Brom enviously as if I was
in the guy looking back meme as Tony Pulis’ baseball cap sashays by. They have
done impressive business, signed good Premier League players and also pulled
off what on papers looks to be a fantastic coup in getting Grzegorz Krychowiak
on loan from PSG. What’s more, when they’ve gone in for a player they’ve turned
it round in a day or so. Swansea have benefitted from Paul Clement being Carlo
Ancelotti’ mate, but have still managed to pull off the swoop of getting Renato
Sanches – a player Bayern Munich paid £35m for – for this season. I look at Burnley, where Sean Dyche – a man
heavily linked with the Selhurst hot seat in the summer – has assembled a squad
with fives strikers who I’d all rate as decent at the worst. Palace’s first
team has one senior striker.
Whether it
was players that might better fit De Boer’s new system and style of play, or
whether it was players to boost the squad of whomever takes over from him very
shortly, the squad needed improving badly. At the very least it needed bodies.
Was Oumar Niasse a player that everyone might have wanted at the beginning of
yesterday? Maybe, maybe not, but It says it all that I was devastated to go to
bed hearing his move at collapsed at the eleventh hour.
As Chairman
Steve Parish has outlined to the Croydon Advertiser: "I know we had one deal fall through from
Everton. (It didn't happen) for various reasons I don't want to go in to
really, it was a difficult one for lots of different reasons," said
Parish.
"It was
a shame as he is a player we really liked, he's very Palace and could have
given us something special.
"But it
wasn't meant to be, we'll soldier on and we got the main target we wanted
(Mamadou Sakho)."
Soldiering on
are the words.
At least
Sakho was finally a deal that was dragged kicking and screaming over the line,
and it’s a move that a lot of fans were desperate for. Sakho’s arrival on loan from
Liverpool last season coincided with a run of form that essentially ensured
survival and included impressive wins at Anfield and Stamford Bridge and a home
victory over Arsenal. In those games and in that run Sakho was colossal, giving
the team much needed authority and a vastly strengthened back bone. Is the
squad better off for having Sakho in it? Undoubtedly, but why it did take so
long to get the deal done when it was clear we were the club he wanted to join?
One reason was Liverpool’s insistence on a £30m fee, and through some haggling and
leaving it to the last minute it looks like the club has saved itself a couple
of million, but it also seemed that he was a player that Frank De Boer didn’t
especially want, given that Sakho didn’t fit the template for the ball playing
defenders he would want to work with. This is of course pure and largely
uniformed speculation on my part, but Sakho feels a transfer very much pushed
through by the Chairman.
It is though
a positive move. The key issue, was that it ended up being the only move. The
Niasse fiasco, and reported bids for Besiktas front man Cenk Tosun showed that
the club were aware of the lack of goals and striking options in the team, and
yet, technically the squad finds itself one striker down this morning after
loaning out Keshi Anderson to Swindon Town. The destination of Anderson, with
no Premier League appearances under his belt, shows that he was unlikely to be
a viable option, but the fact remains that the team are one injury to Christian
Benteke – a player looking out of sorts and isolated so far this season anyway –
away from having no strikers at all. It almost got to the point yesterday that
I was crossing my fingers for the arrival of Kevin Doyle on loan.
For most, the
very least that needed to be done, was bringing in a goalkeeper, a defender, a
winger and striker; one out of four is unlikely to be good enough to improve
upon a start to the season that has seen no points, no goals and a new manager
seemingly flailing hopelessly while rocking a lovely navy blue blazer and boat
shoes. Looking up and down the league, it is potentially only the squads of
Newcastle, Brighton, and perhaps West Ham that look comparatively weak. The
problem is, that squad building and development is an issue that has needed
improving ever since the club was promoted in 2013 and which still doesn’t
appear to have been addressed.
Looking at
the Championship of today, multiple teams are able to spend £6-7m on a player and
no-one bats an eyelid. Middlesbrough have a front three worth almost £30m. A
lot of teams have spent a lot of money, and yet when Palace came up five
seasons ago, it was a team wholly unprepared for the top flight. It was not a
team that had benefitted from significant investment – the first eleven that
beat Watford in the final costing just under £2.5m – and survival since then
which has now progressed to an unprecedented fifth consecutive season in the
top flight has been a remarkable achievement. Obviously the squad as it exists
now, and during that time has seen some significant investment, but in the
areas of recruitment and scouting the club still appears sorely lacking. The
evidence is often there in the mad trolley dash that the club seems to go on
every deadline day.
It’s been
very rare over the past several seasons for Palace to do any shopping overseas,
the club preferring to regularly buy in the British market. This brings with it
an air of greater reliability, but also inflated prices. Signing Luka
Milivojević from Olympiakos was a rare exception, but shows that creative
solutions can be found abroad. Is a Watford approach of having a squad full of
often little known players from around the globe a better way? I don’t know,
but most other teams seem to be able to unearth some rough diamonds, and
players, regardless of nationality, that bring a different skillset to the ones
that have been playing in England.
Compared to
other clubs, transfer dealings also seem much more protracted. Dougie Freedman’s
return to the club as Sporting Director has had a marmite reaction amongst
fans, but taking away the nature of his departure to Bolton five years ago, and
his credentials for the job, appointing someone to that role is a long overdue
move. Today, clubs need to be ever more smart about their recruitment. The less
said about why Iain Moody departed the club following a brief period in that
role the better, this is a family blog after all, but the transfer window where
he was in place in January 2014 was arguably the most efficient and straight
forward the club has had during its spell in the top flight.
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