After finishing 11th in 2013-14 and 10th in 2014-15, optimism abounds at Selhurst Park. The club has managed its last two years in the BPL smartly. The club has gone from administration just five years ago to stable financial footing and now looking to spend some money. I'd say that the goal for the upcoming season is to make a push for top 8 and solidify South London as an attractive place to play going forward. Of course, I was pretty excited for the beginning of last season too, with a new manager and great result in the previous season, only to have Tony Pulis quit 48 hours before the first kick-off. So, I'm learning to not count any chickens with this club.
It looks like the long-rumored signing of Yohan Cabaye from PSG is soon to become official. Fee is GBP 10MM, with up to 2.5MM in add-ons. The team is also pursuing Charlie Austin and Ashley Williams. They've also been linked to Loic Remy as well.
I think that the addition of Cabaye in the middle, along with the talented and speedy wingers in Bolasie and Zaha makes Palace's attacking even stronger. Importantly as well, they won't be missing out on two key players for large chunks of the season, as Bolasie and Jedinak played until the end in the ACON and Asia Cup last season.
Palace are shopping Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray, as they look for more noteworthy striking options. It seems like captain Mile Jedinak may be on his way out too. I'm guessing a 4-3-3 again for next season, as that seemed to work very well.
Starting XI may look something like this:
Bolasie------{Austin}--------Zaha
Ledley------Cabaye-------McArthur
Souare--Delaney---Dann----Ward
--------------Speroni-----------------
Palace have a pretty tough start to the season. After Norwich away, they face a run of Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs for four of their next 5 games, before things normalize a bit.
This looks to be a very important year for the team. If they can improve on last season's finish, it makes the team a much more attractive destination for new players and perhaps they compete for a Europa Cup place in 2016-17. If they backslide, they probably end up in worse financial shape and the last two years look like a fluke--and perhaps they have more of a struggle to survive.
I'm hoping/planning to get to the September 12 vs. Manchester City.
It looks like the long-rumored signing of Yohan Cabaye from PSG is soon to become official. Fee is GBP 10MM, with up to 2.5MM in add-ons. The team is also pursuing Charlie Austin and Ashley Williams. They've also been linked to Loic Remy as well.
I think that the addition of Cabaye in the middle, along with the talented and speedy wingers in Bolasie and Zaha makes Palace's attacking even stronger. Importantly as well, they won't be missing out on two key players for large chunks of the season, as Bolasie and Jedinak played until the end in the ACON and Asia Cup last season.
Palace are shopping Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray, as they look for more noteworthy striking options. It seems like captain Mile Jedinak may be on his way out too. I'm guessing a 4-3-3 again for next season, as that seemed to work very well.
Starting XI may look something like this:
Bolasie------{Austin}--------Zaha
Ledley------Cabaye-------McArthur
Souare--Delaney---Dann----Ward
--------------Speroni-----------------
Palace have a pretty tough start to the season. After Norwich away, they face a run of Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs for four of their next 5 games, before things normalize a bit.
This looks to be a very important year for the team. If they can improve on last season's finish, it makes the team a much more attractive destination for new players and perhaps they compete for a Europa Cup place in 2016-17. If they backslide, they probably end up in worse financial shape and the last two years look like a fluke--and perhaps they have more of a struggle to survive.
I'm hoping/planning to get to the September 12 vs. Manchester City.