2016-17 Crystal Palace: Dancing to the Championship?

candylandriots

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After losing out (or getting played, or driving up the price, take your pick) in the Bastuhayi sweepstakes, Palace completed a bit of business, all announced today. Despite losing out on the striker, it was definitely a nice signal to show demonstrate their interest in such a big name -- and I guess underscores how much money is sloshing around in the Premier League.

Out: Dwight Gayle goes to Newcastle for a GBP 10MM transfer fee. Gayle was never going to be Pardew's first choice at striker, and I think he'll do really well at Newcastle. The guy can score goals.

In: Andros Townsend for a GBP 13MM transfer fee, breaking the amount of last year's record Cabaye transfer. I'm not exactly where Townsend fits in with Bolasie and Zaha, but the depth is important -- especially given how rough a go they had without Bolasie last season. Steve Mandanda was also signed from Marseilles for GBP 1.4MM, presumably taking Wayne Hennessey's starting job at goalkeeper. Given that Julian Speroni signed a 1-year contract as well, I suspect either Hennessey or Alex McCarthy is on his way out.

Alan Pardew also re-upped for another 3.5 years, though still noting his interest in the England job, possibly managing another international side first to get the experience he needs.

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Cellar-Door

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@Cellar-Door how do you think James Tomkins will do at Palace? I don't know much about him. Good signing for £10 million?
He'll do well I think. He's a good solid CB, and even played some RB for use when we had injury issues. He's not going to go adventuring up the pitch, but he's actually very good and spent some time in our starting XI this year and has been in it quite a bit in past seasons. He's a big guy, strong in the air, acceptable with his feet, but not likely to hit adventurous passes. He definitely can be a top 3 CB for a PL side.

He was probably let go because we want to get a new deal for Ogbonna to lock him up, and Tomkins was really 4th choice now behind Ogbonna/Reid/Collins, so it makes sense to move him out get the fee, save on salary and we have a lot of young potential CBs (Oxford, Burke, Henry) and Kouyate has played CB before so he can go there in a pinch.

TL:DR- He's a solid CB who should do well at Palace, 10M is probably about right for him, he's not a star just a solid rotation option, with the benefit of being homegrown (at WH since he was 7).
 

candylandriots

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@Cellar-Door thank you for that! Good stuff. Sounds like he and Delaney will be fighting for PT this season with Tomkins being the long-term solution there hopefully. Even sounds a bit like Delaney.
 

candylandriots

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All right, this is starting to get a little ridiculous. I was OK with the Bolasie sale because of the ridiculous price and the fact he's probably at his peak -- and missing significant time for the ACoN this year.

But now Wilf Zaha is potentially leaving? I guess the allure of Champions League football is immense, but would he get much playing time? I would be extremely disappointed for Wilf to leave, because he is still young and improving rapidly. It seems like Pardew has a bit of an issue with him, but there is so much talent there. I hope that they get his wage demands met promptly.
 

candylandriots

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Loic Remy joins Palace on loan from Chelsea, Spurs can GTFOOH here with their bids for Zaha

Crystal Palace have announced the signing of the striker Loïc Rémy on a season-long loan from Chelsea and will reject Tottenham’s new £21m offer for Wilfried Zaha.

Palace confirmed the move for Rémy, who made just three Premier League starts for Chelsea last season, on Tuesday, with the club understood to be paying loan a fee of around £3m for the 29-year-old.
Bad news if you're Connor Wickham I guess.
 

candylandriots

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candylandriots

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candylandriots

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Could things get worse for Palace?

Yes, yes they can.

Because England has repeatedly snubbed Zaha for international duty, he's switching his international allegiance to Ivory Coast. So Palace will be missing arguably their best player for up to 6 weeks for the African Cup of Nations.

I think it's the right move for him personally and I don't begrudge him the change, but damn this sucks for the team.
 

candylandriots

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I was one of the few that probably still wanted to give Pardew some more time, given recent luck with injuries , but this is eminently justified. The defensive organization is horrible and I imagine Big Sam can fix that. This team has way too much talent to be in a relegation battle.

Pardew is also goddamn idiot for insulting 2 of the 3 main owners a couple of weeks ago -- even if he is probably right. (He said the new American owners "probably don't know that much about football" -- and given their track records with the 76ers and Devils, there isn't much to suggest they understand hockey or basketball either -- but that is not a good thing to say if you want to keep your job.)
 

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How many more years' penance will Allardyce have to do before he's given the England job again? I mean, he eminently deserves it, and also actually wants it. It's not like Pulis or Pardew are going to jump at the opportunity. I gotta assume Southgate is dumped if he doesn't make the 2018 quarters, and dumped after the 2020 Euros otherwise.
 

candylandriots

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How many more years' penance will Allardyce have to do before he's given the England job again? I mean, he eminently deserves it, and also actually wants it. It's not like Pulis or Pardew are going to jump at the opportunity. I gotta assume Southgate is dumped if he doesn't make the 2018 quarters, and dumped after the 2020 Euros otherwise.

I think Pardew would take it in a cocaine heartbeat. The question is whether he will be offered it. There was a time, say around the end of 2015, before Crystal Palace literally had the worst calendar year of all 92 professional clubs in England, that I thought he might be offered the job and leave Palace high and dry. I can't see him getting the England job any time soon, especially since it seems he's pissed some people off at the FA too with his antics.
 

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Just watched today's game against Swansea. It was Palace's year in a microcosm. Total lackadaisical play for 60 minutes, complete breakdown on set pieces, two legit penalty claims denied, an injury to a key player, a moment of brilliance from Zaha (the only player who seems to give a shit, who is now leaving for ACoN thanks to the goddamn FA), followed by a dagger goal in the final minutes to lose to an inferior opponent.

I'll be disappointed to see few games when they're in the Championship next year, but my blood pressure will be better off.

Fucking nightmare.
 

InstaFace

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I'd stake even odds right now that they're not going down, especially with Big Sam running things. All 3 teams below them are meaningfully worse than they are, dramatically so if you go by goal differential. Heck, Watford is 6 points up on Palace but probably a worse team.
 

candylandriots

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I'd stake even odds right now that they're not going down, especially with Big Sam running things. All 3 teams below them are meaningfully worse than they are, dramatically so if you go by goal differential. Heck, Watford is 6 points up on Palace but probably a worse team.
I hope you're right, but one of those teams has already beaten them twice this year.

It's amazing that they have such better players and such worse results.

Maybe I should have become a Chelsea fan ;)

(Thread title updated to reflect my state of mind)
 

candylandriots

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Finally, a win yesterday versus Bournemouth. And they actually looked like they deserved the 2-0 scoreline. Wonderful to have Zaha back, who again looked like the best player on the pitch. Benteke also seemed engaged throughout the match, which was nice to see, and he chipped in a late goal.

Big Sam has them going three at the back, with Ward and new pick-up Van Aanholt on the wings. Jeffrey Schlupp quickly has fit in, going down with a hamstring injury.

Interested to see where Sakho (as opposed to Sako) fits in. Palace also transferred in Serbian midfielder Luka Milivojevic from Olympiakos.

In news that really doesn't mean mutch - Jordon Mutch was loaned out to Reading.
 

candylandriots

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Well, Jkempa, what do you think of Big Sam's work now?

My wager?
I'm believing. It took a while, but I guess he had quite a mess to clean up. It's hard to believe that they could conceivably end up solidly mid-table after all of this (or could still end up being relegated too.)

It's amazing the difference between a total nitwit and a competent football manager.
I know enough about the game to know I have a lot to learn. I did like Pardew because after watching Pulis-ball (boring, but effective) and Warnock-ball (your crazy uncle coaching your team), Pardew was a breath of fresh air. But it's obvious to me how much he failed on keeping that team fit and motivated. A look at their GD compared to their points shows how many crushing last minute points the gave up.

Pictured: @jkempa

I recorded the game yesterday, all excited to go home and watch it. I knew it had been a long time since Palace beat Arsenal, but I didn't realize it was back in 1979, and I felt there was a chance. So I'm wrapping things up at work, thinking about which beer I'm going to enjoy with the game, and I get a text from my nitwit friend saying, "Amazing win against Arsenal today!". I watched it anyway, just because I had to, but he's not going to do that again.
 

candylandriots

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And not to put the jinx on myself or @dirtynine (well, maybe to put the jinx on dirtynine), but we could be looking at a derby next season.

How impossible is it going to be to get tickets for Palace/Brighton? It's been 5 years since they've played.
 

candylandriots

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With safety assured, I've got a quick look back on the season.

The Good

WILF ZAHA has to be considered one of the top wingers in the league and a major snafu by the FA to lose him. He's been a joy to watch all season, and it's great to see how he's grown as a player.

Mamadou Sakho arguably saved the season, even though he played in only 8 games for Palace. He seems to genuinely like playing there, and the fans love the guy. The GBP 30MM price tag seems awfully steep though.

Luka Milivojevic was a force in front of the back four, and was the Jedinak-like presence that was missing for so long this season. He was a steal from Olympiakos and is only 24.

Sam Allardyce was a godsend. I probably wanted to hold on to Pardew longer than was rational, but I have nothing but good things to say about Big Sam. It's amazing that with all the talent that team has, it took him engineering late wins against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to keep them safe. Sam has been talking about recruitment as being the key to this year's turnaround. We'll see if that translates into more transfers.

Honorable mentions: Nice seeing Cabaye come back into form the 2nd half of the season. He's probably one of, if not the most, technically gifted players on the team. Rumblings that he'll look to go back to France next year, which would be a big loss. Andros Townsend came on the second half of the season after a dreadful first half. Benteke was finally the big goal scorer up front (17 of them), that the team had been lacking for so long.

Given where the season went, I'm actually surprised to recount how much good there really was. Moving on...


The Bad

Wayne Hennessey is not a good goalkeeper. Well, maybe he is for the Championship, but not for a team with higher aspirations. I'm not sure that any other Premier League team would trade for him straight up. He did get better after Luka and Sakho showed up, but still makes some horrendous decisions that have no place on a team that wants to improve their standing.

Alan Pardew did not do a good job. His teams are streaky because he seems to always play for a win, even when a point is a good outcome. It certainly appears that fitness was a major, major issue, and one that took weeks for Allardyce to remedy. I can forgive aggressive tactics, but make sure your team is in shape for the competition. Giving up all those late goals in places like Swansea nearly cost them.

Scott Dann was supposed to be called up for England, but he didn't do much to justify that. He ended the season injured, and probably lost his starting spot, in addition to the captaincy (which he held at the beginning of the year).

It would also be nice to see a little more internal development instead of all of these big money transfers.


The Ugly

Steve Mandanda got a hamstring injury and never came back, despite being fit to do so. Word was that he was homesick. He left a sinking ship, but did not behave professionally in my opinion. He's probably the most talented player on the team in terms of raw skill, but I won't be sad to see him leave.

Pap Souare's car accident. Yikes. He was missed, and it cost a lot to replace him -- buying both Van Aanholt and Schlupp. Hopefully he'll be back next season, and it will be nice to have the depth.

October through January: 8 points from 11 fixtures, and three of those were in the last game of January (when the turnaround began in earnest). The 5-4 loss to Swansea on November 26 was particularly hideous and indicative of everything that went wrong through November. Just read that match recap to find out all that was wrong with the team.

This team was always more talented on paper than the results showed. I'm actually optimistic about next season, but realistic enough to expect disappointment. Fingers crossed for a strong window and a much more stable start to next season. Maybe they'll be able to put two strong halves together for once, instead of the half and half that I've seen since I've been following.
 

Bailey10

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Marcos Silva must be pretty content right now. Will be wooed by CPFC, Southampton and Watford like a five star NCAA recruit.
 

candylandriots

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Marcos Silva must be pretty content right now. Will be wooed by CPFC, Southampton and Watford like a five star NCAA recruit.
I would be very happy with Silva. Hopefully the allure of London will win out over a better team at Southampton. Watford doesn't seem a great landing spot.