One Man's Trash: Alan Pardew's Crystal Palace

[candylandriots]

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.
 

 

[eddiew112]

Cabaye looks great in that potential line up. I am a Spurs fan but I have to say that I have a huge soft spot for Palace after going to Selhurst two years ago (thanks jkempa!). It was the last game that Holloway was in charge and it looked hopeless. On the train to Selhurst there were a lot of Everton fans chatting with Palace supporters trying to cheer them up (you guys are proper club, we got nothing but respect for you, etc.) and the Palace fans seemed resigned to their fate. The guys I talked to were just grateful they were able to see Premier League football for a season and that they were in a division above Brighton. The atmosphere at the stadium was just fantastic and it was definitely one of the best fan experiences of my life. They must be a little shocked themselves at the events of the last season and a half.

 

[candylandriots]

Scott Dann signs new 5-year deal.

http://www.espnfc.us/crystal-palace/story/2521279/scott-dann-future-crystal-palace-signing-new-five-year-deal

Can this season start already?

 

[candylandriots]

Patrick Bamford goes on loan to Palace
 
Sounds like an interesting player. I didn't see anything of the Championship last year. Could he be a first team contributor for CP? It's seeming less likely by the day that Remy or Austin are walking through that door.

 

[candylandriots]

Having failed on Charlie Austin and Loic Remy, Palace will settle for Connor Wickham from Sunderland for GBP 10MM.
 
And it seems that it's the end for Championship hero Glenn Murray, who appears bound for Bournemouth. Though that's not confirmed, it would make sense with Bamford and Wickham coming in.

 

[Spacemans Bong]

I'm a little surprised by that, I thought Murray looked pretty good when he came back from his loan spell. He could be the kind of guy who gets a dozen goals for Bournemouth and helps them stay up. 

 

[candylandriots]

I'm a little surprised by that, I thought Murray looked pretty good when he came back from his loan spell. He could be the kind of guy who gets a dozen goals for Bournemouth and helps them stay up. 

 
And it's finally done....Murray to Bournemouth for GBP4MM.
 
Best of luck to one of the guys that got them to the Premier League. But it was clear that his playing time was in major jeopardy at Palace - hopefully Bournemouth is a good landing spot.

 

[candylandriots]

Nice little puff piece in The Guardian about the turnaround of Crystal Palace from administration in the Championship to the most profitable (in percentage terms) team in the Premier League.

 

[candylandriots]

Yannick Bolasie extends his contract with Palace through 2019. As a big Bolasie fanboy, I'm quite happy about this.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/26/yannick-bolasie-crystal-palace-new-contract

 

[candylandriots]

The on-again, off-again romance between 76ers owner Josh Harris and CPFC appears to be back on again.

This might not be a terrible thing. Parish will still have control of the club and the extra cash may help the owners better invest in the team.

They can't do worse than in Philly and with the Devils, right? Right?

 

[Bailey10]

I have been pretty impressed with Parish's running of CPFC since they got to the premiership. He always seemed to change managers at the right moment and was patient enough with enough with the search process to make sure that who they hired would give them the best chance at success.

He also came across very well during his podcast interview with Men in Blazers. It's a rarity these days that a top flight club is owned by people who grew up as die hard supporters and are so passionate about the history, culture and overall success of the team.

 

[candylandriots]

Josh Harris' and David Blitzer's buy-in to Crystal Palace is complete.

Despite these guys' piss-poor record with team ownership, I think that I'm OK with this. It looks like CPFC2010, led by Steve Parish have structured this carefully so that they are keeping control and basically using the Americans for their money. Parish will reduce his stake to 18%, but the other three members of the original buyout group will still retain a total of 46%. Harris and Blitzer get 36% collectively (I think 18% each). This values the team at roughly GBP 139 million.

The new money is reported to be going towards improvements at Selhurst Park (I hope not too much!) and for the academy. We'll see if it helps bring in a big-name player in the January window too -- which could be really interesting to watch as the team sits in position for Europe, in a virtual tie for 4th.

 

[candylandriots]

And Sky is reporting the investment at GBP 100 million (presumably valuing the team at GBP 278MM, not bad for an initial investment of 10MM), with 50% of the money earmarked for the stadium.

 

[candylandriots]

This team is so bad right now. Haven't scored in a league game in the last four, outplayed by Aston fucking Villa and Wayne Hennessey, who has been the only one seemingly showing up of late, let in an absolutely embarrassing goal.

Oh yeah, they have City and Spurs next.

 

[soxfan121]

Pardew Out?

 

[candylandriots]

Pardew Out?

I don't think we're there at all yet. But they've pretty much fallen apart without Bolasie. A lot of Palace fans thought he should have been dropped earlier in the season, but for a team that relies on wing play as much as Palace does, they're pretty impotent with only Zaha drawing defensive pressure. If I'm Bolasie's agent, I'm looking for a raise.

Edit: It's amazing how their poor run has almost exactly coincided with the inclusion of Philadelphia 76ers ownership.

 

[candylandriots]

Palace sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a free transfer

Seems like a low-risk way to help some of their issues up front and gives EA a shot to earn a contract for next season.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

Isn't the risk that he's an asshole? Am I thinking of someone else?

 

[candylandriots]

Isn't the risk that he's an asshole? Am I thinking of someone else?

No, I think that's right. But I would be OK with Kim Jong Un at striker right now though if he could score a goddamn goal. As long as Adebayor's wages aren't too high though, if his assholery is too much, they can just get rid of him. But it seems like he'd be motivated to be a good soldier if he wants to get paid for next season.

 

[candylandriots]

FA Cup draws for Palace so far:

Southampton
Stoke
Spurs

 

[candylandriots]

This was pretty cool - forgot to post it until I heard about it again yesterday:

Jason Puncheon sits with Palace fans in away end at Spurs

 

[candylandriots]

Jesus Christ every game is a worse punch in the balls than the one before it.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Looking at Pardew's managerial career, there's a definite pattern. Gets off to good starts, then it seems to go bad quickly. West Ham, Charlton, Newcastle, now Palace.

 

[candylandriots]

Looking at Pardew's managerial career, there's a definite pattern. Gets off to good starts, then it seems to go bad quickly. West Ham, Charlton, Newcastle, now Palace.

Maybe I'm naive, but I can't put too much of the blame on Pardew. I mean, he wasn't responsible for the two goals today. They have been so beset with bad, bad luck in 2016. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about losing him to Chelsea or the England job.

Incidentally, I can't remember the last time Palace was awarded a penalty. I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't gotten one in the league in 2016.

 

[swiftaw]

Palace have had 4 penalties this season: Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 17, Dec 19

 

[candylandriots]

Palace have had 4 penalties this season: Sept 26, Oct 3, Oct 17, Dec 19

I knew they had some this season, but thought there hadn't been any since the new year--which also coincides with their horrendous form.

Thanks for the info.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Maybe I'm naive, but I can't put too much of the blame on Pardew. I mean, he wasn't responsible for the two goals today. They have been so beset with bad, bad luck in 2016. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about losing him to Chelsea or the England job.

Yeah, obviously the 2 goals today were both gifts due to defensive errors. I just wonder if his style wears thin on players quickly.

 

[soxfan121]

PARDEW OUT

 

[teddykgb]

Isn't the story here just Bolasie? Everything went to hell when he went out and he's really just come back. He's that dynamic a player and causes all kinds of problems forcing teams to maintain a different shape. I think there are holes to his game but he makes a difference when he's on the pitch.

 

[candylandriots]

Isn't the story here just Bolasie? Everything went to hell when he went out and he's really just come back. He's that dynamic a player and causes all kinds of problems forcing teams to maintain a different shape. I think there are holes to his game but he makes a difference when he's on the pitch.

I think that's a big part of it, though he was gone for a significant stretch last season during the the ACoN, and they did quite well without him.

But I'm sure that Yala's agent has noticed what happened without him and will be arranging his salary demands accordingly.

That game yesterday still hurts though.

 

[candylandriots]

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

Not a lost season anymore, huh? You'll have basically everyone rooting along with you in the final.

 

[candylandriots]

Not a lost season anymore, huh? You'll have basically everyone rooting along with you in the final.

Winning the Cup would be a pretty nice way to make up for the rest of 2016. There was a bit of a debate on the Palace podcast that I listen to about whether it would be worth winning the Cup in exchange for getting relegated (though it's looking like we won't be faced with that bargain) -- and I think it would be worth it if that were the deal. Palace will likely go up and down over the rest of my lifetime, but this would be a trophy that they'd have forever.

And yes, this is really a David vs. Goliath match in that everyone who isn't a Man U fan will be pulling for Palace. It should be fun to watch.

 

[candylandriots]

Next year's away kit gives me a headache

I like the home one quite a bit though:

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

Pardew forced to apologize (sorry, apologise) for the little shimmy after Puncheon's goal yesterday.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

Looks like Palace is making a NA tour this summer- playing in Philly, Cincinnati, and Vancouver.