Its Crystal Palace not Crystal Pulis

It goes without saying that the news that came in earlier tonight was gutting for everyone associated for the club. Just when we seemed to be heading forward having risen from bottom place to 11th with the manager of the season in charge, we have not been plunged into chaos less than 48 hours before the new season.

Whilst we do not know and will not know the full details of the events that happened in a meeting between Pulis and Parish there are no prizes for guessing what the bulk of the discussion was centred around. This is of course the transfer window. In previous jobs Pulis has spent big money and evidently wanted to spend big this summer with Palace.

On his shortlist were presumably Gylfi Sigurdsson and Steven Caulker who we spent a lot of time trying to buy. They went on to leave for expensive fees to Swansea and Qpr respectively and its hard to see how we can compete financially with a club that has recently been in Europe and one that has a wage bill comically larger than that of Borrusia Dortmund. We as a club are not going to splash big sums on mediocre players as all it takes is for Pulis to leave in the midst of a crisis and we are left stranded like many other clubs have been.

For sure Parish is partly to blame but he owns the club, he runs the club and ultimately Pulis wanted to leave and he couldn’t stop this. If Pulis wanted to stay he would have continued working with the squad and made compromises but ultimately he thought he was bigger than club. This may be true but it is not the way it works and to be honest with you we do not need a manger that walks on us at one of the worst times possible.

I would like to thank Tony Pulis lastly for an incredible season he gave us. What he did for the club was exceptional and will not be forgotten.

Attack or defence?

Football is an exciting game at the best of times and provides entertainment for billions yearly whether it be playing or watching. However in the tough days of February during a gruelling relegation battle is it better for a team to entertain and hold the ball attacking as a unit or is it better to press and be patient and have a sharp counter attack that could win the game for your side? Ultimately when the top teams play the bottom teams usually its obvious to see which teams take which approach. But what if you are doing it every week even if its against Hull on a tuesday night?

Under Holloway we were starting to adopt a game that saw a slow possession game that involved goals in an abundance averaging comfortably over a goal a game. However, it didn’t come off in the premier league at all as we found ourselves scoring less and conceding more. Ultimately even if we do stay up we are in for years of achieving mid table at best in the premier league and several would argue that as season ticket prices continue to rise surely it would be better to see your team take more time and get to that stage playing nice football?

Providing we stay up i believe it would be much better to play the way we are averaging around 35% possession because if we get relegated the amount of income we would lose would be disastrous and ultimately as history is shown you have more chance of being good at attack than defence when you are promoted. Football is a business as well as entertainment now and you have to work with what you have got. Its hard to see how getting relegated and developing a new structure for years that might not even work would make sense for Crystal Palace.

Manchester united and Crystal Palace- key moments from the past

I would like to take this moment to send out my condolences to the family of Paul Nixon http://tdifh.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/9-april-1995-dark-day-in-fa-cup.html. Though a long time ago it still live strong in the memories of many fans.

Today i will be analysing the some of the historic moments between Crystal palace and Manachester United the biggest club in the country against the best club in the country ill let you decide which is which.

Eric Cantona

In 1995 Eric Cantona attacked a football hooligan in the palace crowd that led to what was the longest ban in premier league history. United fans went on to see the unsavoury actions of he fan as an attack on their club eventually resulting in the tragic death of a palace fan later that season. Cantona went on to state that the kick was the highlight of his career.

1990 fa cup final

One of the most thrilling finals in F.A cup history took place when united took on palace on the 17th may 1990. The final score was 3-3 after extra time and the final marked a historic moment for one Sir Alex Ferguson who went on to win his first of many trophies when his side won the replay 1-0. Its incredible to think how much would have changed had that result been otherwise. SAF would have likely lost his job and palace would have been playing in Europe and who knows what that would have led to. Since that final no team has fielded an all English team in a cup final like the side of palace on that day.

2011 carling cup quarter final

The day that united were brought to their knees by Charlton reject Darren Ambrose who went on to have a brief stint as the Frank Lampard of mid table mediocrity in the championship. Murray scored the eventual winner at what was a memorable night at old Trafford and one that will be very hard for any team let alone Palace to replicate.

Why our Moroccan Ibrahimovic is crucial to our survival

Our season has been a tale of two halves: the Holloway era when no one was playing for their manager and the Pulis days where they are fighting for their manager. Of course footballers get paid huge amounts of money and should always work themselves into the ground but it isn’t that simple; just look at Tottenham and Sherwood’s revival of Adebayor. The same can be said for Marouanne Chamakh. Arsenal fans are always quick to joke about him and his goal scoring ability or lack of it but they don’t realise that Chamakh has been playing behind the striker for the majority of matches since November and he has been creating chances and putting them away. When he shoots (rarely) it tends to go in with 57% of his shots testing the keeper and half of them going in. It is also true that he possesses a locker brimming and overflowing with skills.

In dikgacoi, jedinak and barry bannan i have named three fans favourites and also three of the ten worst passers in the league according to Opta and the three of them have misplaced well over 300 passes. As a team we have the least possession per game in the league which means when we get the ball the role of Chamakh is key with his champions league experience and quality. Chamakh had also created 24 goal scoring chances in 24 games only one ending in a goal due to questionable finishing. Chamakh can also track back well resulting in 40 clearances. In summary a lot of the criticism he has received is unwarranted and he brings more to the table than you may expect.

Premier League club by club- each teams star man

These are the players who I have been impressed by most at each team.

Chelsea: Willian- Willian’s inclusion in the Chelsea  attacking trio behind the often useless man up top looks to be vindicated. Willian has made the most key passes in the premier league and has a class work rate going backwards and forwards. If I could I would put Matic as my man but he has only just come in and I would like to see more of him.

Arsenal: Per Mertesacker- Been a reformed man this year and has the joint best pass accuracy in the premier league at 93%. Formed an excellent partnership with Laurent Koscielny and for Arsenal’s sake I hope that the BFG’s form continues.

Manchester City: Sergio Aguero- expected huge things from him this season but he has surpassed even more expectations creating chances and putting them away. City always look weaker without him.

Liverpool: Luis Suarez- What a Rolls Royce of a player he has shocked so many this season with his work on and off the pitch and who would have seen him captaining Liverpool for some matches this season? He has a better goal to game ratio than Aguero and has formed a lethal partnership with Sturridge. His work with the younger players is also commendable.

Spurs: Christian Eriksen- The spark in Tottenham’s hard working team and 26 chances have been created by him since Sherwood came in and has come up with five assists and three goals. Christian has the potential to drive Spurs into the giddy heights of fourth if he continues this form.

Everton: Ross Barkley- Everton have made a smooth transition under Martinez into a new, promising era. Barkley ha been instrumental winning six man of the match awards in 22 games and single handily winning games with his attacking prowess. When Ross gets the ball Goodison park becomes electric.

Manchester United: Adnan Januzaj- In an otherwise tough season United’s most impressive player for me has to be Januzaj. He has been remarkably consistent considering his age and his pass accuracy is over 80% and he wins 55% of his duels which this season is very good for a United player and winger in general.

Newcastle-Tim Krul- Let us be honest the key man for Newcasle left in January but Krul has made 1.73 saves per goal which is good nowadays and looking at other keepers it ranks very highly. Krul also has excellent goal kicks and a claim success of 97%.

Southampton- Adam Lallana- One of many excellent players for the saints and most importantly gets assists, goals and makes key passes. I hope Hodgson has some sense and brings him to Brazil.

Swansea- Ben Davies- Great potential and works in both halves creating 23 chances but still making 6 crucial defensive actions. in a side that has made the most passes in the premier league Ben Davies has he best pass accuracy at 86%.

Hull- Tom Huddlestone- Completes 80% of his passes, makes the tackles and most importantly he makes many key passes (37) we saw this in particular against Fulham.

Aston Villa-Fabian Delph- Been a boss for Villa this season and at 24 he wins his duels at 57% and completes the most passes for Villa. In his 22 matches squawka hasranked him as Vila’s best player 5 times.

Stoke- Charlie Adam-56% of his shots test the keeper and its no wonder that he has scored six goals; some of them beauties. He has created 30 chances and put in a good shift in the midfield, where would they be without him?

Crystal Palace- Joel Ward- Are you surprised? Joel has been superb and defensively astute making 74 tackles, third most in Europe and has made over 100 clearances. Ward has plenty to work on offensively but has always worked hard and consistently been brilliant. He has made the gains physically too.

West Ham-Joey O’Brien- Struggled on this one, I dont’ particularly like West ham at all but they look to have spent their way out of trouble thanks to charging their fans in the poorest areas of London crazy prices for shocking football. Anyway, O’Brien has done well and has not made a costly defensive error and made many crucial defensive actions.

Norwich-Martin Olsson- Won 62% of his duels an has tremendous width and length in passing. Olsson makes errors but he has stood out in a Norwich defence that needs a pillar of consistency.

Sunderlan-Ki Seung Yeung- Been ranked top man for Sunderland five times in 20 games and his pss accuracy is 91%. 62% of his duels won and he holds the ball wonderfully. this guy could keep sunderland up without a doubt.

West Brom- Claudio Yacob- Class on grass in my opinion and West Brom are reliant on him as they start to adopt a possession orientated game under Pepe Mel. Yacob has a pass accuracy of 87% and has the most tackles in the prem for 78. He wins the ball and knows what to do with it.

Cardiff- Steven Caulker- Made a big money move in the summer and has looked worth it, he has been man of the match four times and made 12 crucial defensive actions, he wins points for his team and he is a leder.

Fulham-Steve Sidwell-Fulham’s best player by a long way in an aging side that need his legs to keep things going. When Fulham have won Sidwell has been on form and when they lose he is not playing 100%. known as “Ginger Iniesta” for the west Londoners he has a pass accuracy of 83% and has scored six times. I rate Sidwell very highly but can he carry a team on his shoulders the way he has done up to now?

 

What is the Pulis effect?

If Tony Pulis was in charge of palace from day 1 based on our points per game we would be seventh. Yes seventh. But what has changed subtly and obviously?

Palace on the outside have kept more clean sheets (6) than any other team in the league apart from Arsenal (7). They have become much more narrower and hard to break down as they are pressing constantly and this is down to the fact Pulis has got the lads playing for eachother and grafting. Under Pulis clearances, blocks and interceptions have all increased in some cases doubled and defensive actions have been up on average from 54 to 75.

It is clear that Pulis has much more work to do with the lads as we have scored the least goals in the league and created the fewest chances; worryingly low at 9 a game although that is still higher that the 7 we were creating in useless positions under Holloway in the premier league. However, the key changes Pulis has made are through man management and getting the most out of his players. Pulis has got the best out of Chamakh who is having his best season in the premier league ever creating and scoring in the red and blue. Marouanne has been playing in the hole under Pulis and it has worked wonders for the team. Delaney is another obvious improvement as the man has gone from being a championship defender to a no nonsense Irish demon going from winning 39% of duels before and 54% after with the management of T-Bone. Finally, the pivotal reason that Holliway quit was because he lost the spirit from last year perhaps due to results or new signings whatever was lost has been recreated under Tony and the lads are working together and for each other.

Crystal Palace 3-1 West Brom review

Today to put it simply West Brom were not on form and neither did they have the rub of the green. West Brom’s three best players all came on as substitutions and caused threats at times, in particular the tenacious Bearhino. When I sifted through the stats from todays game I have to admit that I was a bit miffed being a spectator at the game as to how West Brom managed twice the amount of passes but were somehow outplayed. West Brom were good at taking players on (9/9) and completing passes with a completion rate of 77% to palace’s 64% but they did not do the nitty gritty at the back.

Palace consistently won headed duels not to mention managing 40 clearances in the match compared to West Brom who managed a mere 25. As I looked at the heat map for todays match it was crystal clear that Palace were winning key midfield battles with the no nonsense Jedinak and decent Dikgacoi but when it came to the flanks it has to be said that Yannick Bolasie was below Parr without his Norwegian full back to help with overlaps and distribution. The second goal was the most appalling defending I have seen for a corner for a very long time with Ledley strolling into the area and heading home like it was Christmas. The first goal was tough on the Baggies with Ince chipping home and showing that quality is priceless. The third goal was a penalty however the lead up another example of pathetic defending as Chamakh cruised through beating a man drawing the keeper in and winning a penalty. textbook stuff.

I hope my player ratings that I composed with some advice from Talbs will give you some insight into what was an exciting game.

• Speroni 7/10
• Ward 7/10
• Delaney 7/10
• Dann 6/10
• Ledley 8/10
• Dikgacoi 6/10
• Jedinak 6/10
• Puncheon 6/10
• Ince 8/10
• Bolasie 5/10
• Chamakh (Moroccan Ibrahimovic) 7/10

 

Why Joel Ward is better than Kyle Walker

For me the number one quality in a right back is defending. Defending involves one main thing and that is tackling and breaking up attacks. When it comes to defending I was shocked to see that Kyle Walker, the man who is going to be dealing with Suarez and Cavani does not even make the top 20 tacklers in the premier league. Do not tell me any excuses about the fact he plays for a team that needs to do less defending because Tottenham have conceded many goals this season and only one less than Crystal Palace.

Now look at Joel Ward who has 74 tackles (walker has 40) the most in the premier league joint with Claudio Yacob. That mans he also has the third most in Europe. Joel ward also has a tremendous range in positions being able to play in the midfield if required and has therefore got the versatility. As a defender you need to win your duels and Joel Ward has won 63% of them which is impressive considering that last season he was playing Championship football. Kyle walker has only won 59% of his duels. Whilst I may appear to be biased towards my clubs’ players I cannot emphasise enough how consistent Ward has been this season and his work rate is always off the charts. Despite being in so many tackles he has yet to be booked this season whilst Walker has been booked 5 times.

please note that all stats I have included are from Squawka and it is clear than Kyle creates more chances however is this enough in an England side that are going to have their work cut out defensively? Even if you still believe that Walker is better you have to admit it, Joel is better than Johnson. Stats don’t lie.

Head to head: Ward 22 games, Walker 23 games

• Tackles:74-40 Ward
• Interceptions:52-50walker
• chances created:29-15walker
• Yellow cards:0-5Ward (zero yellows)
• Blocks:6-5ward
• Clearances: 100-74ward
• Defensive actions:7-6ward
• Duels won:63%-59%ward
• Pass accuracy:80%-76%walker
• Ward 6-3Walker

The Palace way

February 2013, Swansea cruise past Bradford to win the capital one cup for the first time. They book a place in Europe and a place in history for what can only be described as a miraculous turnaround. February 2014, Swansea harshly dismiss manager Laudrup; the manager who won the cup with them and brought them into the knockout stages of Europe despite being in charge for little over a year and a half. Things change quickly in football and this means that the Swans could have another turnaround in a fortnight when they go to the Naples. However, for a successful football club stability is key and perhaps it is not the be all and end all as we have seen at times e.g Chelsea but it is still massive.

When Crystal Palace were promoted many people were quick to suggest which model the club should follow however recent months have shown us that a very good model can be in huge jeopardy with panic and all of a sudden it becomes a not so good model. The sacking of Steve Clarke at West Brom for being a victim of his own success and the resignation of Nicola Cortese from Southampton show us that stability in the premier league is no longer common. I barely need to even discuss the happenings at Cardiff city which speak for themselves.

CPFC 2010 who own crystal palace have been criticised before for being slow in appointing new managers and having slow activity in the transfer window but they have always come through. It is a shame that in football, clubs that have knee jerk reactions to situations are criticised but then clubs that carry out business in a methodical way are also criticised for not acting quick enough. Crystal palace have shown to the world that they have a good model by reducing the debt of the club from £30 million to circa £7 million now; we are also the only club in the premier league to have made a profit.

in conclusion we should not follow the model of any other club or take stupid risks in buying overpriced players but should continue having faith in a model that is working very well for our football club.

Puncheon above our weight

People always ask me: what makes the palace fans so passionate? Let me take you back to 2010, Crystal Palace is on the verge of collapse and for a period the best case scenario would have been P-Diddy swooping in to provide a lifeline because he thought the name was cool. Four years on and the club and its fans led by the ever pragmatic tony pulis and holmesdale fanatics respectively find themselves disappointed in not getting more out of a trip to the Emirates and the Ethiad were the man of the match was Joe Hart. To get here the fans went through so much from seeing Aaron Wilbraham miss yet another :”my gran would have scored that,” shot to seeing our side lose on penalties to Cardiff. Following the game the fans of Cardiff were quick in their consolation to point out that the chairman was running the club wrong and we should look to them for insight!

However we do it our way the palace way and 14 months after that painful night in Wales Kevin Phillips scored the penalty to see Palace hit te big time. Currently we sit in 17th place and much to the surprise of many we are somehow surviving and although we may not be doing it in style even the most die hard Brighton supporter would struggle to debate the fact that our fans are doing it in style. From chanting :”4-3 were gonna win 4-3,” the moment Steven Gerrard scored the penalty to put Liverpool 3-0 up in the 30th minute to chanting:”he’s gonna dive in a minute” whenever any Tom Daley impersonator even tried to win a penalty. As i sat in the Arsenal end yesterday quietly admiring the shift our team and fans were putting in as a unit it was rather amusing to see a fan stand up and shout:”just shut it we want to watch the game!”

However fourteen games to go and with the arrivals of the likes of Joe Ledley and Tom Ince we may, despite chanting otherwise not be here just for a season.