På lördag ska Liverpool åka till Selhurst Park för att ta sig an Crystal Palace, ett svårspelat motstånd lett av Roy Hodgson. Palace har gjort en stabil inledning av säsongen och trots lite svajigt målskytte har man tagit plats i mitten av tabellen. Daniel Crame(@palacedann) är skribent på The Eagles Beak(TheEaglesBeak) och berättar här om hur säsongen varit hittills för London-laget.
1. Tell us a bit about the start of the season, are you satisfied with the performances and the amount of points you have gained?
The season so far has been decent for Palace. If someone had told me before the start of the campaign that Palace would be 12th with 15 points after 12 games, I wouldn’t have believed you after the poor summer transfer window we had so, I am pleased and optimistic for the rest of the season.
2. Has anything changed in the way Palace play, compared to last season?
The major change is our defensive unit. Selling Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United in the summer and not replacing him raised questions marks with the Palace fanbase however, Joel Ward has stepped up and played very well after being second choice for most of last season. The addition of Gary Cahill on a free transfer has also gone under the radar. His leadership and composure in the back-line has helped us enormously and I would go as far to say that he would still do a solid job in the England squad had he not retired.
3. You have played twelve games so far, but only scored ten goals, what do you need to change to score more?
We need to take our chances. Palace always seem to create them but can never put them away. This stems from the list of inconsistent strikers that we have on our books in the likes of Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew and Connor Wickham. This said, Jordan Ayew has done a good job for us so far in terms of his work rate and attitude but goals are still few and far between which is frustrating considering the talented players we have in other positions. Palace still need to find a clinical, twenty goals a season striker if we want to push on to that next level but most fans with their head screwed on know that this isn’t easy and that he wouldn’t last very long with us if we found one. Another issue for us is the reliability we have on our main man, Wilfried Zaha. It is all well and good having a star player but the Premier League is unforgiving and will punish teams who rely on one player if they do not solely perform. So far we have been able to stay in the top flight with Zaha still at the club however, we are destined to struggle when he goes if we cannot learn to score or create through other channels.
4. Who has been your player of the year so far?
I would say that our best player so far has been Vicente Guaita. Without him in goal, we would not have reached the points tally that we have done in the first 12 games (especially with our backup being Wayne Hennessey). Guaita arrived at Palace on a free transfer in 2018 and soon became our first choice after a couple of outstanding performances. His close range stop stopping being a key specialty that Palace have missed in recent years. He is one of the best goalkeepers outside the top six.
5. Christian Benteke scored 15 goals for Palace in 2016/17, since then he has only managed to score four goals, what has happened to him?
It’s hard to pin point why Benteke has had such a demise in form however, when you watch him play, he still does all the right things apart from getting the ball in the net. His work rate and positioning is still how you would expect it to be for a striker of his stature but goals still allude him. The majority of Palace fans are desperate for him to find his feet again but after a number of missed chances over the last couple of years, a fresh start might prove to be the best solution for him.
6. You are currently 12th in the league, is that somewhere near where you expect the team to finish?
For sure. Not many Palace fans would be disappointed with a 12th placed finish however, the more ambitious ones like myself would still like to see their team challenge for the top 8 places. The start of this season has heightened expectations for us after sitting in 6th spot for a few weeks but after our last three games, we have dropped back down to where we should be. Realistically, we are still a club looking to avoid relegation every season in the Premier League and need to remember this. Potentially, we could have 25 points by the time Christmas comes around and if so, a cup run could be on the cards as this would be our best chance at winning some silverware and turning a good season into an excellent one.
7. What kind of game do you expect against Liverpool?
I would be surprised if Palace do not give Liverpool a game as this fixture is always an exciting one, especially at Selhurst Park. Liverpool will have a lot of possession and Palace will use this to their advantage by sitting back, defending well and looking to counter down the wings via Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend. If I was to predict (which I’m not great at) I would go for an optimistic 1-1 draw