So much has been said of the enigmatic Wilfried Zaha since he left Crystal Palace for pastures new.
We all remember him fondly, arguably the reason that we had a shot at the Premier League in the first place. I am not kidding myself or indeed readers of this article in saying that, he was certainly not alone. Everyone from Dougie Freedman to Ian Holloway to the kit man and the culprit that left that mess in the changing rooms on that night on the South Coast all had their input. Or output in the case of the latter.
The Palace love affair with Zaha ended in May 2013 at Wembley. The perfect goodbye to one of our own. We thanked him for the big part he played in what was a tremendously successful season and the even bigger part he played in both legs of the play off semi final as well as the final.
And of course we all wished him well with his new club Manchester United. Every Palace fan was convinced that he would succeed at the then Champions of England. We told all the United fans we knew what a rough diamond they have and that he would no doubt impress at Old Trafford.
As it turned out, it was not to be for Zaha last season. Much has been said as to why it may have been after appearing to impress in pre-season. Boss David Moyes simply did not see him as an option at any point in the season even if he was clinging on to his job by his fingernails. As the mid-season transfer window appeared on the horizon it was clear that United were going to allow Zaha a loan move as his fall out with Moyes had had reached boiling point.
The club and/or Moyes had no intention of allowing Zaha a loan move to London and his final destination among all of the rumours was to South Wales and Cardiff City, much to many Palace fans horror. There were plenty that agreed, even through gritted teeth, that the hope that Zaha would do well for the Bluebirds if only to prove his parent club wrong, but not at the expense of Palace.
There were fleeting glimpses of what he is capable of but Zaha just did not look happy. He looked far more comfortable in pre-season at United, playing well in the Community Shield but it all went so wrong for him after that.
A change of manager at United this season suggests that he has a clean slate at United and I really hope that he grabs that chance with both hands by starting over and impressing from the outset.
However, the fact that van Gaal had given every player apart from Zaha game time up until recently this pre-season was very telling. Being told to warm down twice and being the only player not to turn up to a voluntary training session just added fuel to the fire.
The rumours were appearing again, linking Palace with what seemed yet another move for Zaha. Fans whip up a frenzy every time the link raises its head and start pleading with Pulis and Parish to ‘Bring Wilf Home’. While the sentiment is a rather endearing feature in fans, there really is little sentiment in football. There is just no room for it in the mad, mad world that the game has created for itself.
As a fan, you have to ask yourself what Zaha would bring to Selhurst if he was to return. The fact remains that van Gaal is clever enough not to be critical of the player in the press. That would make it more difficult for the club to sell him on in an effort to recoup their origianl spend on the young winger.
During the time spent putting this article together it seems that van Gaal wants to see Zaha as a striker. As we all know, the Dutchman would only need to watch highlights of one game. The play-off semi final second leg in the 2012/13 season down on the South Coast.
There is no source to anything mentioned above, it is simply an objectional article. The experience at United for Zaha is one that could well set him back a while. There is the liklihood that he is not the same player or indeed person that left Selhurst to join United. One manager you would be confident of setting him straight would be our very own Tony Pulis. While Zaha would likely be a bigger project for him, is it a simple case of him just needing to feel loved again? We all know how these professional footballers react to the feeling of being wanted, especially a young player.
The familiar surroundings of Palace could be just the tonic but the wounds could be a lot deeper than that. We witnessed in his final season for us that he often went through games with little interest, complaining at the lack of service and only looking to turn it on when he was in the mood. But when he was in the mood, boy, was he in the mood.
The club have come a long way in the absence of Zaha. It seems a long time ago too when you look around. The potential re-signing has to be carefully considered by all parties, not least the fans. He has undoubted talent, no question, we have seen it first hand. The team is now one of a real team ethic that Pulis has instilled in every player at the club and into those that have arrived. They have all bought into it.
The worry is whether a returning Zaha would upset that if he was not to buy into it. Pulis would certainly not allow any upsetting of applecarts but I wonder if fans should be careful what they wish for and perhaps leave the memories for what they are.
