We have been working hard on a pre-season project to find out what the opposition think of our club and we are pleased that it has been received far better than we expected. Our aim was to obtain a view from a fan representing each of the other nineteen clubs in the Premier League. There was no format set so the responses have been varied which makes it all the more interesting.
Due to the length and quality of the responses, we have broken the article down into several parts. There are a few clubs that we were unable to obtain an opinion from but we start with part one of five that covers Arsenal, Aston Villa, Burnley, and Chelsea.
Arsenal are represented by fan and friend of the site Al Sarpong
I recall when the Wales were in the hunt for a new manager following the sad and tragically premature passing of Gary Speed, suggesting to a Welsh friend of mine, who is also an Arsenal supporter, why not Tony Pulis.
Pulis is after all, a proud Welshman who has plied his trade as both player and manager in England for many years. This was most notably at Gillingham where as the man in charge between 1995 to 1999, he took them from the bottom of the the Football League up to the brink of the second tier (then the First Division). Then of course came his two separate spells as manager of Stoke City, spanning elevenyears. No one enjoyed playing at the Britannia Stadium, not least Wenger’s Arsenal.
All Pulis’ sides seem to have the same tough as granite hallmark, built on strong defence; tough, uncompromising tackling; aeriel threat and some finesse in the final third, even if perhaps lacking elsewhere on the pitch.
Alas, when Pulis took over at Palace, he could not have arrived at a better time for the Eagles’ faithful. True, there had been some decent, almost brave performances such as the one at home to Arsenal which saw the North Londoners have to work hard for their 2-0 victory. But the team were far too malleable for their own good. Pulis would add that vital steel that would take them from the brink of relegation to a very respectable 11th place.
As for the coming season, I find it hard to think that Palace will start off as badly as last season. New signing Frazier Campbell could turn out to be the biggest bargain buy of the season, possibly developing a fruitful partnership with Marouane Chamakh, who put his nightmare last few months at Arsenal by starting to look more like the player that started off his career in the Premier League.
Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon played star turns in keeping the Eagles up; the latter practically ramming the words down the throat of Neil Warnock who publicly criticised him on Talksport following THAT missed penalty at Tottenham.
All in all, I see Palace causing lots of problems to teams, including those considered to be title contenders. There is no way you will get me to predict a Palace victory at the Emirates on 16th August. But what I can say is that Arsenal will given a pretty good test and those three points will not come easy
Aston Villa – we were unable to obtain a response from a fan representing the club from Villa Park.
Burnley are represented by fan site No Nay Never
As a Burnley fan, Crystal Palace’s success last season is obviously something I would love my own team to replicate as a newly promoted side. With no marquee player and without breaking the bank, Palace managed to defy the odds and survive the rigours of the Premier League, in the end with apparent ease.
There are many things I truly admire about Palace, for example employing an experienced, British, Premier League manager in Tony Pulis once Ian Holloway was gone. Normally, I do not condone or agree with the sacking of managers, and I certainly hope Burnley do not have to do the same. However, if it is to be done then Palace’s appointment of Pulis was far more astute and intelligent than any of the clubs around them, and deservedly they were rewarded with top division security.
The main leaf, however, that I hope Burnley can take from Palace’s book, is the rocking atmosphere created at Selhurst Park which surely aided their ascension of the table. From what I can tell, Palace seems like a club with great fans, with great morals and most importantly, a club going in the right direction.
Key players – The acquisition of Fraizer Campbell for just £900k seems like a bit of a coup for Palace, but the striker will have to prove himself worthy of the deal as in reality he has scored just 19 goals in his last 106 games, but his movement and speed provides an alternative option for Palace’s strike force.
Another player I would point out as a star in the team is defender Scott Dann, who has always seemed solid to me at both Blackburn Rovers and Palace, and even chips in with a couple of goals. Finally, Julian Speroni. The ‘eeper was always superb at Championship level, and proved any doubters wrong by displaying the same level of ability in the Premier League. Some have described the World Cup just passed as “The World Cup of Great Goalkeepers” and hopefully next domestic season will be a similar competition, with Speroni standing out for sure.
Strengths and weaknesses – A clear strength would definitely be the organisational and tactical skill of Tony Pulis, who I have already mentioned. Any team going to Selhurst Park, or even any team hosting Crystal Palace know that a Pulis side is difficult to break down, a cliché though it may be.
I would describe Palace’s strike force as a strength, though I feel it could be strengthened further. Campbell’s addition is certainly an improvement, though perhaps Palace need a true natural goalscorer to really cement their Premier League position as neither Campbell nor Marouane Chamakh are prolific. Glenn Murray’s first fully fit season in a Palace kit will be a big positive for the Eagles, but I think the midfield area is potentially the weak spot. As someone who has not really studied Crystal Palace in depth, I may be very wrong. However, with a well organised defence and an improving attack, the department for me that may be exploited would be the middle of the park.
Pulis must assure that all of his players are 100% fit and in the peak of their physical ability in order for Palace to continue to stand up and be competitive against the biggest teams. Other than that, I cannot see Palace having too many chinks in their armour, and should be able to replicate last seasons safety, if not improve on it.
Chelsea are represented by fan group Chelsea Stats
Palace surprised many teams with their good run of form under Pulis and won over plenty of opposition fans and neutrals with their result especially the win over Chelsea and the comeback draw against Liverpool. But those highlights on what was a fantastic season for the Eagles will be forgotten as the new season begins.
I expect Palace to struggle, it is the cliched second season syndrome and although the team does not appear to be any weaker, it has not improved enough for me. It is difficult for Puncheon to replicate his goal threat this time round, they have earned more respect from the rest of the league so teams will not be so open to the counter-attack.
I still fully expect the whole team to be well drilled defensively, difficult to break down and unlikely to get beaten heavily against any team, Speroni, Ward and Jedinak are key for me.
Campbell is an okay signing for a Championship team, I do not think he has enough goals to be a Premier League striker but his work rate in terms of chasing and pressing from the front will make up for that shortfall in goals. Unlesss someone else can find the net regulary I do think Palace will struggle.
The Eagles picked up 8 points from 14 games against the big seven teams last season, better than five of the other 13 sides competing against them. It would be reasonable to assume as mentioned earlier those bigger sides are unlikely to fall into the same trap again so Palace will need to do better against the teams around them if they want to surive and get a similar league position.
The Eagles picked up 37 points from 24 games against sides outside the big seven last season which would probably be enough for surival this season as you would expect the newly promoted teams and sides like West Brom and perhaps even Southampton now to struggle along with usual bottom half suspects like West Ham and Sunderland.
Fulham, Norwich, Cardiff were dreadful last season and with those gone are there enough teams worse than Palace this season. Yes probably, just about, but in my mind it is going to be a close run thing. A key injury or disapointing home defeat to one of those new teams might just tip the balance away from the Londoners.
Looking at the squad listing it screams lack of goals to me, even though I think Murray is a good finisher. I would worry it will not be enough. Chamakh and Campbell might add four or five each, but there is time to fix that though and a couple of shrewd loan signings or someone like Remy from QPR might suit Palace’s style of play if the club can stretch to get him in.
All the best for the season ahead and I like having you around, so hope you stay up.
