In my piece for TEB two weeks ago, I commented on the fact that we have exceptionally good squad depth for the first time in a very long while.
However, there is more to this than meets the eye, because whilst we have strengthened in key areas, the backbone of our squad is still made up of that team that won promotion from the Championship. I read a very interesting article last week on FYP Fanzine’s website written by Mark Silverstein which stated that our dealings in the Summer 2012 window by Dougie Freedman were probably the most important in recent years.
When reading this, you can see Mark makes some excellent points and I found myself agreeing with everything that he said. Mark then goes on to state that our Premier League squad is still built on the foundations of Dougie’s last minute deals, and that got me thinking.
Our match day squad is made up of a lot of Championship players that have made the necessary step up to the high standards of Premier League football. Even more impressive, aside from Julian Speroni and Wilfried Zaha, nearly half of our first team regulars are players that were signed under Freedman’s reign.
I feel that a club such as Palace, who so often cannot compete with the big boys in terms of finances for players, should focus on doing what we do best, and that is taking young players from the lower leagues and develop them into top class talent. Examples of players we have signed from lower leagues, or from when we were in the second tier that have succeeded in the Premier League with us include James McArthur (although he had experience with Wigan), Damien Delaney, who I feel is exceptionally underrated and an important part of our team, Joel Ward, Yannick Bolasie, Mile Jedinak, Dwight Gayle, Glenn Murray and Julian Speroni.
It would also appear that we are continuing that trend, the big money signing of Cabaye apart, as the signings of Alex McCarthy and Bakary Sako from Queens Park Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively will hopefully be able to prove their worth to us in the Premier League. It does make you wonder what sort of talent is in the lower divisions that is not being taken advantage of in the Premier League. Unfortunately, I am finding less and less time to watch football now, and I have not been watching as many football league games as I would like, but you see in some games, players who definitely deserve a chance to prove themselves in the Premier League.
I think the lower leagues prove you do not need to spend big to get top talent, and I am staggered that more clubs do not take advantage of that. I hate to sound unprofessional but it is a tactic I use on FIFA manager mode all the time, getting exciting talent from the lower leagues and building them up to generate a strong squad, rather than spending big, which in real life, can affect players, with big money hanging over their heads affecting their performance.
Bakary Sako, I believe, will be a good example of this. As a talent he showed loyalty to Wolves when they were relegated to League One, and played a pivotal role in winning them promotion back to the Championship. The talent he has though should be utilised in the Premier League and I hope he gets the chance to demonstrate that with us this year. If, in the unlikely circumstance Yannick Bolasie leaves us for another club in this window, Sako is definitely the man to take over. He may not have the trickery of Bolasie, but he has goals in him. Sako has an unbelievable left peg, and after watching a goals compilation made by Wolves, it would be wrong to assume he is not ready to make the step up to the Premier League.
Changing the topic slightly, I want to talk about referees. There has been a lot of chatter this week regarding Lee Mason’s performance in our game against Arsenal last week. I myself was shocked that Coquelin did not see red for his reckless challenges across the pitch, and I think Alan Pardew was right to question the decisions made by the officiating team in that game. Obviously, I am slightly biased as a Palace fan but you see it with other ‘smaller‘ teams too, with referees often scared to punish ‘bigger‘ teams because of the coverage their decision may get.
Bournemouth, a team I have huge respect for, suffered from two diabolical refereeing decisions on Monday Night Football this week with their goal wrongly disallowed, and Liverpool’s offside goal was allowed. This cost them an important point, if not three, and makes you question how impartial and fair Premier League officials are. We have been lucky with some decisions as well. Let us not forget Cameron Jerome’s superb overhead kick, wrongly disallowed in our game against Norwich City.
In my own opinion I feel that decisions are based on a bit of luck, referees perhaps do not mean to be biased, but they can appear to be through no fault of their own, as thousands of people are constantly scrutinising their every move for that whole ninety minutes. I would hate to do their job, so whilst I am sitting on the fence slightly, I am a firm believer that decisions even themselves out across a season.
Lastly, to wrap up this piece, I want to touch on the very sad news that Yannick Bolasie’s step father passed away this week. I think, in the grand scheme of things, it is right that he is not included in the match day squad this weekend, because this sudden loss would probably have a substantial effect on the way he would perform in an important game against Villa.
Yannick, you probably will not see or read this, but the whole Palace family is with you. We offer you and your family our sincerest condolences, and wish you all the very best. Stay Strong.
