The result last weekend against Manchester United was a great reply after what has been a rather forgetful month for Palace.
The three losses to West Ham United, Leicester City, and Manchester City has slightly halted our early season momentum, but it was vitally important we got something from Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils. We did but it comes with a tinge of disappointment as we really should have won the game.
A host of players had chances to win the game – Yohan Cabaye, Scott Dann, and then a combination of both Dann and Damien Delaney all guilty of missing superb chances. It is however a point gained and now we can look forward to Liverpool with much more confidence and it finally looks as though we are getting back to full strength. Connor Wickham is fighting his way back into the frame and hopefully Marouane Chamakh we follow soon.
Once again it is all looking positive at Selhurst. Hopefully the negative vibes that circulate on social media (see last week’s article) will vanish once again and make way for tons of support as Palace look to get back to winning ways.
There are a few things I want to discuss in this edition. Firstly, the return of Wickham is good news for us, as he will give us a much needed physical presence up top. We are also desperately missing the influence of Pape Souare down the left flank. The sooner we get him back the better. Finally, we will have a quick look ahead to Liverpool this Sunday.
Wickham came through an under 21 game against Bristol City unscathed midweek, and it looks as though he will be in the squad when we travel to Anfield this weekend. Although Dwight Gayle has done well since Wickham’s absence, we have been lacking a physical presence in that position, and with his return it will certainly give us more options in that area.
Obviously Wickham has not really had the game-time to show us what he can really do and with a hopefully clean bill of health, in the coming months he will begin to show the Palace faithful why the club splashed out the cash to bring him to South London.
He has the potential to be a top striker. At Sunderland we know his potential was getting wasted, but he really has to perform in a Palace shirt because so far he has not shown the potential that we saw when he burst onto the scene when he was at Ipswich Town. I am hopeful he can become a top player for us, and write himself into the history books as one of the best strikers to have played for Crystal Palace.
Injuries have hit us hard over the past couple of weeks, and one player I feel we have sorely missed is Souare. Both Adrian Mariappa and Martin Kelly have done well when filling in, but Souare has shown he is a real threat down the left flank, and in recent weeks we have missed those marauding runs from the Senegalese international.
He is acclimatising well to the Premier League, and this season he has shown improvements in his defensive game, but if I am being honest I still get a little twitchy when we are under the cosh and Souare tries to play it out. One of these days it will backfire.
His attacking play is second to none as a full back. A big part of top-flight football is for teams to have the ability to hurt the opposition rom any position. All the top clubs are able to do that and although I am not comparing us to the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea we are gradually building a team that can cause sides problems from multiple areas of the pitch. Souare is one of them.
His link up play with both Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha at times has been great, and with a wonderful left-foot he is able to deliver quality crosses, something that both Zaha and Bolasie lack on occasions.
The sooner we get him back the better.
The games do not get any easier if you are a Palace player. Next up is Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, a side that has been rejuvenated under the enigmatic German. With the former Dortmund coach at the helm I certainly feel they have a manager that could deliver them the Premier League in three or four years time. He is a classy man, as well a top European manager.
It is not going to be like the last time we played Liverpool that is for sure. Liverpool play a high-pressure game now and with the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino lurking behind Christian Beneteke they have quality in the forward areas. Cabaye and James McArthur will have to be on top of their game this weekend to keep the Brazilians quiet.
That is not to say we should be scared of going to Anfield and getting a result. We have done it before and there is no reason why we cannot upset Klopp and his side once again. If we can keep it tight in the opening exchanges and grow into the game, we have enough quality of our own in the forward areas to cause the Reds backline plenty of problems.
I am looking forward to the game and expect it to be very open with plenty of chances. Let us just hope Palace are victorious.
