Ten years in England’s, and arguably Europe’s top tier, the Palace faithful are well placed to make assumptions of their least favourite times during the season, historically the days approaching the closure of the summer transfer window, the nervy end of season run-ins and the January window.
Turn onto any sports channel at the moment and all you will hear is the following:
“Notoriously tricky to do business“
“A lot of competition in the window with few options“
“It’s a gamble in January“
….and many more, but there’s no escaping the fact that Palace need to do some shrewd business to ensure the season does not extinguish hope before we are really half-way through.
In recent years the Palace recruitment drive has proven successful, so much so that Director of Football Dougie Freedman has been touted to occupy such a role with the bewildered Manchester United.
The introduction of Patrick Vieira signalled a change in direction and the draw of the Frenchman enabled the squad to develop and change identity to resemble something we have never quite seen before at Selhurst Park, a dynamic group of ball players across all positions.
Key areas for improvement were identified and the quality of acquisitions were beyond what we’ve previously encountered. The strongest centre-back pairing in the history of the club, defensive midfielder who can play and contribute to all aspects and then two attacking players who can easily walk into any squad in Europe’s best domestic league not to mention the two of England’s strongest goalkeepers.
With all the above considered, there is a glaringly obvious missing piece – the investment of a consistently threatening and prolific striker.
The list is long and uninspiring. We can all think back to those who have worn the red and blue in the Premier League, but to name these players provides a true reflection on our failure in recruitment in this area.
Gayle, Murray, Wilbraham, Chamakh, Jerome, Kebe, Sanogo, Campbell, Ameobi, Doyle, Johnson, Wickham, Sako, Adebayor, Lapado, Bamford, Benteke, Remy, Sorloth, Ayew, Batshuayi, Zaha, Mateta, Edouard, Plange.
The list makes for sorry reading, a host of short-term solutions, temporary options and if anything, gambles.
There have been circumstances along the way that have affected the outcomes. It can be argued Batshuayi could have been a success had he been lured away from his parent club Chelsea in a season he was finding form at Palace, but even the more established talents found themselves without the tools to adapt their game or broaden their ability within the Palace set-up. Christian Benteke being the mainstay of the Premier League era contributed greatly to the team’s performances but rarely with goals, leaving it to the club’s greatest ever player in Wilfried Zaha to push the club forward.
Club Chairman Steve Parish finds himself in a difficult position. A club with an aging manager with a contract until the end of the season, an squad with the greatest of potential, but not the depth to sustain a challenge in the domestic competitions.
Without the inclusion of Cheick Doucoure following the unfortunate circumstance of a long term injury, Palace are now a step away from having a squad that can compete should the integral players remain fit, but is the board prepared to take the step of investing adequately in our forward line?
Despite Odsonne Edouard showing promise this season following his most consistent runs of games pre-injury and Jean-Philippe Mateta finally exhibiting aspects we’ve long been looking for, the recent showing against Everton in the FA Cup showed how little the pair can offer when the team desperately seeks that potent focal point at the top of the attack.
It may be argued that this is the case for many teams in a similar position to Palace but this season has shown that the likes of Bournemouth, Wolves, and Fulham have all managed to secure a ‘number 9’ that adds and contributes to their team in build up play and ultimately goals.
The performance against Bournemouth was a turning point. A low in the season followed by a series of results and performances that provide hope for the Selhurst faithful but now is the time to look towards the missing part of the squad, a striker that we can look to lead the line in a way Andrew Johnson showed us back in the Dowie era.
With three weeks to go in the window, Freedman and Parish need to get this one right as we cannot continue to employ the same approach and expect different results.
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