In a season that has been dreadful for Crystal Palace, accountability is vital. The failings of this season can be pointed in numerous directions: the board, the management, and even, to some extent, the players on the pitch. However, the key failure lies within a transfer policy that was so close to greatness but ultimately fell short.
The summer window started off impressively for Palace, as they managed to secure the services of Bournemouth’s player of the season Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer. However, after this rapid addition, less than a month after the end of the season, the summer began to unfold painfully for the Eagles.
The targets were clear: Matheus França, Lewis Hall, a new goalkeeper, and a ready-made replacement for Wilfred Zaha, who left the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Once Palace secured the services of Matheus França, things didn’t move very quickly until just a couple of weeks before the start of the season, when Lewis Hall had all but signed on the dotted line for the Eagles. But things began to go wrong for the Eagles as reports emerged that Chelsea triggered Michael Olise’s release clause.
In the biggest plot twist of the summer, just days after such reports emerged, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish took to Instagram, with Michael Olise sat by his side, captioning the post with a shush emoji: “I’m absolutely delighted to announce Michael Olise has decided to commit his future to Crystal Palace Football Club and this afternoon signed a new four-year deal with the club.”
Obviously, this had consequences, with Chelsea pulling the plug on Lewis Hall’s loan move to South London. But, with time left in the window, there was still optimism around the club that they’d be able to secure a versatile squad player, a goalkeeper, and a winger.
As the window entered the final days, Palace were trying to secure their targets; Dean Henderson had emerged as the club’s goalkeeping priority; the plan to sign a versatile player was abandoned; and Louis Sinisterra had become a viable loan option to be the ready-made Zaha replacement. Dean Henderson was eventually announced with a day left in the window, and Palace turned their attention to depth.
They attempted to sign Leeds winger Sinisterra on loan until the end of the season, but as the timeline progressed, the deal was deemed too expensive for what it was. On deadline day, Palace were hopeful of adding a striker, with Hugo Ekitike targeted for a loan move from PSG; however, through numerous factors, with a bit of a transfer Domino effect occurring for the Parisians, a deal could not be sanctioned.
Palace closed the window, adding defensive depth to their ranks by securing the cheap and cheerful addition of Rob Holding from Arsenal.
To the naked eye, the summer may have seemed a success, holding onto the club’s most valuable asset, adding an exciting young talent in Mathues França, acquiring a promising goalkeeper when Palace were left short in that department with the departure of Jack Butland and Vincente Guiata, the wonderful addition of Jefferson Lerma, who has proved to be outstanding this season, and securing a squad player in Rob Holding.
However, the deeper you dive, the larger the failings seem. There was an acceptance at the club that Matheus França would not see much game time this season under Roy Hodgson, but there was hope that he would be utilised more frequently from the bench. The departure of Vicente Guiata and Jack Butland forced Palace to sign a number-two goalkeeper, but instead they decided to sign a number-one to compete with England’s second-choice goalkeeper.
The choice to spend £14 million on Henderson has bemused many, with other gaps in the squad not addressed with Palace lacking the financial means to carry out other deals. Palace not only lost their best ever player in the summer, but they also lost a wealth of experience, know-how, and leaders that were not replaced by the outgoings of James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic.
Palace’s transfer policy is clear: pay a reasonable price for players you deem will increase in value and sell them on for profit, reinvesting that in the squad. For this model to work effectively, you need two things: sales and to spend the money wisely on players that will help progress the squad and the club’s position. However, the bizarre summer signings haven’t done that; all they’ve done is stagnate Palace and arguably take them backwards.
It’s all well and good to sign young talent such as França; however, when you know you have a manager who will not utilise that talent, quite simply, what is the point? There are arguments that the decision to appoint Roy Hodgson was a key error of misjudgment, but that’s an entirely different topic. The long-term future of the club is obviously the most important thing, and the club has put in place good processes to ensure sustainability.
The short-term appointment of Roy Hodgson led to the club prioritising the future by signing players they deemed fit for the future rather than making additions that would assist their current manager. It’s a complete failure by the board, who put themselves in a position whereby they left Hodgson short of players, lacking squad depth, and at the point where relegation looks to be on the cards.
As this season progressed, it became clear that the Palace squad was lacking in experience, attacking quality, and versatility. The absence of Michael Olise for the first period of the season left Palace very limited in the attacking department and unable to play threatening football, with Eze having to try and run the show by himself. The return of Olise saw Eze injured, and ever since, they’ve been taking turns on the treatment table.
The negligence to rely completely upon two players to play with any attacking prowess has to be placed upon the board with the failure to utilise the loan spots and add any attacking threat to their squad, leaving Roy Hodgson short of numbers and short of quality.
As January approached, Palace acknowledged that there were key areas of their squad that needed attention, including a left-back and a central midfielder.
The window was a slow burner, which everyone expected to kickstart into the final week or so, but the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules meant numerous clubs aired with extreme caution in the window, with eleven clubs spending nothing.
Crystal Palace, the highest spenders of the window, ultimately failed to hit the ground running this winter, not utilising the loan spots and failing to address numerous gaps within an ever-depleted squad. Palace, who sit fifteenth in the Premier League, just five points above the drop-zone, spent £30 million, the most of any Premier League club, securing the midfield addition of Adam Wharton from Blackburn, and finally, after ten years without spending a fee on a right-back, Colombian Daniel Munoz from Genk.
The recruitment was excellent, as to be expected with Dougie Freedman and his team. The long-term scouting of Adam Wharton is admirable. A fantastic pickup at a great price, the early signs of the young Englishman are exciting, as seen in his performance against Chelsea on Monday evening. He was unafraid to put a tackle in, has great on-the-ball ability, and looks like a shrewd coup for the Eagles. In a January window that lacked liquidity in the market, it was an incredible addition, a signing that you’d usually only associate with a summer transfer window, but Palace pounced and were able to address a gigantic hole left in their squad by Cheick Doucouré, who is expected to be out until the end of the season.
Palace had to right the wrongs from the summer, and ultimately they failed at that. The key weaknesses are apparent at left-back and left wing, and maybe there is even the case that a striker should have been brought in.
Across both windows, Palace didn’t utilise their loan spots, with failed attempts for Sinisterra, Ekitike, Maxwel Cornet, and Illimain Ndiaye. Clearly, the club highlighted the issues, which were plain to see, but they failed to execute their targets in the market, and that has to be marked as a failure by the hierarchy. Roy Hodgson and his squad would be in an entirely different position now if they had more depth within their squad, which the club should have provided them with.
The main problem with Palace’s transfer business is neither talent identification nor not being aware of the depth issues in the squad; it’s more a case of poor planning and leaving things to the last minute. The club was slow, both in the summer and in January. They planned loans and left them until the last minute. Cornet would have been the perfect addition for the Eagles, providing left-back cover to Tyrick Mitchell (something Palace should have desperately been trying to secure) while providing a quality attacking threat on the left wing.
The failure to address key squad gaps this season has put Palace in a remarkably difficult position, fielding players who quite simply are not of Premier League quality. If you mix that in with the obscene amount of injuries Palace have had this season, the absence of any squad depth has massively cost the Eagles as they do not have many reliable backups within the squad.
The club set Hodgson and his team up to fail this season; with not enough bodies and not enough quality, they highlighted the issues but failed to effectively address them. With relegation a high possibility, the club only have themselves to blame.
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