The Alan Pardew era is well and truly underway at Crystal Palace. Three wins out of three and twelfth in the Premier League table. Super Al can do no wrong.
The manner of the comeback against Burnley will give the lads great confidence, as it will to the fans. It was a must win game on Saturday and Palace delivered. The momentum has shifted.
There are many things that I wanted to talk about with the ‘feel good’ factor being back at Palace and long may it continue.
Yaya Sanogo
The young Frenchman arrived at Palace early last week. Pardew threw him straight into the starting eleven at Burnley. The question is, will he be a success at Selhurst Park?
There is no debating that we have needed a striker for most of the season. Yaya Sanogo is someone who is young, hungry and needs experience in the Premier League. Palace is the club that will give him that experience.
It looks like another striker could potentially be swapping Ewood Park for Selhurst Park. Rudy Gestede from Blackburn Rovers is being heavily tipped with a move south. Pardew is certainly looking to bolster our attacking options. More on Gestede at a later date, if he does indeed join the club as expected.
Pardew bought Sanogo in saying he has this ‘chaos factor’ and with his willingness to allow ‘maverick‘ players to express themselves, Sanogo seems like the type of player that the gaffer wants.
The only problem is that he has not scored much at Arsenal but given his brief role, that is understandable. He did however score against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Benfica in pre-season.
If he can link up with the other strikers we have at the club he could be exactly what we are looking for. A big man little man partnership is on the cards and we all know who that little man is.
Impressive Burnley
We all knew the trip to Lancashire was going to be crucial in our hopes of securing top flight football for another year. It turned out to be a rollercoaster of a game and one that we rode and conquered.
I cannot write this Progress Report and not mention Burnley. They played well in spells and when they raced into that two goal lead I was thinking the worst.
A lot of the plaudits have to go to Sean Dyche. He has done a marvelous job getting Burnley where they are. Will they stay there? Honestly and truthfully I do not think they will.
They have a hard working, honest squad. One that has been through the battle of the Championship. They know how to graft, but do they know how to add that little bit of creativity that is needed at the top level?
They are very similar to what Palace were like in their first season in the top flight. They work their nuts off. The high pressing, high tempo game Dyche has got them playing has worked in recent weeks.
In the creative department you would not say they have that player that can unlock defences or make the difference when it counts.
Palace have that added something. Our players have improved and adapted. Yannick Bolasie is finally developing an end product. Wilfried Zaha can conjure up that bit of magic, as can Puncheon.
If Burnley can find that added spark they might well pull-off what is the improbable. Just like we did.
Dwight Gayle
Boom, boom, boom. Let me you say Gayle! Gayle!
The chant has been ringing around Selhurst Park and recently Turf Moor after the diminutive striker secured our third consecutive win in all competitions.
It is good to throw in a few statistics here and there and this is a good one. Dwight Gayle has had fifteen Premier League starts and in those appearances he has scored twelve goals. That is impressive.
His finishing on Saturday was clinical. His second goal was superb, strikers are taught to fire across goal and that is exactly what he did.
Pardew has certainly got the best out of players that have been quiet under previous bosses. Jason Puncheon is the obvious example of that but Adlene Guedioura has been great since his loan spell at Watford finished. That ‘maverick’ in him is something Pardew looks for.
With Sanogo coming in we have options up front now. Glenn Murray and Gayle worked well against Tottenham. Gayle and Sanogo should be Pardew’s next experiment and if it pays off it could produce fireworks.
The club is pulling in the right direction. The board and manager seem to be working in unison which is always a great sign.
There are more things on the agenda though. The transfer market is open and we do need some additions. I have mentioned Gestede but a left back is high on the priority list. It is a position we need to fill.
We then turn our attention to the FA Cup 4th round. St Marys is the destination. I have my ticket booked and I am looking forward to hearing the famous red and blue in full voice once again.
With the form we are in and especially the form Southampton are in, we could be in for a cracker down on the south coast.
