Squad Numbers

On paper, a 0-0 draw against a decent Fulham side isn’t a terrible result, but in reality, Palace’s performance on Saturday was a worrying indictment of their issues at the moment.

Whilst Palace were strong defensively and Will Hughes alongside Cheick Doucoure provided stability in the middle of the pitch, the team were hopeless going forward. The main issue in this regard was the lack of pace in the front line. Palace were strong in winning the ball back, with 19 successful tackles and interceptions showing that the potential was there for a clinical, counter attacking performance. However, it felt as though Palace were trying to slow the pace of the game down, and withtain possession of the ball, but if that was the plan, it didn’t effectively work as they shared 50% of possession with Fulham. There was a lack of forward running, meaning that Palace couldn’t do anything to hurt Fulham in transition, something which typical Roy Hodgson Palace sides have thrived on in the past.

Ebere Eze was shifted over to the left hand side, which not only limited his creative threat, but also limited the teams capacity to break. Eze’s strength isn’t running in behind or sprinting forward with the ball, it is infact mazily gliding past opponents from central areas. This is exactly why he isn’t as effective on the left hand side. Eze’s position did allow Jeffrey Schlupp to take up the number 10 role, where he was much more effective than he has been so far this season, where he has almost entirely featured on the left hand side. However, Palace should not have to play their best player out of position. So far this season, while Eze has been playing in the middle, he has averaged 0.62 expected goal involvements per 90, against Fulham, this number was just 0.2.

Since Roy Hodgson returned to Palace last April, following the sacking of Patrick Vieira, his style and philosophy has revolved around giving the teams most creative players the ability to thrive in their best roles. After Palace beat West Ham 4-3 at Selhurst Park last April, Ebere Eze said “Yeah, that’s what we’ve been doing (playing with freedom) since Roy’s come in and we’re thriving under him, we are playing good football, being creative, positive when we have the ball.” This is the opposite of how things were under Vieira, with players like Eze being played out of position (or on the bench) and losing confidence, leading to them not performing at their highest level. Now this isn’t an issue yet at this current moment, but it can become one very quickly if these players continue to be restricted and the confidence within the group begins to drop.

Now this may be an overreaction to just one sub par performance, and their are plenty of positives for Palace yet this season. First of all, they still sit 10th in the league after 6 games, with 9 points. If you average this out over the course of a season, that gives you 50 points, which would Palace’s best season in the premier league ever (not the first division). Palace have also started the season without Michael Olise, a key component of their attack. Olise registered 2 goals and 11 assists last season, in a breakthrough season for the now 21 year old. When Olise returns he will add another much needed element to Palace’s attack and will take some of the onus off of Eze to create for the team. His return will also mean that teams can’t double up on Eze as they have done so far this season, as they will leave to much space for Olise out on the right if they do so. Summer signing Matheus Franca from Flamengo could also add something to Palace’s attack when he regains his fitness imminently. However, he is only 19, and his best position is in a similar role to Eze, so his game time may be limited.

Palace will probably be okay this season, and there is still reason to be positive about them, but the fact that their transfer window was missing key elements still remain. This summer Palace lost some key first team players including most notably Wilfried Zaha, aswell as long standing servants of the club Luka Milivojevic, Vicente Guaita and James Mcarthur. These departures left a definited whole in the squad and while the signings of Dean Henderson from Manchester United, Jefferson Lerma an a free transfer from Bournemouth and Rob Holding from Arsenal did plug the gaps in defence and midfield, the attacking reinforcements were few and far between. Zaha leaving left behind a gaping whole in Palace’s front line, a player who had consistently delivered for over 10 years in a Palace shirt, who had carried the team on his back to safety on numerous occasions was not replaced. The signing of Matheus Franca is one for the future, and he cannot be expected to fill Zaha’s shoes immediately. The signing of Henderson seems especially odd in this context, 17 million pounds went towards a back up goalkeeper. If Palace really are thin on money, then you’d think that that decision wouldn’t be justified financially, especially when players such Callum Hudson Odoi joined Nottingham Forest for just 3 million pounds, in a position where Palace desperately need reinforcements. Not particularly great squad building if you ask me.

This is how Palace’s squad looks with all players fit:

Now first of all, the first XI with everyone fit is strong, and would be enough to provide Palace with a platform to push on this season, but the fact is that not all of these players are currently fit, and there’s no guarantee that players that are currently fit will stay so. The squad is a few key injuries away from collapse. Take Leicester City in 2022/23 as an example, they were an established Premier League side who had recorded top 8 finishes and and FA cup victory in their previous two seasons, they lost key first team players Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel in the summer transfer window and failed to sufficiently replace them. This, combined with injuries to the likes of James Maddison meant that their performances slumped and confidence likewise. Pushing them into a spiral which eventually led to the sacking of Brendan Rodgers and their eventual relegation.

It’s not time to panic yet, but these kind performances are warning signs for Palace that confidence may start to drop. All the players seemed to be onboard with what Vieira was trying to do all the way up to his sacking last year, but that didn’t mean that the performances were there. Palace risk falling into a similar pattern under Roy if this lack of squad depth continues to effect the players that are on the pitches form. The worrying thing is, hypothetically, if it went completely wrong with Roy, and the freedom that Palace had played with at the end of last season was no longer there. Roy may have to leave before the end of the season. If that was too happen, who would come in? Hodgson is your safety, your insurance against the threat of relegation and you can’t bring him in to replace himself. That eventuality doesn’t bear thinking about.