So the season 2014/15 has come to an end and Crystal Palace
five years on from near extinction find themselves finishing tenth in the
league, with new manager Alan Pardew winning ten of his first fifteen matches
in charge. For the second season in succession Palace bettered their points
total recording their highest points tally in their Premier League history.
What was the highlight of the season? Possibly beating
Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool as Palace improved their performances
from last season against the top five clubs improving their performances
against Chelsea last season.
So in review of a good campaign what other highlights are
there? Without doubt the understated top form of defenders Scott Dann, Breta
Hangeland and Joel Ward along with the undoubted consistency of long serving
keeper Julian Speroni in his testimonial season against Dundee United. Other
highlights include the continued good form of wingers Yannick Bolasie and
Wilfried Zaha both of whom continue to improve the good form of wingers Yannick
Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha both of whom continue to improve coming into the
campaign with questions over their form Zaha because of his failed move to
Manchester United and Bolasie as he continues to improve since his move from
Bristol City. An undoubted highlight of the season was Bolasie’s hat-trick in
the 1 – 4 demolition of Sunderland at the Stadium of light.
Another highlight of the campaign is that the team continues
with a team largely built in the Championship with the likes of Speroni, Ward,
Delaney, Jedinak and Murray stepping up to the plate and evolving from a
Championship to Premier League squad. The fact that Dann, Hangeland , Kelly
Mutch and Ledley have also added to the depth of the squad can only be a good
thing. The team are enjoying arguably their best run of form since the heady
days of Steve Coppell in the early 1990’s.
So what next for season 15/16 Palace like a good beer or cider have evolved
slowly and next season could be dependent upon the careful signings made in the
window Indeed depending on who Pardew brings in could influence how the season
turns out. Yet reality says the table does not lie and what goes around comes
around in a cyclical style, so if Palace invest astutely in the whole team then
eventually next season if investment is shrewd than Palace can advance and
eventually and hopefully the squad will be solid enough to amalgamate new
recruits and advance upon the league like a solid military unit.
Competitive football in 2015 is very much like a business
with expensive marque signings often bearing the brunt of whether a team
succeeds or fails. Indeed it is shown with top heavy clubs like Aston Villa or Newcastle
that success does not always follow investment in Newcastle case in point.
So finally what next for Crystal Palace. After finishing 10th
this season and improving their global profile much excitement remains at the
prospect of stadium redevelopment and fresh investment under the day to day
stewardship of Alan Pardew, Keith Millen Phil Alexander and Hari Jani. The
future for the immediate term 2015/16 season looks very fulfilling and exciting
