Sport
After an outstanding year, Crystal Palace target Europe
After an outstanding year, Crystal Palace target Europe. It was not the perfect end to 2015 for Crystal Palace, but it was not a bad way to round off a fantastic year either. Monday’s 0-0 draw with Swansea City extended the Eagles’ unbeaten record to six games and kept them within four points of the Champions League places at the midway point of the campaign.
This time 12 months ago, such a lofty position would have seemed extremely unlikely. Palace sacked manager Neil Warnock in late 2014 after a 3-1 Boxing Day defeat to Southampton saw them slip into the bottom three, with consecutive goalless draws at Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa under the guidance of caretaker boss Keith Millen keeping them right in the relegation mix as the new year rolled around.
Alan Pardew now seems like the perfect fit – for both club and manager – at Selhurst Park, but his appointment in early January felt like a major coup at the time. The former Palace midfielder was, after all, swapping ninth-placed Newcastle United for a battle at the wrong end of the table, with many onlookers tipping the south Londoners for the drop regardless of the change in the dugout.
Instead, Palace pulled away from the danger zone in style, winning three of their next four games – against Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Leicester City – to climb up the table. They continued that fine form over the next four months, collecting 22 points from the next 42 on offer to finish in 10th, a magnificent achievement considering their lowly placing at the turn of the year.
Things have got even better for Palace in 2015/16, with Pardew’s side currently fifth in the Premier League standings; while there is still a long way to go in the campaign, a push for Europe certainly appears to be a realistic objective at present.
Palace remain lethal on the counter-attack, but Pardew has made them better equipped to break down teams who sit deep and deny them space to break into. The stalemate with Swansea came after two successive triumphs at Selhurst Park, while their only defeats at home this term have come against Arsenal, Manchester City and West Ham United, with Palace forced to play with 10 men for over 45 minutes of the latter encounter.
“We’ve got 31 points after 18 games. Wow. That’s fantastic for us,” Pardew told reporters in his post-match press conference on Monday. While Palace did not quite have enough going forward to take all three points, it was pleasing that they were never really tested by the visitors in open play; only Tottenham Hotspur (15) have conceded fewer goals than Palace (16) this season, with first-choice centre-backs Scott Dann and Damien Delaney both enjoying excellent campaigns up to now.
With a pair of American investors recently purchasing shares in the club and a redeveloped and expanded stadium on the horizon, these are bright times indeed for the Eagles. Another top-half finish was the aim before a ball had been kicked in August, but Palace’s fine first half of the season could see them set their sights even higher as 2015 comes to an end.
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