[Albion] Palace Fans Biggest Fear

[martin tyler]

There issue appears to be tactic or the system he wants to play.
There are 3cb better who are used to being in a 2. TC and MG don’t look comfortable being taken wide.
The wing backs are full backs really they don’t offer enough attacking wise so they have no real forward width and in CM they look light on genuine quality more so that AW is clearly injured. They need to get him on the treatment table and operated on but I get the impression they are holding on until they can sign another player in January.
X2 number 10s isn’t easy to make work in a system and they are toothless at the moment in front of goal.
On there run last year they played to players strengths for the ball forward and got it in the box with lots of players in there. Big help Mateta was on a hot streak in front of goal but they at least played to his strengths. Now they are doing the opposite for pretty much the whole team and playing a system and way that seems to have brought back out the worst of them.
Erm long may it continue

 

[Gully Forever]

I really hope not.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I see they're piling in on their manager tonight. Yes, the same one who was a genius when they sneaked above us at the end of last season.

To be fair, that's what happened with a lot of our fans with RDZ. Either before he left, or some criticism (possibly justified) after he left, given the results in 2024.

From hero to zero in both cases, in some people's minds.

 

[Alwaysblue]

 

[Stato]

Goal scoring seems to be the issue that they need to solve and the purple patch at the end of last season may have given them false confidence in their ability to do this.

Looking purely at numbers, Palace had four players who averaged somewhere about 0.25 goals per EPL game last year. Scoring 0.25 per game would get a player 9 or 10 goals if they played a full 38 game season (obviously injuries and selections means they wouldn't all do this, but it gives a general guide). Last year Olise had 0.526, Mateta 0.457, Eze 0.407 & Edouard 0.233. If they all acheived that rate across a 38 game season, that would be 61 or 62 goals just from those four players. In previous years they hadn't got an attacking line up that could get close to those numbers. In 22/23 Eze was on 0.263 and Zaha on 0.259; in 21/22 Mateta 0.227, Zaha 0.424, Edouard 0.214 & Gallagher 0.235; in 20/21 Zaha 0.337 and Benteke 0.333. Nobody else has gone over 0.2 per game.

With those very impressive rates, selling Olise and Edouard would still leave them Mateta and Eze chipping in their >0.4 numbers, plus whatever their replacements could acheive. Nketiah from mainly substitute appearances with Arsenal had numbers around 0.2 for the previous few seasons, so could be expected to contribute significantly, and still may do. Ismaila Sarr has always looked a talented player at Watford despite being relegated both times he had a season in the EPL.

However, looking at last seasons numbers without the last six games when they looked like world beaters and the numbers for Mateta and Eze look far less impressive. Mateta was on 1.5 for those six games, but on 0.241 for the rest of the season. Eze was on 0.833 in April/May, but without the last six 0.285. The worry for Palace is that the latter numbers look more in line with the usual contributions from the two over the previous few seasons. With Olise and Edouard gone, if the two that remain revert to their mean, then goals from the new signings start to look like essentials rather than useful additions.

Then you look again at Sarr, who is now 26 and, although good in the Championship, couldn't get close to the 0.2 in Ligue 1 for Marseille last year, and again at Nketiah who is 25 and has been playing in the EPL since he was 18, but has never started more than 10 games a season and you wonder whether, after seven years of being the understudy, has he got what it takes to be the leading man? He may do, but suddenly for Palace, the answer becomes 'He has to'.

 

[barbus_max bhafc]

A championship team continuing to play utter shite, what’s not to like They really are total dross and if Eze gets injured again (a distinct possibility) they’re on the way down - fantastic and keep up the good work Palace. Even the palace trolls on here are struggling to say hello

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

An injury to Guehi and Eze and it’s a case of ‘thanks for coming, it’s be great, close the door on your way out’

 

[Mackenzie]

For all you schadenfreude fans out there.....



Drink it in.