MY ACCOUNT
Patrick Vieira’s debut season in the Selhurst Park dugout has undoubtedly been a success.
Crystal Palace may have bowed out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage on Sunday but they could yet record their highest-ever Premier League finish by improving on the 10th place achieved in 2014-15.
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Newcastle where a win would lift them into the top half of the table with favourable results elsewhere.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, we take a look at how the French boss has transformed the South London outfit into one of the division’s most intriguing sides.
Starting from scratch
When Vieira took over at Palace last July, he knew that he would have to oversee a major squad rebuild.
Numerous first-team players were out of contract — and most would end up leaving — but a refresh was needed nonetheless with the Eagles starting to stagnate under previous manager Roy Hodgson.
And the club would go on to have their strongest summer transfer window in many a year, making some eye-catching permanent signings and loan deals.
Come the start of the campaign, Palace’s squad looked competitive. The big question was how quickly Vieira could get his new team to gel.
A glimpse of the future
With an average age of 26.9, the Eagles’ squad is actually one of the oldest in the Premier League.
But, with the exception of talisman Wilfried Zaha, the team’s brightest lights this season have been their younger players.
Marc Guehi has transformed the defence since signing from Chelsea, going on to earn his first England call-up along with Blues loanee Conor Gallagher and homegrown star Tyrick Mitchell.
Gallagher has been a revelation too having also made the switch from Stamford Bridge, albeit temporarily, pulling the strings in midfield and routinely taking games by the scruff of the neck.
Then there is the dynamic duo of Eberechi Eze and another summer signing, Michael Olise — potential England and electric creative conduits for Palace.
Style and substance
As it transpired, it did take a little while for Vieira’s Palace to find their groove but not as long as might have been anticipated and accepted given the boss was implementing a whole new tactical system at Selhurst Park.
The former Arsenal captain soon had Palace playing a far more attractive brand of football than that seen under Hodgson.
And, given the Eagles’ current league standing of 13th, Vieira’s approach appears to be just as effective in terms of getting results as that of his predecessor.
Slowing things down
With Hodgson at the helm, Palace were generally a hard team to beat but they perhaps did not stamp their authority on games enough.
Under Vieira, they have become much more expansive, as a quick look at some of the metrics best served for assessing a team’s style demonstrates.
The Eagles have gone from averaging 5.63 sequences of 10 or more passes per game to 9.87, which is evidence of a markedly more possession-based approach.
In a similar vein, they have gone from ranking as the Premier League’s second most direct side last season, to the seventh-least this term.
In his own words
Palace’s radical stylistic shift is not just a happy coincidence. They appointed Vieira as part of a clear plan to provide greater entertainment on the pitch — as he explained in January.
He said: “That was the direction the chairman [Steve Parish] wanted to take and it is one of the reasons I am here as well because he understood the way I wanted the team to play.
“It was a risk, obviously, to change the style, and even more when you have that kind of transition of players, where you lose 12 and bring in eight young guys without much experience in the Premier League.
“But with the support to implement my philosophy and with the togetherness of the football club, we managed to get through it, allowing me to focus on the way I wanted the team to play.”
With board and boss apparently working in perfect harmony, Palace could be set to soar higher and higher in the years ahead.
