Premier League this season has witnessed plenty of ups and downs, highs and lows – but Crystal Palace, who is officially sponsored by The Mansion Group, owner of online casinos like MansionCasino.com, have been the most unforeseeable side of this exhilarating campaign. Their season hit new low when they suffered a disastrous 5-4 defeat against Bob Bradley’s struggling Swansea City as well as 4-0 home defeat against relegated Sunderland under Sam Allardyce who replaced under-performing Alan Pardew midway of the campaign.
Despite spending big in both transfer windows, relegation was looming large on the Eagles ahead of their tricky outings against league giants Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. But Sam Allardyce’s upturned their fortune magnificently after securing a home win against the Gunners and sealed two crucial away wins against Chelsea and Liverpool. They escaped relegation scare defeating Hull City in second last game week at Selhurst Park and registered a 14th placed finish in the league.
Palace Players Who Impressed This Season:
Palace suffered crucial injury blows throughout the season that ruled out a number of first team regulars (Scott Dann, Connor Wickham, Pape Souare) for the majority of the campaign. However, the cameo of Mamadou Sakho (joined them on loan from Liverpool during winter transfer window) guided them to reconstruct their calamitous back-line and helped them snatching crucial points when it mattered the most.
Also, the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke suited well in Allardyce’s strategic display and bagged loads of goals in order to register their highest scoring Premier League campaign (with 50 goals). The deadline day inclusion of Luka Milivojević from Olympiacos during winter transfer window proved to be a smart signing for the Eagles who brought stability in midfield with his work ethics and combative approach.
Players Who Disappointed The Most:
Loic Remy was brought in from Chelsea on loan and expected to play a pivotal role in Palace attack. But the Frenchman struggled with injuries and failed to make any impression within his limited opportunities.
Damien Delaney, the veteran centre-back, was expected to step up in absence of skipper Scott Dann, but he himself lost his place following consecutive dismal displays. Jason Puncheon started almost every game for the Eagles but failed to net a single goal throughout this campaign.
Season Status:
Palace certainly had high hopes for this campaign particularly after missing out on FA Cup glory against Manchester United. With such big spending, the Eagles were expected to finish within the top half of the league table and have a good run in cup competitions.
However, things turned out to be completely opposite as they suffered early exits from domestic cup competitions and spent the majority of the campaign fighting relegation battle. Although they secured a slightly better league finish (14th) compared to their previous campaign (15th), Crystal Palace certainly have not met their season objectives despite owning decent resources.
Areas of Improvements:
Palace will be rejuvenated by the return of marksman Connor Wickham prior to their next campaign. If the Eagles manage to keep hold of the likes of Zaha and Benteke, they will have a decent attacking third to score enough goals. But the real concern is their back-line that needs proper reinforcements.
They are planning to make Mamadou Sakho’s loan move permanent, but the asking price of Liverpool (which is around £30 mil) seems to be a stumbling block in their persuasion.
Expectations From 2017/18:
After the departure of the Big Sam from the club, the board will still be eyeing a top-half finish. Also, Palace is expected to trim their squad and make proper inclusions that will turn them into an even more serious threat against top Premier League outfits.
