Sam Allardyce is known for rescuing teams from trouble and he did that with Crystal Palace this season. Alan Pardew left the club reeling in the relegation zone and the Eagles had to seek the help of Big Sam to revive their season.
The intervention of the ex-England manager was a boon as he guided Palace to finish in the 14th position. Pardew was shown the door before Christmas followed by the entry of Allardyce. He had earlier done this job with sheer perfection when he led Sunderland from the front as the Black Cats survived relegation.
The emergence of Palace in the second half of the season was possible due to Allardyce’s strategy. The arrival of Mamadou Sakho and Patrick Van Aanholt brought positive vibes to the team as the team survived a scare.
Stars
Wilfried Zaha
The transformation of Zaha has been tremendous in this season. The ex-Manchester United winger had all guns blazing as he fired on all cylinders in the ongoing season. He is a much-improved player this term and has worked a lot on his attacking attributes. His final ball was a huge improvement from what he had exhibited under Pardew.
Mamadou Sakho
Palace’s gamble to bring Sakho on loan from Liverpool paid rich dividends as he stood like a rock and protected the backline against teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal. The French defender acted like a pillar in the defence and was the most impressive player in the defensive backline. An injury in the final phase ended his season otherwise it could have been a fantastic farewell for him.
Luka Milivojevic
The midfielder was signed from Olympiakos in the January transfer window and was given the huge task to lend solidity to the Palace midfield. He took the workload on his shoulder and worked tirelessly in front of the back four in the rigorous season run in.
Duds
Wayne Hennessey
The Welsh keeper made some simple mistakes in some important games which ideally he shouldn’t have done. He was good towards the end especially under Allardyce but that was pretty late and Palace could have been in a much better place had he not conceded those goals.
Joel Ward
The right back is a surprise name on this list. He has given an average performance this season. Despite being with the club since 2012, he struggled on a couple of occasions and Palace need to look beyond him.
Alan Pardew
Palace were submerged in deep darkness during his managerial stint racking up a slew of unwanted records. Nothing seemed to have worked under him as defeat after defeat had almost threatened to doom their season.
