A number of Crystal Palace fans are currently feeling quite content about the state of the club, and why wouldn’t they?
The Eagles have won the FA Cup, Community Shield and UEFA Conference League all in the space of just over 12 months, while Crystal Palace also earned more than Real Madrid and Manchester United from FIFA after having 12 players appear at the World Cup.
Times are undoubtedly good at Selhurst Park, and as a result, some of the fanbase are satisfied with a lack of transfer activity this summer – only Oscar Mingueza has been signed on a free transfer so far.
🚨 NEW SIGNING ALERT 🚨
What do Palace need to do next after landing a new defender in Mingueza? 🇪🇸
We can certainly appreciate that viewpoint, but as Sir Alex Ferguson often reiterated during his hugely successful 26 years at Manchester United, it is imperative to keep the squad fresh and maintain competitiveness within the group.
What Sir Alex Ferguson famously said about recruiting while successful
Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford, along with five FA Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles and many other trophies.
- 13 × Premier League
- 5 × FA Cup
- 4 × League Cup
- 10 × FA Charity Shield / Community Shield
- 2 × UEFA Champions League
- 1 × UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
- 1 × UEFA Super Cup
- 1 × Intercontinental Cup
- 1 × FIFA Club World Cup
Total major honours at Manchester United: 38
However, the Glaswegian never grew complacent despite his success, and always sought to make at least two or three additions every summer to keep his Manchester United squad on their toes.
For example, Ferguson signed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Louis Saha and Kleberson in the summer of 2003 despite winning the 2002/03 Premier League title, also making a then club-record £30.75m move for Dimitar Berbatov immediately after securing a Premier League and UEFA Champions League double in the 2007/08 season.
Manchester United also splashed out on David de Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young in the summer of 2011 after winning yet another Premier League title.
During a series of interviews with the Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse in 2012, Ferguson explained his blueprint for sustainable success in football. As covered by the Guardian, he said: “We identified three levels of players – 30 and older, 23 to 30, and the younger ones.
“The idea was that the younger players were developing and would meet the standards the older ones had set. I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualise the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly.”
Yes, Crystal Palace are in fine fettle right now. However, Jean-Philippe Mateta turns 30 next summer and will be out of contract. Daichi Kamada turns 30 in August while Daniel Munoz will be 31 in May. All three are key men who play vital roles.
Furthermore, this could be a case of now or never.
It took us 12 years of being a Premier League club after promotion in 2013 to finally qualify for Europe through the FA Cup win, and with a second successive season of European football on the horizon, now is the time for Crystal Palace to capitalise and consolidate this position.
If we allow it to slip away, who knows how long we’ll have to wait for European football again.
It can be so easy to become complacent in football. Steve Parish may well be sitting at home thinking that talents like Romain Esse, Matheus Franca and David Ozoh will help the squad, and that there is also more to come from Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson.
Are you worried about our (lack of) transfer activity? 🤔
Who knows? The man from Forest Hill may well be right, but it would be a real waste of a golden period for Crystal Palace nonetheless if those in the boardroom opted not to make a stellar signing or two this summer given the circumstances.
