SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Well, what a second-half display that was!
Whatever Patrick Vieira said to the players after a lacklustre 45 minutes at the London Stadium did the trick, as we twice came from behind to earn a point.
Things could have, and maybe should have, got even better, as Marc Guéhi nodded a free header over the bar in the dying stages.
Nevertheless, it was a result which has sparked real positivity around the club, following a previously goalless start to the season.
In our view, things will get even better after the international break.
Here’s three reasons why that’s the case…
(For the sake of our journalistic integrity, we have refrained from simply writing Conor Gallagher three times)
The arrival of Michael Olise
Against West Ham, Joachim Andersen and Guéhi were punching some wonderful passes into dangerous pockets.
Sadly, with all due respect to him, it was Christian Benteke receiving them, where he’d then lay it off to a teammate and take the attack backwards.
With someone like Michael Olise or Ebere Eze in that space, players who can gather the ball, turn and run with it, we’re going to cause opponents many problems.
Thankfully, after struggling with a back issue, the £8m Olise should return once the international break is over.
Will Hughes, Eddie Nketiah (maybe) and potentially more
Before kick-off, we announced the arrival of Will Hughes on a three-year deal from Watford, in a move worth £6m.
Now, we feel this will be crucial. Once again today, just like against Brentford, it was Cheikhou Kouyate receiving the ball from Andersen and Guéhi, and not really knowing what to do with it.
With Hughes, we’ll have a specialist in the No.6 role, who can take the ball and build something positive with it.
Additionally, it has been said that Dougie Freedman is confident of securing a deal for Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, England Under-21’s all-time top scorer.
The London-born marksman is a real fox-in-the-box, so after the amount of deliveries coming into the area today, he could well thrive.
Tuesday marks transfer deadline day, so keep an eye on what other business we could do.
Patrick Vieira’s in-game management
Thanks to Roy Hodgson’s stubbornness, it’s become hard to believe that a game-plan can actually change during a match.
If things weren’t working under the 74-year-old, they seemed to stay that way until full-time for some reason.
However, in truly refreshing fashion, Vieira tweaked something at half-time which injected a real spark into our play.
After also adjusting the system to good effect away to Chelsea, it’s great to have a manager who recognises what’s going wrong during the game, and isn’t afraid to change it.
Keep calm Palace fans, things are looking good.
