Some decisions made by Crystal Palace are still being questioned within the fanbase.
The jury is still out on selling Joachim Andersen to Fulham in a £30m deal – as the Cottagers sit seventh while we languish 18th in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 7 |
Others are also wondering why Crystal Palace sold a highly effective squad player in Jordan Ayew to Leicester – also loaning Odsonne Edouard to the Foxes – despite our attack still being thin enough to warrant Jeffrey Schlupp getting regular minutes.
Now – however – a prominent voice outside the fanbase in Sam Allardyce has now admitted his “surprise” at Crystal Palace selling Sam Johnstone to Wolves last summer.
Sam Allardyce says Sam Johnstone is as good as Jordan Pickford
Speaking to David Seaman on the Seaman Says podcast, the man who oversaw 24 games as manager of Crystal Palace back in the 2016/17 campaign said he was shocked Crystal Palace sold the England international.
Allardyce said (45:45): “I was surprised (Dean Henderson arrived) because they had Sam Johnstone there. I worked with Sam at West Brom and thought, he’s as good as Pick (Jordan Pickford) him.”
Pickford – who cost Everton £30m – has amassed 70 caps for England, and is also recognised as one of the nation’s best ever goalkeepers on the international scene, having saved several penalties in knockout games, so it speaks volumes Allardyce made that comparison.
The 70-year-old is simply echoing the thoughts of many Crystal Palace fans, amid the time when Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman made the decision to sign Henderson in a £20m move from Manchester United back in August 2023.
Crystal Palace decision was odd despite Dean Henderson improvement
Having signed Johnstone – who is still only 31 – on a free transfer back in July 2022, it was strange to see such a large amount spent on Henderson 12 months later.
Furthermore, Crystal Palace also have a top goalkeeping talent in Joe Whitworth – who could grow to become our No.1 in future – making the decision to spend £20m on Henderson even weirder.
The Crystal Palace No.1’s performances so far this season have been excellent, consequently causing this debate to die down a little, but in the grand scheme of things, it was certainly one of Parish and Freedman’s stranger deals.
