In December 2016 Crystal Palace Football Club and Alan Pardew parted company, after a disappointing run of form that left the South London club one place and one point off the relegation zone. In spite of Pardew’s obvious love and long history with the club, his time as manager resulted in Crystal Palace achieving the lowest point-per-game average of any team in the English Premier League for 2016.
Sam Allardyce was quickly appointed to ensure Palace’s survival in the Premier League; and on paper he seemed the ideal choice. It is no secret that Sam has a solid reputation for being a very positive influence with any club he joins, and this has been proven when he was at clubs like Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham.
However, Sam Allardyce’s start at Crystal Palace has been the worst he has ever had at a new club. In fact, Sam’s first eight league games at Palace have earned them an average of 0.5 points; which surprisingly enough was the same average for Pardew’s last eight games, which led to his sacking!
Today, Crystal Palace have had three wins on the trot and are finally moving away from the bottom of the Premier League table. The Eagles under Big Sam are starting to benefit from his proven formula of a solid defence, mastering set pieces and being disciplined; as the club now has four wins in their last six. Furthermore, they have managed to achieve three clean sheets in a row, for the first time since 2014; plus Wilfried Zaha is finally beginning to find some form.
Palace are now positioned 16th in the EPL table with 28 points; which is four more points and a game in hand, over third from the bottom Hull City. This is definitely a huge improvement for Crystal Palace and goes a long way in vindicating the Board’s decision to engage Mr Allardyce.
But before any Eagles fans get too cocky, there is still some way to go before the end of the season. Big Sam and his squad will have to fight hard and keep their resolve. There is no doubt that the club has some difficult games to look forward to; which can easily change the destiny and fortunes of the Palace. Their next game is at Stamford Bridge to face Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, and that will probably be the end of their unbeaten run. Everyone recognizes that all games in this league are difficult, but Palace and Sam will have to be at their very best and rely on a bit of luck, with teams like Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United yet to come.
Sportingbet – online sports betting site have Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland to be the three most likely teams that will be going down to the Championship next season. So fingers crossed, Palace will be enjoying Premier League football next season.