Dominic Fifield, theguardian.com/London
The current Crystal Palace team photograph illustrates unity, a group whose collective industry and commitment has helped eke flair and invention from its most skilful members and bridge the chasm in quality between Championship and topflight. All but four of the players celebrating a fifth consecutive victory (West Ham) were part of the Palace side who had limped into the play-offs a year ago before reviving at the expense of Brighton and Watford last May. This is a team aware of its limitations but set-up and focused on showcasing its strengths.
It is becoming almost cliche to heap praise on Tony Pulis. The general consensus is he will come a close second to Brendan Rodgers when consideration is given to manager of the season the likes of Steve Bruce, Sean Dyche and Nigel Pearson have also overseen remarkable campaigns, and some will champion others should Liverpool go on to reclaim the Premier League title for the first time in 24 years, though success is always relative. On the morning Pulis was finally confirmed as manager, after almost a month of stuttering negotiations and deliberations with Sir Alex Ferguson and Peter Coates, Palace were bottom of the Premier League with four points from 11 matches ahead of another awkward game at Hull City. Only six clubs have accumulated more than their haul of 39 points from the 24 games since.
The five-match winning sequence that has carried them to safety is their best at this level in 22 years (and they were ultimately relegated that season), while only four clubs Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and Manchester United boast stingier defensive records than Palace’s 41 from 35 matches. Pulis’ team have actually shipped only 20 goals in 24 games, with 11 clean sheets en route. If those numbers were not impressive enough, this club has only twice finished higher than the current 11th place position in its history.
What has been achieved at a club who did not appear to boast the infrastructure to thrive last summer has been remarkable, not least because Pulis has largely coaxed quality from a squad he inherited rather than bringing in higher caliber personnel from outside at lavish expense. This team had been driven on largely by journeymen but they have now found focus and, in truth, ability even they might not have anticipated. Take Damien Delaney, a centre-half who had considered retirement upon leaving Ipswich in the late autumn of 2012 and had previously appeared a whole-hearted Championship player, rather than the strong-arm inspiration he has become over recent months. Or Kagisho Dikgacoi, a South Africa international whose previous Premier League experience had been on the fringes at Fulham, and the once utterly unpredictable Yannick Bolasie, both of whom now appear transformed.
Much had been expected of Mile Jedinak and Joel Ward, even if both were untried at this level, but Puncheon, Marouane Chamakh and Cameron Jerome felt like rejects. All have thrived in the manager’s system, each accepting the level of work-rate required. The approach is branded “old school” because it is established, essentially simple but proven to succeed: solid at the back; energetic and quick on the counter; feverishly industrious throughout. Add flashes of quality from flank to centre, some good fortune in terms of injuries and suspensions, and a goalkeeper in the form of his life and the blend is irresistible when the objective is survival and consolidation rather than silverware and European qualification.
This is the base upon which Palace craved to build. They can add to this squad from a position of relative strength, rather than the panic-driven recruitment-drive that gripped so manically last August.
Much has been made of their late dart into the transfer market in January as being decisive but, of the four new players recruited on deadline day, only Dann and Ledley both ever-presents since 1 February have made a prolonged impact. Wayne Hennessey was bought with the future in mind, even if his presence has squeezed the best out of Julian Speroni. Tom Ince was a risk worth taking, even for a seven-figure loan fee, who made an immediate impact against West Bromwich Albion but has since lulled, a player who has not had any game-time at all since the goalless draw at Sunderland on 15 March.
The manager’s instinct had been to pursue the England under-21 international’s signature in the summer, when he might more easily inject flair into the system. That may still be his policy, though it remains to be seen whether Ince considers his future at Selhurst Park. At some stage over the next few weeks the hierarchy must also determine which others currently on the payroll should be retained Speroni, Dikgacoi, Jonathan Parr and Danny Gabbidon are out of contract, Jerome’s loan will expire while Chamakh, too, will require new terms if he is to stay but, in truth, their next challenge has already begun.
There have been covetous glances cast towards Pulis, a man whose stock has rarely soared this high for all his eye-catching achievements with Stoke. A link with Newcastle generated column inches over the weekend. That may or may not come to anything, but the reality is others recognise the 56-year-old as a miracle worker, a man who can guarantee the mind-boggling revenue streams associated with the English topflight. Palace must keep him sweet, perhaps offering a new deal themselves, while also fending off interest from elsewhere.
This job is not complete. Once he has enjoyed a breather and his daughter’s wedding, Pulis will return to Beckenham acknowledging the need to develop and improve swiftly and efficiently. This club has never experienced second season syndrome in the revamped topflight, their four previous brushes with the Premier League having resulted in immediate relegation, but the management are well aware of the pitfalls once opponents know what to expect.
At Stoke he constantly upgraded his squad, even if tweaks to the team’s style were only considered once the club felt properly established. This will be Pulis’ sixth mid-table finish in the elite, the highest to date being Stoke’s 11th in 2010. Next year he will have to contend with a certain level of expectation from fans who are currently pinching themselves at the reality the relegation scrap feels so distant.
Pulis knows what to expect and it will not be in his nature to relax, whether the accolades over this year’s achievement are prolonged or not. The board’s instinct may be to channel funding towards redeveloping Selhurst Park with the longer-term in mind, but the manager will argue most should be ploughed into the team seeking immediate results.
That will provide an interesting political sub-plot to the summer ahead, even if it is hard to argue against anything the manager may demand at present. He was conspicuous by his absence on the touchline in front of the away support at Upton Park, but everyone present would concede his impact has been profound. Now he will be pondering how this team kicks on.
