How Alan Pardew Can Save Crystal Palace's Season
This Saturday Alan Pardew will take charge of Crystal Palace for the first time in the Premier League for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur to Selhurst Park.
Appointed in the wake of Neil Warnock’s sacking, Pardew inherits a side in the bottom three of the table who have won just three times this season.
Here are the four main issues Pardew needs to address to lift Palace up the table and keep them in the Premier League for an unprecedented third consecutive season.
Sign a Goalscorer
It will be patently obvious to Alan Pardew that Crystal Palace lack a reliable goalscorer and have struggled to find the net this season.
Since the start of December, Palace have failed to score in five of their seven games in the Premier League.
Palace’s leading scorer in the Premier League is midfielder Mile Jedinak with just five goals and, between them, the club’s strikers—Fraizer Campbell, Dwight Gayle and Marouane Chamakh—have contributed only six league goals this season.
Pardew urgently needs to recruit a new striker in the January transfer window.
Show More Ambition in the Transfer Market
After securing their highest ever Premier League finish of 11th last season Crystal Palace should have shown more ambition in the transfer market last summer.
Scarred by being in administration as recently as 2010, no one was advocating being irresponsible, but spending just £12.4 million on seven largely mediocre players, including record signing James McArthur, was distinctly underwhelming.
Palace had wasted a chance to recruit from a position of strength and have suffered the consequences this season.
It now falls to Pardew to bring in a higher calibre of players that will lift the existing players at the club for the rest of the season.
Help Wilfried Zaha Fulfil His Potential
Two years ago, Wilfried Zaha had just secured a £12 million move to Manchester Untied as what would be Sir Alex Ferguson’s last-ever signing.
He had also just made his England debut and was in the form of his life, which would help guide Crystal Palace to promotion that season.
Now he finds himself back at Selhurst Park on loan after failing to start a single game in the Premier League for United last season.
Blessed with immense natural talent with his pace, skill and trickery, Zaha remains a potentially devastating player, but so far he has shown only glimpses of it back in a Palace shirt.
It is now Pardew’s job to again unlock Zaha’s potential and return him to the player he was two years ago.
Make Selhurst Park a Fortress Once Again
During his short reign at Crystal Palace, Tony Pulis made his side very difficult to beat at Selhurst Park.
In 13 home games, Pulis turned Selhurst Park into a fortress where he guided them to seven wins, two draws and four defeats.
But so far this season, in nine games in the Premier League, Palace have only won twice at home and suffered five defeats.
It is crucial Pardew immediately improves Palace’s home form if he is to keep them in the top flight again this season.