Crystal Palace Fan View: Roy Hodgson has the team moving in the right direction

Bakary Sako’s introduction was a turning point in the game

Crystal Palace weren’t really at the races in the first half. It’s hardly surprising given the huge effort we had to give to match Manchester City just two days ago and the lack of rotation possible, but nevertheless Southampton were good value for their lead without being particularly inspiring themselves.

The second half, and specifically the last half hour, was a different kettle of fish. In 10 minutes the game had been turned on it’s head, first through a wasted free kick that was clipped back into the box and then through a glorious finish by Milivojevic. It shouldn’t really have stopped there, Southampton were all at sea defensively as they let the ball bounce over their heads to put Zaha through but he blazed over.

That’s a four-point return from two games we could quite easily have lost had we not fought until the end. Fantastic.

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Hodgson’s substitutions again make the difference

Yohan Cabaye was one of the reasons we looked off the pace in the first half. He is a fantastic player, but his energy levels just weren’t there against Southampton and he looked like he needed a rest. He’s nearly 32, it’s unsurprising two games in three days is a step too far.

His change was pivotal in changing the game, because it saw the introduction of Patrick van Aanholt and a change in the system to 4-4-2. I have criticised the use of that formation previously, but I cannot deny the impact of the change on the game, especially when combined with the introduction of Bakary Sako.

Bakary Sako is a strange animal. I think everyone had written him off before the start of the season, but his revival under Roy Hodgson has been more miraculous than that of the rest of the side. He looks hungry, powerful, and fitter than I think we’ve seen him in a Crystal Palace shirt. It was a scrappy game when he was introduced, the pitch wasn’t exactly conducive to fast flowing football but both sides were making errors, but he introduced some quality and played a key role in the goals.

If we’re going to play 4-4-2 I wouldn’t mind seeing him start – I think he has earned it.

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Christmas fixtures taking their toll on Crystal Palace

Whether it’s a result of scheduling or not is up for debate in our case, but our injury list is piling up in an area we can seldom afford. Mamadou Sakho remains out after he was injured against Bournemouth at the start of the month, while both Jason Puncheon and Scott Dann have been ruled out until at least the start of next season with cruciate ligament injuries. You can chuck Joel Ward on the pile as well, who won’t be fit for Brighton, if not more…

I very much doubt the plan in January would have been to go into the market for a centre-half, but that could be exactly what we’re forced to do. Unfortunately our hands are a bit tied with loans as we already have two registered. Loftus-Cheek won’t be going back and the only alternative is Fosu-Mensah who is a defender already, and has started the last two games in Ward’s place.

Our January business rests on Hodgson’s opinion of Martin Kelly and Damien Delaney. Alongside James Tomkins can they get us through until Mamadou Sakho returns, or is pairing the two of them together in Tomkin’s absence just too much of a risk? I think Kelly’s done enough under Hodgson to bridge the gap, but we’ll see…