Crystal Palace Fan View: Hodgson has dragged Eagles back from the brink

Personnel issues vex Crystal Palace

After I bigged-up Bakary Sako in my preview, naturally he didn’t start against Swansea. Watching how the game panned out for Crystal Palace, I think that was a mistake.

We started with a traditional 4-4-2 system, but wide players Zaha and Townsend played through the middle, while the midfield four was made up entirely of central midfielders. It was an unorthodox combination and one that didn’t pay off. We looked laboured going forward, there was no real width and we struggled to beat Swansea’s press, particularly in the first half.

Make no mistake, the midfield quartet worked hard, but just struggled to fashion anything. While Swansea built slowly, retaining possession and using their wingers as an outlet, Crystal Palace tried unsuccessfully to force their way through the centre of Swansea’s team. With no focal point, we couldn’t change things up, there was no option of missing the midfield and going straight into Sako. Not only that, but in starting Zaha and Townsend in attack, we lost their influence out wide, where both are at their best.

I think Hodgson missed a trick.

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Swansea tidy but lacked penetration

For the first 30 minutes of the game, Swansea dominated Crystal Palace. Whatever their form, they always seem impressive against us. They kept the ball well, recovered it quickly and forced us to camp inside our own half. Any statistic you could care to mention would have been wildly against us, but for all their possession, Swansea created precious little – to the extent that, as far as I remember, Julian Speroni didn’t make a single save in the first half.

As I mentioned earlier, Crystal Palace struggled going forward, but overall we had the better chances in the first half. Zaha had a couple of opportunities ruined by his first touch and Townsend forced a great save out of Fabianski – half chances, but nevertheless more than Swansea fashioned. Even their goal required a stunning strike, it wasn’t a chance fashioned from their encouraging build-up play.

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Work still to do but wider picture remains bright

Another two points on Saturday afternoon would have taken us on to 20 – half the points we needed to ensure safety in exactly half of the season. It would have meant we all would be sitting around the Christmas dinner table with our club sitting three places higher in the league – 13th instead of 16th. That would have been welcome, but Roy Hodgson’s job thus far has been completed, even with the draw.

The job for Hodgson when he arrived would have been to get to January in touch with those outside the relegation zone. After our record-breaking poor start, 18 points from 12 games, including a run of eight games unbeaten, has returned us to an even keel and have assured that target has been exceeded. However, as we enter the second half of the season, the complexion changes again.

From here on, our start to the season can no longer be used as an excuse. We’re firmly in the mix now, and one or two inevitable signings in January can only improve the depth in areas where we are weak. It is dangerous to talk about ‘expectations’ as a Crystal Palace fan, so often we’re all made to look idiots, but I’m expecting (read: hoping for) an uneventful run to the line with safety rubber-stamped before the last day of the season…

For the first time in recent seasons, I don’t think that’s too outlandish an expectation…