SPORTS 21
THE FOUNDER February 2022
OLI GENT | SPORTS EDITOR
The Flying Eagles and the Soaring Seagulls
I
t may be one of the strangest derbies this country has seen in its footballing history, but there is always a keen sense of intrigue every time Crystal Palace play Brighton and Hove Albion. This season was no different, but there were perhaps more neutral eyes glancing over than there has been in a long while. In their two encounters this term, both have ended in highly competitive draws filled with flowing football, with quality players on either side, showcasing the astounding calibre of footballer that even those in the lower echelons of the Premier League are starting to attract. This piece is not a match report nor a tactical analysis of both teams’ formational styles, but a homage to their development as football clubs, solidifying themselves as top flight mainstays with potential aplenty within their prospective projects. In his debut term as a Premier League manager, former Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has put the disappointment of a previous past at Nice behind him, arriving at Selhurst Park with a huge reputation, but a point to prove. Veteran Roy Hodgson was finally eased out of the hotseat after four loyal years of service, and Steve Parish decided to abandon his traditional appointment approach of the old-school, been-there-done-it gaffer, instead putting his faith in Vieira: a legend on the field, but unproven as a head coach.
To abandon such tradition was a risky endeavour from Parish: he had tried it in 2017 with Frank de Boer, a student of the game at Ajax and Barcelona, but the Dutchman was not suitably backed to put his ideas into practice on the pitch, attempting to teach a Sam Allardyce squad, with route one engrained in their minds, the gorgeous ways of tiki taka and total football.
Edouard has added goals, pace, power, and positioning: everything one could want in a striker. The epitome of a ‘complete forward’, the Frenchman announced his arrival with a fanfare brace off the bench on his winning debut against Tottenham Hotspur, and he has contributed to nine goals in his 19 league games. Standing at 6’1” and merely 24 years old, Parish realised his mistake, Palace and Parish pulled off a but not until after a four-year masterstroke in bringing him to Hodgson stopgap that soured Selhurst Park. towards the end. The Eagles Michael Olise could well be chairman looked to the future the unsung buy. The teenager once more, hiring Vieira. The joined from Reading with South Londoners would back the many aware of his potential Frenchman in his first transfer and his capabilities, but sure window, giving him the tools he that he would be too raw for the craved as he sought to implement physicality and professionalism a more positive style of play that of the Premier League. He has would excite die hard Eagles silenced his critics, with many supporters, who had been starved calling for him to be loaned back of entertainment after the recent to the Championship, and the regimes of Messrs Hodgson, young French starlet has shone Pardew and Allardyce, with off the right flank, showing a calamitous four-game, 77- his trickery in the dribble and day, no-goals-scored de Boer directness and decisiveness interlude a fleeting memory. when it comes to his final ball. Marc Guehi and Joachim Will Hughes also arrived from Andersen were brought in to returners Watford in a cut-price solidify the heart of an ageing deal, adding creativity to a defence, whilst Odsonne midfield that had a lack thereof. Edouard was caught from Celtic for £15 million: an impressive acquisition considering the calibre of club after his signature. Guehi offers the recovery pace when sweeping up behind the backline, whilst Andersen, having impressed at city rivals Fulham the previous campaign, has led by example, organising a youthful defence in addition to putting his body on the line for the cause.
But the standout signing was that of Conor Gallagher. Whilst only loaned from Chelsea’s extensive catalogue of young talent, the box-to-box midfielder has been a revelation in the red and blue of Palace, with ten goal contributions to his name in 19 Premier League appearances, including a brace in a mesmerising man-of-thematch display as Palace stole a win over Manchester City at the Etihad.
Often lining up in a 4-3-3 shape, Vieira is flexible in his approach play and mentality, adapting his strategy in line with the opponent. He sets pressing traps with numerical overloads in wide areas in the defensive transition, looking for the quick turnover and countering opportunity provided by the pace of the front three running in behind. When matched with a supposed ‘inferior’ opponent, he will deploy more of a patient possession game, although still allowing for positional and creative freedom from his talented attacking players when they get into dangerous areas.
Tyrick Mitchell has risen seamlessly out of Patrick van Aanholt’s shadow to make the left-back berth his own, and Nathan Ferguson must rid himself of his persistent injury problems if he is to prove his worth as Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s long-term replacement. The full-back areas are the position of weakness for Vieira: that’s not to say that Mitchell, Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne don’t do competent jobs, but the Eagles will see these as places of priority in the coming transfer window.
Talismanic winger Wilfried Zaha has had his duties stripped back and his shoulders unburdened after the arrivals of Olise and Edouard, and the return to full fitness of Ebere Eze has meant that the Eagles have a plethora of young and hungry talent at their disposal in the final third, proving that competition for places is not a potent problem.
Brighton, meanwhile, continue to astound and amaze under Graham Potter, who, at times, gets them playing like prime 2009 Barcelona. The issue for the Seagulls? Goals. Or a serious lack thereof. The joke last season has continued into this: Brighton will dominate opponents on the stats board but will struggle to eke out results as they lack that cutting-edge ruthlessness in front of goal. Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck have striven to put an end to their misfortunes, and whilst ten goals between them in 23 games might not seem the worst tally, for the chances that Potter’s side create, they could well be even higher in the league table had they hit the net more.
In midfield, a more workhorse trio is often selected. Club captain Luka Milivojevic is the sitter as the six, with Gallagher the more advanced of the two eights to his right, and either Jeff Schlupp, James McArthur or Hughes to the left, adding thrust and energy in addition to greater defensive solidity when Gallagher ventures forward.
The game against Palace at the AMEX in January told a similar story: the Seagulls with 63% ball possession, nine corners to Palace’s zero, 19 shots to three, and
