Eagles up and away for Vieira
THE size of the task facing new boss Patrick Vieira was laid bare on the opening day of the season when his Crystal Palace side were thumped 3-0 by Chelsea.
It wasn’t just the size of the result but the manner of the defeat that was worrying for Eagles fans.
Particularly those who were unsure of the wisdom of appointing a man who had lit up the Premier League as a player but had NO management experience in the English top flight, and whose time in the dugout at New York City FC and Nice didn’t exactly scream success.
Fast-forward four months, however, and, as Palace prepare for a trip to another London rival, any such fears have been allayed by the Frenchman and his team.
They are playing a brand of football under Vieira that is far easier on the eye than the fare served up under Roy Hodgson.
With even Hodgson, who retired from management at the end of last season, hailing Vieira’s appointment a ‘stroke of genius’ in an interview in November.
The loan signing of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea was another smart move from Palace last summer, with the Stamford Bridge starlet having become an England international this season.
And while there have been improvements all over the pitch, one of the most notable is the fact that Christian Benteke is scoring goals.
Much of the belief Palace have shown in recent months stems from the convincing 3-0 victory over Spurs in September, their Eagles’ first win of the season.
Although the Vieira era highlight so far was undoubtedly the 2-0 victory away at defending champions Manchester City at the end of October.
Key for Vieira and his players in the second half of the campaign will be turning their large number of draws into wins.
But if they can do that then there is no reason they can’t finish higher than 14th, where they have finished the last two seasons, and even target 10th, which would be a very good achievement in Vieira’s first campaign.