VIEIRA’S PALACE COUP
Arsenal legend making strides with double sessions, fewer days off... but more jokes!
PATRICK VIEIRA’S contribution to Arsenal was not enough to earn him a post-retirement return to the club he served with such distinction for nine years.
‘I’ve never been contacted by anyone to manage or get involved with the club,’ said Vieira, who once backed Spotify owner Daniel Ek’s recent bid to buy Arsenal along with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. ‘I was expecting something from them, but it didn’t come.’
But it has helped him earn a respect that has provided the foundation for the managerial career he has built elsewhere — at New York City FC, Nice and now Crystal Palace, where he is achieving one of his big aims: to manage in the Premier League.
Vieira conquered England with Arsenal and then Europe and the world with France, being integral to club and country as captain.
‘When I hired him in 1996 I thought it was possible he might become a great player,’ said Arsene Wenger in the autobiography of his 2004 Invincibles captain, who remains in touch with a number of the teammates from that unforgettable side. ‘By the time he left (for Juventus in 2005) he had become one of the greatest players in the club’s history.’
‘When he walks in the dressing room, all of his background comes with him,’ former Nice CEO Gauthier Ganaye told Sportsmail. ‘He is a piece of history.’
The instant respect Vieira commands is referenced by many, including his current players, and it has given the 45-year-old a platform on which to build during his early weeks at Palace.
‘He’s not had to scream and shout but everyone knows, don’t f*** about,’ one source explained. ‘If he says something, you listen.’
Consequently, Vieira has had room to make the sort of adjustments that in different circumstances could cause a bigger fuss, such as double sessions, longer days and cutting days off where required.
Further buy-in has come thanks to his squad taking to his methods. He is said to communicate well, his players understand what he is trying to do and there is a big will at Palace for him to succeed.
Vieira has impressed on the training ground as have the coaches he has brought in — Osian Roberts, Kristian Wilson, Said Aigoun and Shaun Derry.
Then there is his manner. Having seen and done it all, Vieira has high expectations of himself and his colleagues. He has the courage to make any decision to improve his team without thinking twice. ‘He has no problem to call on even the top player in the team, to have a go at them,’ said now KV Oostende president Ganaye.
‘He has been part of some of the best teams ever, great football clubs and played with some of the best players in the world. He has seen best practices and is never impressed, which is good.
‘Then, because he has been in top clubs he will pay attention to everything, every detail.’
But there is also a warmth and calm to Vieira the manager. ‘He puts you at ease straight away,’ said Ganaye, who was just 30 when he arrived at Nice to work with Vieira. ‘With a character like him, his background, you could think, “Woah, this is going to be challenging” but the first memory I have is us meeting and him just being very honest, simple and down to earth.’
As Palace prepared for life after Roy Hodgson, there were some concerns about there being a new, young manager in the dugout and a young team on the pitch. But while Vieira may lack Premier League experience as a manager, the amount he has as a player meant he was well-informed.
Being younger has also enabled him to connect with his players, a dynamic that has been welcomed by many in the squad. Defender Joachim Andersen told Sportsmail last month: ‘He is a really, really good guy. I’d say a joker. He wants to be close to his players. I like that you can talk with the manager, joke around.’
In the new-look Palace Vieira is building, team-mates have been raving about centre backs Andersen and Marc Guehi, who have allowed Palace to play higher up the pitch and keep possession better. Conor Gallagher, on loan from Chelsea, has been an early standout performer. Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise’s goals off the bench have shown Vieira’s ability to make gamechanging interventions.
As the comebacks against West Ham and Leicester illustrate, Palace have retained their trademark spirit and grit under Vieira. But he is trying to evolve them, too.
Having played under Wenger and Jose Mourinho and been privy to Pep Guardiola’s methods during his time as a youth coach at Manchester City, it is no surprise that Vieira likes his teams to control games, have possession and display ‘a big organisation defensively’. He is not being unrealistic with his demands on Palace and he does not want them passing for the sake of it.
He wants them to attack and, seven league games in, they have had more shots, possession and touches in the opponents’ box, made more passes and regained the ball in the final third more times per game than last season.
‘You can’t underestimate the job Roy did in the situation we were in,’ chairman Steve Parish told Palace podcast HLTCO.
‘Without being disrespectful to what went before, at the moment it’s a little bit more enjoyable, the football. Whether it gets you results remains to be seen.’
Vieira will not need telling that. It is victories that count. Knowing what it takes to secure them in this league is something else he will have learned from his illustrious Arsenal career.