Sunday 24 May 2015 20:16, UK
We reflect on Crystal Palace's 2014/15 Premier League season, with the help of stats and pundit views...
Crystal Palace
Finishing position: 10th (+1 on last season)
Total points: 48 (+3 on last season)
FA Cup: Eliminated in the fifth round by Liverpool
Capital One Cup: Eliminated in the third round by Newcastle
Season review
Many feared the worst for Crystal Palace after Tony Pulis’ shock departure 48 hours before the opening game of the season, and Neil Warnock’s second spell in charge of the club did little to change opinions. The former Leeds and QPR manager steered the Eagles to two wins and two draws in his first four Premier League games, but their form soon dipped. There was a memorable 3-1 win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park in late November, but they failed to win any of their next six games, and when Warnock was sacked on December 27, Palace were languishing in the bottom three having only won once in 12 games.
Enter Alan Pardew. The former Palace player returned to the club on a wave of optimism, calling time on his turbulent Newcastle tenure and signing a three-and-a-half year contract at Selhurst Park. Palace were invigorated. A 4-0 FA Cup win away to non-league Dover in his first game in charge augured well, and it was followed by a spirited 2-1 win over Tottenham in the Premier League. In total, Palace won 10 of Pardew’s first 15 games in charge. Pardew brought the best out of the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray, and the highlights were a 2-1 win over Manchester City and Selhurst Park and a 4-1 win away to Sunderland, in which Bolasie became the first Eagles player to score a Premier League hat-trick.
They slipped to four consecutive defeats after that, but they were only narrowly beaten by Chelsea and Manchester United and they bounced back by ruining Steven Gerrard’s Anfield farewell in stunning fashion. Puncheon, Zaha and Murray were all on target as they battled back from a goal down to claim a well-deserved 3-1 win. That achievement was somewhat lost in the fall-out from Gerrard’s last game, but Palace have shown more than enough to suggest the future is bright under Pardew.
Paul Merson's star player: Scott Dann
“I’d have to say Scott Dann is their player of the season. When I had him at Walsall he went out on loan and got sent back after two weeks – I didn’t think he’d make it, I have to be honest – but, fair play to him, he has made it at the top level and I think he’s been outstanding every week for Palace.”
Quotes of the season
“We probably didn't get the right fit with Neil. We have to take it on the chin” – Palace co-chairman Steve Parish on Neil Warnock.
"I'll sell Yannick, if someone wants to give me £40m to £60m, somewhere in there, that would be good” – Pardew slaps huge price-tag on Bolasie.
“Everything went well today and our fans singing ‘it’s just like watching Brazil’ – it was at times.” – Pardew on Palace’s 4-1 win over Sunderland.
Stats of the season
- Jason Puncheon has hit four direct free-kicks in the Premier League this season and scored with three of them
- Crystal Palace averaged 0.85 points per game before Pardew (17 points from 20 games) compared to 1.6 points per game since his appointment
- Crystal Palace had kept the joint fewest clean sheets in the Premier League this season (six) prior to their final-day 1-0 win over Swansea.
Pardew's moment of the season
"My moment of the Premier League was us winning against Manchester City here. It was a fabulous night. We’ve got the loudest fans in the country and that night was a special night."
Paul Merson's view
“Palace have been a really dangerous team away from home this season and we saw that again at Anfield on Sunday. They’re a really good team who can counter-attack you and they’ve been really good this season, particularly under Alan Pardew.”
