When Crystal Palace lost 2-0 away to West Brom on 2 November 2013 they had just four points from eleven games and were already seemingly cast adrift at the foot of the Premier League table and no one gave them a chance of survival as they struggled to score goals and let them in for fun having already conceded twenty-one by that point - a total of almost two a game. Then came Tony Pulis and the rest as they say is history as the statistics made for incredible reading: forty-one points from twenty-six games, five away wins, ten clean sheets, five wins in a row from the end of March to the middle of April and results against top teams which included a victory over Chelsea, a win away at Everton and the miraculous comeback against Liverpool which finally cost them the league.
The incredible turnaround resulted in Tony Pulis winning Premier League Manager of the Year which few would argue with but the question now is can last season be replicated and even built upon?
The most important thing that every Crystal Palace fan will know as well as Tony Pulis is that a good start is needed this time around because it would be a tough ask to get out of such trouble again. What none of us know for sure is how the team will perform when everyone starts from scratch again - the fact that they were written off by so many last season meant that to some extent they could play without pressure but everyone kicks off even in August and the expectation will now be there for them to win games throughout the season, especially at home making it a difficult place for opposing teams to visit.
There were many players that were a revelation last season under Pulis notably Jason Puncheon, Dwight Gayle and even Marouane Chamakh seems to have found a team he feels comfortable in and has now been signed on a permanent basis. It is the case however that none of the aforementioned players can be entirely relied upon as a consistent supply of goals and securing players who could chip in and score regularly should be a priority.
There are rumours of Wilfried Zaha maybe making a return after an unsuccessful spell at Manchester United and whilst it is unsure over how likely that deal would be it would count as a good move in my view for all involved as it would strengthen Palace and see Zaha play for a club where he is already a fan favourite.
The balancing act is not easy for Crystal Palace because whilst they did not score many goals last season they became stronger defensively and the evidence towards the end of their campaign was that they look more vulnerable when they play a more attacking style and it would be no surprise to see Tony Pulis follow a similar model to what he employed whilst he was at Stoke - ensuring they are solid and hard to beat above anything else.
One always gets the feeling that the massive vocal support at Selhurst Park likes to see attacking Football so I highly doubt whether they'll ever be quite as dull as Stoke were at times. I think there will be moments this season when Crystal Palace flirt with the relegation zone but the experience of the manager and the team from last season and what I expect to be a decent home record should be enough to keep them just about safe. 2014-15 Prediction: 15th.
