When Sam Allardyce’s resignation was revealed near the end of May, the large majority of the footballing world were shocked.
There was a consensus of initial disappointment among the Crystal Palace faithful, but this was followed up by a sense of cautious optimism. There was an opportunity for change; a chance to bring in a new manager and a chance for a new era to get underway.
Several managerial candidates were assessed by Steve Parish, but he came to the conclusion that a certain Frank de Boer was the man for the job. Parish was adamant that the Dutchman, who had an illustrious playing career, was the person that Palace needed to kick on and cement themselves as an established, Premier League side.
Just over three months later, the league table makes for difficult reading, and Palace are in a state of despondency, having lost all three of their opening top flight fixtures under De Boer, and having failed to score a single goal in the process.
The appointment of De Boer was largely regarded as one that had a huge element of risk attached to it. It was, perhaps, the biggest appointment of Palace’s recent history, and certainly the most important one. The foundations were there for the new boss to come in and stamp his authority on proceedings, and De Boer himself was given a good opportunity with the Palace job.
Parish himself claimed that a 37-man managerial shortlist had been reviewed, yet De Boer was the outstanding candidate. That’s some praise from the chairman. The Dutchman had been keen on a job in English football for some time now, and he had finally got his chance.
However, things have not started well for De Boer, and there appear to be a number of underlying issues within his plans for Palace. Stylistically and systematically, it’s not been good at all.
For many years now, the aim for a club of Palace’s structure – at least looking in from an outsider’s perspective – has been to remain in the Premier League and steady a seemingly persistently shaky ship. The club has worked within its limitations and have ultimately ended up hiring based on their previous managerial failures in terms of appointments; Allardyce being the most recent example, cleaning up the mess that Alan Pardew left.
Since they returned to the top flight, their first-team managers have been as follows: Ian Holloway, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock, Alan Pardew, Sam Allardyce. Notice anything in common between them? They’re all very similar in the way in which they set their teams out.
In actual fact, there’s nothing stylish about those managers. The common denominator with them is that the football they play is rather direct, route one and physical. There’s a “win at all costs, regardless of whether it’s pretty or not” sense amongst the aforementioned coaches.
De Boer is rather different from these managers. He has an unwavering belief in his own footballing philosophy, and cuts a stubborn character. He believes in slow build-up play, seeing his sides retain the ball and using the width of the pitch to peg back his opposition and strike when space presents itself.
Truth be told, De Boer’s vision of football is the polar opposite to his many, direct predecessors. As a consequence of a lasting, similar style ingrained into the Palace squad’s methodology, it should come as no surprise to see them struggling to adapt to their new boss’ demands.
As every manager does, De Boer came in and made imminent changes. He has recruited some of his own, personally chosen players; he worked with Jairo Riedewald at Ajax and is evidently a fan of young loanee duo Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. These three players comply with his coaching philosophy; De Boer likes to work with young players, and puts an onus on development technically with his players. This was embodied by his work with a young, exciting Ajax side years ago.
Palace do need more reinforcements though. A new goalkeeper is desperately needed, along with more depth going forward. However, by no means does De Boer have a bad squad; he has a group of players capable of success.
Despite this though, as already alluded to, it isn’t his squad. He’s attempting to make a physical, direct Palace side play total football – it’s a recipe for disaster.
Previous managers have played systems which entail four defenders. De Boer is absolutely certain he wants to play with three. Rightly or wrongly, his self-belief has been highlighted by his determination to make the 3-4-3 system work for his side.
In a sense, De Boer has been given a raw deal from Parish. While he has a good pool of players to pick from, he hasn’t really been sufficiently backed. Far more signings were expected by now, and Parish hasn’t supported him with the funds to land the players he feels will improve Palace, and buy into his clearly distinct methods.
Joel Ward at left wing-back and central midfielders as right wingers aren’t the logically sensible calls though, admittedly…
De Boer hasn’t been helped by the injury troubles, though. Losing Wilfried Zaha for around a month would be a blow to any man in charge of the club, and this has reinforced the lack of depth within the squad. The former Ajax boss likes to make the most of his wide players – they’re crucial to how he plays – and losing such a key man was always going to harm his chances of a good start.
At this stage, though, to cut a long story short, De Boer is trying to fit square pegs in round holes. It’s not working, and he needs to adapt.
I’m not personally a Crystal Palace supporter, but from an outsider’s point of view, it appears to me that the Eagles’ fans are split. Many are keen for De Boer to be given a fair crack, whilst others want the club to cut their losses immediately.
The overriding feeling amongst the fans, though, is that Parish simply must get the cheque book out. Palace have to improve their squad to avoid a repeat of last season, and De Boer will need to be backed in the late, late stages of the window.
Palace are on a slippery slope, and De Boer is the man at the heart of things. If this form continues after the international break, it could be a long way back for the ever-stern Dutch coach.
However, the two-week getaway has come at the perfect time for De Boer. A large portion of his side will still be training with the club, and he can further implement his ideas and aim to get them alongside, providing he isn’t relieved of his duties in a quite crazy turn of events. Along with this break from matters on the pitch, Parish has the chance to redeem himself with some investment in the remaining couple of days left in the window.
There are worrying shades of De Boer’s time at Inter Milan. He was only in Italy for a short while, but his players simply couldn’t hack what he was trying to do. There was a lack of cohesive understanding, the combination play wasn’t there, and the style was extremely conservative. He lost the dressing room and the fans were never on board to begin with; it was always going to end up one way.
For Palace so far, there’s been no cutting edge under De Boer. In three games, they’ve scored no goals whatsoever having taken 34 shots on goal. More quality going forward is undoubtedly necessary, but Palace genuinely look to have no plan when advancing into the final third.
There’s a lack of understanding amongst the squad, and no-one seems to be stepping up and making themselves counted. Effort is a two-way street, and it doesn’t feel as though Palace’s players are really putting in the groundwork to adapt to De Boer’s methodology.
Some of the best managers in the world share a similar belief in their own abilities. However, the Premier League demands that you adapt. It’s kill or be killed in this league, and De Boer is presenting himself as more of a prey than a predator at this stage. He has to show more flexibility, and he has to be clever.
If he continues to persist with the 3-4-3 and continues to set out in exactly the same way as he has done, it’s hard to see where the next point is coming from. De Boer was bound to be naive upon his arrival in England, but he has to learn fast and he has to act even faster, or else he will find himself unemployed yet again.
Personally, in order to remedy Palace’s current situation, I think that De Boer should revert back to a 4-3-3 system. It was his tried and tested setup at Ajax, and it’s a formation that ties in with his philosophy whilst also making the most of Palace’s wide talents. He needs to stop over-complicating things systematically for his players.
The final stretch of the window presents an intriguing yet nervy period for Palace fans, and if Parish is to stick true to his word and support De Boer, all parties involved must work in alliance to repair the side’s early cracks.
De Boer must improve quickly if he is to turn this around, but he must be provided with backing from both the club’s hierarchy and also the fans.
