After last night’s late lacklustre defeat against Southampton, the spotlight has regrettably returned to questioning Julian Speroni’s No 1 spot. His crucial slip in the 83rd minute lead to Sadio Mane scoring an undeserving goal, disenchanting the fans and breaking Super Al’s Away record.
The sentiment and adoration that Crystal Palace fans hold for this club legend, goes without saying. ‘Jules’ has honoured his position for 11 glorious years, seeing him voted on multiple occasions for the player of the year award and rightfully helping Palace earn their place in the Premier League – and remaining! But… are we letting our hears rule our heads?
I for one am questioning myself whilst writing this article, staring at my signed Speroni picture I received for Christmas… but the question has to be asked – should we give Hennessey a chance?
With only 10 games left and still no confirmed Premier League survival, there is still a lot to lose. This asks the question, whether this is the time to start taking risks with such as valued team member? However… we have all questioned Pardew’s team selection at some point in his tenure, but it’s working – the players’ determination is paying off with trial and error sometimes being the way forward to win games!
Wayne Hennessey has not had a chance to prove himself yet to the Palace faithful and has only got off the bench in a few cup ties, not allowing him a run against a decent Premier League side on a regular basis. What is wrong with giving Speroni a match break and trying out new form? If anything, this might give the Argentine the push up the backside he may be lacking, and put the pressure on his performance – we only need to look at the rest of the bench to see that fighting for their place in the starting 11 works for the other player’s performance.
There is no doubt that the 28-year-old has Premier League quality – his height and physicality have already proven to be a winner with his performance against Dover Athletic, but how will he gel with the Eagles defence is yet to be seen.
Speroni has conceded some sloppy soft goals recent, but in the same breath he has made tremendous saves, such as the one he made against West Ham last week – reminding us of his worth. Has his confidence taken a tumble? Does he need a rest? Will his recent form help him come back fighting?
Whatever happens, Speroni will always remain the true number one.
