I’m a 1990 Palace fan – the 4-3 FA Cup Semi-Final win against Liverpool in 1990 is the birthdate of my fanaticism about all things Red n’ Blue. As a result of this, my formative years happen to be the most successful Palace side in history – Stevie Coppell’s glorious 1990/1991 squad who finished third in the top division.
For a while I have seen people of my vintage and younger talk about the current Palace squad as the best they have ever seen – but in recent times and increasing number of older fans are saying similar. Indeed on Holmesdale Radio’s End of Season Show, I had a chat with Co-Chairman Steve Browett on the same subject and it got me thinking I wanted to take a deeper look.
Squad Analysis
To compare player-by-player would be difficult given the differing roles and systems on offer at the time – and would also have to go down as major over-analysis! Instead I think it’s worth looking at some of the key figures from each side. Firstly it would be foolish not to begin with the two captains;
Geoff Thomas
Geoff is still very much in the Palace collective consciousness today of course, following his courageous fight against Leukaemia and his subsequent amazing fundraising efforts. He’s still an inspiration to all he meets – and that is where you must start with him as a player.
Signed from Crewe for a modest £50,000, Thomas’ impact on Coppell’s young side was massive. Voted player of the year in his first season he was the perfect combination of an inspirational leader and tough-tackling, all action central midfielder. Many of his direct opponents in games spoke about how different he was on the pitch – he was tough, uncompromising and intimidating. He could also play a bit too, with a good range of passing and an eye for a goal.
It was Thomas who really brought together the different extremes of personality at Palace. It was a dressing room that would seek out weakness and punish it, leaving some players embittered on the sidelines (did somebody mention Steve Claridge?) but above all it established a culture within the squad that had to be bought into. Without Thomas, Coppell would have had a harder time seeing out the old guard (including club legend Jim Cannon) and ushering in a new era.
It was perhaps the Wright/Bright partnership that got the best out of Thomas though – because once that partnership was established, it allowed Coppell to move Andy Gray alongside him in the middle. Gray and Thomas were a fearsome combination of physicality and skill and complemented each other superbly. The fact both are in Palace’s Centenary Best XI is testament to the way they operated.
Thomas, quite simply, was Crystal Palace during this time. International recognition came and, but for a comical miss against France, he could have become a mainstay in the midfield for club and country. Irrespective of that, he remains THE Captain Fantastic and the fact he is still around inspiring people today is testament to his character.
Mile Jedinak
Jedinak spent his formative footballing years in his native Australia, playing for both Sydney United and Central Coast Mariners. Palace picked him up on a free transfer in the last year of his deal with Turkish club Gençlerbirliği. I don’t know how to pronounce that.
It is said Jedinak was the recommendation of then coach, Tony Popovic and Jedinak was one of a number of impressive signings under the stewardship of Dougie Freedman. Unlike Thomas though, Jedinak was not an immediate hit. As he adapted to the pace of The Championship and began integrating into the team, the more impatient supporters questioned his ability. Speed, passing and fitness were all called into question.
Once partnered with Kagisho Dikgacoi, “Jedi” began to excel. The two formed a similar partnership to the Gray/Thomas combination with Jedinak content to sit in the middle as a “destroyer” – and despite continual calls about his passing ability (which still haven’t gone away) he was often seen in the role of playing an accurate ball over the top in the wide areas in Palace’s successful counter-attacking system.
Jedinak soon won the club captaincy after Paddy McCarthy’s serious injury problems and it was apparent that he was a huge influence within the squad. Tales have since emerged of how Jedinak proffered a policy of calling out those whose effort was deemed insufficient or who were not contributing the minimum required by the tight-knit squad assembled.
Despite playing in just 24 games In the season just gone, Jedinak still finished with the most interceptions in the Premier League – a stunning effort. As a performer at the top level his stats are comparable and, in many cases, superior to any of those in his position across Europe. Proof abound that he is a true colossus of the Palace midfield.
It has to be said that Palace proved this year that the absence of their leader was not the panic-inducing eventuality it once was. Indeed many have suggested that performances in his absence were superior. I don’t add too much credence to that as it was also a period that saw Palace without Yannick Bolasie and there are not so many calls to drop him!
It is true, however, that Pardew’s Palace are being asked to evolve into a more possession-based passing unit and to take more risks. It remains to be seen whether that philosophy will continue to get the best out of our skipper or whether he will seek pastures new but what is certain is that Mile Jedinak’s influence on this modern day squad bears much more than a passing resemblance to that of Geoff Thomas and the 1991 3rd placed side.
Verdict:
I would have to say that a choice between the two as to who was “better” it would go to Geoff Thomas – but that it is much closer than some perhaps would credit. Jedinak has more success Internationally, lifting the Asia Cup for Australia, but in a Palace shirt, Thomas played more games, scored more goals and, if anything, lifted players of lesser ability higher than Jedinak has been asked to.
Next up I want to look at the “talisman” of each side. This is the player that got the rest of the football world talking about Palace’s success. Looking at both squads, there are a couple of candidates, all for different reasons, with the 2015 squad having a much tighter call as to who to pick, but I am going with Ian Wright and Yannick Bolasie as my next comparison;
Ian Wright
Most people know the story of how Ian Wright rose to the top of the game. It’s a rare tale and one which was 7 minutes at Wembley away from being a lot more glorious from a Palace perspective. Plucked from non-league Greenwich Borough, Steve Coppell recognised the precocious talent at his disposal needed some rapid guidance in how to conduct himself as a professional footballer and how to develop his phenomenal raw ability. Mark Bright was that man and after an initially modest return, the two set about pushing each other to achieve more and more.
Let me just take a moment to point out that Wright had many trials at professional clubs before Palace signed him – and that the last club to turn him down was Brighton. It’s just a very satisfying fact.
Anyway, Wright improved season on season in his six years at Palace – and by the time he left (also covered later in the this piece) he was one of the finest forwards in top tier football and one of the best players ever seen in a Palace shirt.
His heroics in recovering from a broken leg, twice, to make the FA Cup final and score twice off the bench to nearly give Palace the cup (I still hate you Mark Hughes) was typical of how unplayable he was at his peak. It is a shame what came after soured things for many to this day – but it takes nothing away from his ability and it is telling that his leaving brought about the end of that golden period for the club.
Yannick Bolasie
Signed for an undisclosed fee from Bristol City (I have been told different figures by all manner of people ranging from £80,000 to £350,000), Bolasie joined a Palace team where Wilfried Zaha was creating major waves on one wing. Manager Dougie Freedman and his scouts had identified the need for a threat on the other wing and Bolasie was that man. He had been named as Bristol City’s young player of the year and the locals reacted badly to his desire to return to his London roots – many writing him off as a “headless chicken” and “not Championship standard.”
From almost his first game, Bolasie made a massive difference to Palace. He was direct, full of tricks and formed a partnership with Zaha on the opposing wing. The two started wearing the same sweatbands on their wrists, wore a dazzling array of boots and worked to try and out-do each other in their performances (very reminiscent of the Wright/Bright combination set up by Coppell) and by the end of the season many fans thought he had impressed more than Zaha.
His strength was perhaps the biggest surprise – a clip of him shouldering Brighton’s Bruno to the floor in brutal fashion remains an iconic image and it makes him more of a threat than many wingers. This has been more and more apparent in the Premier League where many a full back, especially Glenn Johnson, has found him simply too much to deal with. It is no coincidence that on the other wing as Zaha has been finding his old confidence and form, Palace have been so productive in the top division.
In the media, Bolasie is now a superstar. Top displays for DR Congo make him an international hit and he is talked about well outside of Palace circles as a player who makes matches worth watching. Breath-taking individual skill now has a worldwide audience and a mooted price of about £5million at the start of the season has rocketed to the realms of £20million – and even as high as £40million.
If Bolasie could add the goals his ability demands, it would be hard to argue with the upper end of that range given his ability to change the course of a game.
Verdict:
I started writing this thinking it was cut and dried – but in describing Bolasie’s ability and status in the football world I could almost be talking about Wright. Wright went on to win trophies at Arsenal and represent his country regularly – as well as developing into a truly world class player. At Palace in 1991 he was the best we saw of him and the same is true of the 2015 Yannick. I have to give it to Wright – but I firmly believe Bolasie is a season in a Palace shirt away of being truly special. You just wonder what on earth Wright would be worth these days – a fair bit more than £2.3million you’d say.
You can catch the second part of the feature tomorrow afternoon as I look at the partnership of Andy Thorn and Eric Young compared to Scott Dann and Damien Delaney alongside many other things.
