The world of football is a tricky thing to predict and with transfer silly season upon us, rumours are rife but no-one quite knows what is going to happen. Even Football pundits, who are experts in their field and are paid monumental sums of money to profess their expert analytical views, are consistently chastised for getting it completely wrong.
They can’t quite seem to do it, but could a machine? Football Manager, a football management simulator developed by Sports Interactive, is the most sophisticated of its kind and it has even be used by professional football clubs, like Everton and Cardiff, as a scouting tool to identify the potential stars of tomorrow.
Therefore, using Football Manager 2015 and the Whizzkid’s Transfer Database Update (11/06/15), we will attempt to firstly predict how Crystal Palace’s summer transfer period pans out and then in later articles, see how the team progresses throughout the season with these new signings.
Will Palace sign Cabaye? Is European football finally on the cards after three seasons in the Premiership? Could they have another famous cup run and bring back some much desired silverware to Selhurst Park? Or will Pardew leave just hours before the start of the season, leaving the team fighting bravely against relegation? Lets see what Football Manager thinks…
The 2015 Summer Transfer Window
The campaign started off with immediate interest from former manager, Tony Pulis, as he looked to attract both right back, Joel Ward and the £40m rated Yannick Bolasie to the black country club.
Despite the unwanted attention placed on two of Palace’s most treasured possessions, it was Pardew who made the first move acting quickly to snap up Everton’s Bryan Oviedo for £2.3m. The Costa Rican wing-back had often impressed whilst deputising for Leighton Baines. But after a torrid injury hit season for the 25 year old, Roberto Martinez felt that the fee was enough to prize him away from Goodison Park and he will now fight with Papé Souaré for the left back spot at Selhurst Park.
A flurry of transfer activity was to follow as Palace signed Lucas Piazon on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season, after failing to convince South Korean International, Kim Shin Wook, to join his fellow countryman at Selhurst Park. Instead, he opted to sign for Aston Villa for £1.9m to replace Benteke.
Marc Muniesa, the former Barcelona defender, soon followed the other two Spanish speakers into the Palace dressing room, for a record fee believed to be between £6.25m and £9m. Palace’s previous incumbent of that title, Dwight Gayle, also hit the headlines as he signed for West Brom for £4.6m
The announcement of Palace’s new record signing triggered another spat between Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Pardew. The Frenchman expressed his concern at the lack of opportunities for youngsters in the Premiership and it was transfers like these that were killing the English game. Super Al was quick to retaliate, taking a cheeky swipe at Wenger’s inability to pull off transfers.
After the dust had settled, Club captain Paddy McCarthy left the club by mutual consent after seven years in South London and was quickly replaced by Virgil Van Dijk in a £5.25m move from Celtic.
Fans were overjoyed to see the 23 year old dutch centre back join, claiming it was a huge step in the right direction as the club looked to target european football next season
Desperate to bolster their attacking options, Palace then smashed their transfer record again with the signing of Charlie Austin for an initial £8.75m.
The man who scored 18 Premiership goals last season was the Eagles’ last bit of incoming business, after failed attempts to sign Jordi Amat and Robbie Brady from Swansea and Hull respectively.
Bournemouth also failed in a joint £5m deal for Adlene Guedioura and Adrian Mariappa and Brede Hangeland’s free transfer to Rubin Kazan rounded off a busy summer for the Eagles.
Elsewhere, Manchester United were the most active club. The Red Devils spent over £100m to bolster their chances of winning the league for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, signing Kevin Strootman, Gonzalo Higuain, Jan Vertonghen and Marc Bartra.
Pre-Season
Lined up for the Eagles, as they prepared for a third season in the top flight of English football, was a tour of Germany, playing against three lower league sides, before returning home to face Isthmian Division 1 North side Cray and then finishing off their pre-season with games against Serie B’s Spezia and Citadella.
Palace eased to victory in their first two matches with 4-0 and 3-0 wins against Aalen and Burghausen, before a shock defeat to German third division side Wehen.
The minnows, who have never reached the Bundesliga in their history, took an early two goal lead through a David Leicht brace. Paddy McCarthy, in his last game for the Eagles, pulled a goal back in the 29th minute but the Eagles failed to get into the game, with Hennessey keeping the Premiership side in the contest.
Crystal Palace bounced back by scoring 11 goals in the next 3 games, as they won 4-0, 3-0, and 4-1. Marouane Chamakh was Palace’s pre-season top scorer with 7 goals from midfield and Lee Chung Yong impressed with a few man of the match performances, before breaking his ankle just before the start of the season.
The Season Starts
Joining the South Korean on the injury list was last season’s player of the season Scott Dann and HF player of the season Jason Puncheon. This gave Martin Kelly a starting role in central defence alongside Muniesa and Pardew granted Jonny Williams the chance to impress, following an injury plagued year.
Palace started their season off late on Monday night in front of the sky cameras as they travelled to White Hart Lane. Jonny Williams made an instant impact with the fastest opening day goal. The Welsh international curled his shot round Hugo Lloris from close range after just 50 seconds, before Erik Lamela equalised later on in the first half.
The following week, Selhurst Park welcomed Everton for their second match of the season and Palace saw themselves 2-0 down within 15 minutes when Ross Barkley and new signing Dimitar Berbatov put the Toffees 2-0 up. The Eagles were handed a lifeline when James McCarthy received a straight red for a vicious foul early into the second half.
Substitute Frazier Campbell pulled one back and Jonny Williams found himself on the scoresheet for the second game running to level it at 2-2. Marouane Chamakh clinched a late winner to make it 3-2 and send the Selhurst faithful into raptures.
Joniesta continued his good form to put in a man of the match performance against Charlton in the Capital One Cup as Palace won 2-0 against their South London rivals, with a debut goal from new signing Virgil Van Dijk and a second from Chamakh.
The Eagles were flying high and were unfortunately brought back down to earth through a heavy 5-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. McArthur put Palace into an early lead but Chelsea dominated possession and made it count as they overwhelmed the Eagles through a Diego Costa hat-trick, a thumping header from Gary Cahill and a rare goal from John Obi Mikel.
Despite a tricky start fixture-wise, Palace were sitting comfortably in 13th place and with much less challenging fixtures on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the South London London side fare throughout the next phase of the Premier League…
