- Conference League campaign has benefited Crystal Palace
- Perfect first taste of European football
- The chance to create further history
When Crystal Palace won the FA Cup last May, the glory was shortly followed by the realisation of a lifelong dream. Palace would play European football for the first time.
FA Cup victory comes with qualification to the Europa League, Europe’s second-tier competition. For reasons that Palace fans will be more than familiar with, that reward was downgraded to the Conference League.
Whilst the demotion was disappointing at the time, I believe that it’s actually been a blessing in disguise for our club.
Palace were not ready for the Europa League
Whilst the Europa League sounded like the dream on the surface, I don’t think Palace were prepared for a campaign in that tournament just yet. Finishing 12th in the Premier League, we were some distance from qualifying for any form of European football at all.
The possible away trips, and guarantee of larger allocations would undoubtedly have been a big difference, the squad was not, in my opinion, prepared to compete at that level.
Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa were the two English sides that qualified, Villa via the league, Forest via the courtrooms. Both sides have significantly deeper pockets and have spent more money than Palace comfortably in recent seasons.
The starting eleven would have been strong enough to compete; however, sides such as Villa have starting quality players on their bench.
This point was proven to an almost extreme level when Palace seemingly failed to back Oliver Glasner in the summer. Palace entered the season with fans hugely disappointed by the lack of investment, and with a general sentiment that we were going into a maiden European campaign severely underprepared.
Ultimately, once the initial disappointment had passed, Palace fans seemed keen to put the drama aside and began to look forward to UEFA’s newest tournament with not only excitement but a sense of expectation that would have been amiss with a Europa League campaign on the horizon.
From Participants to Favourites
The demotion cemented Palace as favourites for European glory, a sentence I never imagined I’d be typing.
The reality of managing a heavily congested fixture list became apparent early on, though, and before January, Palace failed to win a single Premier League fixture the weekend after a Conference League game.
Patchy results in the league phase led to a spending spree in the January window, as the ownership looked to atone for their misjudgement pre-season.
With three wins, one draw and two defeats, it was down to a play-off game to make the knockouts.
After the investment in the likes of Strand Larsen, Johnson and Guessand, the chances of Palace actually lifting the trophy became a much clearer possibility.
Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar were brushed aside, with Palace able to rest players ahead of fixtures for the first time, without sacrificing the chances of Premier League wins entirely.
The experience of navigating the FA Cup last season has played a huge part in the success that we’ve seen so far, because whatever happens here on out, reaching a European semi-final is a huge achievement.
The opportunity to improve against low blocks has been a frustrating yet rewarding chance for development. After struggling against AEK Larnaca at Selhurst Park in the league phase, Palace were able to nudge beyond them in the round of 16, winning 2-1 after extra time.
Following that, a comfortable first leg win over Fiorentina was reminiscent of the quarter-final against Fulham. Controlled, dominant and clinical. That win made the second leg a simple task, and despite losing on the night, Palace progressed with a 4-2 aggregate win.
There is no doubt that Palace are, after the investment mid-season, too good for this competition. However, as first European seasons go, there are few better tournaments than the Conference League to ease a club into the swing of Thursday-Sunday football.
The games are demanding but winnable, and this tournament has provided Palace fans with memories that will last a lifetime.
It’s also afforded the club to sell the likes of Marc Guehi and entrust youth, not quite as easy to do had Palace been in the Europa League.
It’s offered players such as Jaydee Canvot vital minutes, and allowed Yeremy Pino to gain confidence and build momentum.
Now, with a semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk on the horizon, Palace have a huge chance to create history once more, and if they are to lift the trophy come May, it will have prepared them for the Europa League campaign which follows in the best way possible.
