Can AFCB put another dent in Palace's home form?

Crystal Palace have not offered a great deal to home fans in the way of wins this season.  They have stopped the rot of late though with a 0-0 draw against Everton and a win over Huddersfield, and they sit a point and a place ahead of AFCB. So there is a big incentive to pip Palace with a last game win at Selhurst Park and a financial gain of somewhere near £4m, if Bournemouth can make one final push.

AFCB will leave travel away from home for their last game of the
season to a ground where other visiting teams have done well.

Roy Hodgson has kept Palace up for another year, but I wonder how satisfied the Palace fans are with just being part of the Premier League? Talk always surrounds Wilfred Zaha and there does not seem to be a long term plan to get Palace on to a stronger footing. Yet, on a positive they have scored more away goals this season than in any of their previous Premier League seasons.

It's the home form that has been disappointing. Palace was always a difficult ground to go to and the noise was deafening. It could be that way for the last game of the season, but Palace have found it hard going at home with defeats to Watford, Brighton, Man Utd, and Man City this calendar year. But the form has been good enough to lift Palace to mid-way in the league and they have started to score goals in their last few games on the road.

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Batshuay, Ajew and Townsend have added to the Zaha threat. Palace have plenty of fire power going forward. It is at the back where they are vulnerable and perhaps the pressure of playing at home has started to become an unwanted pressure. There are worse grounds to visit on the last day of the season. AFCB will get opportunities at Selhurst Park to try and get their record points total. 

Crystal Palace Home Form
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AFCB Home Form
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Palace will pose plenty of problems for the Cherries

Crystal Palace are only two points above the relegation zone and will come to Dean Court with plenty of fire power to try and extend that gap. Roy Hodgson will have his team well-motivated for this game having dropped points against Liverpool in their last game and they can't afford to drop any more points at this stage

AFCB at Selhurst Park earlier in the season.

Wilfred Zaha is the main danger man for Palace and although he has not scored in the three games since his return, he has been involved in winning a penalty against Liverpool and his speed and fast play should send warning lights up whenever he is on the ball. Another player that looks in form for Palace is Patrick van Arnaanholt who is a powerful player who was great in recent games against Chelsea and Man Utd. Bournemouth also know that Milivojevic is excellent from the penalty spot. The worry for Hodgson is that Christian Benteke has been stinking the place out and now he's got a groin strain and will probably miss the game. Having no big striker is not great for Palace when every goal and point is so important at the moment.

Still, Palace have to come and attack and that could dictate how Eddie Howe goes about this game. He could allow Palace to have the ball if they start to flood players forward to get a goal, hoping that the speed of Wilson, Ibe and King can catch Palace on the break. It is not how Bournemouth set about games in the early minutes, but it could become the tactic if the scores are still level going into the second half.

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This game will be all about management and formations I feel, as the tactical battle should be fascinating. Bournemouth's problem is that while they have the capability of scoring they are not keeping clean sheets and some way of making the defence less exposed is a problem Howe will have to look at this week. With Andros Townsend and Wilfred Zaha on the wings for Palace, Howe has to make these players do more defending than they want to and that could mean that Fraser and Ibe become Bournemouth's most important players as they'll have to win their battles to push Palace back.

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Match Preview - Questions and Answers with the Eagles Beak 

RedNBlue Army podcast - Cherry Chimes talks about AFCB's season and replies to dirty Bournemouth suggestion!

Are Crystal Palace on the up?

I am a bit anxious that the feel good factor is re-emerging at Crystal Palace. This last week they have climbed to 18th in the table with a draw against WBA and talk of a new expanded Selhurst Park stadium befitting of a Premier League club.

AFCB go to Selhurst Park this Saturday.

Their problem is will they play well enough this season to retain their status? Well, Palace are past masters at picking up points when they have to. The win they had against Chelsea is proof that they are a far better team than their position shows in the table and while it hasn't all been going well for them this season with the earliest managerial sacking in Premier League history, Roy Hodgson has them organised again and playing on the front foot.

Where they still have a weakness is surely in defence. Patrick van Aanholdt is still getting used to the English game having gone on loads of loans and struggling at Smderland before his move to Palace, Mamadou Sakho has not been as influential as he was at the end of last season, while Scott Dann has been out of form and Jeffrey Schlupp is still making his way at the club. Hodgson will make them more settled though at the back and if he gets the foundation right back there, we know that they have pace and skill in abundance further forward.

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Wilfiried Zaha and Andros Townsend could fit into many Premier League sides and the big man Christian Benteke is back now, even if he is not in goalscoring form yet. Jason Puncheon is now the captain and no doubt he has been feeling the pressure with the start the Eagles have made.

I think palace just need to play games to improve now. They have strong players in Rubens Loftus-Cheek and Yohan Cabaye in the middle and once they get an understanding of each others game they should pick up. But a set back now could really hinder their progress and of course do wonders for AFCB. It's a big game in how the bottom six might unfold and Eddie Howe has to get this across to his players without making them frightened of going out and playing their best football. Crystal Palace are on the up but AFCB can do something about that.

Crystal Palace Home Form
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AFCB Away Form
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Rival Lines: Hodgson - "the right man at the right time," says The Eagles Beak

Rival Lines
Match Preview: Crystal Palace v AFCB
Blogger Interview: The Eagles Beak
Twitter: @Theeaglesbeak

Talking to a Crystal Palace fan is a little easier than it might have been a few weeks ago. They are starting to believe that they are not the worst team in the Premier league and with players coming back and Roy Hodgson getting a tune out of what was a disjointed side. Sam at the Eagles Beak is quietly confident of things turning around.

CC: Did you think that Frank de Boer's ill-fated period in charge says more about the board at Palace, who took a risk with an untried foreign manager in the Premier League and yet didn't have the courage to stick with their convictions?

TEB: There were many more factors to de Boer’s dismissal than were obvious to the naked eye. The results were an obvious stumbling point; they were not good enough but the performances were gradually improving and we were not as bad as many suggested. The players also had a problem with de Boer behind the scenes: apparently he showed off in training and senior members of the squad disliked his approach. While this seems extremely petty on the squadms behalf, if you’re in a predicament such as we were and the relationship between coaches and players ceases to exist, he needs to go.

The board clearly made a mistake in appointing de Boer. They were providing a squad far more familiar to Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew with a very progressive perfectionist whose own mistake was his insistence on an immediate revolution rather than making gradual tweaks. The general consensus is that his time was up.

CC: Were you pleased when Roy Hodgson was made Crystal Palace manager or do you think there were better options out there?

TEB: Hodgson’s appointment was as underwhelming as Allardyce’s and that turned out perfectly. Perhaps from a neutral’s perspective it seems like a risk but the former England manager has gone about his work well, going back to basics and getting the best out of a squad that was previously underperforming. The ‘look how far we’ve come’ narrative is overplayed by Palace fans but Hodgson - being a Palace fan as a kid - ‘gets’ the journey this club has been on and that has come across in his press conferences. He speaks well about the club which bodes well with Palace fans and has made the transition from ‘underwhelming appointment’ to ‘we have the right man at the right time’ far easier.

CC: November was a half decent month for Palace, but do you feel the team is functioning much better now?

TEB: Palace are picking up points where we would not have done under de Boer, such as the victories against Chelsea and Stoke City. There has been frustration that other points have not been picked up under Hodgson, such as the two 2-2 draws against West Ham and Everton in which the side dominated each game and all four goals were very avoidable. It’s a reflection on how poor the rest of the bottom four or five are that we have managed to catch up so quickly, though.

CC: You've scored two goals at home in each of the last two matches at Selhurst Park, so do you feel you have the goal power to get out of trouble?

TEB: This is the only worry with Palace. We relied on Christian Benteke’s goals last season and cannot rely on current top scorer, Wilfried Zaha, who is just going through a period of good form in front of goal. Everton, West Ham and Brighton could easily have been out of sight had good chances been scored and our goal difference could be the difference between survival and relegation.

CC: What have you made of Ruben Loftus-Cheek?

TEB: He’s doing well. His England performances have excessively increased his reputation but he has not quite performed the same for Palace, despite a few good games. He was the best player under de Boer, playing centrally and given license to go from box to box. Under Hodgson, he’s played a wider role and it hasn’t helped.

CC: What was it like when Sakho got that 90+2 minute winner against Stoke City?

TEB: That was a great feeling. It was the first time Palace had scored a 90+ minute winning goal at home since 1998 so it was a sign that the luck at Selhurst might be changing.

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CC: Do you think you are getting the best out of Christian Benteke?

TEB: No. He was injured from September until mid-November which hasn’t helped but for him not to score a goal this season, after his heroics last campaign, is disappointing. He didn’t fit de Boer’s style of play and still looks unfit in fairness so we are expecting more from him.

CC: Wayne Hennessy and Scott Dann both missed out against WBA. Are you concerned with all the injuries that Palace seem to get this season?

TEB: Injuries have been a common theme for a few years and it is unclear whether that is pure bad luck or a deeper problem within the medical department. It doesn’t help, particularly when the squad is very thin. Hodgson was only able to name five subs last week.

CC: How will Palace set up against Bournemouth?

TEB: Two banks of four, Zaha playing off Benteke.

CC: Are you optimistic of finishing above at least three sides this season?

TEB: We’re quietly confident. There are some really poor sides this season - a result of the financial divide in the league - which could either play in our favour if we improve or could see us fall into that category ourselves.

CC: So, Crystal Palace are finding their feet and even some goals at Selhurst Park. They have also been looking to the future with a new ground plan announced in the last week. Another win and they'll be out of the bottom three. Things may lean towards this not being a good time to play the Eagles, but AFCB have also had a rough patch and are looking to add to their away wins and compared to the fixtures coming up, Palace doesn't seem such a bad place to visit this Saturday.

You can read my answers to the Eagles Beak's questions by visiting the Eagles Beak site.

King is now backing up performances with goals

Every week the praise for Josh King just seems to get bigger and bigger and it is because he deserves it. I said several months ago that he was the player that is going to be able to say, I have improved the most of any player at the club and being such a young player it is encouraging to know that he is likely to get better still.

Josh is becoming an early name on the team sheet these days.

It is not only the speed and hold up play that has been pleasing to see from Josh. it is the intelligence of his runs as well as the finishing power that is now coming as he gets more and more confident in front of goal. He is now hitting shots with real venom and as Eddie Howe has said, he knows where the goal is. Indeed, Josh could well end up as the Cherries' leading scorer this season which would be very satisfying for him as he probably did not expect to have such a big season.

Josh has admitted that this is probably the best season he has had. It is not just because he is playing the Premier League but because he is playing one game after another and even when he has had to miss out a few games it has never been for a long spell. He must be confident now that he is seen as an essential part of the team and other players are keen to get him on the ball whenever they can.

The goals though are what he needed to add to his game. All strikers need to score regularly says Eddie Howe and there is probably no easy way to guarantee that you'll put away chances when they come but when players get on a run they do tend to feel that they can't miss. Josh is in the zone and so he could well be the man that has the strong end to the season.

While Josh is expected to be called up for Norway's international friendlies against Estonia and Finland, Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis missed out on any call up for Roy Hodgson's England side for the friendlies against Holland and The Netherlands.

Can we expect to see Roy Hodgson at Dean Court soon?

Eddie Howe made a pretty strong recommendation that Mr Roy Hodgson could do worse than take some time to visit King's Park in the next sixth months a few months to check out the potential of Andrew Surman as an addition to his full England squad. It has been a fairly regular occurrence to see Roy Keane among the watchers at the Vitality stadium to see Harry Arter and Eunan O'Kane going about their work, but it kind of makes me read a sentence twice or more when AFCB's players are being linked with the England national side.

Andrew Surman - is he getting closer to a England call up?

We see other club managers herald their players all the time and while Eddie believes in all the players at the club it is rare for him to speak so directly about what Roy Hodgson should be doing. I can't argue, as Andrew Surman has been a consistent cog in the fortunes of the Cherries' progress. The England set up has a fast and pacey attacking line up, but it is possible that the role of defensive midfielder is still up for grabs with the likes of Wilshire still injured and perhaps questions over Michael Carrick and Jordan Henderson looking to regain match fitness. With Surman near the top of the Opta stats for passes this season in the Premier League he deserves to be mentioned with such players.

It is possible that if Roy Hodgson did take a closer look at what is happening on the south coast he could find reason to keep track of the progress of one or two others as well. Junior Stanislas has made a few appearances for the England U20s and U21s but is certainly playing some of the best football we have seen him produce since his time at the club. I've heard others mentioned by fans as worthy of call ups like Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith, although some will look at the number of clean sheets that the Cherries have had, and I expect Hodgson would like to see that improve before he would consider the two flying full backs.

Still, if the Cherries can mount a strong challenge up the table in the second half of the season it would not be so surprising to see Mr Hodgson, Ray Lewington or Gary Neville - I'm sure we could squeeze them in somewhere.