Crystal Palace v Southampton Tuesday 21st January 2020 // 7:30pm
21.01.2020
INSIDE THE PROGRAMME CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON TUESDAY 21ST JANUARY 2020 | 7:30PM K.O.
Directors Steve Parish, Chairman David Blitzer, Joshua Harris Chief Executive Phil Alexander Chief Financial Officer Sean O’Loughlin Sporting Director Dougie Freedman Club Secretary
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Christine Dowdeswell Head of Sport Science, Strength & Conditioning
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Scott Guyett Head of Medical Dr. Zaf Iqbal Academy Director Gary Issott Director of U23 Development Mark Bright Head Groundsman Bruce Elliott
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Copers Cope
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Chris Grierson
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Junior Eagles
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Amateur Analysis
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A Corner of South London
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Dom Fifield
Editor Dan Blazer Design Billy Cooke, Luke Thomas Contributors Ben Mountain, Ian
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Cuppa in the Canteen
King, Dom Fifield, Chris Waters, Grace Cullen, Chris Grierson, Matt Franks Photography Neil Everitt, Seb Frej, Reuters, Pinnacle, Rex Features Printer Bishops Printers
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Palace XI in Time
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Paddy McCarthy
Commercial Director Barry Webber Operations Director Sharon Lacey Head of Consumer Sales Mike Pink Head of Ticketing Paul McGowan Head of Legal David Nichol Head of Content & Production James Woodroof Head of CRM & Campaigns Tom McGuiness Head of Safeguarding Marcus Puddephatt
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LUKA MILIVOJEVIC
I was very nervous watching the Arsenal game as a fan in the stands because this is an experience I am not used to. Whoever we were playing was never going to be easy due to the injury problems. So I must say that the lads who went out there to face Arsenal all have to be very proud of the point against them. They are – and always will be – a top club in this country. Tonks was captain against Arsenal in my absence. And already this season we’ve had Gary when I wasn’t available against West Ham and I think that shows just how many leaders we have in this squad – I could name many of my teammates but someone like James McArthur could also be a great captain with the way he plays and his leadership qualities.
We’ve welcomed Cenk from Everton for the season and that is great for us. We always want to bring in players that will give us greater quality in the squad. I know this month is about transfers and things that may or may not happen. But I must comment on what a great job the boys have done to achieve our position in the table and for what they’ve all given, particularly in the last six weeks of the crazy football schedule. We’ve used a constant 11 to 13 players and it’s so tough to recover but we’ve all worked hard, dug in and performed well. Tonight’s game will see the club recognise the work that Kick It Out is doing to make football a better sport for all and the squad recognise the need for us to play our part.
CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
We are facing an in-form Southampton, with our point against them at St Mary’s in December a positive one when you consider the run they’re on which has seen them defeat Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City. It is a cliché, I know. But every single game will be tough and we must be focussed. We are at our home of Selhurst and that makes us favourites but we must show what we are capable of on the pitch and continue our improved home form in the league – I’m pleased we’ve been able to turn that around from last season for you, our loyal fans. Make some noise!
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Today is the final game of my suspension and I cannot wait to get back out on the pitch with my teammates and to play in front of you again, especially at our home of Selhurst.
CENK
Cenk Tosun is finally an Eagle, more than two years on from when the club first tried to bring the striker to SE25. Here, with Dan Blazer, Tosun looks back at his time under former Palace boss Sam Allardyce whilst at Everton, relives the 2002 World Cup and more.
EAGLE EYE WITH PALACE TV'S CHRIS GRIERSON
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One thing you never hear anybody talk about is VAR. So I thought I’d write a column about it. *Checking for sarcasm* *two-minute wait* Decision: sarcasm. Don’t worry, it’s not an opinion piece, I just thought it may be interesting to know what goes on from a club perspective up in the broadcast gallery when VAR is used. A bit of background on the gallery first. It’s located at the back of the Main Stand at the tunnel end. If you look over you’ll see three rooms behind tinted glass. The room on the left houses our media team, consisting of: two social media reporters who post match updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram; a graphic designer to create score
graphics and other assets for social media and the big screen; a club journalist who writes the match report as the game is going on and a video editor who edits the highlights. In the middle is the gallery, which takes in footage from the host broadcaster and our own pitchside camera. There
CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
is a director, a technician, a replay operator and club legend/ production manager Sir Terry Byfield. From here, different output is sent to the big screen, the lounges and the concourses. The replay operator will also send match clips into the cloud for the video editor to put into the highlights in the room next door.
Finally, to the right of the gallery is the room I’m based in along with PA announcer Mike Rankine and the two first-team analysts, who have their own match feed provided by Hawkeye. From there they radio down to the bench with anything they have noticed from their vantage point higher up. The two words all three rooms hear constantly throughout games are “check complete,” because coming out of a speaker in the gallery is the audio that the ref hears from the VAR team at Stockley Park. It’s important to note that we don’t hear anything the ref says but we do hear everything that VAR says. Although it may appear as if an incident hasn’t been checked because you don’t see or hear an
announcement on the big screen or through the PA system, they are constantly checking everything. It’s only when the check stops play that you’ll notice that it’s happening. At the last home game you probably saw the replay of PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s tackle on the big screen. This came through on the feed given to us by VAR. The policy is that whenever an on-field decision is overturned by VAR a replay will be shown. Mike was away at the last game so I was on PA and music duty. It was a panicky one after our goal because due to the deflection off David Luiz, I had to run next door and get the replay operator to show me what happened so I knew whose name to shout into the microphone. Was it Mr Jordan Ayew or Mr Own Goal?!
CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
I then realised they were checking for offside too so decided to wait for “check complete” before announcing the scorer and playing the music. By the time I did it, play had restarted and it was all a bit odd. I then made the mistake of mentioning the goal music on Twitter. Turns out there are a lot of opinions on it. Thankfully Mike is back tonight so direct all your goal music ire in his direction!
Head to eagles.cpfc.co.uk or the CPFC app to watch all the behind the scenes content.
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AMATEUR ANALYSIS PALACE V SOUTHAMPTON
ORCHESTRATOR: PIERRE-EMILE HØJBJERG 40
Club captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is crucial to Southampton in the middle of the park in terms of disrupting play and winning back possession. Højbjerg has made 53 tackles in the Premier League this season, the second-most for the Saints – just one less than his central midfield partner, James Ward-Prowse. However, no one has been dribbled past more than Højbjerg, which suggests a potential rashness to the timing of the midfielder’s challenges and this is something Palace could look to capitalise on. Across the majority of
defensive-minded statistics, Højbjerg comes up trumps for the Saints. Only Jan Bednarek has made more interceptions, nobody has won more fouls than Højbjerg and his 36 clearances are the most for the Saints outside the expected table-topping defenders. HØJBJERG IN THE PL THIS SEASON Statistic
Saints Ranking
Interceptions
2nd
Total Tackles
1st
Clearances
5th
Fouled
1st
Fouls
1st
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The Moroccan international isn’t a guaranteed starter under Ralph Hasenhüttl however Boufal did start against Palace in the game back in December. If the Saints again opt to bring in Boufal, then Palace will get a glimpse into what it is like for the opposition to deal with Wilfried Zaha. Despite only playing 561 minutes in the league, Boufal has
DANGERMAN DANNY INGS Danny Ings is already enjoying his best-ever season in front of goal in the Premier League, bettering his 11 for Burnley in the 2014/15 campaign. Interestingly, despite carrying the goalscoring-burden for the Saints (James WardProwse is second with four) Ings has only completed 90 minutes in four of his last 10 Premier League games. If Palace are to keep Ings quiet for however long he is on the Selhurst Park pitch, then the centre-back pairing will need to keep tight to the former Liverpool frontman. Of Ings’ 57
racked up the most dribbles for the Saints (72) – Nathan Redmond is second with 66 and has played 1142 minutes more than Boufal. Despite his lack of game-time, Boufal’s attacking threat for the minutes played is almost unrivalled
in the Southampton squad. With highest amount of shots taken – excluding players who have played a minimum of 1,500 minutes – Boufal’s 15 attempts on goal have seen over 50% of them come from outside the box. BOUFAL
ZAHA
Minutes
561
1915
Dribbles per game
5.1
7.9
Successful dribbles
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109
Shots outside the box
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6
DANNY INGS' PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD Season
Club
Apps
Goals
2014/15
Burnley
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11
2015/16
Liverpool
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2
2016/17
Liverpool
0
0
2017/18
Liverpool
8
1
2018/19
Southampton
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7
2019/20
Southampton
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14
shots, 35 have been inside the penalty area and just one of his goals has arrived from outside the box, and six have been finished inside the six-yard box. Palace’s defence will hopefully be able to utilise their height advantage with Ings losing 75 aerial
battles, more than any other Saints player in the league. Whereas Palace’s centre-back partnership against Arsenal – James Tomkins and Gary Cahill – have lost just 55 aerial duels between them all season in the league. *Statistics correct as of 17 Jan
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INFLUENCE OF SOFIANE BOUFAL
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GAME CHANGER footballfoundation.org.uk 52 AD-105x148-FF-Game Changer.indd 1
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Ian Wright had hobbled off during the second-half of a home defeat to Liverpool in mid-January wincing in agony. The x-rays conducted over the ensuing few days confirmed the worst: Crystal Palace’s leading scorer had fractured his shin. The SOS went out from management to board for recruits, but money was tight. There was no sense that the team would be rescued in the transfer market any time soon, leaving Steve Coppell contemplating how he could eke goals from a team who, aside from a solitary reward after a frantic pinball in the Arsenal six-yard box, had failed to score a league goal since the turn of the year. The answer came from within the ranks. John Salako, a substitute against Liverpool who had rammed a shot against the post from 30 yards late on, had started the season on loan at Swansea City in the third tier. He had scored three times in 13 matches before returning to his parent club, though the youth team graduate, usually deployed out on the flank, had still been considered far too raw to start at this level.
“He was a nightmare sometimes, shooting and not crossing, so Brighty and I would have a right go at him,” recalled Wright. “The pair of them were both world-class moaners,” said Gary O’Reilly. “They used to rip Salako to shreds because he would turn in, turn out, stand on it, fall over, get up, go for an ice cream and come back, and they’d still be waiting for the cross. You can imagine the conversation.” But Salako proved thick-skinned, and Coppell considered his pace an asset. The seeds were sown in a comfortable FA Cup Fourth Round 4-0 win over Huddersfield. The youngster rounded off the scoring that day and retained his place at Nottingham Forest the following week. That occasion was instantly forgettable, with the visitors’ porous defence inviting disaster, but it had been Salako who waltzed on to Geoff Thomas’ fine pass to ram home a consolation late on. And so to the visit of Southampton to Selhurst Park. Palace had lost four on the bounce in the league and were drifting back towards the relegation
CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
places. They would creak through the opening exchanges against the Saints, a free-scoring team who had scored four in a victory over Charlton at Selhurst Park six weeks before. Matt le Tissier, Paul Rideout, Rodney Wallace and a young Alan Shearer represented an imposing forward line. Then, with parity preserved, Nigel Martyn gathered from John Pemberton and, as the locals breathed a sigh of relief in possession, launched the ball up-field. The punt was guided on expertly by a leaping Bright, who had edged away from Neil Ruddock, into an area between Russell Osman and Francis Benali. There charged Salako to dispatch another crisp finish low and across Tim Flowers to force the hosts ahead. Palace had stumbled upon a partner for Bright, the former trainee seizing his chance with gusto. He would strike the woodwork again before the end, though only after Andy Gray and Phil Barber had swelled the hosts’ lead. The rot had been stopped. Salako would never look back.
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The 2019/20 season marks 30 years on from the first year ‘back’ in the top-flight under Steve Coppell, and this week The Athletic writer Dom Fifield looks back at how Ian Wright’s injury handed John Salako the opportunity to shine.
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FIRST-TEAM SPONSORS CRYSTAL PALACE F.C.
Roy Hodgson
Joel Ward
Patrick van Aanholt
Luka Milivojevic
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
James Tomkins
Scott Dann
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL 01737 225 711 |
W S PA . C O . U K
logo-crystal-palace-dec-2017.indd 1
Max Meyer
Cheikhou Kouyaté
Sponsored By:
29/12/2017 09:17
Andros Townsend
Wilfried Zaha
Mamadou Sakho
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
Christian Benteke
James McArthur
Stephen Henderson
Cenk Tosun
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
Gary Cahill
Vicente Guaita
Martin Kelly
Jairo Riedewald
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
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Jordan Ayew Sponsored By:
Wayne Hennessey
Connor Wickham
Jeffrey Schlupp
James McCarthy
Other available Player Sponsorship Packages To sponsor your favourite player, please call 020 8768 6004 or email liam.connery@cpfc.co.uk CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
The newly promoted squad of 1989/90 sporting new club blazers.
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CRYSTAL PALACE 1 ARSENAL 1 SELHURST PARK SATURDAY 11TH JANUARY
CRYSTAL PALACE v SOUTHAMPTON
alac Andre MARRINER Tim ROBINSON
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saints
Joel WARD Patrick VAN AANHOLT Luka MILIVOJEVIC James TOMKINS Scott DANN Max MEYER Cheikhou KOUYATÉ Jordan AYEW Andros TOWNSEND Wilfried ZAHA Mamadou SAKHO (GK) Wayne HENNESSEY Jeffrey SCHLUPP Christian BENTEKE James McARTHUR (GK) Stephen HENDERSON Cenk TOSUN Connor WICKHAM James McCARTHY Gary CAHILL (GK) Vicente GUAITA Martin KELLY Jaïro RIEDEWALD
01 02 03 04 05 07 09 10 12 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 27 28 29 30 31 35 38 40 41 43 45
Alex McCARTHY (GK) CÉDRIC Soares Maya YOSHIDA Jannik VESTERGAARD Jack STEPHENS Shane LONG Danny INGS Ché ADAMS Moussa DJENEPO Oriol ROMEU James WARD-PROWSE Stuart ARMSTRONG Sofiane BOUFAL Michael OBAFEMI Ryan BERTRAND Nathan REDMOND Pierre-Emile HØJBJERG Will SMALLBONE Angus GUNN (GK) Jake VOKINS Callum SLATTERY Kayne RAMSAY Jan BEDNAREK Kevin DANSO Dan N’LUNDULU Harry LEWIS (GK) Yan VALERY Sam McQUEEN
TONIGHT’S OFFICIALS Scott LEDGER Mark SCHOLES Jonathan MOSS Eddie SMART
*Squad lists correct as of Thu 16 Jan