'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

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'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

Patrick Vieira has brought a new attacking edge to Crystal Palace since taking charge at Selhurst Park, says Mark Wyatt from Football London.

2021-10-03T07:15:00.000Z

'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

Patrick Vieira has brought a new attacking edge to Crystal Palace since taking charge at Selhurst Park, says Mark Wyatt from Football London.

2021-10-03T07:15:00.000Z

'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

Patrick Vieira has brought a new attacking edge to Crystal Palace since taking charge at Selhurst Park, says Mark Wyatt from Football London.

2021-10-03T07:15:00.000Z

'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

Patrick Vieira has brought a new attacking edge to Crystal Palace since taking charge at Selhurst Park, says Mark Wyatt from Football London.

2021-10-03T07:15:00.000Z

'There’s A Lot Of Optimism Around Crystal Palace'

Patrick Vieira has brought a new attacking edge to Crystal Palace since taking charge at Selhurst Park, says Mark Wyatt from Football London.

2021-10-03T07:15:00.000Z

- Crystal Palace host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm BST kick-off)- Football London's Mark Wyatt has previewed the fixture for LCFC TV's Matchday Live show- Wyatt has been encouraged by the early weeks of Patrick Vieira's tenure at Selhurst Park- Fans can follow live coverage of Sunday's game, for free, from 12:30pm on LCFC Radio

While the Eagles are currently 15th in the Premier League, there have been encouraging signs in south London, specifically a 3-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur, alongside encouraging draws with West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion, two of the most impressive sides early on in 2021/22.

Former AC Milan, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester City midfielder Vieira replaced Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park over the summer and, following a positive transfer window, the Frenchman is implementing a new style of play with Palace.

"They have started the season quite comfortably considering they’ve got a new manager," Wyatt told LCFC TV. "There’s been a couple of defeats, obviously, the most notable being away at Chelsea on the opening day of the season. That was a 3-0 loss and it was the same scoreline at Anfield as well.

"The games themselves have told a different story. Palace are looking much more possession-based now. It’s much more fluid than it was last season under Roy Hodgson. They’ve been massively helped by their new signings. They’ve got some new players and Conor Gallagher has slotted right into midfield.

"There’s new centre-backs in Joachim Andersen and Marc Guéhi, who have really helped change the style of play. Although on the table, it may not look like they’re motoring along finely, I think there’s a lot of optimism around the team so far."

After some uncertainly about Palace's future fortunes early on in the summer, the club have settled under Vieira's guidance and Wyatt is optimistic that they can continue to develop throughout the 2021/22 season and beyond under the former New York City and Nice manager.

"There was a period where the club didn’t know who they were going to hire over the summer," he added. "There were a lot of names thrown into the ring and Patrick Vieira’s name came in quite late. His managerial record, his CV, isn’t that long.

"He’s only had spells with New York and Nice, obviously, but coming into the Premier League, it’s a difficult place. There were some comparisons to Frank de Boer early on, but luckily he managed to silence those because they are chalk and cheese in terms of their approach to life at Crystal Palace.

"The fans have just been pleasantly surprised. They’re happy to see their team playing with such an attacking impetus now. For a long period, this Crystal Palace team has had the tools to be an attacking side, with Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze.

"When he comes back, it’ll make a world of difference to this team, but it’s just refreshing for a lot of fans to see that real hunger and desire to drive up the pitch and control games from the off. We saw that on Monday night against Brighton."

Palace have been a menace to City over recent seasons, particularly in the capital, while they have also delivered a string of impressive performances this term. Wyatt says they can take heart from those outings and use them as motivation ahead of tackling the Foxes.

"They do have a good record against Leicester so it’s going to be a really interesting match-up for sure," he continued. "I think the one thing that has surprised me most about Crystal Palace this season under Vieira has been the fact there’s been no fear in any of their games.

"They were handed a difficult start to the season. I’ve mentioned games against Liverpool and Chelsea. There was a fantastic 3-0 win at Spurs. They also headed to London Stadium to face West Ham, who were top of the table at the time, and they got a 2-2 draw there after going behind.

"Brighton could have gone top of the table if they won on Monday as well. If anything, this Crystal Palace side are showing us that form and players… it doesn’t matter to them at the moment.

"Zaha’s been talking more than he ever about how much he wants to win for the club and how he tells players not to fear the badges before games. That fearlessness will really serve them well this season and, from a Crystal Palace side of things, it will certainly serve them well going into Leicester."

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