Crystal Palace, a club that usually prides itself on being difficult to break down, have fallen from grace with a woeful 2016-17 defensive record.
On the verge of a crucial victory against Swansea on Saturday, Crystal Palace conceded two goals in injury time to throw away all three points in what could have been a turning point in their otherwise dismal season.
They came apart at the seams and were ripped apart to the tune of five goals by Swansea, a fellow relegation favorite. It’s not merely the loss that was so devastating, but the way the last few minutes highlighted Palace’s palpable defensive fragility.
The strong character Alan Pardew’s teams usually pride themselves on was completely missing.
Palace’s poor defensive record
Palace’s porous defense will likely be to blame if the club eventually goes down.
Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in 18 Premier League matches, a record that dates back to April of last season.
Pardew’s men are the only unit in the league without a clean sheet this season. Even Sunderland and Hull have one apiece.
Palace have conceded 17 goals in their last five matches. They conceded three away to Burnley and Leicester, five away to Swansea, four at home to Liverpool and two at home to Manchester City during the current dreadful stretch.
It’s six losses on the bounce for Palace, who haven’t won a game since beating Sunderland 3-2 on September 24. So, it’s over two months without a win and coming on eight months devoid of a clean sheet. Palace are in 17th place in the standings, above the relegation places only on goal difference.
Surprisingly, Palace don’t have the worst defensive record in the league. That dubious honor still goes to Hull, who have conceded 28 goals in 13 matches, two more than Palace. But Palace are on pace, especially when taking into consideration recent results, to usurp Hull for that unenviable position.
Pardew’s job hanging by a thread
Pardew must be losing sleep as much as his team are losing games.
He is hanging on to his job by the skin of his teeth and both the American owners and Palace supporters are fast losing faith in their once-venerated manager.
Pardew will always have a special place in Palace supporters’ hearts for what he accomplished as a player at the club. But with another few poor results his tenure on the sideline will come to a crashing halt.
Losing to rival relegation contenders
Palace’s poor run of form is further compounded by the fact that they’re losing to fellow relegation favorites. They’ve lost to Leicester, Burnley, Swansea and West Ham during their six-game losing skid.
While Burnley are in decent form, especially at home, they’re still a team Palace should expect to at least nick a point from. Palace cannot afford to lose these six-point games on a regular basis if they have any intentions of remaining in England’s top flight.
All is not lost
There is a way out for Palace. If they can stop bleeding goals defensively, their attack is easily good enough to keep them in the Premier League. Palace has the fifth best offensive output in the division, scoring 21 goals in 13 games.
Even more promising, the goals are coming from everywhere on the pitch. Unlike Sunderland, who rely primarily on Jermain Defoe, Palace’s goal scoring is spread throughout the team.
Predictably, Christian Benteke leads the way with five goals. That’s about 24 percent of the club’s goals so far this season. Compare that to Romelu Lukaku, who has 44 percent of Everton’s goals, Defoe, 58 percent of Sunderland’s goals, and Leroy Fer, 38 percent of Swansea’s goals.
That kind of collective goal-scoring contribution bodes extremely well for Palace. They also have eight goals from headers, which is tied for the most in the league along with West Ham.
Next: Premier League week 13 roundtable
Pardew’s men, if they can right the defensive ship, will be just fine and should retain their place in the top flight.
The big question is whether Pardew is the right man to solve the team’s defensive malaise.