Three ways Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace could line up next season

Add as preferred source on Google

4-2-3-1

It’s unlikely that Pardew will put Andros Townsend on the bench considering that the club broke their transfer record (at the time of writing) by spending £13 million on the England international. Townsend got his first appearance in a Palace shirt on Wednesday in the Eagles’ first preseason match against the Philadelphia Union in the USA.

Townsend was impressive on the wing, his performance filled with turns, pace, and decent crossing. At the same time, Pardew seems sold on the idea of playing Yannick Bolasie in a central position. The Congolese winger featured up front and as a false nine on several occasions last season and Pardew had faith in playing him in that position despite several dodgy performances.

With an entire preseason to go, the Palace manager might have time to refine Bolasie’s central play and craft him into a no. 10, taking fan-favorite Jason Puncheon’s role.

The system would operate the same as last season: fast-paced counterattacks, playing with width, and numbers behind the ball. Only tweaks and improved parts would be different about the lineup should things work to Pardew’s favour.

Tomkins will hopefully provide fresher legs and more reliability than Damien Delaney who began to fade last season. Similarly, Steve Mandanda will be expected to pick up some of the slack from last season behind the defence.

[vfv id=”65″]