Lacroix

[NEILLO]

Yep, very similar to what I have been saying, earlier in this thread. I feel we need to accept and harness the concept that we are a club who will take in potential and develop it and allow players to go on to bigger clubs. Again, we may not like it but it is the reality. Of course there is a risk in this, remember the likes of Southampton who years ago were trying to do similar and ended up unable to replace what they sold? But likewise the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are doing this well at the moment (Do we need to change our name so it begins a b? (Brystal Palace?). Going way back I remember Crewe under Dario Gradi had a great reputation for this, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson etc.

Again, I reiterate. We DO NOT generate enough commercial and matchday income to compete with the top half of the Premier League. Until we can we will be a club that has to buy potential develop and sell it. Ironically this is an attribute that will appeal to some players enabling us to sign them. If your a player abroad or in a lower league and Palace come in for you, you are not a Palace fan so have no allegience of any sort towards us, but we can say, hey come here, we can develop you and put you in the shop window for a move to a top club, then that is very appealing. We can cite Eze, Olise, Guehi and potentially Lacroix.

I think most on here accept Palaces place in the ‘ food chain ‘ .

In this particular instance the only issue I have is the size of the fee which seems a Lille low given the players age, current status and length of contract .

 

[Willo]

I agree.
Sunderland were my team of the season.
I don't know anybody who didn't have them as firm favourites to go down at the beginning of the season.
I'm very impressed by the rapid and dogged Mukiele and suggest Chelsea go for him and leave Lacroix alone.
I also like the look of Brobbey, an old fashioned centre forward who wouldn't have looked out of place in the Andy Lochhead era.
He has the robust qualities that modern day centre backs often struggle with.
If he continues to have a good World Cup I suspect he will be in demand.

I was also impressed by Mukiele who can also be deployed at right-back.
The fee that Sunderland paid for him was relatively modest, £9.5 Mill rising to £12 Mill.

 

[Ex Dubai Eagle]

We can set the price unless release clause. The £50m seems min £10m too low

It feels about £10 million low because it is, but were looking at it through todays point of view, when we bought Max (Summer 2024) for whatever price we paid (£18 million ?) who would have thought at that time a £47 million release clause wasn't going to be sufficient compensation to last until his contract could have been renewed / renegotiated.

 

[chris123]

I think most on here accept Palaces place in the ‘ food chain ‘ .

In this particular instance the only issue I have is the size of the fee which seems a Lille low given the players age, current status and length of contract .

Toulouse anymore non!

 

[PatrickA]

Yep, very similar to what I have been saying, earlier in this thread. I feel we need to accept and harness the concept that we are a club who will take in potential and develop it and allow players to go on to bigger clubs. Again, we may not like it but it is the reality. Of course there is a risk in this, remember the likes of Southampton who years ago were trying to do similar and ended up unable to replace what they sold? But likewise the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are doing this well at the moment (Do we need to change our name so it begins a b? (Brystal Palace?). Going way back I remember Crewe under Dario Gradi had a great reputation for this, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson etc.

Again, I reiterate. We DO NOT generate enough commercial and matchday income to compete with the top half of the Premier League. Until we can we will be a club that has to buy potential develop and sell it. Ironically this is an attribute that will appeal to some players enabling us to sign them. If your a player abroad or in a lower league and Palace come in for you, you are not a Palace fan so have no allegience of any sort towards us, but we can say, hey come here, we can develop you and put you in the shop window for a move to a top club, then that is very appealing. We can cite Eze, Olise, Guehi and potentially Lacroix.

A well reasoned piece and I accept many of the points raised.
Nonetheless, we certainly weren't a selling club in the first 9 or 10 years after returning to the Premier League.
I can only recall Bolassie being sold for significant sums.
Thus if our model was to develop players to sell, it wasn't particularly succesful for those 9 or 10 years.
Make we wonder how we managed as we still achieved mid table positions during those years and there wasn't this clamour to sell our best players as the 'only way clubs like Palace can operate.'

 

[Willo]

A well reasoned piece and I accept many of the points raised.
Nonetheless, we certainly weren't a selling club in the first 9 or 10 years after returning to the Premier League.
I can only recall Bolassie being sold for significant sums.
Thus if our model was to develop players to sell, it wasn't particularly succesful for those 9 or 10 years.
Make we wonder how we managed as we still achieved mid table positions during those years and there wasn't this clamour to sell our best players as the 'only way clubs like Palace can operate.'

I believe Everton,managed by Ronald Koeman,£22.5 Mill rising to £28 Mill, about 10 years ago.
Dougie Freedman signed Bolasie from Bristol C for £350,000 but there was a sell-on clause.

 

[TheBigToePunt]

A well reasoned piece and I accept many of the points raised.
Nonetheless, we certainly weren't a selling club in the first 9 or 10 years after returning to the Premier League.
I can only recall Bolassie being sold for significant sums.
Thus if our model was to develop players to sell, it wasn't particularly succesful for those 9 or 10 years.
Make we wonder how we managed as we still achieved mid table positions during those years and there wasn't this clamour to sell our best players as the 'only way clubs like Palace can operate.'

This is true, but the club made a conscious decision to move to the development and profit model of player trading a few years ago. Before that, we went for the cheapest journeymen we could feasibly survive with, some of whom did a fine job like Tomkins, Koyate, Ayew, etc. Then came the dalliance with expensive established players like Benteke, Sakho etc, which didn't go well in the end, but did at least leave us with a very stable squad who were good enough to stay up, happy enough to be here, affordable just about, and who nobody else wanted to buy!

A lot of supporters, including on here, complained about the lack of sellable assets and the tiny transfer budget, both of which went hand in hand, and the stale squad. I understood those concerns then and I still do.

Even so, its an open question whether the development model ultimately gets you further along. We've had some cracking players and won the cup, but to be fair we were close to winning it with the old squad under Pardew, and our league position hasn't changed either way.

The big fear is doing a Southampton, Wolves, or Leicester and becoming such a selling club that once the chips are down, nobody cares enough to fight for the club. We haven't had that challenge yet, really, as we've not been in a proper relegation fight with players who see us as a stepping stone.

 

[chris123]

I believe Everton,managed by Ronald Koeman,£22.5 Mill rising to £28 Mill, about 10 years ago.
Dougie Freedman signed Bolasie from Bristol C for £350,000 but there was a sell-on clause.

I think that might have been one of Bolasie's better games when we won 3 2 at their place

 

[Mwncisee]

This is true, but the club made a conscious decision to move to the development and profit model of player trading a few years ago. Before that, we went for the cheapest journeymen we could feasibly survive with, some of whom did a fine job like Tomkins, Koyate, Ayew, etc. Then came the dalliance with expensive established players like Benteke, Sakho etc, which didn't go well in the end, but did at least leave us with a very stable squad who were good enough to stay up, happy enough to be here, affordable just about, and who nobody else wanted to buy!

A lot of supporters, including on here, complained about the lack of sellable assets and the tiny transfer budget, both of which went hand in hand, and the stale squad. I understood those concerns then and I still do.

Even so, its an open question whether the development model ultimately gets you further along. We've had some cracking players and won the cup, but to be fair we were close to winning it with the old squad under Pardew, and our league position hasn't changed either way.

The big fear is doing a Southampton, Wolves, or Leicester and becoming such a selling club that once the chips are down, nobody cares enough to fight for the club. We haven't had that challenge yet, really, as we've not been in a proper relegation fight with players who see us as a stepping stone.

Very much agree. Our signings, certainly for the start of our Premier League journey were there purely to attempt to keep us in the division. Remember the massive number of signings in our first summer? I think with the realization that the likes of Tomkins, Sakho, Benteke, Cabaye etc etc cost a fee and high wages with no return at the end (but did help keep us in the Premier League) was not a sustainable model, and in fact caught us in a catch 22 loop that it was hard to get out of. I think the change in philosophy started with the likes of Franca, but didnt really work until we signed Eze. After that saw the signings of Olise, Wharton, Esse and more recently Canvot (Who imho was thrown in at the deep end, probably earlier than had been expected by necessity, looked dodgy, but has now grown in ability and consistency better than expected).

 

[Willo]

This is true, but the club made a conscious decision to move to the development and profit model of player trading a few years ago. Before that, we went for the cheapest journeymen we could feasibly survive with, some of whom did a fine job like Tomkins, Koyate, Ayew, etc. Then came the dalliance with expensive established players like Benteke, Sakho etc, which didn't go well in the end, but did at least leave us with a very stable squad who were good enough to stay up, happy enough to be here, affordable just about, and who nobody else wanted to buy!

A lot of supporters, including on here, complained about the lack of sellable assets and the tiny transfer budget, both of which went hand in hand, and the stale squad. I understood those concerns then and I still do.

Even so, its an open question whether the development model ultimately gets you further along. We've had some cracking players and won the cup, but to be fair we were close to winning it with the old squad under Pardew, and our league position hasn't changed either way.

The big fear is doing a Southampton, Wolves, or Leicester and becoming such a selling club that once the chips are down, nobody cares enough to fight for the club. We haven't had that challenge yet, really, as we've not been in a proper relegation fight with players who see us as a stepping stone.

I stated on HOL that I had been in communication with a supporter after the appointment of Sage.
This person believed that the oncoming season could prove to be a gargantuan challenge and could result in a relegation battle.He opined that he would have been more comfortable had Dyche been appointed as he is a battle-hardened experienced PL manager, rather than Sage who is a relative 'Rookie' in management.

 

[Mwncisee]

I stated on HOL that I had been in communication with a supporter after the appointment of Sage.
This person believed that the oncoming season could prove to be a gargantuan challenge and could result in a relegation battle.He opined that he would have been more comfortable had Dyche been appointed as he is a battle-hardened experienced PL manager, rather than Sage who is a relative 'Rookie' in management.

I think it may depend on our ability to strengthen the squad. Our ability to compete on bothe the Premier and European fronts will bneed more strength in depth with the squad, this was highlighted last season. Of course a lot depends on sage, an unknown quantity, will he be another Glasner or a FdB? I fear we may hold back on signings in the summer, to see how Sage does, holding funds back until the January market.

 

[TheBigToePunt]

Very much agree. Our signings, certainly for the start of our Premier League journey were there purely to attempt to keep us in the division. Remember the massive number of signings in our first summer? I think with the realization that the likes of Tomkins, Sakho, Benteke, Cabaye etc etc cost a fee and high wages with no return at the end (but did help keep us in the Premier League) was not a sustainable model, and in fact caught us in a catch 22 loop that it was hard to get out of. I think the change in philosophy started with the likes of Franca, but didnt really work until we signed Eze. After that saw the signings of Olise, Wharton, Esse and more recently Canvot (Who imho was thrown in at the deep end, probably earlier than had been expected by necessity, looked dodgy, but has now grown in ability and consistency better than expected).

Don't forget Guehi, too. He's a good example of a sensible boy who chose Palace because he'd play every week here rather than being one of five senior players for two positions at a big club. However, that was very much with the intention of developing, then going to one of those big clubs but as a much bigger fish.

Just in terms of personality, if they are all like him then the model works great.

 

[PatrickA]

I think the 3 promoted teams could struggle and we should be better placed than them to survive with our experience and resources.

However, we should be aiming higher than this though which is I believe there is some consternation on here about the degradation of our squad.

Last season I think we won only something like 4 games at home, finished low in the table and suffered the worst result in our history in the defeat at Macclesfield.
And that was with the supposed 'greatest manager in our history.'

Some may take the view that we've won the FA Cup and a European competition, beyond any expectations, and just be grateful for that.
Others want to build on the success and at least try and move forward.
Both views can be valid I suppose

 

[ASCPFC]

I think the 3 promoted teams could struggle and we should be better placed than them to survive with our experience and resources.

However, we should be aiming higher than this though which is I believe there is some consternation on here about the degradation of our squad.

Last season I think we won only something like 4 games at home, finished low in the table and suffered the worst result in our history in the defeat at Macclesfield.
And that was with the supposed 'greatest manager in our history.'

Some may take the view that we've won the FA Cup and a European competition, beyond any expectations, and just be grateful for that.
Others want to build on the success and at least try and move forward.
Both views can be valid I suppose

This season is a bit of a catch 22. We could probably do better in the league without Europe. We can probably rule out European qualification from the league due to being in Europe.
We're also not that likely to win the Europa League due to the teams in it but we will probably get to the latter stages.
And the Cups are going to be tough due to the amount of extra games. It's hard to think of a route to continue the European football run. Which keeps us higher up in the football world.

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

I think it is crucial in the position we are in, needing squad depth, that all 4 loans are used, we never do that properly, Uche was a waste of time, Guessand was OK, but that was it, the big clubs have massive squads, surely we can find 4 that can add properly to our squad

 

[PatrickA]

This season is a bit of a catch 22. We could probably do better in the league without Europe. We can probably rule out European qualification from the league due to being in Europe.
We're also not that likely to win the Europa League due to the teams in it but we will probably get to the latter stages.
And the Cups are going to be tough due to the amount of extra games. It's hard to think of a route to continue the European football run. Which keeps us higher up in the football world.

You sum it up well.
Furthermore, one of the reasons we won the FA Cup was because Glasner took it seriously and played his strongest team throughout.
This would not have been possible under a manager such as Hodgson who gave the impression of wanting to be out of competitions asap.
Success brings it's own type of problems and I noted that last season some of our fanbase advocated a Hodgson type approach to resting players for cup games.
We've gone full circle!
Depending upon the squad he's given I await Sage's approach to cup games with interest.

 

[ASCPFC]

I think it is crucial in the position we are in, needing squad depth, that all 4 loans are used, we never do that properly, Uche was a waste of time, Guessand was OK, but that was it, the big clubs have massive squads, surely we can find 4 that can add properly to our squad

Good point. We never seem great at it. We seem to keep on getting someone from Chelsea. We'll probably sell Lacroix and think getting a loan of Chalobah will somehow compensate.

 

[Palace Old Geezer]

Toulouse anymore non!

Toulouse - long trek!

 

[chris123]

Toulouse - long trek!

Nice!!

 

[Faz]

Serious question. How old are you mate?

10 & I’m not your mate ?
If your looking for one you might be on the wrong web site , but I hope you find one soon