Recruitment: Art, Science, or Luck?

[TheBigToePunt]

As I type, the (pointless?) world cup third place game between England and France is an hour away. There will be five, that's FIVE, current or very recent Palace players starting, with Mateta to possibly come on. None of these were international footballers when they signed for Palace. Three of them hadn't even played top flight football in any country.

I wonder if this, perhaps even more than the trophies, speaks directly to the incredible success of our recruitment over recent years. And that's without Wharton, Munoz, Sarr, etc.

It makes me think, surely this has been not only an unprecedented run of transfer market success, but an impossible one to ever match? How can it be reasonable to hope, much less expect, that we will find that many affordable players who become that good again?

 

[Davepalace707]

As I type, the (pointless?) world cup third place game between England and France is an hour away. There will be five, that's FIVE, current or very recent Palace players starting, with Mateta to possibly come on. None of these were international footballers when they signed for Palace. Three of them hadn't even played top flight football in any country.

I wonder if this, perhaps even more than the trophies, speaks directly to the incredible success of our recruitment over recent years. And that's without Wharton, Munoz, Sarr, etc.

It makes me think, surely this has been not only an unprecedented run of transfer market success, but an impossible one to ever match? How can it be reasonable to hope, much less expect, that we will find that many affordable players who become that good again?

We have to hope that the reputation we have got following our success the past couple of seasons is enough to attract a few more. I think we all think it is unlikely to continue but let’s make the most of it while it does. I agree it seems inevitable that these levels won’t continue for ever, but let’s hope we at least don’t go back to the bad old days of the Championship. Feels to me like getting the stadium built is a big part of achieving that.

 

[PatrickA]

As I type, the (pointless?) world cup third place game between England and France is an hour away. There will be five, that's FIVE, current or very recent Palace players starting, with Mateta to possibly come on. None of these were international footballers when they signed for Palace. Three of them hadn't even played top flight football in any country.

I wonder if this, perhaps even more than the trophies, speaks directly to the incredible success of our recruitment over recent years. And that's without Wharton, Munoz, Sarr, etc.

It makes me think, surely this has been not only an unprecedented run of transfer market success, but an impossible one to ever match? How can it be reasonable to hope, much less expect, that we will find that many affordable players who become that good again?

Good post
We'll do well to get anywhere near matching this record.
A bit of a depressing thought really!

 

[Mark B]

It is even crazier then people realize. Crystal Palace had more players at the 2026 World Cup than Real Madrid, Liverpool and AC Milan with 12 players making their national teams.

With 12 players, Palace ranked among the most globally, with only Manchester City (19), Bayern Munich (18), Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal (both 16) and Barcelona (15) having more of their squad included at the World Cup.

The twelve: Chadi Riad (Morocco), Chris Richards (USA), Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast), Daichi Kamada (Japan), Yéremy Pino (Spain), Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix (Both France), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Norway), Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma (Colombia) and Dean Henderson (England).

 

[doombear]

It is even crazier then people realize. Crystal Palace had more players at the 2026 World Cup than Real Madrid, Liverpool and AC Milan with 12 players making their national teams.

With 12 players, Palace ranked among the most globally, with only Manchester City (19), Bayern Munich (18), Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal (both 16) and Barcelona (15) having more of their squad included at the World Cup.

The twelve: Chadi Riad (Morocco), Chris Richards (USA), Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast), Daichi Kamada (Japan), Yéremy Pino (Spain), Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix (Both France), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Norway), Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma (Colombia) and Dean Henderson (England).

You forgot Owen Goodman (Canada)

 

[Mark B]

You forgot Owen Goodman (Canada)

Good catch, I didn't think about him since he's been on loan for so long.