CPFC - Building A Kingdom

#1/ An Introduction: Crystal Palace, A Brief History Of….

Crystal Palace is a professional football team based in Selhurst, South London, England. They were founded in 1905, named after the famous Crystal Palace Exhibition Building in Hyde Park (which burned down in late November of 1936 in one of Londons greatest ever fires). Their crest has nearly always featured an eagle and the Crystal Palace Exhibition Building, and they traditionally wore claret and blue right up until 1973, when they chose to change their strip to red and blue vertical stripes, which is to this day, still worn by Crystal Palace players.


Crystal Palace have been a so called “yo-yo club” for much of their history, bouncing up and down between Division 4(now League Two) and Division 1(now the Premier League). They have had some incredible players throughout their history, with the likes of Jim Cannon, Geoff Thomas, Ian Wright and Andy Johnson, but to name a few. Jim Cannon has the record for most appearances with 660, 571 of them being league games, between 1973 and 1988. Their all-time top goal-scorer is Peter Simpson with 165 goals in only 195 games, between 1929 and 1935.


Crystal Palace have a history to be proud of, spending 35 years in England`s top-flight, with a 3rd place finish in the top-flight in 1990/91, two Division 2 titles (one in the Championship era), one Division 3 title in 1920/21 and one Division 4 title in 1960/61. They also finished runners-up in the FA Cup twice, in 1989/90 and as recently as 2015/16, where they lost to English giants Manchester United in extra time to a 110th minute goal from Jesse Lingard. However, Crystal Palace have never won a major honor in their history, with a major honor being classed as an FA Cup, a League Cup, or Division 1/Premier League trophy. Crystal Palaces only European appearance was made in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup 3rd round, against Turkish side Samsunspor, where they lost 4-0 over two legs.


As of the start of the 2019/20 season, Crystal Palace have spent the last 6 years in the Premier League, finishing as high as 10th under Alan Pardew in 2014/15. Their record sale has been the departure of promising homegrown right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who just joined Manchester United for £45 million (£50 million with add-ons) at the start of this current summer transfer window, and their record buy being Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who was bought for £27 million from Liverpool in August 2016.

thanks to FM Blake for his help with the story banner

Excellent start here. Will be following for sure

Good lick.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has let Roy Hodgson go from his two year tenure in the Premier League as Palace boss to hire 22 year old Irishman Eoin Maguire, who is said to be by many "the next big thing" in the managerial world, and could be set to take the most competitive league on earth by storm. We got an exclusive statement from the promising young boss below:


"I am eternally grateful to be given this incredible, one in a million chance to manage in the Premier League at only the tender age of 22. Last week I was playing Football Manager 2020, only dreaming of this opportunity! On a serious note though, this hasn't been an appointed made by Steve (Parish) out of the blue. We have been in talks for over a year now on the prospect of myself taking charge at the helm here at Palace. I have been studying for my coaching qualifications since I left school at 19, and Steve (Parish) wanted to wait until I got my UEFA Continental Pro Licence before he would even come remotely close to making the decision to hire me, which I gained in the spring of 2018, after working with many of the youth sides at Palace and at home in Ireland with a few of my local teams. I see this appointment as a step into the new modern era of football. Managers around the world, in Europe in particular, are getting younger and younger, and coming up with fresher, more adventurous tactics and methods that suit this era of football better than any other. I feel I am ready for this huge step, and I have been prepared for this now for a long time. I have been studying the tactics and methods of young managers like Julian Nagelsmann, and get a lot of inspiration from figures like him. He has just taken over a UEFA Champions League side in Red Bull Leipzig in his early 30s, and he has had success in the Bundesliga also with 1899 Hoffenheim.The Nagelsmann`s of this world are going to become more common as the modern era of football continues to evolve tactically. Thank you for this chance to speak to all at Sky Sports News, and to all you Crystal Palace fans out there, be prepared for a lot of change at the club, but also be prepared for the success it will bring in the short and long term".







tedbro20:Thanks man for the support!

Justice: Thanks man, I will need it for sure!

Hello, I am new Crystal Palace boss Eoin Maguire, and I would like to introduce you to the Eagles! In this update, we will go over our Club Vision/5 year plan, our players, our tactics and even our staff, to see what expectations Steve Parish has for our side, establish our key players, who needs to stay, who needs to go and what positions need addressing, how I plan to get our boys to play in my time here, and finally establish how strong our coaching staff are and see if any reinforcement is needed in that department. So, without any further a due, let`s get started!



We shall start with our Club Vision/5 year plan. In the above image you can see some of the short term objectives that chairman Steve Parish has outlined for us. We are expected to develop players using our clubs youth system, which is outlined as a preferred target, which is something I am very pleased about. It is not an essential necessity for us to do this, but it is a great way to bring local lads in, and try turn them into first team regulars and on the off-chance, even superstars. If some don't make the grade, then we can always sell them on for a profit, as they will always be free of any transfer tag! Next, we are expected to play counter-attacking football, which is something I will get to later when I go over our tactics. In the next little segment, we can see the 1st seasons goals out of our 5 year plan. Our ongoing objectives are to sign players and sell them for a profit and to work within the wage-budget, while the two objectives are set as preferred and required respectively. I like the idea of signing youngsters, to then maybe sell them on for a profit if it doesn't work out, but outright I don't see it as something we will need to do, as if we stay in the Premier League, we will reap the huge financial rewards it brings and obviously the higher we can finish, the more money that will be thrown at us. Working within the wage-budget is an objective I can see being easily achieved, as long as we aren't heaping up ludicrous amounts of money on wages. Our final set of objectives for the 1st season are to finish mid-table, reach the 5th round of the FA Cup and to reach the 4th round of the EFL Cup, with the three objectives being set at required, desired and favoured respectively. I think these objectives are very fair and the 1st objective outlines the importance of staying away from the Premier League relegation zone, something that we will cruise to if we invest heavily in our current squad, while letting a few go in the process. Reaching the 5th round of the FA Cup, set at desired, shows that we need to take the FA Cup seriously, as it is a legit chance of winning major silverware in our 1st season, and this squad came very close in 2016, so they will surely be up for it, the ones who played in that FA Cup final in 2016 anyway. Our final "little" objective is to grow the clubs reputation, which we will do if we complete the other objectives.


Our objectives for the remaining 4 seasons in the Premier League are to work towards a top-half finish in 2020/21 and 2021/22, record a top half finish in 2022/23 and in the final season of the 5 year plan, to maintain a top-half finish, all while retaining the goal of growing the clubs reputation. These objectives will be easier said than done and will require some serious hard work from all at the club, but they are of course achievable with the right preparation. Recording a top half finish in 2022/23 is set as preferred, so its not absolutely essential or set in stone, but it is something that we need to be working towards, and something Steve Parish can see us doing over the next few seasons.

THE PALACE PLAYERS

Now, onto the players. In the above image you can see that we have a decent Premier League squad, but only decent at best, and we will need a lot of reshuffling if we are to compete well in the Premier League and in the cup competitions this season and beyond. Our key player is flashy Ivorian international winger Wilfried Zaha, who to say is key is probably an understatement. Being our highest paid player in the squad with him being paid a handsome £130,000 p/w, he lives up to that billing and will be integral to our chances of steering clear of the relegation zone this season, with his high flair, dribbling and pace hopefully dazzling opposition defenders and creating moments of magic that will lead to goals. We also have Mamadou Sakho at the back, who is by quite a margin, our most important player outside of Zaha, with Sakho having fantastic leadership abilties, mixed with alot of Premier League experience with the likes of Liverpool all while being a French international. He has undeniable talent at centre-back, with him being strong and aggressive in the challenge and he can also really pass a ball. We also have the likes of Jordan Ayew, Max Meyer, Luka Milivojevic, Patrick Van Aanholt and Vicente Guaita, who will definitely be part of my plans for the 1st season at least.


While we do have an array of talent at our disposal, we do lack quality overall in a few positions and our overall mean age of 26.21 is far too high for a side of mine. A few experienced players is good, but too many aging players is just going to hinder any squad. As you can see in the 2nd image, we have an alarming number of players over the age of 27, which is something we need to address with immediate effect. We lack depth in goal and at 31 and not of Premier League quality, Stephen Henderson will need to be let go and replaced. In our defence we don't have many younger options or much depth and players such as Scott Dann will need to be shipped off and replaced with younger talent with more potential. At full-back we need more overall quality and may need to bring in a high profile signing and let players such as Martin Kelly leave. In the centre of the park we are quite solid, with full internationals Luka Milivojevic and Cheihkou Kouyaté and young German playmaker Max Meyer. However, we could do with more added depth and younger players and players such as Scotland international James McArthur will need to be taken off the wage bill. On the wings and up top we have quite a bit of sorting out to do, with players such as Christian Benteke not being of Premier League quality anymore. He will most definitely need replacing. We do have our star man Wilfried Zaha, versatile Ghanaian international Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend out wide, but we do need younger bodies in there to complement them and fast.



We have 3 main tactics here at Palace that we have just started working on and they all encompass the same style which is a fast paced pressing game, similar to a Liverpool or a Borussia Dortmund side. This tactic style is one that I have grown up with and its origins are German, it is of course Gegenpressing, the style most notably associated with Jurgen Klopp and one of my managerial idols Julian Naglesmann (but to say Klopp isn't an idol would be false). In the top image we have the attacking tactic, the middle the defensive and the bottom the neutral. It is all about detailed player instructions, with my striker and wingers looking to defend from the front by pressing the opposition defence and my three midfielders to all do slightly different jobs to keep it very solid down along the spine of the team. In defence we either play 5 at the back or 4 at the back, and look to keep our centre-backs in position and for our full-backs to run wide down their respective wings and overlap our wingers. Our goalkeeper is set as a sweeper keeper on defend, so he can start counter-attacks with a throw or a kick, but to not take too many risks. It is a very effective system if you have a team with high flair up top, high stamina in the middle and high strength at the back, all while keeping the spine of the team, from the striker all the way down to the GK very strong and all performing slightly different roles for the benefit of the team. We also want to keep Wilfried Zaha involved as much as possible, so we focus alot of our attacking play down the left flank.



For a mid-table side, we actually have a very good base level of staff, performing at a higher level than many Premier League teams. We wont have to change much in the staff department, but we do lack a Premier League level goalkeeping coach, physio, sports scientist and could do with a couple of higher quality scouts.

Excellent update there. Looking forward to the next one to see who your able to ship put and bring in as well to make the team stronger

While Palace is renowned for producing some absolute gems in the recent years, I’m quite interested to see what you do with the likes of Maxi Meyer, Christian Benteke and Jairo Reidewald. All highly rated prior to their respective moves to Palace, they haven’t exactly set the world alight for the Eagles. If you can get the best out of them, you’re on fire.

Welcome all Eagles to this exclusive interview with none other than club legend Wilfried Zaha! We here at CPFC TV sat down with the big man this week at the studio and asked him 5 popular questions. Here is the edited transcript:

CPFC TV: Hello Wilfried, we have a 5 main questions for you today that we have mustered up from recent CPFC TV polls, you ready?


Wilfried Zaha:"I don't see why not!"

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CPFC TV: What age were you when you moved from the Ivory Coast over here to England?

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Wilfried Zaha: "Good question actually. I was 4 years old, my parents wanted a better life for us and decided that England was the best place to go and that's how I ended up in London I suppose, the rest as they say is history and i`ve been here pretty much the whole time ever since! It was difficult at the start though as I didn't know any English, only French, but I made a friend in school who tried to teach me and it worked out pretty good I think!"

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CPFC TV: What do you think of the squad for this coming season?

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Wilfried Zaha: "We are a strong pack of lads, I think we have the quality to beat any opposition if we truly believe we can, as we have made some pretty huge upsets in the past against teams such as Liverpool and City. I think with the new gaffer in, obviously I think there will be a few bodies in and out, but I am excited for the upcoming season with him and the rest of the boys."

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CPFC TV: Why did you think of the time when Graeme Souness said you were good enough to play for Real Madrid!?

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Wilfried Zaha: "Did he!? Oh well that's a huge compliment and he definitely went out his way to say that! I need to see that interview myself to believe that!"

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CPFC TV: This question rolls nicely from the last one, do you ever see yourself leaving Palace again?

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Wilfried Zaha: "I don't think about that too much honestly, I just like to enjoy and focus on my football here. There is always lots of speculation but most of it never leads to anything. I can say at this moment I am happy here. Maybe if Real Madrid comes in I will go, deal!?"

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CPFC TV: Deal! Only if its Real though!

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Wilfried Zaha: "Of Course...….."

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CPFC TV: Final question now Wilf, who is your footballing idol?

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Wilfried Zaha: "That's an easy one for me, Didier Drogba. He was an absolute monster for Chelsea and the Ivory Coast when he played. He could bully defenders into next week, but also had insane quality. One of the all time great strikers for me for sure. Also he has been doing a lot of charity work back in Africa over the last decade or so, which I really respect."

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CPFC TV: Thank you Wilfried, now get to training!

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Wilfried Zaha: "Better get going then, wont be a very good first impression for the gaffer!"

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tedbro20: Thanks, I will be working hard and doing lots of scouting to make sure we bring in the right reinforcements.

Justice: Well, one thing is for sure, Benteke is not staying! Hopefully the other two can step up to the plate.

Arguably a Palace legend already in his career. He still has work to do if he wants to emulate Drogba’s heroics but he’s probably the best player in the league outside of the top 6 teams. Probably the one player who will always be a key figure in your team - he’s the phenom that attracts the attention at Palace games. Let’s hope he can emulate Drogba’s goal scoring record in the coming seasons.

g luck

Some defensive lineups there, but it looks like you will be making the most out of the players who have made their mark at the club.

Three weeks have now passed in our first ever summer transfer window with Palace and a lot of business has been conducted already, but thus far they have been all departures. To start the rebuild, we had to get rid of the so called "deadwood" players first and focus on scouting their replacements only, up until they were sold, so we could see where the holes in our team lay and how much transfer and wage budget we would have to play with. This is the "deadwood" who have departed to pastures new, or gone out on loan to free up some wage:



Our biggest transfer departure of the window as of the 21st of June 2019 is 29 year old right-back Martin Kelly, who was seen as little more than a squad player, taking up £25k p/w in wages. He was not part of my future plans and selling him was a good option, as fellow Premier League side Everton came in with a tasty £9.25m offer up front, which I was extremely happy with. We now need to find a decent young right-back option to replace him and at least challenge Joel Ward for the starting right-back position. Also, at 29 as previously mentioned, Kelly was seen by myself as a player who was not going to progress anymore, but just regress and with Joel Ward also being 29, he was a must sell, as with this extra £9.25m, we can bring in a young talent with far more potential, which is of course a lot better in the long run.



The 2nd biggest transfer departure so far has been 31 year old box-to-box midfielder James McArthur, who was rated by myself as undesirable, due to his age, £55k p/w wages and lack of top quality. He was sold to Serie A outfit Bologna for a nice little fee of £5 million. This frees up a lovely spot in central midfield for a younger, more talented midfielder with a higher ceiling of potential.



The 3rd and final transfer departure as of today was actually completely out of my hands, one that I did not want to make, which was 17 year old winger Brandon Pierrick, who joined fellow Premier League side Manchester United for £625k. The reason why it was out of my control was because Pierrick refused to sign a new contract here at Palace, as he was so adamant to move to Manchester United. I can`t really blame him too much, it is Manchester United we are talking about, but it was a bit of a blow as he had decent potential. But, I`m not too worried as I have some young wingers on my radar who I can hopefully reel in from elsewhere for small fees that won`t break the bank.



This was a difficult one for myself. 28 year old former Belgian international striker Christian Benteke was never apart of my future plans and I wanted him off the books ASAP, as he was on a ridiculous wage of £120k p/w without even showing a hint of Premier League quality. I tried to list him for transfer multiple times, but because he had recently signed a new contract, nobody was interested and neither was he, so I had to offer him out on loan and hope that I can sell him next season, so I did. He eventually joined EFL Championship side Birmingham City on a season-long loan deal, with us paying £96k p/w and them £24k p/w. It wasn't ideal, but that £24k did free up a couple of million in transfer budget, which in the long term if we can sell him next season, will be fully worth it. I honestly don't know what Roy was thinking when he offered him £120k p/w on a two year deal, but he obviously saw something in him that I didn't.



The less said about 32 year old centre-back Scott Dann the better in my eyes. When he was initially listed, he threw a fit and tossed all his anger at myself and was affecting the team by spreading his hate campaign against me right to their ears, which I did not appreciate, at all. I gave him a fair chance and told him he was just not part of my future plans here at Palace, but he refused to budge his stance and we ultimately fell out. We made a bit of amends in the end and he was offered out on loan, with us thus far receiving three offers for him from Vorskla of Ukraine and Bristol City and Rotherham of England (obviously). He will depart on loan to one of the three and promptly be sold next season. I tried offering some of his wage out so we didn't have to keep his full wages, but ultimately it didn't work and I did the best I could do in the given situation.


Tune in for the next transfer update, where we will be looking at where the squad needed strengthening and by then hopefully we will have filled the gaps with young and promising talent!






Justice: Already a legend for sure. Hopefully we can hold onto him for a good while to come....

deadzool: Thanks mate!

Jack: Hopefully I can make the most of every player that fits my system.

Surprised to see some of those names go but it looks like you’re trying to get your stamp on the club as soon as possible.

Some decent money brought in there so will be eagerly waiting to see how you've spent it

Love this start, great writing and a team I have always wanted to give a go, you have a fan in me!