Monday Musing: Gowing Nowhere
Crystal Palace are the epitome of mediocrity, bound by the Premier League's financial regulations.
Just over 100 seconds elapsed between Gabriel Martinelli’s two goals in Arsenal’s 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The goals, in truth, could have been a copy-and-paste job: Martinelli spun in behind Palace’s defensive line, and with all the time in the world to pick his spot, curled a cool finish beyond Dean Henderson and into the right-hand corner of Palace’s goal.
Martinelli’s brace merely capped off a fine Arsenal win, and condemned a Palace side that is devoid of, well, anything, to their second defeat in three days.
On Wednesday, the Palace fans that had braved the cold, miserable January weather to travel up to Merseyside, had jeered their own manager when Roy Hodgson elected to take of Ebereche Eze just after the hour during a 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Everton.
The justification for taking Eze off, according to Hodgson, was that Palace had a crucial league game coming up. Yet on Saturday, against a title contender, Palace proved themselves for what they are — a team so far entrenched in mediocrity that there doesn’t really seem a way out.
Palace co-owner Steve Parish runs a tight ship. That has to be commended. Palace are not one of the Premier League’s elite sides, but they have been ever-present in the division for over a decade now. But surely, there has to be more to life than what is on offer at the moment?
Hodgson, 76 years young, initially attempted to retire in 2021. Less than a year later, he was back in Premier League management, trying — and failing — to keep Watford up.
A matter of months later, he was back again, this time returning to Palace. The Eagles had tried to reinvent themselves under Patrick Vieira, but 18 months into the Frenchman’s tenure, had found themselves in very real danger of slipping into a relegation. Reliable Roy came back to save them, and a run of 10 points from the first 12 to play for under their new (old) boss saw the Eagles put distance between themselves and the strugglers.
But instead of using the summer to evolve, Palace chose to give Hodgson the reigns for another year. After all, they had been burned by the Vieira; a young coach, a big name, with ideals he did not have the quality — as a manager — to bring to life. Hogdson was the safe choice.
But here lies the issue.
Should Hodgson, having already attempted retirement twice, be coaching a Premier League side? Should a 76-year-old be the go-to for a team that has been present in the top tier of English football for over a decade?
Not that he is a bad manager. Hodgson has achieved much and is one of the most wily and wise coaches in the game. But there comes a time when a club must move on.
All Palace do is exist. They’re stuck in the cage that keeps the mouse on the wheel, forever plundering on, going nowhere. What’s the point in Palace, other than to service the Sky Sports News agenda for a few days when they sack their manager or Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal want to buy their best player?
That might sound harsh, but let’s get it right, this exact description fits most clubs in the Premier League. It’s not just Palace. It’s Wolves. It’s Fulham. It’s Bournemouth. It would be Everton, if not for their 10-point deduction and the lingering threat of a second punishment for a breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
And so we come back to the crux of the issue: PSR.
Financial regulation is a good thing; it is needed. We can all debate what the level of punishment should be, but there has to be a safety net to protect the clubs from themselves — or more pertinently, reckless owners.
Yet in their current guise, the PSR are simply instilling a glass ceiling between the haves and the have-nots. The Premier League’s executive board recognise this, and the clubs will vote on changes to the rules next month — albeit Everton and Nottingham Forest will still face possible punishments under the current guidelines.
Richard Masters, and others in charge, are so focused on making sure their bite matches the bark that they have forgotten what football is meant to be about: Winning. Competing. Not just existing.
The Premier League (which is the 20 member clubs at any one time) has brought much of this on itself. As the league has grown and got richer year on year — the money pouring in from TV deals across the globe — it has become even more pivotal that teams who get in there, stay in there.
There are few ways for a club the size of Palace, competing in a crowded London catchment area, to grow enough to bridge that gap. One way would be to attract investment, but that then brings limits — look at PIF-owned Newcastle United. Another would be to develop their ground, or build a new stadium altogether, to maximise revenue. Palace are planning to do just that, with the main stand at Selhurst Park to be completely redeveloped — it is estimated the redevelopment, when completed, will bring in between £20million and £30m more each season.
Yet that will cost money. Lots of it — reports suggest the cost will be in the region of £150m, up 50% on initial forecasts. The project is not set to be completed until 2027 — that’s another three years of austerity, then.
Balance all of that with attempting to just stay in the Premier League, which is the only sure-fire guarantee of being able to afford it, and what’s the best Palace’s fans can expect? The odd draw or win against a “big six” club?
Perhaps they will look to Brighton and Hove Albion — as much as it will pain them to do so — as the model to follow. Buy low, sell high. Yet there’s a law of diminishing returns with that, too. Maybe you will get into Europe one season, but good luck trying to then invest in the squad enough to ensure you can compete at the same level in the next campaign, only with more games to play.
Palace tried it with Vieira. They tried to get the next best thing; the glamorous name — a Premier League icon. Maybe it would have worked had they given him more time in his second season, but results were only heading one way, so a safe pair of hands was required.
But that’s not a sustainable way forward. It’s just pitstop after pitstop on a long road leading to nowhere, other than perhaps, the second tier — as it stands, they are five points better off than 18th-placed Luton Town.
Maybe Hodgson will be moved on, as the majority of Palace’s fanbase wants. But what will his replacement — perhaps Steve Cooper or possibly even Graham Potter — realistically be able to achieve? Sure, they have a squad with talent, but the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi will surely have their eyes on more than mid-table mediocrity.
It’s safe; it’s boring. But with the PSR as they are right now, existence is about the best a club like Palace can hope for. It must change, so that fans of all clubs can have more to look forward to than just existing.
By Patric Ridge
This sobering article is also a sad indictment of Richard Masters’ 5-year tenure as CEO of the Premier League.