Opinion: Roy Hodgson must place faith in untested Palace duo during tough run of PL fixtures

All too often this season, Crystal Palace have struggled to find the back of the net. The Eagles have scored on just seven occasions in the league during the current campaign having already played 10 games. Wilfried Zaha is the club’s top scorer with three strikes to his name, but he is relied on far too heavily by his teammates in red and blue.

Aside from having a forward who can put the ball in the net, Roy Hodgson’s men have also been lacking a figure up top who welcomes the ball being played into him, on the floor or in the air. The ever-misfiring Christian Benteke began the season up front and, most of the time, the south Londoners were making chances and looking dangerous.

Since the Belgian’s injury, however, to say Palace have been toothless in attack would be an understatement. Jordan Ayew has led the line in the former Liverpool man’s absence, offering very little in terms of being an outlet.

It was evident in the recent 2-2 draw against Arsenal just how influential an effective target man can be. At 2-1 down, Hodgson threw on prolific bench-warmers Alexander Sorloth and Max Meyer, both of whom have registered just one start between them this season.

Their positive impact was almost instantaneous. Sorloth, using his muscular frame, proved to be a useful target man as well as a much-needed focal point for Palace. Just 15 minutes after the pair’s introduction, Meyer cleverly headed clear on the edge of his own box, the ball was then played into Sorloth, and Zaha had Granit Xhaka isolated as he then won a penalty to equalise.

That composure from the 23-year-old German to find a man under pressure, coupled with the 22-year-old Norwegian’s direct running and hold up play, has seldom been seen in red and blue this season. Those traits will be vital if Palace are to get anything from their next three games against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United.

To accommodate the pair in question, it is essential for the unusually lacklustre James McArthur and the ineffective Ayew to make way. Both have been guilty this season of being passengers in a side lacking drive and purpose.

As opposed to when Palace play against teams outside the so called ‘Top Six’, the games against the big boys require a different tactical approach to games against the likes of Huddersfield and Newcastle. Naturally, the Eagles will not see much of the ball, so when they do get it, they need personnel on the pitch that can exploit the opposition.

Additionally, and let’s be honest here, these games are free hits for Hodgson’s side; no one is expecting them to get anything from them, so a bit of experimenting and tinkering here and there wouldn’t go amiss.

Furthermore, since arriving from FC Midtjylland in January, Sorloth has made just 12 appearances. With all due respect, for a young man who has swapped the Norwegian League for the Premier League, that figure is simply too low to acclimatise to the steep transition.

You could say the same for Meyer. The Germany international has spent the whole of his career in the country of his birth with Schalke; both are in desperate need of Premier League experience if the Selhurst Park faithful are to see the best of them.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2SyDtLl