You might as well ask: Which is more likely?

1. Me winning the Euromillions on Friday
2. Me having a threesome with Rachel Riley and Ariana Grande on Friday.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

I don't think it is possible to piece together the club's transfer 'strategy' from the list of players we signed, or even from the list of positions where an upgrade was not signed.

We would need to see the list of players the club enquired about and/or tried to sign but ultimately did not, the proportion of our budget we were prepared to commit to the fee and wages, plus understand the reason each of those deals did not progress in order to understand the club's priorities. We don't have that information, and never will.

None of us know if the club, for example, went hell-for-leather in pursuit of a new right-back only for that player to get a better offer at the last minute. Or if we were in advanced talks with two right backs, one as backup to the other. Or three. Or ten, only for all of them to knock us back, or ask for silly money, or move somewhere else, or get injured. The absence of a new right-back alone tells you nothing about what the club wanted to do, tried to do, how hard they tried etc.

The best we can see is general trends over the medium term. It seems evident that, generally speaking, we have moved from spending money we don't really have on established top-flight players with European experience (Cabeye, Sakho, Benteke, PVA etc) to having no money to spend (the original Roy years) to signing young players with potential sell-on value that will have to be sold sooner or later (Olise, Eze, Dacoure, Guehi etc).

Outside of overall trends, an opportunity to sign someone might be attractive for any number of reasons. Like most, I've no idea why we signed Henderson, for instance, but then I don't work at the club in a senior position. Maybe Johnstone wants to leave. Maybe the club think one or other goalie can be sold at a profit somewhere down the road. Maybe they just feel that, following Guiata's tantrum, having two top-class keepers is essential and couldn't get a cheaper one. Christ knows. One thing is for sure though, the thought process will not be the same as that which led to the signing of Lerma, which in turn will not be the same as the thinking behind signing Franca. Each deal will have its own set of circumstances, and may or may not adhere to the general trend.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (31 Oct 2023 2.46pm)

Leaving aside that we did sign Ferguson, Clyne, and Richards in that time, neither of us know if we did try to sign Walker-Peters, or if we did, how hard we tried, or why we didn't get him. Very hard to be critical of Palace without that information, and that's my point really.

Maybe we did bid for Walker-Peters but were outbid by Southampton, or he wanted to leave London, or they offered more in wages, or he fancied his chances of being first choice for them more than for us.

Maybe the club didn't think much of him (I personally don't). Who knows? Either way, if we are looking for players that were seemingly feasible signings you can take Walker-Peters and times him by at least a hundred over the last few years I'd guess. Each will have a story of its own that we will never know.

Well,your mistake is your nomenclature, the Crazy frog (a much better moniker) has defo done number two.

Tomkins and Clyne extensions suggest you are wrong

It will be Paddy and Ray so no difference really-

“That’s a joke son, I say, that’s a joke.” “Nice boy, but he’s sharp as a throw pillow.” “He’s so dumb he thinks a Mexican border pays rent” “ “Son… I say, son, some people are so narrow minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes.”__ Forhorn Leghorn