May 15 2017

Sam Allardyce

Andrew Saxsmith looks into the changes Allardyce brought about to save Palace's season.

When Wilfried Zaha burst through on the Hull City goal, there was little doubt that he would make it 1-0. Crystal Palace added another three goals to the score line on the penultimate match of a Premier League season which had more than its fair share of ups and downs.

The three points against Hull secured Palace's place in the Premier League for next season, something which looked very unlikely at certain points.

Much of the praise will, of course, be directed at Sam Allardyce who once again steered a side to Premier League survival. The Big Sam Effect has been in full effect at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace started the season with enormous optimism. The transfer window was a highly successful one with Benteke arriving from Liverpool for a huge fee.

Palace did lose Yannick Bolasie to Everton but the winger was adequately replaced by Andros Townsend from Newcastle. Alan Pardew had reason for optimism as his side looked stacked with enough quality for a top-half finish.

However, an excellent September was followed by a woeful run of form. Eight defeats in ten matches saw Alan Pardew dismissed and replaced by Sam Allardyce.

Big Sam’s status has been hugely tarnished in the past twelve months.

Allardyce spent years building up a reputation as one of the most consistent managers in the Premier League.

No top flight side experienced relegation with Big Sam at the helm and after enjoying spells with Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland, Allardyce finally got the job he wanted with England.

Unfortunately, Allardyce's spell as Three Lions boss lasted just 67 days after the very public corruption scandal.

The 62-year-old had to rebuild and it took just a few short months for an opportunity to come around. Sam Allardyce was appointed Crystal Palace boss on 23 December but if anything, things got worse for the Eagles.

Palace didn't feel the usual upturn in results caused by a change in management as Allardyce lost 6 of his first 8 matches.

Serious question marks were raised over Big Sam as fans and pundits alike wondered whether the fiasco with the England national team had caused Sam to lose his touch.

Things needed to change and Allardyce did to Crystal Palace what he has done to so many teams down the year: made them difficult to beat.

A couple of January signings helped – none more than midfielder Luka Milivojević who joined from Olympiacos – and Palace were climbing up the Premier League table.

Six wins in eight matches lifted the Eagles from 18th to 12th but it wasn't just the victories which were impressive, it was who they were playing against.

Big Sam turned Palace into a side of giant killers as they secured wins against Liverpool, Arsenal and champions Chelsea during the month of April.

These three wins helped Crystal Palace become one of the most profitable teams to bet on in the Premier League.

According to bookies, a £10 stake on Palace to win every league game this season would've netted you almost £100 in profit.

Their Premier League safety wasn't assured by wins against fellow strugglers but against the supposed big teams and the victories Big Sam helped Palace achieve.

In order to do this, Allardyce made his side adept at playing without the ball. In fact, his team had an average possession of just 34% during those three wins over Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Palace were organised at the back and played on the break using the undoubted ability they have in attack. Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Andros Townsend have quality out wide to feed Christian Benteke up front.

The Belgian is one of the most lethal strikers in the Premier League and proved it as he grabbed three goals and an assist in those three huge wins.

In those three matches in particular, Palace did excellently well to stifle the opposition. The game against Liverpool saw the home side create just eight shots and while the visitors Palace crafted even fewer, they were of a higher quality.

Indeed, that was a theme for an Eagles side which continued to take the openings which came their way. Palace stopped trying to play with the ball like they did under Pardew and instead opted for an organised defence with efficient defending going forward.


Big Sam has done it again, that isn’t in doubt. Crystal Palace secured their top flight survival with a thumping 4-0 win over Hull City with one league match to spare.

The game, in many ways, typified what Allardyce has brought to Selhurst Park. It was an organised defensive performance which allowed the creative quality further up the field to hurt their opponents.

Palace forfeited possession to Hull and hurt them on the break with their quality going forward. It’s a very simple formula but it has worked so well for Crystal Palace and Sam Allardyce who, it must be said, has done it again.