Crystal Palace ended their 2022-23 Premier League campaign on a high under Roy Hodgson despite looking like relegation candidates from the start of this year.
The Eagles went 12 games without a win under Patrick Vieira from the first game of 2023 against Tottenham until the final game, before he was sacked in mid-March. Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman, appointed Roy Hodgson until the end of the season and the move paid off.
Roy Hodgson, who returned to Selhurst Park for a second spell, not only oversaw a drastic improvement in results but a far more attacking style of play. As the veteran English tactician is close to signing a one-year contract extension to stay on as Crystal Palace manager, here are the three areas he should focus on improving next season.
- Add a potent goalscorer
With just 40 goals scored in 38 games, it doesn’t take rocket science where Crystal Palace’s main focus should be ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Wilfried Zaha has been the club’s standout performer in recent years, with the Eagles heavily relying on his goals and assists. And while Zaha did score seven goals this past season, it was Eberechi Eze who ended up with goals in double digits and eventually became their top scorer.
It is good to see Eze adding goals to his armoury, but Palace clearly need more than his production. With Zaha’s contract expiring at the end of the month, and the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta combining for only seven goals, Hodgson should prioritise adding a potent goalscorer to his ranks for this team to take the next step.
- Away form
If Palace are to take the next step, Hodgson must address their away form. The south Londoners could only muster four wins on their travels throughout the 2022-23 season, drawing five and losing 10. They didn’t concede at an alarming rate but losing 10 away games out of 19 is never a pretty sight for any manager, let alone the fans.
The Eagles conceded 1.37 goals on average and in return scored 1, with just 21% clean sheets and 0.89 points per game (Stats courtesy: FootyStats). In short, the stats are concerning and Hodgson has to pay extra focus towards improving Palace’s away form.
- Defending set pieces
The Eagles were potent from set plays as they scored 11 goals, but it was at the other end of the pitch things didn’t look great. They conceded 43 goals in 38 games, with nine coming from set pieces.
In Marc Guehi, Joachim Anderson, Joel Ward, James Tomkins, Jean-Philippe Mateta and a couple more, Palace have players who are aerially strong and intimidating. Yet, to concede as many as nine goals from set plays is unacceptable, and Hodgson definitely must work on his team’s defensive structure and defending from dead-ball situations.