Dan Cooper finds himself with a realisation -- that Palace don't just make up the numbers...

‘Remember – it’ll be sad if Palace lose, but there are more important things in the world than football.’ It’s 4pm on a mild Spring afternoon, and halfway down Wembley Way I find myself in the curious position of being pre-emptively counselled by my only-just-turned seven year old. It’s a big day for him - it may only be his second game, but thanks to an impeccably timed entrance into Palace fandom, here he is; immediately fast-tracked onto the sort of big stage that most will be lucky to experience a handful of times across a lifetime.

I look down at him, the newly acquired and slightly-too-big scarf dangling off his shoulders, and notice his gaze lingering. He wants to make sure that his message has landed. And then it hits me; that’s me – my voice, my nervousness, my lack of faith. He’s just playing it back to me. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it’s all I’ve been saying to him since our semi-final place was confirmed. ‘Don’t worry if we lose. Don’t worry if we lose. Don’t worry if we lose.’ Because, if I’m being honest, that’s exactly what I think is going to happen. I think we’re going to lose.

To the outsider, it’s a level of doubt that might appear unwarranted – Palace’s good form this season, particularly against Villa, being the obvious counter argument. But this goes way deeper than one game, or even one season. It’s deep rooted. Palace don’t win things – not the truly big, important things – and that’s just how it is. 120 years of history backs that up with brutal clarity. Obviously I hope that we can do it. But there’s a big difference between hope and belief, and it’s fair to say that almost all of my Palace supporting life has been defined by the former.

The absence of belief is as much about what Palace is, as what it does. I love that we once released a replica shirt with an incorrect spelling of the club’s actual name (‘Chrystal Palace’, for those who missed it). I revel in the fact that Palace once nearly torpedoed a 2.5 million pound deadline day signing because they accidentally faxed crucial documents to a chippie. I take great pleasure in telling anyone who’ll listen that the centre piece of our sparsely populated trophy cabinet is the Zenith Data Systems Cup. No-one does cult status quite like Palace, after all. And yet it’s these very same idiosyncrasies - loveable though they are - that for so long have calcified the sense that Palace are winging it. It’s the story of a club capable of wonderful, life affirming moments, but one which is held together with Sellotape; achieving pockets of success here and there, but almost always in spite of itself, not because of it.

But on Saturday, something in me changed. As the clock ticked towards the hour mark, Ismaila Sarr lit the blue touch paper with a goal that might just rank as my favourite ever. Not just because it was an unbelievably satisfying strike – slapped in from distance, delivering that unrivalled thrill of knowing it’s in a split second before it hits the net. Not even because of the biblical scenes that played out in the stands in its aftermath – bodies flying everywhere, strangers hugging strangers, tears openly shed. It was more than that; the precise moment that a thirty year habit changed. It’s the point at which I stopped hoping, and started believing.

In truth, it’s a moment that’s been building for a while. Palace’s twelve year stint in the Premier League is unprecedented, but outside observers and fans alike have found fault in the resultant midtable stasis. As a fan of the geriatric millennial vintage, I’ve never been able to get on board with this – less because of the well-worn ‘you should’ve seen what it was like in the bad old days’ argument, and more because – boring though it sounds - I’ve loved watching Palace finally take the opportunity to morph into a savvy, strategically-minded club.

The forging of the ‘South London & Proud’ identity has been a masterstroke. For many years, Palace just didn’t know itself very well – its identity constantly shapeshifting at the mercy of the managers, players and leaders who served as custodians of the badge. Flashy entertainers or gritty underdogs? Retirement home for has-beens or hotbed of young talent? De Boer or Warnock? South London or Surrey?

But as the Palace faithful greeted the players with the profoundly beautiful, fan-funded ‘boy with the shirt’ tifo on Saturday, it was clear that the identity crisis of yesteryear is now firmly a thing of the past. Crystal Palace knows exactly what it is, where its from and who it represents. Visceral pride, deeply anchored in community. That strangely un-nameable feeling that only comes in the early evening, clearly discernible through the haze of post-match indulgence, as the fading light lands just right on the stubbornly handsome terraces of South Norwood. Sound familiar? Then you’re in.

And then of course there’s Oli. Super Oli Glasner, to be precise. With barely a calendar year under his belt, his impact on our club has been profound. And at the heart of it all – beyond the tactical acumen and impeccable man management – lies a simple yet utterly transformational mantra: we can and will win big games, because we’re a great team. That’s it. And just like that, the incalculable weight of history – the dearth of silverware, the tempered expectations, the surrendering to the all-powerful hierarchy of modern football – just disappears into thin air.

All of which brings me back to that wonderful moment on Saturday, when I finally had to accept that we were doing just that: winning a big game, because we’re a great team. A Champions League opponent put to the sword with ruthless efficiency. No backs to the wall, no heroic rearguard action – just a perfectly formed plan, executed by a collection of top quality, international players. The stuff of dreams, and yet oddly difficult for me to accept. Perhaps it’s because all of it – the missed opportunities, the empty trophy cabinet, the misspelt club badge – represents a strange sort of comfort blanket. Reassuringly familiar yes, but chronically self-limiting. We must let that go.

Luckily for us, Oliver Glasner doesn’t much care for comfort zones. His approach isn’t just ambitious – it’s brave. It seeks to smash glass ceilings, not just apologetically slip through the back door. When May 17^th rolls around, we need to show that same bravery; setting aside the burden of the past, and accepting that winning is a possibility not just because we want it, but because we’re more than good enough to make it happen. Belief doesn’t guarantee you success, and the Guardiola juggernaut may yet humble us all. But win or lose, this moment marks a clear inflection point for our great club – so let’s have at it.

UTP!

The current crop of attacking players at Patrick Vieira’s disposal are arguably the best, or at least most exciting, the club has had since promotion back in 2013. Blessed with the exciting youth of Olise and Eze, a Wilfried Zaha who had his best goalscoring season last year and the French duo of Mateta and Edouard, Palace had their best goalscoring season with 60 goals across all competitions last season.

However, a slightly deeper look at the stats shows a glaring issue – when the front four are not firing, help at the opposition end of the pitch is lacking. In the league this season, Joachim Andersen’s goal against Man City is the only goal scored by a player not playing in an attacking role. This is a stark contrast to previous seasons, but something that has been a consistent theme during Vieira’s reign.

The stats below show the distribution of goals amongst Defence, Midfield and Attackers since promotion in all competitions – with a few caveats. 

Goals were attributed to where players played the majority of the season – for example recognising that Eze has sometimes played as a 3 in midfield but here is primarily as an Attacker, Kouyate’s season as a Centre Back under Hodgson and recognising Puncheon’s move from one of the front 3 or 4 to a midfield 3.

There are probably an infinite number of reasons, rationales, statistics, opinions, wrong opinions and ideas on why these numbers are the way they are, and we are only half way through the season so if you are reading this in May, it could be a very different story. Here are my three thoughts on why we are here with these stats at this point in the season.

Centre Back Threat at Set Pieces

Most notable in recent years is the lack of a goal scoring threat from the back. Whilst they’ve arguably never possessed the ability on the ball as the current crop at the back, Palace have always found goals from their centre halves, notably Scott Dann (is a goal machine) who netted 16 goals for the club and ranks joint 10^th in PL goals for the club, alongside Andros Townsend and Jeff Schlupp. Current back up James Tomkins has more PL goals for Palace than everyone in the current squad excluding Zaha, Schlupp, Ayew and Milivojevic and ties Edouard with nine Palace PL goals. It is not just having an aerial threat that the club appear to be missing, but the nouse to prod and nod home goals more frequently than they are now, something we have seen from Tomkins (vs Everton) do in the league more recently than the established pairing. Palace currently possess some quality set piece exponents and it is not unreasonable to hope, or expect, the big men at the back to utlise these deliveries into the box better in the second half of the season.

Lack of Full Back Threat

Palace’s contingent of full-backs won’t go down in the annals of Palace history as the club’s most attacking threat, amassing a grand total of zero goals whilst Vieira has been in charge of the club. In fact, the only goal we have scored from someone playing full back was from Jairo Riedewald against Stoke in the cup, with a strike from a corner, and most would argue he is a midfielder that was filling in at the time. Tyrick Mitchell is the only full back (and defender) to register an assist this season, which is also indicative that the position group are not finding themselves consistently in dangerous attacking positions. In fact, it’s not so much the barnstorming overlaps as to just being in the right position at crucial moments (Ward away at Chelsea ‘15/Mitchell at home to Villa ’21) that has resulted in the downturn in goalscoring production. Whilst I am not advocating the return of an over-attacking, Van Aanholt type player, full backs that can provide a more credible support and threat to attacking play is likely to remain at the top of the club’s shopping list.

Goals from the centre of the park

The one goal scored by a centre midfielder this season was by, yes you guessed it, Luka Milivojevic’s penalty against Oxford in the Carabao Cup. In the league, the threat has been virtually non-existent and arguably the biggest drop off from last season (Yes this is a reference to Conor Gallagher) and seasons previous. You can view Eze as one of a midfield three which clearly changes the stats, but doesn’t really change the issue – the core centre of midfield doesn’t look like scoring a goal.

There are obviously issues at large with midfield make-up and balance, but at the heart of many of Palace’s results in our Premier League tenure has been grinding out a game by a single goal or nicking a point thanks to goals scored from a McArthur/Ledley/Cabaye/Milivojevic type player. Jeff Schlupp has demonstrated his goal scoring prowess in flashes in the last few seasons, but whoever has the role of partnering Cheick Doucoure in the heart of Palace’s midfield for the remainder of the season is going to be relied on to contribute more than the current meagre return. It can only get better right?

There is no magic wand, premium solution or single entity here that will fix this but with Palace going 9 games this season in all competitions without scoring, goal support from the rest of the pitch will be vital to ensure that number does not grow.

Freddie Jennings takes a look back at our no.14's incredible journey as a Crystal Palace striker

Slow Beginnings

When Jean-Phlippe Mateta was signed initially on loan from Mainz in the January transfer window of 2021, you would have forgiven Palace fans for being rather cautious regarding the ability of our new French forward given the Eagles track record with strikers in the Premier League. Just one goal in seven appearances during the 2020/21 campaign didn’t exactly convince supporters that he was the answer to our prayers (even if it was an audacious finish against Brighton) and only 7 Premier League goals across the two following seasons left many doubts over his standing at the club, yet even in those frustrating and at times testing moments, it was clear that in Mateta we had a player capable of delivering on the big occasions, yet no one could have predicted just how drastically our French Marksman has transformed throughout the 2023/24 campaign, deservedly becoming our Player Of the Season.

Those fleeting moments of excellence were sprinkled throughout Patrick Vieira’s only full season at the club (2021/22), whereby his key strikes in our memorable FA Cup run against rivals Millwall and Everton helped us secure a spot at Wembley for a Semi-Final clash against fellow Londoners Chelsea. Said cup run saw the birth of a unique relationship between the Frenchman and Palace fans, whereby his now iconic goal celebration of volleying a corner flag emerged alongside his now inextricable association to Vengaboys song “Boom Boom Boom Boom!!”. An odd product of his goalscoring form, but one that increased Palace supporters love affair with him nonetheless.

Additionally, the season after he converted from the bench against Leicester City in the 94th minute to secure an invaluable win during Roy Hodgson’s first match back at the club, a goal which seemingly inspired our excellent run of form and led us to safety in the Premier League once again. Yet ultimately, these moments were becoming too sparse for someone tasked with leading the line in arguably the world’s toughest division, and prior to the 2023 summer window, serious rumours of his departure looked justified and perhaps a parting of ways was needed for both parties, thankfully for Eagles everywhere nothing materialised and the rest as they say, is history.

Signs of growth

The first signs of the 2023/24 potentially being Mateta’s most impactful year came in our 4-2 comeback victory away to Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the Carabao Cup whereby the striker’s hat-trick proved the difference against the Devon based club, and the way in which he dispatched two of his three strikes was reminiscent of a striker in top form, scoring at a constant rate. Yet that performance couldn’t dispel the argument that his overall game needed improving.

From a personal standpoint it used to baffle me that a player with such a powerful and domineering frame was seemingly incapable of holding the ball up and his inability to head or even challenge for balls bordered on infuriating but in spite of his glut of goals since Oliver Glasner’s arrival in February of this calendar year, one particular performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in early September caught the eye, or mine at least. Despite not scoring or even registering a shot on goal against the Midlands side, Mateta demonstrated attributes more reflective of an all-round striker, capable of incorporating teammates into the game, as evidenced with his expertly timed lay off for fellow Frenchman Odsonne Edouard who duly dispatched to seal three points for Palace, adding to his improvised cushioned assist of his back for playmaker Eberechi Eze.

The following matchday away to Aston Villa produced another Mateta assist when superbly wriggling away from Pau Torres and setting up Edouard once more to give the South Londoners a hard-fought lead in Birmingham. However, the topsy turvy relationship between this player and his club was about to take another twist as an inevitable goal drought enveloped yet another Crystal Palace striker. As the teams formed dipped between the months of October to December, Mateta himself began to struggle with for goals and for minutes.

In spite of this, 9 appearances between a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham and a 2-0 defeat to seasiders Bournemouth at Selhurst Park in early December yielded a total of zero goals and the proverbial alarm bells were starting to ring once more and with a January transfer looming, a question arose of whether or not it would be prudent to sell the striker to free up the budget for greater attacking investment. Yet ardent Mateta defenders during this period were largely vindicated when pointing to the notion that his lack of service and quality playmakers providing from midfield behind him had resulted in a striker deprived of opportunities to show his credentials and ruthlessness in front of goal with injuries to Eze and Michael Olise damaging his goalscoring prospects.

Players with 10+ top-flight goals for #CPFC pic.twitter.com/yXGwkx8nWh

— CPFC - So Glad You’re Mine (@SoCpfc) May 24, 2024

Others even cited the restrictions on the team’s fluidity caused by the robust and stubborn principles of experienced manager Roy Hodgson had inhibited Mateta, with a lack of support in advanced areas leaving him isolated and cut off from the rest of play. Whatever the cause of this downfall, doubts about Mateta’s future at the club were swiftly removed as the month of December grew on, an upturn forged in the most unlikely of circumstances. With Palace rapidly spiralling down the division and in a state of limbo under the relatively uninspiring guidance of Hodgson, two fixtures against heavyweight sides Liverpool and Manchester City didn’t look like offering much respite.

With Palace level against Jurgen Klopp’s scousers, Mateta was summoned from the bench and quickly converted his first Premier League goal of the season from the penalty spot to propel Palace into an unlikely lead before his effort away at the Etihad sparked a remarkable comeback point against the treble winners of the previous campaign. The way in which he managed to shrug of City defender Nathan Ake for this strike was indicative of a physically stronger and more purposeful player with a desire to improve his own reputation within the club. It appeared Mateta had given himself a platform of which to thrive throughout the rest of the campaign, and although a plethora of goals weren’t to follow in the resulting matches, stellar performances were to follow in victories against Brentford and Sheffield United, with his link up play to fellow teammates being a clear evidence of improvement in the Frenchmen’s all round game, with his heading prowess similarly proving a challenge to contain for wily defenders at either club.

Another goal was scored during this period before Hodgson’s eventual departure, even if it was a consolation against arch rivals Brighton, and his bustling performances never wavered even amongst the fearmongering associated with our poor run of form. His determination couldn’t stave off Roy’s departure however, yet his performances had clearly established that Mateta could be a pivotal focal point to the Eagles front line and our 1-1 draw away to Everton at Goodison park in February resembled an almost poetic moment, as the old guard represented by Roy’s loyal assistant Ray Lewington battled for an impressive point under the watchful eyes of newly announced Austrian manager Oliver Glasner, a man who was about to take Mateta’s game to the next level.

Glas All Over

Although the Austrian’s arrival didn’t have an immediate impact in terms of results, the managerial appointment certainly inspired Mateta to further excellence. A comprehensive 3-0 victory over Burnley ensured that Glasner achieved an impressive start, with Mateta bagging another clinical finish from the spot. The next 5 matches however yielded just 2 points from a possible 15 as the side were clearly still adapting to the methods and tactics of Glasner, with a drastic change in formation establishing an overall need for patience. Yet Mateta’s revival only strengthened. Three clinical strikes against Luton, Nottingham Forest and champions Manchester City proved that his new role as a lone striker ahead of two attacking midfielders had been a very fruitful transition.

The 4-2 defeat at Selhurst Park to Pep Guardiola’s citizens may have left the team just 5 points of the top, but the bravery in the team to persistently search for goals against the strongest side in Europe demonstrated that the Eagles could threaten anyone and the seal of approval from the supporters at full time certainly reflected this. The match also saw the return of skillful French winger Michael Olise who instantly added impetus and quality to the attacking line, two things that throughout the rest of the season would become synonymous with Palace’s dynamic new looking front three of Mateta, Eze and Olise as teams struggled to contain this deadly threesome.

Following the spirited performance to City, a trip to Liverpool was next on the agenda for Palace, and the merseysiders were shocked as Eze sealed three points for Palace with Mateta coming close on separate occasions in either half. The victory saw the Eagles move 8 points clear of Luton in the relegation zone and the shackles were off, much to the disappointment of the next visitors to Selhurst Park, West Ham. Mateta contributed a further two goals as Palace proceeded to batter the forlorn Hammers, with Eze and Olise making up the rest of the goals between them in scintillating style.

Only two Frenchman have scored in seven consecutive Premier League home games:

◎ Thierry Henry (2004)
◉ Jean-Philippe Mateta (2024)

Va Va Voom ? Boom Boom Boom pic.twitter.com/JI5OANCSe4

— Squawka (@Squawka) May 19, 2024

With his first brace of the Premier League season under his belt, Mateta did exactly the same thing with two expertly taken finishes against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United three days later under the lights in SE25. The first was particularly indicative of a player who had formulated an outstanding relationship with his teammates, as a superb one-two with Ghanaian attacker Jordon Ayew culminated in a decisive finish beyond Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, and the eventual second of the night finished off the troubled Toon army. Mateta’s post-match interview with another excellent performer on the night, Will Hughes, consolidated this notion that the Frenchman had become an extremely popular figure in the dressing room, with his witty remarks demonstrating a man full of confidence and self-belief on a scale not seen at this point so far in a red and blue shirt.

In his previous two-and-a-half campaigns in the Premier League, shock and surprise wouldn’t have been reactions to seeing a scoresheet without Mateta’s name on it, but this was proved the case as Palace achieved a battling point away to Fulham in West London with the striker even being substituted off in the 69th minute. In spite of this, normal service was resumed the following Monday when Manchester United visited the capital on a wretched run of form whilst being plagued by injuries and they were duly punished by the Eagles, as Mateta contributed with the second goal of a 4-0 pummelling, blasting the ball past Andre Onana at his near post having sharply skipped beyond Jonny Evans in the build-up.

Another impressive contribution arrived on the final away game of the season against Gary O’Neil’s Wolves at Molineux as he once again scored the second strike for the Eagles, displaying predatory instincts to convert a rebound following Nathaniel Clyne’s effort that crashed against the post. As he reeled away with another goal to his name, his customary celebration was on show once more has the adoring Palace fans serenaded their hero. His involvement in Palace’s revival was recognised during the player of the year awards where he scooped up the Players player of the season award alongside Danish centre back Joachim Andersen and received the same award but from the fans, a phenomenal achievement highlighting how everyone associated to the club has come to appreciate the critical role that he played in what was to become a historic season as Palace achieved their joint highest ever premier league finish amassing the most goals scored by the club in a single season (57).

Hat-trick hero

The season was capped off in exceptional style with Mateta himself becoming the first Palace player ever to score a hat-trick at Selhurst Park. All three goals showed a calmness and composure in front of goal that epitomised his transformation into a complete striker, as Swedish goalkeeper Aston Villa Robin Olsen was unable to prevent a flurry of incisive Palace moves, often involving the intimidating frame of Mateta up front. This concluded a campaign where the striker went from a talented yet ultimately frustrating player, to one of the deadliest strikers in the premier league racking up 16 goals in the competition, the most any Palace player has scored in an individual season since our return to the top flight since 2013 and only Andy Johnson’s tally of 21 in 2004/05 can better it.

Recent reports suggesting that Napoli would be willing to pay £30 million for the striker as a replacement to the potentially departing Victor Oshimen underline just how drastically he has grown as a player, yet given how the second half of the campaign has gone in particular, it looks like any potential suitors will need to offer substantially more if they want to entice the Frenchman. Never have Palace fans seen such domination in the top flight for a successive string of games and Mateta has been integral to that control, hence for the first time in a long time, Eagles fans can seriously dream of achieving something unprecedented under the guidance of Oliver Glasner and with our emphatic talisman leading the line, anything is possible.

A big January window is needed and Freddie Jennings is here to pinpoint what is needed.

In recent weeks, early season optimism has subsided for a rather disappointing perception of reality as Palace have fallen to four defeats in our last five, beginning to lose sight of the teams in the top half. Whatever the recent slide can be attributed to this worrying run of games has highlighted certain areas where Palace need to address in order to reverse the damage of recent weeks.

For the first time since last summer, discontent is starting to swell around the Eagles’ fanbase, with audible boo’s being echoed around Selhurst Park today, following a demoralising 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton in the third round of the FA cup, knocking Palace out of a cup we did so well in last season on our unforgettable journey to Wembley. The performance itself wasn’t nearly as poor as a shambolic second half showing against Tottenham just 3 days earlier, where we were humbled by a Harry Kane inspired blitz.

Perhaps in months to come we look back on this period and say this was the point where we addressed any final cracks in Vieira’s side as we pushed for a top half finish, and in order to make the next step, it looks as if some home truths need to be highlighted first and the January transfer window acts as a good chance to work on this.

The first position which requires improvement could be one of several in all honesty. However, given the attacking quality we have through the likes of Wilfred Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise it doesn’t feel just for those assets to be producing for strikers who ultimately haven’t got the credentials to be prolific scorers, but rather can still be utilised as impact substitutions. Hence, we come back to the classic Palace conundrum of having an impressive attacking team without a recognised goal scorer.

Not since Glen Murray have Palace had a guaranteed source of goals over a whole season, it proved that Christian Benteke’s 17 goal season in the 2016/17 campaign was not a true indicator of the form he was about to embark on. Despite a promising start last season, our Celtic signing Odsonne Edouard hasn’t been able to sustain a consistent run of form and his odd goal once every couple of months hasn’t justified his price tag. Similarly, Jean Phillipe Mateta has not been able to rekindle the form that he displayed from January to April last season, with vital goals against Millwall and Everton on the march to the FA cup Semi-Final.

A lack of game time has hampered his performances as he has had to settle for limited cameo appearances of the bench, without much time to make a telling impact. Between them, the pair have 4 Premier League goals this season and instead our top scorer has once again been Wilfred Zaha with 6 strikes, whereas he should be putting his primary efforts into creating for someone whose job is to consistently convert.

Positively, Palace’s track record in recent windows has been positive, particularly last summer where the board made a string of impressive signings from the championship with young, hungry and ambitious purchases. The same parameters ought to be applied this January with Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom and Coventry City’s Victor Gyokeres appearing to be promising talents with a proven track record in the second tier.

The equation for Premier league success appears fairly simple this year with both Brentford and Fulham having excellent strikers in the form of Ivan Toney and Aleksandar Mitrovic who have driven their team success whilst the poor form of Chelsea has largely been attributed to a lack of firepower with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being scapegoated as simply no longer good enough for the Premier League. Our team clearly have a range of promising talents and our intricate build up play ought to be rewarded with that elusive final touch.

However, it seems as if the spending should not stop there. Chairman Steve Parish has cited that loans will be the only source of additions this window which may fill in a temporary gap, yet ultimately, we will be having this exact same discussion next year. One of last seasons loan purchases in the form of Conor Gallagher would be an excellent addition given the poor form of Jeffrey Schlupp and apparent lack of incision from midfield. His drive and energy gave us a different, more aggressive dimension from midfield and his lack of game time with London rivals Chelsea suggests that he could be available. Maybe even Ruben Loftus-cheek, a similarly imperious player from the same club who we had on loan for the 2017/18 season, could be a positive addition given the competition for midfield places in Graham Potter’s side.

Another area which the recent run of form has highlighted as an outstanding weakness is the full back positions where the team have failed to recover since Tyrick Mitchell’s Boxing day red card against Fulham. Joel Ward has since been deployed at Left Back showing a lack of trust in Dutchman Jairo Riedewald whilst Nathaniel Clyne has operated in his usual right back position.

A pair of miserable performances from each of them indicates that better cover is needed. Once again, Max Aarons from the championship appears to be a proven talent with Premier League experience and a youthful presence is certainly a requirement, but the manner in which we crumbled against both Fulham and Tottenham implies that a stronger backbone is needed with greater premier league experience in the central defensive areas being a potential option in order to navigate a tough set of upcoming fixtures in the next couple of months.