Wayne Hennessey is a player who hasn't always been popular but is now seeing an upturn in support -- Bryan Davies looks at why that might be. 

Few Palace players in recent memory have divided opinion like Wayne Robert Hennessey, but - whisper it quietly - he’s been pretty good lately, hasn’t he? As the giant North Walian approaches 100 Premier League appearances for the club, his form deserves acknowledgement.

There have been echoes of Hennessey’s previous red and blue peak, when eye-catching performances against Everton and Southampton in particular helped Palace to fifth in late 2015. Perhaps we shouldn’t get carried away, though: his nadir came soon after with that error in that game at Aston Villa - a match which signalled the beginning of the slow death of Alan Pardew.

Hennessey’s early season form mirrors his strong end to the last campaign. The value of consistency shouldn’t be underestimated, and his best displays have come when playing behind settled, well-drilled defensive units. The influence of goalkeeping coaches Martyn Margetson and Dean Kiely has evidently been significant, too.

Quality competition helps, and Hennessey has experienced both sides of the coin. Having pushed Julián Speroni to greater heights when signed by Tony Pulis, he now has Vicente Guaita breathing down his neck. There is no comfort zone or margin for error. Such are Guaita’s credentials, everyone knows the Spaniard will be in nets sooner or later.

Hennessey remains fallible. Of course he is - what goalkeeper isn’t? There are goals that better players might prevent, but he makes very few glaring errors. His positioning for the late concessions against Liverpool and Southampton has been questioned, but in mitigation he had been left exposed as the team searched for equalisers.

READ MORE: Tactical Preview: Palace Need Ruthlessness to Beat Terriers

Positioning has never been a strong point. There have been questions, too, about his communication and the way he commands a box. He has been loud and clear thus far this term, though, his voice exaggerated by the deafening silence of a Holmesdale shorn of its Fanatics.

It is surely telling that Pardew, Sam Allardyce, Frank de Boer and Roy Hodgson have all shown great faith in Hennessey, often in times of high stress. Indeed, when planning for a season he never ended up presiding over, Allardyce was happy to pass on the signing of Asmir Begović, preferring to stick with Hennessey and direct funds elsewhere.

Some fans seem to believe, nonsensically, that fame and money insulates footballers from pure human emotions and vulnerabilities, but confidence should not be underestimated. Like Christian Benteke at the other end of the pitch, Hennessey has always struck me as a player who responds best to love and understanding. It’s one thing to be objectively critical, but quite another to jeer, ironically cheer, or post abuse on social media. In bigger picture terms, it is unhelpful in the extreme.

I have never understood why some Palace fans have seemed so personally affronted by Hennessey. Folk like scapegoats, I guess. Does his positioning for free-kicks really warrant wishing him a significant injury? Does a playful video from the Welsh dressing room really make him a c**t? Did he deliberately concede a raft of goal of the season contenders? Rational people know the rational answers to these questions.

Being the man tasked with replacing a club legend between the sticks wouldn’t have helped Hennessey’s cause. Perhaps he got off on the wrong foot by simply being the man on the end of Danny Butterfield’s wonderful, baffling six-minute perfect hat-trick. A popular member of the dressing room, he has never said or done anything to warrant the vitriol he receives from some quarters. He’s no Jordon Mutch.

READ MORE: It isn't Just Zaha Palace Miss, They Do Not Win Without Tomkins Either

It should be noted that for Wales, in a settled and happy squad in which he is a much-loved senior figure, he has been dependably excellent for a number of years. Loyalty means a lot, and Hodgson’s faith will resonate.

There, too, is the broader issue of how goalkeepers are judged. They are a different breed from their outfield brethren, and have come to be viewed as such. The criteria is different, the frames of reference starker; there is no hiding place - one mistake tends to equal one goal, at times undoing months of hard work and goodwill.

There is also the question of what is expected of modern goalkeepers, with many old standards obsolete. The fear of punching is slowly eroding. Custodians are now expected to sweep and address the ball like an outfielder. Risk versus reward. The demands of coaches are changing, but are fan perceptions changing at the same pace?

Hennessey’s time at Palace has been mixed. He is nowhere near as bad as his biggest detractors claim, nor as good as his biggest acolytes suggest. Criticism is valid when it is commensurate, but likewise he deserves credit when he is playing well. From here there are two scenarios: he continues to perform well, or he drops off and is replaced by Guaita. It’s a win-win for Palace.

"Crystal Palace are a One Man team.”

“Crystal Palace can’t win without Zaha.”

The loss at Southampton provoked, yet again, the unfortunate statistic suggesting that Palace are unable to win without Wilf in the side. Last season Zaha missed 10 games and, of these 10 games, Palace were unable to register a win. It is perhaps the drama of the transfer window; the nonsensical speculation, the poor, shady journalism or even his new, high rolling contract, however the spotlight is rigidly fixed on him. 

Another player spent a lengthy period on the sidelines last season; James Tomkins. His importance has been undercut by the media’s obsession with Zaha. Of the 11 games played without him last season, Palace only won a single game; 2-1 at home versus Chelsea. After that, the next 10 consecutive wins all contained the sturdy centre back.

From 14th October 2017 until today, early September, Crystal Palace have still failed to register a win without James Tomkins’ name on the team sheet.

Of Palace’s 16 defeats last season and 3 this season, Tomkins played in only seven. One of these defeats he was substitutedin the dying embers versus Tottenham and they scored within seconds of his departure. Of Palace’s 16 defeats last season and three this season, Zaha has played in eight.

It may be impossible to win without Zaha, however the likelihood of a loss increases without Tomkins. It is important to also note that Palace did not lose a single game when Tomkins and Sahko commandeered the centre of the defence. When looking at these statistics, it can be argued that Tomkins’ presence on the field yields more points/ prevents the loss of points than Zaha’s presence.

Zaha scored three times as many goals as Tomkins last season, however football is not a game that is purely won by scoring lots of goals. This was proven in the 2013/14 season where Liverpool scored 101 goals yet conceded 50. Palace only conceded 48 that season and finished 11th. It is not just goals that puts points on the table.

The defence has to be the foundation on which the team is based on otherwise points will be consistently dropped. Again, using that season as an example; 3rd Place Chelsea were two points behind Liverpool, scoring 30 less goals but conceding almost 50% less. When defenders can regularly produce stand out performances, they can win the team games and save the team points. This was true on countless occasions last season where Tomkins put his body on the line to protect the Palace goal.

He even produced one of the most impressive off-the-line-clearances of the seasons vs Chelsea. Of the defeats Tomkins played in, only one of these games had a 2-goal deficit. So even when losing, having Tomkins in the team can reduce the goal difference. Towards the business end of last season Palace fans were saying how the superior goal difference ‘almost felt like an extra point.’

From 14th October 2017 until early September, Palace have still failed to register a win without Tomkins on the team sheet 

With only a few games left of the season and the league table looking tight, Swansea, Stoke and West Brom were all in the high -20’s while Palace were in the low teens. This is a huge mental boost for the both the players and the fans and should not be under appreciated.

Finally, although only scoring three goals last season he was the highest scoring centre back, since Sahko and Dann only managed a goal a piece. From these three goals, two of them came in victories; Brighton and Huddersfield.

He is an essential player to the team and the results show how he is irreplaceable with the current members in the squad. Although working hard last season, Dann, Kelly, Reidewald, Delaney and Fosu-Mensah all failed to fill his shoes. This could be Palaces’ failure of the summer transfer market as they have not brought in sufficient cover for such an injury. “Crystal Palace can’t win without James Tomkins”

Palace are a club enriched by their following, whether near or far. Here Oliver Nodwell tells us about his experience supporting Palace from the far reaches of Scotland. 

I can recall the amount of visits to Selhurst I’ve made -- it wouldn’t be too many to count. Originally from the south but spending a fair chunk of my adult days split between the Midlands, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and on top of that working unsociable hours, I’ve just never managed to make much time. But maybe I have all my priorities wrong.

Split shifts. Chef life. Its 2.52 pm. I rush to the car through the pissing rain and gale force wind. Start the engine and tune in to Radio 5 Live. There’s a faint signal, fading in and out, Mark Chapman’s voice half scrambled. I don’t know why I even bother, no chance its Palace, it will no doubt be a Man United or Chelsea game being transmitted. I’ll have to settle for intermittent score updates amidst all the other matches.

3.04 pm, I arrive back at the house after a twelve minute race through the winding and mountainous A838, overtaking campervan after campervan of tourists from all over the world, tourists who for some reason find it acceptable to drive at 20 in a 60 or just stop right in the middle of the road, on a bend to take a photograph. Tourists who come to see one of the most beautiful parts of the planet. The Scottish Highlands.

I tune into a stream online, Radio London, and I sit and listen for the entirety of the game, screaming and shouting at my speaker. In my head, I’m there, at Selhurst or the away stand of whichever ground we’re at that week. In real life, there's a short fat bloke wearing chef whites, sitting in a cottage, eagles soaring overhead, surrounded by countless lochs, mountains and fields on the northwest coast of Scotland.

I’m a twelve and half hour drive away. I’m closer to Oslo than I am to London. I sure as hell can’t supplement cravings with trips to Dingwall to see Ross County.

I suppose the reason i’m writing this is to ask that question, can you be a real Palace (or any club) fan if you don’t often go to games, if you live too far away, or even if you are completely priced out of the live experience due to income and personal circumstance?

To me, its a daily priority to check up on what’s happening with Palace. I visit the club site and social media, endless twitter morons twatting on. I love it.

I watch pre match interviews, post match interviews, even the boring clips of training and players saying “obviously like, the gaffer like, chose me really, so obviously, ill give 100% and hope we come out on top, like, really”. Nonsense, right? But i get a kick out of it for some reason.

But to go to a game is going to cost me a week's wages, at least. It’s just not feasible. I try and do one game a year. I love football, it excites me, to put it plainly. I have tickets to the next away game, not the most glamourous outing but I can’t wait and every time I recall that I’m going or that its a few days closer I get a wee boost. It’s a bit like a upscaled version of when you remember you have a cup of tea that you forgot about.

There are a lot of different ways to support your club from afar. I am not, by the way, claiming I am the most distant Palace fan on the earth, I’m sure there are more further away who travel to many more games. I believe I can do a lot better in terms of attendance and I will. Of course it’s possible to be and remain a loyal supporter wherever you are in the World.It makes those rare trips to see the team even more of a pleasure. It’s particularly a pleasure with Crystal Palace. For some reason, everyone has a soft spot for us. I am always proud to say I am a Palace fan.

Having now moved back to a city more connected to modern life than the remote Scottish Highlands, I’ve promised myself I’ll attend more games, home and away. And on Saturday I’ll be racing down the M6, replacing the beaches, lochs and flocks of Scottish sheep with retail parks, service stations and flocks of English sheep. I’ll be excited and nervous no doubt, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. If I feel the same as I do when I’m screaming at my radio, I can safely say, as a Palace fan, I’m doing alright. Next stop, Hudderfield.

Mon’ the Palace!

Crystal Palace released a statement on Sunday evening. FYP editor Robert Sutherland takes a look at the fallout from the HF disbandment and how it can be fixed. 

Everyone is angry and everyone has a perspective on the big issue surrounding Crystal Palace at the moment. The Holmesdale Fanatics, their wish to move to block E of the stand, and the apparent reluctance of the club to commit to it has been the hot topic since it became clear that the group would no longer occupy block B.