Wayne Hennessey might have thought his time could be up when Vicente Guaita arrived, but Ben Mountain looks at why that might not be the case. 

Over the years at Crystal Palace, Wayne Hennessey has become the towering embodiment of a love-or-hate Marmite-type player. Lambasted by some for lacklustre, poorly focussed performances but lauded by others for the potential he shows regularly for Wales and for possessing the height and ability to claim crosses so long desired under Julian Speroni’s otherwise infallible stewardship, the fella has divided opinions since his arrival in SE25 over four years ago.

Following Saturday’s heroics against Fulham at Craven Cottage, however, the Welsh shot-stopper appears to have united fans in their support of his goalkeeping competence. Pulling off a series of remarkable saves, Hennessey delivered a Man of the Match worthy performance to keep his first clean sheet of the season and reminded fans exactly why he still starts.

But it isn’t only against Fulham whereby the 31-year-old has showcased his abilities for Palace. In fact, as last season progressed, Hennessey appeared to do likewise in tandem with Roy Hodgson’s side’s growing assuredness.

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As the now-celebrated centre-back pairing of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins began to gel and establish itself as the first choice duo to dominate the Palace backline, it felt as if Hennessey grew in confidence, comfort and capability, too. It may also be attributed to his growing experience and the arrival of Dean Kiely as goalkeeping coach in January, but the No.13 appears from the stands to be an almost entirely new ‘keeper behind that markedly solid partnership.

As shown on Saturday, Hennessey seems content allowing his defenders to mop up in and around the box without having to jeopardise his own positioning in front of goal. At times, admittedly, fans were made to hold their collective breath as the Welshman seemed just a little delayed in springing from his six-yard box. It’s far from an inaccurate notion to suggest that that apparent delay can’t be attributed to Hennessey’s confidence in those in front of him and their ability to protect his goalmouth, however.

Given how little belief some fans have held him in, being half a yard off the pace can be forgiven in the Palace season’s curtain-raiser.

Frustratingly, the performance against Fulham and successful defensive lineup on display poses a dilemma to Hodgson going forward. With Hennessey playing increasingly well and demonstrating his case to remain Palace’s number one with impressive conviction, what happens to Vicente Guaita? A particular issue lies in the 31-year-old’s lack of game time with the defenders he’s required to keep company with. In that respect, Hennessey has months on him.

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Guaita joined Palace with the intention of becoming the side’s first-choice ‘keeper. Still acclimatising to English football and establishing his rapport with the back four in front of him, the Spaniard was kept on the bench for the Fulham win, perhaps with an eye on starting his Premier League career on Monday as Liverpool travel to Selhurst.

However with Hennessey now undroppable, and Hodgson unlikely to severe his role in the side out of loyalty, how long will it take until the former Getafe shot-stopper is able to make an appearance? Only time can tell, but with Wayne pulling out all the stops - yes, crap pun intended - in order to hold his place between the sticks, Guiata could be sidelined for a while yet.

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It’s an unusual position for Palace fans, but we’re now looking at a situation where two competent ‘keepers are fighting over first choice. Of course, Guiata will have to play at some point - the debacle surrounding his move wouldn’t be worth it if not - but it’s enjoyable to watch a Palace stalwart perform at the level that so many fans said he could and finally demonstrate his much anticipated potential.

Perhaps he’d been waiting for Mama and Tomkins all this time, we’ll never know. But as long as that solid partnership remains in front of him, it’s tough to see a time when Wayne Hennessey won’t remain behind them.

Hard luck, Vicente.

With the season about to kick off, now is the time to look at who you might want to include in your fantasy team. Here's Alistair Laban to take a look...

Despite a fantastic World Cup, it seems like Premier League football has been away for an eternity. But fear not, the wait is over. Strap in for the nine-month rollercoaster with more thrills, spills and chills than an under-16’s disco at Streatham Ice and Leisure. The transfer window is now shut and I for one feel pretty comfortable about how the £100m has been spent. Don’t worry - you haven’t missed Steve Parish sending some more big cheques up to the red half of Merseyside, I’m talking about the real quiz – Fantasy Premier League.

You may have stopped reading by the time you reached that last sentence, but if not, peruse this article at your leisure (but before 1900 Friday) for my hints and tips about getting your team together, and obviously, who are the must have players from Crystal Palace.

First things first; I’ll make some assumptions that you’ve read the rules of FPL and accept that you can only have three players from each team. This is good news, because the first pitfall of any Premier League fan is to splurge on players from your own club; which I’ve fallen into. Here’s my take on who in red and blue should make your 15-man squad for the start of the new season. 

Goalkeepers

Depending on your overall keeper strategy (one pricey, one cheap or two lower-mid budgets on rotation), Palace would normally be worth a look at. Because we have so many great defensive options, you can easily overload your team with Palace players if you were to pick Guaita, Hennessey or Jules, and given the uncertainty over the starting #1 (albeit likely Wayne), I’d stay clear here. If you need a super-cheap-keep, then Speroni would be an ok option (£4.0 being the lowest price in the game), but that does take up a potentially valuable Palace spot which could prove annoying later on.

Verdict – Nothing to see here.

Defenders

Apart from some obvious names to be detailed later, this is where the pot of gold is to be found. On the assumption that we start the season significantly better than the last, we have very favourable opening fixtures. With the exception of just Liverpool (H) in gameweek 2, Palace have winnable games for the first nine gameweeks until we hit four of the top six in consecutive games. I wouldn’t worry about looking too far ahead however – our start is probably the best on paper apart from Everton.

The partnership between Sakho and Tomkins was a key part of our turnaround last year and they came out unbeaten in the 13 games they started together since January 2017, winning 10 of them. Both are good options to start with, and with Sakho slightly more pricey (5.0) but with a better chance of bonus points than Tomkins (4.5) either should deliver. 

Aaron Wan-Bissaka impressed us all last year with a string of performances that belied his age. Although Ward reclaimed the spot towards the end of the season, our Croydon boy looks a good bet to play more this season, and at just 4.0 (again, cheapest going!) he is at worst a certain bench-rotation option.

My personal FPL gem this year has got to be PVA. His stats at the end of last season were unreal including goals in the last three games, coupled with strikes in pre-season and a nailed-on starter, and owned by just 5% of team. Palace should be keeping a minimum of three clean sheets in the first nine games and with his attacking intent, you won’t go far wrong – likely to be on 40 points before things get sticky at the end of October. He even set up his own FPL mini-league. Get him in. Right now.

I’m not sure there’s much value in the rest of defence due to a relatively settled back four that have been mentioned. Schluppy could have a good run of returns, especially playing out of position in midfield, but is likely to be used sparingly.

Verdict – You should have at least one of our back four (and it should be PVA!)

Midfielders

The tricky bit. Luka was our top point scorer last season, largely thanks to his returns from penalties. Given his relatively defensive positioning, his returns are again likely to be just from the spot (and associated bonus points). With Wilf and Andros likely to again draw penalties this year (we had the most in the league last season [10]), he has got to be worth a look. Slight concern over his increased price though – he was a meagre 4.5 to start with last season but now is considerably more pricey at 6.5.

Townsend is likely to provide similar point scoring as Luka, but for a little less at 6.0, especially if Benteke can get some form going early on. Meyer is an interesting prospect at 6.5 with most reviews and expectations ranging at total guesses between full flop and the winner of the transfer window. He may not start the first game so probably one to keep an eye on early doors rather than back from the off.

The rest are unlikely to get enough game time (Punch, Kaikai) or too defensive (Kouyaté) to be worth investment, but my soft spot for Jimmy Mac will never wain and could be handy at 5.0, albeit in fits and starts.

Verdict – Best to keep an eagle-eye on Andros, Luka and the Lord Meyer, but hold fire.

Forwards

– The big news for Palace FPL fans is Zaha being ‘reallocated’ as a forward, as those at FPL towers look to re-balance the disparity between midfield and forward point scoring from last season (no, I don’t know why Salah is still a midfielder). It means that Wilf will get one less point for a goal, but don’t let that put you off. I expect this season to be his best yet and priced at 7.0 as a forward means you can have an effective point-scoring forward on a budget – something FPL players desperately sought-after last year. He is currently in about a third of all teams, so he is likely to be thorn in your mini-league side if you don’t pick him up.

Big Ben. He was terrible last year and it was all a bit depressing, but this is a new season and perhaps missing out on the World Cup will prove a kick up the backside to our benefit. He has looked tidy in pre-season and he’ll still get good service from the wings. Unless we sign a striker in the next 24 hours, he is pretty much nailed on to start and could be incredible value at 6.5. Those of a gambling nature may not be able to resist.

Sørloth and Wickham will hopefully get game time and goals at some point and priced at just 5.0 could be worth a look later in the season depending on how things pan out.

Verdict – Zaha in. Benteke has oodles of differential potential early on.

Regardless of what your overall strategy is for FPL this year, I think Palace players offer some of the best value going, especially if we finally have a consistent season that isn’t riddled with dire and stupendous runs of form. I have picked PVA, Obi Wan-Bissaka and Wilf for my team and in all honesty, can’t see it going that wrong for the first few weeks. It could be that I transfer Wilf out if a better proposition comes along - Arnautović is a logical swap for gameweek 10, but you’ll struggle to find much better value to start with. Be wary of players returning from the World Cup, wait to see who is in Pep’s ‘settled’ midfield and look for value in Fulham, Wolves and West Ham. Probably steer clear of Utd and Chelsea. Br*ghton players are not allowed. You shouldn’t even need to be reminded of that.

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The all-singing, all-dancing, yellow-tie wearing transfer window has SLAMMED SHUT, for Premier League teams at least (closing early while the rest of Europe remains open for business seems a very fitting Brexit era act of self-sabotage), so perhaps we can get back to the football?

Where once transfer windows were mildly diverting pieces of entertainment, now they have become hyperbolic monsters where reality rarely, if ever, matches expectation. Time and again, though, we get sucked in. Why has this happened? When did football become such a soap opera? Is it Sky Sports, or a saturated sports market, or social media? Or is it simply a reflection of a modern age of materialism and diminishing attention spans?

It seems perverse that we sit on the eve of a new season when memories of such a wonderful World Cup are so fresh. It was a tournament to remind us why we fell in love with football, spoilt as we were with magnificent games and goals. The beauty and excitement lay on the grass, and it was a welcome holiday from interminable club bickering and unwarranted panicking.

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In contrast, the last few weeks have been a carousel of hype and noise and column inches, further feeding the monster. Television money has emboldened agents and their clients to push the envelope ever further.

Maybe it’s the era we live in, defined by a deranged political landscape, but the lies and half-truths seem to be getting worse - talkSPORT understands, S*N exclusive, Sky Sources suggest player x is close to agreeing terms with club y…(don’t forget to have a punt with Sky Bet). Agents do plant seeds, but the rumour mill hit rate is negligible at best.

Not that anyone cares. With declining readerships and advertising revenues, it’s all about numbers and clicks and impressions in a race to the bottom, with specifics and inaccuracies quickly forgotten. Many journalists like to double down, embellishing with new details to ‘prove’ they were right all along (hey, James Nursey).

Palace fans have endured this nonsense this summer with the Wilfried Zaha saga that never was a saga. It would be naive to think Zaha and his agent wouldn’t be open to offers, but it has been clear that he remains very happy at Palace, and would never become disruptive in agitating for a move.

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Should Zaha leave next summer, you can be sure his departure will get the chattering classes going. It’s difficult to know how representative of an entire fan base online voices are, but message boards and social media can become toxic during transfer windows - Palace are enjoying an unprecedented spell of success, but you might not have known it for much of the summer.

The theory seems to hold that spending money equals ambition by default, with shiny new toys a guarantee of success. Many Palace fans have observed the scattergun approach of other clubs with envy, but quantity over quality is a risky game.

It can be difficult to remain patient when it’s made to feel like an endless footballing Christmas Eve, but some patience and perspective wouldn’t go amiss, acknowledging that Palace’s overall transfer record in recent years is far better than recency bias might suggest.

Steve Parish, Doug (sic) Freedman et al deserve credit for recalibrating the club’s recruitment policy against the backdrop of major infrastructure projects and tight finances. Marquee signings and lucrative contracts have left the club slightly financially hamstrung, though how can we argue previous approaches were wrong given the calibre of player and performance they secured?

Palace are now thinking further outside the box for value and answers, and the signs are encouraging. Signing Vicente Guaita and Max Meyer on ‘free’ transfers is outstanding business, with the latter a particular coup. The likely upside of Meyer, both on the pitch and financially, is huge.

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Cheikhou Kouyate and Jordan Ayew may not set pluses racing quite so much, but they offer versatility and appear good fits for Roy Hodgson’s methodology. With Palace addressing problem areas and retaining their star names - Yohan Cabaye and Ruben Loftus-Cheek aside - it has to be regarded as a successful and clever window. There is still scope for fringe players to find new pastures later this month.

The incomings join an already excellent group of players, creating arguably the strongest squad the club has ever assembled. They will be working with a manager who loves nothing more than actually coaching, rather than reaching for the company credit card at the first sign of trouble.

The structure Hodgson brings - the defensive organisation, the offensive patterns - is perfect for this squad. With some rare managerial consistency, a fine pre-season under our belts and players returning from injury, there is cause for genuine optimism. So, let’s get things started.