Alan Pardew believes the contrasting fortunes of Crystal Palace and Chelsea this season provide evidence of the shifting balance between the established leading group of Premier League clubs and the rest of the division.
The form of Leicester City, Watford and Stoke City, who have also featured prominently this season, offers further evidence of the strengthening of the middle band of Premier League clubs driven, according to Pardew, by increased wealth throughout the league and the impact of the restriction on squad size.
Alan Pardew will go head-to-head with Guus Hiddink Photo: AFP
“We have definitely upped our game and Watford, for instance, could not have signed the players they have three years ago,” the Palace manager said. “They have brought good astute international players to that club. The top clubs at this particular time, apart from Arsenal who have kind of come through the process and are on an even keel, are searching on how to deal with the up and coming stars and run a Champions League campaign. It is proving very difficult for them.
“It is a bit like a glass ceiling. Suddenly the opportunity has come to get past them and because we have been able to go out and buy better players we can compete. It hasn’t totally happened yet but the opportunity is there.
“The 25-man squad rule has helped us because when I look at say Chelsea and you see Radamel Falcao, they haven’t got that squad of 30-35 any more that enabled them to carry players. They have to rely on young players and that has made a bigger impact than we all thought.”
Chelsea have struggled this season Photo: REX FEATURES
Pardew hopes to mark the first anniversary of his appointment by steering the club to a first league double over Chelsea. Positioned in the bottom three this time last year, an outstanding run during the calendar year has transformed the fortunes of the club although the manager believes the club’s final standing this season will hinge on the return of a number of key players.
“It depends on when we get our injured players back. Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham are very important players for us, so that will have a big impact. The next two months are going to be very important for us.”
However, he believes Chelsea are likely to remain outside the leading group. “I think they are going to find it hard to get into the top six, but they will push. They could possibly catch us, but it will be very difficult for them to catch Leicester, Stoke, Everton and Liverpool, for instance.”
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