Calculated Caution or Missed Opportunities?: The Palace Model
- christoslouca74
- Aug 2
- 6 min read
Is the long term focused approach progressing the club or does more need to be done to elevate Palace to the next level? We look into both sides to see what is done correctly and what needs to change.
Written by @HolmesdaleView
Since the introduction of PSR (formally FFP) in 2013, very few clubs can boast a level of consistency whilst following the rules, Crystal Palace are one of those clubs that can. 12 years in the Premier League, an FA Cup triumph and very few worries of relegation makes for good reading for those on the outside.
However transfer spend and the Palace model does divide opinion amongst the fanbase with many growing frustrated at the lack of ‘ambition’ and others dating back to the success we have achieved using this model. We will look into both sides and see where the club succeed and where work needs to be done.
The Success of the Palace Model
Palace have grown the reputation for doing business in the EFL and taking calculated risks on younger players in the hope of selling in the future for a profit. The success of this has been clear to see with the emergence of talents such as Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton, Eberechi Eze and more along the way. The sales of Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have brought in sizeable profits, whilst also maintaining the level of the club with consistent mid table finishes.
This has shifted from promotion in 2013 where Palace looked for more experienced players and was fully focused on survival in the Premier League. Signings such as Joe Ledley, Wayne Hennessey, Scott Dann and Jason Puncheon highlighted the direction the club was going in and reflected the market the club was in. As success has followed and safety became easier year by year, the riskier the club could be in the market as the targets shifted to younger more exciting prospects.
Success against Competition
Many sides within the midtable battle have spent the same or more than Palace on average since promotion in 2013. Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham have all had increasing transfer windows but have remained within the same region of the table as Palace, further showcasing the effectiveness of the Palace route and how we have performed in relation to those at a similar level to ourselves.
As the above chart shows, per season we are spending as much as £14m less than teams around us within the last 12 seasons, yet these sides have not seen an increased amount of success as Palace in this period. Fulham have only recorded 2 league finishes higher (22/23 and 24/25), Bournemouth have also only recorded 2 (16/17 and 24/25) and Brighton have recorded 3 (21/22, 22/23 and 24/25). Also in the same period, Palace will be going into their 13th season of Premier League football, Fulham only their 7th, Brighton and Bournemouth both in their 9th.
For those who may view this as incomparable due to the different number of seasons in the Premier League, below shows if these averages were to be used as a representation of all teams in the league for the same period of time (13 seasons).
The table shows significantly more difference between the 3 sides and Palace with Fulham and Bournemouth spending more than £170m more in the same 13 year period and Brighton spending £84m more. This highlights the enormity of the work that has been done by Palace to maintain comfortable mid table finishes year on year.
The Frustration of the Palace Model
Whilst the consistency is admirable and is rare to find in football, many Palace fans have been left frustrated at the lack of depth and significant investment especially in the last 5 years. The constant need to sell key players to reinvest and the slow squad refreshing is a cause for concern for many Palace fans and frustration grows with each transfer window.
Player Sales
As a midtable Premier League side, it is difficult to maintain teams for longer than 18-24 months as the top 6 hunt for the very best to aid their charge for European football. Crystal Palace are no different and have been the victim of the growing spending of the elite clubs as players are swayed the minute they hear of interest from the big 6 or teams abroad.
The loss of Michael Olise in the summer of 2024 to Bayern Munich, Aaron Wan Bissaka to Manchester United in 2019 and the increasing links to Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi become more and more relevant each transfer window. Whilst this is an issue which all smaller clubs have to deal with, it is the way in which Palace do business which draws in the frustration. Time and time again we see players from other clubs leaving for in excess of 60-65m, examples include:
Declan Rice - West Ham to Arsenal £100m+
Bryan Mbeumo - Brentford to Manchester United £70m+
Joao Pedro - Brighton to Chelsea £60m+
Yet at Palace, the club only received £45m for Michael Olise, look set to get the same for Guehi or even lose him on a free and rumours of £68m for Eberechi Eze. These amounts do not give Palace the ability to move into new markets for players and is a key reason as to why Palace have never pushed towards those European places through the league. This lack of top level negotiations filters down to contract negotiations, player signings and managerial signings and is a big reason as to why our business is often done so late and can be considered uninspiring at times.
All of these factors have led to Vieira in his second season and now Glasner making their dissatisfaction at our lack of business known to the public and some would say Vieira never really showed the level of promise to deserve the backing, Glasner has more than shown his worth and needs to be backed to realise the potential of Palace and to break the mould that has set in the last 5 years.
Prioritising Infrastructure
Steve Parish has always taken care of the long term security of the football club since his takeover in 2010 and very few can begrudge that considering the position the club was in at the time. 15 years on and a lot has changed for the better, new training ground, new academy, improved facilities at Selhurst Park and a new era over the horizon with the new main stand. However, this has come as a trade off for investment on the pitch, an average of £22m spent per season for the 13 years in the Premier League.
The academy has seen a vast infrastructural improvement, however we are yet to see a direct correlation with first team appearances with only 3 players having appearances since the academy was upgraded. David Ozoh, Asher Agbinone and Caleb Kporha are the only ones to have made appearances although still have been very limited and begs the question of how the academy upgrade has improved things for Palace in the long term. This was always a project that Parish was very adamant on wanting to happen and using the academy to further the internal sustainability of the club for the future, however with only Tyrick Mitchell being a regular fixture in the first team, one has to question whether Palace need to move more towards investment on the pitch to break the ceiling a start a new era with more success.
The most frustrating part of all of this infrastructure has been the slow progress on the new main stand which was due to start in 2018, yet we are still in the dark as to when we can expect significant news. With costs soaring high and already money and time put into the project, the frustration builds as money is being invested and yet delays keep happening with no prospective date as to when it will start or finish. The £100m+ would present a significant transfer window for Palace and provide Glasner with the funds to build a team ready to compete on all fronts on a consistent basis.
Conclusion
Parish has played a significant risk averse tenure since 2010 and has worked really well in cementing Palace as a midtable side and will continue to do so if that is the ambition and he does not wish to change his ways to achieve sustained progressive success. Many pointers lead to the model working and players that have come and gone are excellent cases of the model working at its very finest, but as we have seen with sides like Southampton, it can easily derail after a signing or 2 do not work out like an Olise or an Eze.
Palace fans have seen midtable finishes for too long without an clear evidence to show an intent to break into the top half and further into European places year by year which builds the frustration. The only hope is the FA cup win presents a chance to showcase what the club can do and the level at which the club can compete on the European stage.
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