Crystal Palace started the season determined to avoid the survival scrape from their previous campaign and coach Pardew broke the bank in the summer to bring in the team Cristian Benteke. Three wins and two draws in the opening seven rounds quickly placed the Eagles in the middle of the table and with Benteke finding his feet straight away, three goals in his first four appearances, it seemed that Palace were in for a calm campaign.
Unfortunately the trouble-free period was short and come mid-October Palace entered a stretch of six consecutive defeats that saw them collapsing into the relegation zone at the start of December. A win over Southampton to stop this run seemed to have saved Pardew’s job, but after collecting a single point from their next three games the gaffer was sacked just before Christmas.
At the start of the New Year Sam Allardyce was appointed in charge but six defeats in the first seven rounds since he arrived worried the fans a lot. Allardyce inherited a crippled squad, by Christmas Palace already had five players out for the long-term, but he used his connections well in the winter and the arrivals of Sakho, Van Aanholt, Schlupp and Milivojevic added the extra class needed by the Eagles. Milivojevic quickly became a crowd-favourite with his hugely successful displays in the heart of the midfield and come the end of February Palace started playing just as Allardyce wanted them to.
The Eagles forged their safety between rounds 26 and 34 when six wins and a draw were achieved and after beating all of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in April they soundly showed that they have a place in the top flight. Still the survival wasn’t confirmed until the penultimate round when a convincing 4:0 home win vs. Hull was the result that guaranteed safety.
Allardyce’s arrival definitely started something nice for Palace in 2017 and with the new recruitments and Benteke up front giving the club a perfect base to build on the fans are expecting to see their team much higher up the table next term.
