CPFC

This... is something.

The state of the Crystal Palace squad is shocking. Going off the TM database, THREE players are above 10m pounds, which for a Premier League club is shocking. One of those is Zaha, obviously, valued at 40m. Personally, I'd sell the guy, and this has been the case for a while. It's reached the point that if he gets hurt for an extended period, relegation is certain. SIXTEEN of the guys in the squad are 30+, which is mad. Also, Ayew and Townsend turn 30 this year. Now, it's unrealistic to think you'll clear out an entire squad and bring in a bunch of 20-year-olds. It's not FM. Let's say get rid of 9 and bring in 7, just off my head that works.

Out of contract 2021:

Keep- PVA (vet LB), Townsend, Mitchell, Cahill (vet presence), McArthur & McCarthy (can't separate them), Ward (2 RB's going), Schlupp (good squad guy)

Leave- Sakho (injuries, discipline), Henderson & Hennessey (surplus), Clyne (past it), Wickham (how is he still there?), Dann, Benteke (lol), Kelly (injuries)

Bats- so, with him, knowing he's on loan, I wouldn't buy him. I'd get another guy on loan next season at the same position and buy one or two others.

NEEDS:

Holy hell, so many positions need to be addressed.

Manager- how is Hodgson still there? Man! Dude is in his 70's and the club's steadily stagnating (at best). I'll address that later. Main thing here is not to drastically change style-wise, but to gradually make it a bit more pleasing on the eye. You can do it, especially with the churn that's inevitable given the age of most of the squad.

Keeper- Guaita is fine FOR NOW, but need another. Butland fell off and isn't regaining his form from a while back.

Defense- left back is the one spot that's relatively stacked, with all of PVA, Mitchell, Ferguson and Schlupp able to play there. I believe Ferguson can play CB, as can Riedewald, and Kouyate has been playing there for a while. Right back is sketchy. Ward can stay, as I explained above, but we need at least one CB and at least one RB.

Midfield- a couple promising players in this part of the pitch, by that I mean Eze and Riedewald. The James's put in work, which is necessary. IMO needs at least one quality player who can pass and potentially shoot, given nobody other than Eze can do that (#10, or on the left cutting in). Schlupp and Townsend are fine, since I'm not getting rid of everybody.

Attack- sign Mateta after his loan (a mercenary clearly but has talent) to replace Benteke. You then have Ayew, who's fine, but that's it. Definitely need another striker.

GK

Dragowski from Fiorentina. Palace won't be changing style drastically, and with Guaita on the way out, this guy can become the #1 quickly.

RB

Basically, I want to find a guy to replace AWB. That's a huge loss and they just ignored it, signing a part timer in Clyne and pretending Kelly and Ward were good enough. I think either Ola Aina or Wilfried Singo would be interesting picks to finally replace AWB. Aina has been in a weird back three type thing at Fulham, which is odd given he was a proper wingback at Torino. Neither of these clubs is in a good position, given Fulham are likely going down and Torino are struggling once again. An outside pick could bee Geertruida from Feyenoord. We all know how questionable it is going from the Eredivisie to a "big" league, so like I said that would be an outside shot.

CB

The main thing here is replacing Sakho, who's on lots of money but is constantly injured and has often been questioned attitude wise. Thus, I'm picking out three guys. Two are in Germany, which are Uduokhai at Augsburg and Niakhate at Mainz, as well as Sarr who'd be on loan from Chelsea. My pick would be Uduokhai because he's tall and pretty good on the ball, from what I've seen. Sarr could be the "easy" pick, given he'd be on loan and we all know Chelsea love loaning youngsters.

CM

One idea is to try to find a younger version of a guy like Cabaye, in that he was technically much better than anyone else in the squad at the time. Riedewald is pretty decent technically, and as I said, the James's are good for work rate and all that. Going from the PL (owned I guess), we have Anguissa, Yangel Herrera, and Guendouzi.

For me, Anguissa is a ball carrier type, physically gifted and what not, but not amazing technically and rarely has end product. He'd work well with Jairo with Eze ahead given freedom to create.

I didn't realize it buy he's the same size as Herrera, who's loaned from City to Granada currently. That team plays a similar style to Palace, which isn't really a good thing, but he'd transition easily I guess. I'd say he's physically less dominant, but slightly better technically.

Next is Guendouzi. Not sure what's going on at Arsenal, but his contract lasts until 2022 so he could be bought on the cheap. He wears the 10 shirt for France U21, and Hertha I feel aren't harnessing his ability properly. Could be a fit.

This is a left field shout, but Florian Grillitsch. He's at Hoffenheim still, and his contract expires 2022 as well. Due to injury and poor recruitment, he's been playing CB in a back three, but I have no doubt he plays best in midfield.

Finally, we have Suat Serdar from Schalke. Don't judge him off this season, as we all know how much of a shitshow that club is. Oh, and this is another whose contract ends next summer. So, in all honesty, you could get him really cheap. Like, I'd take a flyer on him because I've seen his ability, as well as pick up a more "anchor" type like Grillitsch. I'm generally basing this off what's already in the squad, as Luka and Jairo are more #6 players with more of a defensive than attacking mindset.

Winger- so yeah, looking for pace, right footed, can score goals. Goncalo Guedes could be that guy. Valencia is one of the worst run clubs in Spain, and to be honest, Guedes has some Zaha about him. He's maybe even more direct, to be honest. Vargas from Augsburg and Damsgaard from Sampdoria are two others I'd be looking at. Gakpo at PSV as well. All from different leagues, I might go a bit more in depth about the ones I'm able to watch at some point. The message here is find a guy who can replace Wilf's output from the wing (Eze will help, too).

CF- as I stated earlier, Ayew and Mateta are the two I'm pinning to the squad list in this exercise. Thus, I'm looking for a pure scorer type. Mitrovic has to be mentioned. It's criminal to me that he's not been the focal point for Scott Parker this season. Look at a guy like Bamford and the success he's had in a team that actually attacks. Toney from Brentford may be a step too far, which is a shame. Adam Armstrong from Blackburn, however, could be a gamble worth taking. I never realized how short he was, but he scores goals. Speaking of goals, Raul de Tomas from Espanyol. I still don't get how he and some other guys at that club are in the second tier right now.

Free agents:

Santos Borre (CF), 25 y/o- not watched him, but heard good things

Hysaj (RB) 27 y/o- not sure he'd go Palace, but a Palace level RB at this point, no disrespect

Rui Silva (GK) 27- birthday buddy of mine, literally the same day... but yeah, doing quite well at Granada, made it to the national team, would be a perfect Guaita replacement

Marcos Paulo (LW) 20 y/o- literally just found the guy on TM, but fits profile of left wing i was looking for and is apparently an FA in the summer. Could easily be a case of him having renewed and the site is in the dark over it.

How I'd set up...

Best case

RDT/Toney

Guedes Eze Townsend

Riedewald Grillitsch

PVA Uduokhai Kouyate/Tomkins Aina

Dragowski

2nd choice/Alts

Armstrong

Damsgaard/Vargas Serdar Schlupp

Luka/McCarthy Guendouzi

Mitchell Niakhate / Sarr (L) Kouyate/Tomkins Singo/Geertruida

Silva

No signings

Mateta

Ayew Eze Townsend

Riedewald McArthur

PVA Cahill Kouyate

Ward

Guaita

I think that's a decent overhaul, maybe not the most realistic though. I forgot to mention this in the RB part, but I'd be considering Tomiyasu as he can play both RB and CB, with similarities to AWB. Aina could probably do that, but he's a more attacking player, as I stated previously. I think with the James's, Luka, Riedewald, and one more, that's enough to have either a midfield two or even a three, with Eze either on the bench or out wide left. That's despite him operating best in the 10 role, which the new manager SHOULD know. If Guedes isn't attainable due to price, I'd look at Damsgaard or Vargas, if they are cheaper. Personally, I'd also be looking for someone to play on the right wing, but with the two listed that could be passable given the comings and goings elsewhere. Same with left back. Only bringing one CB is possibly a risk, given the age and injury issues at that position. I didn't even list Ferguson at CB/LB yet, just saying. If the deeper-lying Grillitsch isn't possible, I'd try to get either Guendouzi or Herrera on loan, since they've got size plus creativity, and go for Serdar on the cheap.

In terms of coach, it's simple. Hodgson has done the bare minimum, in my opinion, and it's time to go (RIP Claude). Like I said, you don't want a drastic change like they tried to do with de Boer, who's been garbage in general, but that's another topic. What I'm saying I want someone who's a bit better with youth, and can make people actually want to watch the team. I haven't watched more than a couple Palace games this season, and for good reason. I simply don't waste my time watching clubs whose upper management don't give a shit and only want to stay in the division. Pretty much the entire bottom half of the table. Garbage football, no hope to win, horrible to watch, no fans in grounds to even attempt to give an atmosphere. I mean seriously, as a fan, how is it even fun? Hope Zaha bails the team out and the old guard don't injure themselves each week...

What'll end up happening, I'd imagine, is the club will be cheap. No surprise there. Many of the holes in the squad won't be addressed, or the cracks will be painted over by re-signing past it players or bringing in guys that won't improve the side (think Norwood on a "free"). Cabaye has never been replaced, nor AWB. Benteke has been bad at least 75% of his time at Palace. Guaita isn't the "superman" he was for a season or whatever it was. They'll probably keep Butland as the backup, which is a mistake. I wouldn't be shocked if Mateta goes back to Mainz, aka isn't purchased and is sold by the German club in the summer. Who knows what'll happen with Zaha, given the lack of a market in general. For instance, a guy like Sarr from Watford is obviously less polished, but much younger version of Zaha. Who would you go for? I'd say neither, lol, and look for value abroad, like the guys I listed. Going back to the coach thing, I've seen the Barnsley coach Ishmael linked. I won't pretend to watch them regularly, but since they stayed up on because of the Wigan stuff last season, it's been a dream as they're pushing for the playoffs this Spring. Guess this is to say the coach is doing something right. From what I've heard, they press high and go direct, which would suit what Palace have, so that's cool.