Player Focus: Zaha Re-emerging as Key Palace Performer Under Pardew
For any player, no matter their potential, securing a big money move can be a detriment to their development. Unless nurtured properly, a hot prospect can fail to realise their potential and not hit the heights their early form promised. One of those whose top-flight career came close to prematurely ending is Wilfried Zaha. Having secured a permanent switch to Manchester United in January 2013, Zaha played a key role in securing Crystal Palace’s place in the Premier League that following summer.
The Ivory Coast-born winger had torn apart opposition defences in the Championship, and so a move to one of the biggest teams in Europe was understandably the next move for the now 23-year-old. However, while the dizzying lights of Old Trafford were too bright to turn down, the switch proved to be a backwards step rather than a leap forward. In his debut campaign for United, the winger made just two top-flight appearances totaling 28 minutes of league action. A loan switch to Cardiff failed to have the desired effect and it seemed as though Zaha’s Premier League career would end before it really begun.
A return to Palace in 2014 came as little shock. In familiar surroundings, Zaha promised to rediscover his flying Championship form and while the Eagles initially underwhelmed with Neil Warnock at the helm for a second time, the appointment of Alan Pardew promised good times ahead for both player and club. Pardew steadied the ship at Selhurst Park, with each player handed a specific duty within the team.
A respectable WhoScored rating of 6.97 upon his return to Palace was commendable given a topsy-turvy 12 months, though there was indeed room from improvement. A superb start to the season for Pardew’s side has indeed coincided with Zaha’s re-emergence. A modest WhoScored rating of 7.10 is the seventh best at the club, but certainly shows signs that Zaha is beginning to return to the form that saw United part ways with a reported £10m to sign him in the first place.
Only Riyad Mahrez (58) has completed more dribbles than Zaha (52) in the Premier League this season, accentuating his statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’. Given the system Pardew has implemented at Selhurst Park, with Zaha and Yannick Bolasie largely charged with stretching the opposition defence, the England international abides to his manager’s demands with aplomb.
However, while Zaha’s primary asset is his ability to beat the opposition defence with consummate ease, doubts linger over his end product. The Palace star has just three assists to his name in 61 Premier League appearances and while he has averaged a respectable 1.3 key passes per game so far this season, it’s a number that feasibly should be higher. Of course, the lack of assists this term is largely down to Palace’s misfiring frontmen more than anything. Of the 23 league goals scored, just one has been netted by a striker, that courtesy of Connor Wickham in Palace's 2-1 win at Stoke on Saturday.
Nevertheless, while it’s a facet of Zaha’s game that requires honing, at his age there’s time to develop the creative quality. Under Pardew, though, Zaha’s approach is ideal, particularly away from home. The Eagles are renowned for their counter attacking style when on the road and that has served them in good stead during Pardew’s reign at the club. 34 of the 61 points won under Pardew have been when playing away from Selhurst Park, while only Leicester (21) and Arsenal (19) have taken more away points in the Premier League this season than Palace (16).
Given Zaha’s speed when on the ball, he’s an effective outlet when Palace need to sit deeper, and so he is capable of alleviating pressure on the defence, especially when host teams strive to make home advantage count. As Palace sit deeper, they need a player capable of beating the opposition in order to press home sides back and increase the possibility of nicking a goal on the counter attack. In this regard, Zaha is the quintessential wideman, even if he does have just two league goals to his name.
It’s a hefty burden to shoulder, but it’s one that Zaha does impressively. Furthermore, like with any team hoping to implement a counter attacking style of play, they must not shirk their defensive responsibilities. Zaha, though, is not one to do this, with his average of 1.3 tackles per game a notable return for a player in his position.
He'll be hoping to cause Bournemouth all manner of problems this weekend and will fancy his chances of making a telling contribution against a side that has conceded the second most goals in the league thus far (32). Nevertheless, any trades on Zaha in Buabook's match markets represent a risk given his inconsistency, so I wouldn't buy shares unless they became avaiable below £0.20.
Either way, after a stop-start beginning to life in the Premier League, Zaha has begun to realise his potential. At present, he remains a diamond in the rough, but Pardew is beginning to sand down the edges after rescuing the youngster from football’s scrapheap.
You can trade the values of any of the players on display when Crystal Palace player Bournemouth with Buabook, the first player trading exchange based on detailed statistics
