Alan Pardew is not everyone’s cup of tea.
But the Crystal Palace manager always seems to figure out things. At least, in the opposition team.
It was Pardew, who identified Branislav Ivanovic, as the weak link in Chelsea’s defence ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge in August.
“We doubled up on him a little in the first half, with Sako and Wilf (Zaha),” he said after the game.
His tactic worked a treat. Palace won 2-1.
Last weekend, his team held Louis van Gaal’s expensively-assembled team to a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
And there was more interesting soundbite from Pardew.
“We didn’t give Martial an inch today. Not an inch,” he declared proudly.
“It was a big target for us to stop him and we felt that if we could stop him we could stop their creative angle. And when you take into account his age, that’s some recommendation.”
The problem here, is that Van Gaal does not rate the young French striker this highly.
Martial operated from the left wing and never threatened the Palace goal. Alongside him in attack, was captain Wayne Rooney, who endured another anonymous performance. The England man failed to touch the ball inside the opposition penalty area and the pair managed just one shot on target between them.
Let’s face it. Rooney is no longer the explosive force he was.
Rooney announced himself to the world, with a thunderous strike against Arsenal. But Martial is a new kid on the block. Although his arrival was overshadowed by the big transfer fee United will potentially pay for him, he made us sit up and pay attention with a stunning strike against Liverpool on his debut.
That goal summed up the former Monaco player’s abilities. He is quick, elusive and a potent finisher.
With Van Gaal’s philosophy centred around heavy possession these days, United can make do with some spark and individual brilliance.
Rooney used to bring that and more. But he has lost a yard of pace and his first touch makes you wince. There has been talk of him moving into midfield as a ’10’.
It is quite interesting that Van Gaal tried to switch things in the second half, by trying Martial in the central position, while Rooney was shifted out to the left. Although it did not yield any positive, surely that has to be the way forward.
Afterwards, Van Gaal admitted he does not know the 19-year-old’s best position.
“We don’t know yet because he played always in Monaco as a left winger,” he said.
“As manager, I have to see what is the best balance in the team. That’s not so simple, so I have to decide every week dependable on the game plan and qualities of opponent, and so on.”
This sounds as if the Dutchman is not eager to sacrifice Rooney upfront. But that is a decision that now looks overdue every passing week.
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