Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway strengthened his options on the flanks earlier this week by snapping up Jason Puncheon from Southampton on a season-long loan deal. The flying winger is the tenth player to arrive at Selhurst Park this summer, following Stephen Dobbie, Dwight Gayle, Jerome Thomas, Jose Campana, Kevin Phillips, Elliot Grandin, Marouane Chamakh, Neil Alexander and Florian Marange, as the Eagles boss adds plenty depth to his first-team squad for the campaign ahead.
Puncheon will join up with Holloway for the second time, having played under the Eagles boss during a stint at Blackpool. Speaking to the club’s official website, he admitted the lure of turning out for his boyhood club was also a major factor in his decision:
“I know Ollie really well. He was a massive factor in this move. He knows the league. He’s done it before and I think he will learn from his time at Blackpool and bring it into the team here. I actually played for Crystal Palace as a kid when I was eight. I left and there were a few times in my career that I was due to come back but didn’t. Now I’m here that’s the main thing. I’ve always as a young kid dreamed of playing at Selhurst Park, so it’s a young boy’s dream coming true.”
The History
The 27-yard-old has led a somewhat nomadic career up until now. Starting off with MK Dons back in 2003/04, Puncheon was released after scoring just once in 42 appearances over three seasons. After a brief stint in non-league football, he was picked up by Barnet in the summer of 2006 and racking up 15 goals and 10 assists in 78 league matches, he made his way to Plymouth in 2008.
Puncheon was afforded just six first-team appearances over 18 months in his new surrounds and was loaned out to former club MK Dons three times over this period, producing 11 goals in 51 games before Southampton came calling in January 2010. Over the remainder of the 2010/11 season, the winger looked as if he’d done enough to secure a regular role, with three goals and eight assists in 19 appearances, but he was once again farmed out after losing his starting berth to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the following year.
Loan stints at Millwall, Blackpool and QPR harvested a combined eight goals from 20 appearances before he returned to the Saints again. Puncheon played just eight times in the Championship back in 2011/12 but became a first-team regular under Nigel Adkins last term after the club’s promotion. A cut-price Fantasy favourite, Puncheon produced five goals and six assists over 32 league game but the mid-season installation of Mauricio Pochettino saw him drift out the picture, with most of his final appearance arriving courtesy of the subs bench.
The Prospects
With Wilfried Zaha now back at parent club United, Holloway has been scouring the market for a pacy replacement on the right flank all summer. Palace started with Stephen Dobbie there at home to Tottenham but the Eagles boss is keen to add more speed to the wide areas as he sets his side up to sit deep and counter quickly. A security of starts looks likely for Puncheon, then, whether it be in a 4-5-1 formation or 4-4-2, if Holloway looks to partner Marouane Chamakh and Dwight Gayle up top together, though Holloway revealed Puncheon’s versatility will be crucial over the season:
“He is a player I need and his experience will be vital. I am delighted to have him and he is the right type of character to help my lads. Jason can play in four different positions and will be a good addition to the squad.”
Despite the opportunity of increased game time in his new surrounds, Puncheon will find it difficult to attract much attention. Initially listed as a Southampton player, his price across the Fantasy games reflects his status as a regular member of Pochettino’s squad, as opposed to a budget option for the Eagles.
Coming in at 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Puncheon’s price is slightly too costly to eye him as part of a cheap rotational pair – somewhat ironic, as we scour the market to find value similar to last term’s Puncheon/Raheem Sterling combination. Indeed, fellow Palace wingers Jonny Williams and Jerome Thomas will set you back just 4.5 by comparison and could come into consideration – Williams’ game time now seems in question if Holloway opts for the top-flight experience of Thomas (when fit) on the left. With plenty of less expensive options outwith Selhurst Park, though, Puncheon is likely to be overlooked this term unless he somehow serves up a series of performances that simply prove impossible to ignore.
11 years, 2 months agoThomass67 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Presser!
Welcome to this Evening Press Conference we would like to introduce Thomass67 as the Manager of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Owner "Good Evening everybody on the behalf of the board of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim it's a pleasure to be here to introduce Thomass67 as our new head coach, Thomas has the honour to be part of one of the biggest clubs in Germany!” “We look forward to his tenure. In Thomas we have recruited an exciting head coach in Thomas, he is an intelligent Manager Thomas was the number one candidate for the job. He is one of the most talented young managers in football today and has already achieved much in a relatively short space of time.
"His ambition, drive and determination matches that of and we are confident Thomas' leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions. He has always been highly regarded at and everyone here looks forward to welcoming him back and working with him."
"We did speak to a number of people over the last few days but I want to say that Thomas was the only person we made and offer to and we think it was the perfect choice and he was our number one target!
Reporter; If I can just say Thomas congratulations on the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Job!
Thomas; "Thank you very much".
Reporter; What made you join TSG 1899 Hoffenheim?
Thomas; "The history of the club is massive that is why I wanted to manage TSG 1899 Hoffenheim".
Reporter; How do you feel to be the new manager of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim?
Thomas; "I'm very proud as you imagine that I'm very proud to be the manager of this wonderful club it's a club with wonderful tradition and I'm very blessed to manage the club".
Reporter; This is a big step up for you, how will you manage it?
Thomas; "It's the same as I've managed every challenge I've faced, my path as a young coach been different to most, even know I'm young in age I've actually been playing the Fantasy Premier League which has lots of similarities to budgets, I've been working on coaching for the last 4 years, what helped me was the inspiration of Granville who told me when I was in England with my South Africa boys take my coaching badges where I spend nearly 3 months working their. When I look at the age I don't really mind because it doesn't tell anything".
Reporter; In that respect what are your ambitions here at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and what do you expect to achieve here at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim?
Thomas; " I think overall the long term was important to me to come into a project that's going to be over a number of months, for me first and foremost it's to help the club achieve what they want, which is success. My job is to help stable the club and help us qualify for Europe.
Thanks everyone hope you enjoy reading it!