Premier League Defender Club Review – Crystal Palace

mamadou sakho-crystal palace-football_3905054
Crystal Palace looked favourites to go down at one point last season, but an improvement in form in the second half of the season saw them comfortably survive the drop.

The Eagles were not really defensively solid last season and conceded a total of 63 goals. However, it can be argued that Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho was one of their most important players over the season. Sakho’s arrival at Selhurst Park in January helped to consolidate Palace’s defence and also led to the run of results which eventually proved to be the difference between Premier League and Championship.

A total of ten defenders represented Palace in EuroFantasyLeague last season. Let’s take a detailed look at their performances.

James Tomkins, with 19 points, was the best Palace defender last season. The 28-year-old, who was available for 5m, managed 24 appearances. Besides contributing to six clean sheets, he also scored three goals.

Scott Dann was also available for 5m, and he ended the season with 18 points. In his 23 appearances, he picked up five clean sheets. He also contributed with three goals and one assist.

Based on points, Sakho is the next best Palace defender. Before suffering a season-ending injury, the French centre-back could manage only eight starts and picked up four clean sheets. He was available for 5m and put together a decent total of 17 points.

Patrick van Aanhold, who was valued at 2m, joined Palace from Sunderland in January transfer window. The left-back made 11 appearances for the Eagles in the second half of the season. He was a part of four clean sheets for the Eagles and scored a couple of games. Over the course of the season, including his performances for Sunderland, put together 17 points.

Jeffrey Schlupp also arrived at Palace in January. The 4m-wideman made 15 appearances for the South London club and put together 15 points. He helped with five clean sheets for Palace.

Damien Delaney drew a zero on the point-board from his 30 appearances. He was available for 2.5m and made 30 appearances. He was a part of five clean sheets and provided a couple of assists.

Papa Souare had managed only three starts before his season was cut short in a road accident. The 3m-man drew a blank in terms of points.

Joel Ward was the only Palace defender who started every game during the season. In his 38 starts, the 3.5m man picked up seven clean-sheets and a solitary assist. He ended the season with -2 points.

Ezekiel Fryers could manage only eight substitute appearances for the Eagles. He was available for 2m, and his only contribution was a solitary assist. At the end of the season, his point-total was -10.

Martin Kelly, who made 29 appearances for his side, managed the second-worst point-total among all Palace players at -12 points. The 4m-man was a part of three clean-sheets and provided a couple of assists.

You can challenge the best fantasy football managers at EuroFantasyLeague

To play just the English fantasy football game, please check out Fantasy Premier

To leave a comment, you must be logged into www.eurofantasyleague.com