Dan Cook slams Vieira’s negative approach to Palace games

Dan Cook has been left fed up by Crystal Palace’s severe lack of attacking output under Patrick Vieira.

The Lowdown: Palace hurtling towards relegation

At the beginning of 2023, it may have been crazy to think Palace could be swallowed up into a relegation battle given some of the results they’d picked up pre-World Cup but that is now becoming a reality.

The Eagles are yet to win in 2023 and that’s seen Patrick Vieira being asked about any pressure he may be coming under from the hierarchy at Selhurst Park.

It’s not just the results which are worrying for Palace and their fans, but also their lack of attacking intent under Vieira as of late with the Eagles failing to even test the goalkeeper in any of the previous three games.

The Latest: Attacking intent is non-existent

If fans have nothing to get excited about going forward, then it will be a tough sell for any manager to keep their job as Cook has spoken about on the HLTCO podcast.

He said: (2:05) “This run of games now without a victory and the fact that we aren’t scoring goals, I mean there are all sorts of statistics you can reel off in relation to our lack of attacking threat.

“The fact that we’re the first team since Opta began recording this statistic in the 203/04 season to go three straight Premier League games without a shot on target really does speak to the difficulties we’re having in front of goal.

“I think there is an argument that Patrick Vieira – and I’ve said this on the podcast in the last couple, of weeks – may well have resorted to a more defensive set-up in order to stem the tide because you saw Spurs for example cut through us and score at will at Selhurst Park at the turn of the year.

“But, if it’s going to come at the complete expense of any sort of attacking cohesion whatsoever, then you do wonder what the point is because you’re immediately going into a game like that against Manchester City on Saturday evening feeling as if 0-0 is the pinnacle of what you can achieve.”

The Verdict: Vieira must strike up the correct balance

The fact that Vieira has seemingly opted for a defensive and negative approach to games hasn’t been able to turn Palace’s season around and given the attacking players at his disposal he shouldn’t be stifling them.

Instead, Palace should be looking to play on the front foot whenever possible with players such as Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha all capable of causing damage in the final third on their day.

If Palace are to quickly turn their season around and start looking up instead of over their shoulder, they need to be scoring goals and winning games, which is something they’ve struggled with more than anyone else this season, so it’s understandable why Cook is questioning Vieira’s new approach.