A page of analysis by Simon Gleave and Pier-Luigi, covering players performance and team tactics.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
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15th February 1998
FA Cup 5th Round
| Team : | Miller, Ismael, Edworthy, Smith, Gordon, Roberts, Hreidarsson, Rodger, Fullarton, Brolin, Dyer |
| Subs : | Nash, Tuttle, Folan, Linighan, Emblen. |
| Booked : | Dyer 77' |
 Match Reports & action photos. |
linighan out?
hermann vs dennis
no bite, no danger
midfield surrender
the future
Amazingly after playing every match for Crystal Palace since his move
from Arsenal, the veteran defender was dropped for his first return to
Highbury. Did this make a difference? You bet it did as Marc Edworthy
returned to the sweeper position and became part of a rock solid back
three with a much improved Ismael and the outstanding Hreidarsson.
In October, a titanic battle developed between Dennis Bergkamp and our
own Hermann Hreidarsson with the Iceman coming out the clear winner.
Hostilities were resumed on Sunday with Hermann again emerging as man of
the match as he restricted Bergkamp to just one long range shot and made
him an almost peripheral figure in the game.
Having annulled Arsenal's main attacking force, we might have expected to
cause the Arsenal defence a few problems. Unfortunately, Palace's
attacking prowess amounted to hoofing long balls up to Dyer and Brolin
which they were never going to win against the likes of Steve Bould.
Bruce Dyer's own habit of constantly running offside made matters even
worse as many a promising attack broke down due to Brucie's ineptitude.
The midfield of Rodger, Roberts and Fullarton worked hard but this just
isn't enough against players of Arsenal's calibre. Surrendering a man
advantage to them in midfield seems like pure folly to me and it was no
surprise when Dyer felt the need to help out in this area. If we are to
create chances in this series of games against Arsenal, we must get
bodies into midfield and attack with speed and precision of passing.
We have two more games coming up against Arsenal and it would be nice to
see a victory in at least one of them. I believe that Saturday's league
match offers the best chance of this as Arsenal will be without Bould and
Adams, they will have had a hard match against Chelsea on Wednesday night
and Palace will have their cup tied players available. It is imperative
that we have a plan to beat Arsenal on Saturday because it is a good
chance to get our season going. So please, Steve, can we have some
attacking ideas?
KEVIN MILLER
JAMIE SMITH
He left too much space to Overmars and in fact the flying
Dutchman was the most dangerous Arsenal player; to his credit, only
one sharp delivery. He was the weaker unit of a competent five men
defence.
VALERIEN ISMAEL
playing against the likes of Anelka and Wreh made him
feel at home and the Leaburn hangover was a distant memory.
DEAN GORDON
Lively, he finally managed to avoid some of the mistakes
that had affected his recent performances. He easily won his personal
duel against Ray Parlour and it was his accurate cross which led to
the most dangerous Palace opportunity (a rebounded Dyer's shot).
HERMAN HREIDARSSON
A wonderful and clean job on Dennis Bergkamp and
on any other Gunner that tried to cross swords against him. Enough
stamina to support the midfield and the attack.
ANDY ROBERTS
Not the embarrassing player of the last couple of weeks,
but not even the crucial engine of Crystal Palace manoeuvre. He left
the central position in the middle of the park to Jamie Fullarton in
order to play on the right hand side of the midfield.
MARC EDWORTHY
Today's performance has shown, once more, that Marc has
to play as a sweeper. Regardless of the injuries and of the emergency
situations.
When he is not in the centre of the rear-guard, the defence loses at
least 50% of its potential.
One timely interception and the ensuing run forward were stunning..
JAMIE FULLARTON
his running and his tackling were effective; his
passing was pretty accurate, especially in the first half. He seems to
give his best against Arsenal and since two more games are coming,
that's obviously good news.
TOMAS BROLIN
he was forced to play on his own upfront due to the non-availability of other strikers and to the deeper position assumed by
Bruce Dyer.
He wasn't able to challenge the taller Arsenal's defenders in the air
and couldn't hold up the ball either. A couple of elegant one-two
confirmed that the Swede's preferred position is just behind the front
two.
If when either Jansen or some of the crippled strikers are back, Steve
Coppell won't realise that "Fat Cheek" is the assist man in a 4-4-2
system, then it's pure folly.
SIMON RODGER
a key player in the red'n'blue side, his workrate is
always remarkable, even when his physical condition does not assist
him for the whole ninety minutes.
BRUCE DYER
it's not clear whether it was for his personal decision or
for Coppell's suicidal tactics, but he played deeper and wider than
usual. His pace should have been a tremendous asset to challenge the
old and slow Arsenal defence, but having been used where it doesn't
hurt, it was useless.
Man of the Match
There are at least three or four defenders that could contest for
today's Man of the Match award, but my selection rewards Hermann
Hreidarsson for his "never say never" attitude and for his bravery to
help the attacking moves.
Pier-Luigi Giganti
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