Van Kuntholt

PATRICK VAN AANHOLT insists his new Crystal Palace team are better than the Sunderland side he left.

Left back Van Aanholt was a key member of the Black Cats side Sam Allardyce kept up by the skin of their teeth last season.

The Dutchman was reunited with Allardyce at Palace in a £14m deal this week and faces his former club tomorrow in a crucial relegation scrap.

“Individually we are better, we have a lot of good players here.

“I think we are more compact as a team and the players have worked together for so long.”

Palace celebrated their first clean sheet and win under Allardyce at Bournemouth on Tuesday.

And Van Aanholt believes it will be the defence that saves Palace from the drop this season.

“Clean sheets kept us up last season,” he said. “Clean sheets wins games and I think when he came that was the first thing he said.

“We need to stop conceding goals here now. That was the key to our success last year.

“He gets the best out of players in training and off the pitch. He really cares about the players.

“He showed last season how we did it. Last season he gave up everything, we lost a couple of games but then after that we had a great run and started winning more games.

“This season should be the same, we just have to work together as a team.

“Back-to-back games are important. We just have to win, and if we can’t win then don’t lose. We need to get at least a point.”

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...-Aanholt-Sunderland-Sam-Allardyce-David-Moyes



Right or wrong out of respect youd like to think the little prick would show abit of respect and not compare Palaces ability against his former team mates. He only moved a few days ago ffs.

 

He's said nothing wrong there, mate.

He's never slagged us off and the Palace players are actually head and shoulders above ours. He sent our fans a message saying he enjoyed his time here and wished us all the best.

Now he's at his new club and bigging them up, which is probably what he should be doing.

 

I just added this at the bottom of that thread......Right or wrong out of respect youd like to think the little prick would show abit of respect and not compare Palaces ability against his former team mates. He only moved a few days ago ffs.

I think theres other ways and means to go about bigging your new club up without mentioning former team mates ability, some of whom will still be friends with him.

 

Surprised he knows what a clean sheet is, decent attacking although a poor decision maker, but not good in defence. Won't be any different at Palace, he'll still be a weak link.

 

He hasn't singled anybody out though, or even made a fuss about it. He's just dropped a (truthful) comment and left it at that.

 

It could just be me biting mate, things like that pish me off though. Even more so after the way Colback stuck the knife in the moment he left.

 

**** that little rat, didn't want to be involved in a relegation battle.

That worked out well

 

These players do not give us a second thought after they piss off, we are better in defence without him.

 

What about Spudcock though Monty?

 

On Saturday if I was in Sunderland's midfield nearly all my passes would go wide right......play on him all through the game and we will get a goal.

 

I was tempted to say let him come onto us and then break quickly because he's always charging up the field. The reality is though, we don't have the speed in the team to make this effective. We are probably better pinning him back to the left back spot and doubling up on him.

I'd play a sweeper for this game. Sam knows that Kone can get the ball mixed up in his feet and can get turned easily enough, he'll be playing on that so we'll need somebody behind him to sweep up. Kone struggled against Benteke, at the SOL, last season.

 

He's right they are a better team. But they just got a lot weaker at lb.

 

He is entitled to his opinions - as wrong as they are.

 

Hope Moyes uses what he said as a motivator for the game, that should make the lads up for it to ram those words down his throat.

 

Kirchhoff would be good as a sweeper imo. His calmness on the ball. His passing from deep might help us control the game better too.

 

Aye shame hes injured.

 

When we signed him they said he could play CB, which was where he came on vs Spurs for his de it iirc.

Think we need him sweeping up in Midfield next to Catts if they ever both get fit.

 

Kirchoff said after the Spurs game that he prefers to play in Midfield cause thats where hes played most of his career so id only ever play him Cb as a last resort

 

Good to know that clean sheets can win games though. That never occurred on me me before.

These football managers man! They're geniuses!!!