Crystal Palace's Connor Wickham: I've waited years for a boss like Alan Pardew please log in to view this image Strikingly happy: Wickham delighted to be the centre of attention again. Connor Wickham is relishing what he describes as a fresh start at Crystal Palace. A few eyebrows were raised when Palace paid around £8million to sign him from Sunderland in the summer, but the 22-year-old striker is determined to prove his doubters wrong. Wickham is focused on a bright future and, playing in his favoured centre-forward role under Alan Pardew, wants to make his mark on the Premier League. “It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” he tells Standard Sport ahead of tomorrow’s home match against Manchester City. “My family have sensed a difference in me and it is a relief to have an opportunity to play regular football again. It did not work out at Sunderland but that is in the past and, hopefully, I can start proving people wrong. “To finally have a manager that will put his faith in me is important. I have wanted that for four years and everything here adds up to something that could be massive.” Wickham failed to live up to expectations during four seasons at Sunderland, where he was played on the left wing by a succession of managers. He scored 15 goals in 91 appearances for the club, but Pardew saw enough to convince him to spend big and offer him a role through the middle. “I owe Sunderland a lot, but I was signed as a striker and whenever I was fit I played on the wing,” says Wickham. “There has been a lot of criticism of my performances, but when I have played as a No9 I have shown I can score goals. “I went on loan to Sheffield Wednesday two years ago, scored goals as a No9 and finally got myself confident again playing in that position. I went back to Sunderland, scored the goals to help keep them up and then was back to playing on the wing. “I met the manager here before I signed and he said everything I wanted to hear. Having a manager who wants me to play as an out-and-out striker is massive. I can focus on putting the ball in the back of the net.” On the size of the fee Palace paid, Wickham says: “You have to take the rough with the smooth in football. People will always say you are overpriced, but I don’t decide the price. “You have to take it on the chin. It is up to me to prove people wrong.” Pardew believes Wickham has the ability to one day play for England but the player, who has 17 Under-21 caps, is not getting ahead of himself. “I just have to worry about getting my head down and scoring goals here and hopefully that will warrant a call-up in the future,” says Wickham, who has yet to score for his new club. “Hopefully, if we are still at the top of the table, we will get looked at more, but the main thing is getting a starting position in this team on a weekly basis.” Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was this week reported to have written to Wickham in a bid to get him to switch nationalities, but the Palace forward has played down the idea. “I know nothing about it,” says Wickham, who is eligible to play for Northern Ireland through his father. Wickham believes Palace, who are second in the table, can maintain their impressive start to the season when they face City. “Everything is positive for us at the moment and, hopefully, that will continue,” he says. “We know it is not going to be easy tomorrow, but we proved people wrong at Stamford Bridge [Palace beat Chelsea 2-1] and we will make it uncomfortable for City. ------------------------------------------- Will always be thankful for his cameo in the 'great escape' but for me his attitude was all wrong. London will suit his 'playboy' lifestyle and Pardew can play him where he wants.. He ain't never gonna get you 10-15 goals a season (even as an out and out No.9)
Playing on the wing isn't what made him weak as piss. No doubt he was a talented youth. So were Michael ricketts, darrius vassel, Michael Johnson and so on. Lazy piece of ****.
The best strikers do the talking with their boots. This kid is boring. Get on with it and score some goals, then you can talk.
The left wing was a recent thing If he was scoring goals as a forward he would not have been shunted out there
It's strange as I'm sure he said he enjoyed playing in the wing and felt comfortable there!!? Meh? Not bothered any more. Still think we should've kept him but who cares. He's gone
He'll get a regular drip of goals for Palace, say 6-8 a season, but I don't see him ever improving past that. They could have done a lot better for the money. He doesn't add much to the team other than goals, mainly due to his lack of awareness of where his teammates are and what they're doing. Not fast, can't use his natural physique to his advantage and isn't accurate in either passing or shooting. Just a big old meh.
He didn't play on the wing, he played as an inside forward, he was never asked to hug the touch line. He's ****e. Bad crack when a striker can't play off centre.
Didn't hear him complaining when he was hailed as saviour three seasons ago, or when he signed a new contract.
But save us he did and no matter how we juggle it, we have a fundamental problem with all of our strikers....they cannot put the ball in the net, hence we are where we are. Hopefully DA has a handle on it and we can move on, because the hair is white and the wife has had enough of miserable Saturday afternoons. Let's hope the feker still cannot find the net when we next play them KTF
You make him sound like some kind of lone warrior. It's not like they were all solo goals. The whole team saved us. Vito won us points on his own that campaign and he doesn't get a fraction of the credit that 4 game wonder gets. His goals helped yes, borini scored more as did AJ, don't recall anybody declaring AJ as the reason we stayed up. Connor scored a few goal at a rememberable time of the season, that doesn't make him a savior imo, it makes him a contributor.
Connor Wickham. The English version of Jozy ****ing Altidore. Glad they are both a long way from safc. Big. Strong and ****e.
For a 'striker' who is weak in the air, rarely makes a run for a pass and who seems unable to strike a ball cleanly he has some mouth on him. He's forever saying he wants to 'prove people wrong' ....... the lad has a real chip on his shoulder. With articles like this he's loading the pressure on himself so let's see how he handles it. My guess is that he doesn't have the courage to be a good centre forward, Dean Windass had half his talent but twice the heart.
I reckon his main problem is that he seems totally dim witted. Can't remember who it was but of of the players said Connor was the thickest player they'd ever played with. I think you need a certain amount of intelligence to be able to make the most of youth potential. I'd say Watmore is an example, which he is, but I'm not talking about academics. Academics isn't a measure of intelligence, it's a measure of application and dedication. Connor seriously doesn't seem to have two brain cells to rub together. Maybe Bruce felt a kinship with him mentally but all our managers since have been genuinely intelligent people (managerial ability not considered) and could all see through Connor's weak will and not really played him. Pardew has snapped him up, but Pards has the vocabulary and behavioural control of a 5 year old so comes as no suprise. Can you see an intelligent manager signing Wickham? Koeman, Wenger, LVG, Martinez, Pochettino, Mourinho et al. Also I wonder if Wickham stood out at youth level more due to his relative size which was, at that time, combined with a bit of mobility. I remember videos of his time at Ipswich where he was scoring goals after bursting from deep and outrunning players over a distance with the ball. Can you imagine Wickham scoring on a rapid counter these days?! It's all two or three touch for him now. The last season or two he's really packed on the muscle and it really looks like it's wrecked his agility. He looks stiff to the point he started moving like a player who hit 32 and loses his legs. I think he genuinely needs to get into yoga (he probably thinks that's food you keep in the fridge). Wickham and Pards can do it together.
Also absolutely spot on. He's too into his bullshit pop culture eyebrow plucking bollocks as well. Thinks being a footballer is done during close season and Mon-Fri on afternoons.
If mind serves me, they weren't winners either. Draw v City Borini winner v Chelsea 2 in 4-0 v Cardiff Didn't Fabio score 4 or 5 in last 8, many of which were the goals that earned points? This is all from memory so I stand by to be corrected...
