A resounding 5-0 win over Leicester on Saturday wasn’t the result many a Crystal Palace fan had expected, but one that was welcomed with open arms regardless. While not yet mathematically safe from relegation - the Eagles are six points above Southampton, who have three games to play - the victory effectively sealed their top-flight spot for another season.
Roy Hodgson has done a commendable job since taking over the reins in Selhurst Park - he hasn’t overseen a defeat to team currently in the bottom half since succeeding Frank de Boer - and he’s deserving of the plaudits. There are a number of players at his disposal who warrant adulation too. Wilfried Zaha is Palace’s stand out star and his influence is reinforced in that they have lost every Premier League he hasn’t started this term.
Luka Milivojevic has also been a stand out star in the middle of the park and his capture a little over a year ago looks all the more astute with each passing week. The unheralded star of the team at present, at least from the outside looking in, is centre-back James Tomkins. Despite selection instability, with Hodgson’s hands tied by injuries time and time again, Tomkins has been a consistent figure at the heart of the defence when fit, be it alongside Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann or another.
A £10m capture from London rivals West Ham back in 2016, that fee looks all the more the coup with Tomkins excelling week in, week out. Given the Hammers’ defensive woes, they certainly rue the day they cashed in on the centre-back. Their loss has been Palace’s gain, particularly with their win ratio with him starting in the Premier League (37.5%) dropping massively without him (11.5%), as per WhoScored.com.
The number of goals conceded per game also drops from 1.85 to 1.44 when Tomkins features from the off and while it’s a return that can be improved upon, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Much of that is due to his proactive approach to defending and the knack of being in the right place at the right time. He’s top for clearances per game (7.5) of all Palace players, as per WhoScored.com, with that return the third best in the Premier League this season and it helps alleviate pressure on the goal and the Eagles are all the better for it.
Given Palace average just 46.3% in England’s top tier this term, the south London side are more often than not under pressure from opponents, yet Tomkins is experienced enough to realise any impending danger on the Palace goal and he has the defensive knowhow to get into a position that will allow him to clear the ball. It’s for that reason why, despite the possession return being relatively low, Palace are conceding just 12.6 shots per league game, one of the better returns.
While there are a number of reasons why Palace have sharpened up defensively, with Hodgson key to that on the back of his appointment following De Boer’s ill-fated reign of terror in the capital, Tomkins has been hugely influential. As the individual praise is handed out, Tomkins is routinely overlooked, at least as far as non-Palace fans are concerned, and unfairly so. He may not adopt an aesthetically pleasing style of defending, but it’s certainly effective and one of the major reasons why Palace have shipped just 38 league goals since Hodgson took charge; only six of the current seven top-7 teams - Arsenal aside - have conceded fewer in that period.
An England call-up may be out of the question at this point in time with Gareth Southgate likely to have settled on the bulk of his squad for Russia, but Tomkins’ good form certainly gives the Three Lions boss food for thought. His no-nonsense approach is perfect for a Palace side the spends plenty of time on the backfoot and with Tomkins at centre-back, Hodgson has the ideal player to ensure the Eagles have the solid foundation to repel opposition attacks and maintain the ideal defensive solidity to keep Palace in the Premier League. It goes without saying he deserves any and all praise thrust his way.
