THE future of this Premier League season may not be clear, but it is crystal clear that Crystal Palace must sort out their leaky defence or face relegation.
The Eagles have been flying high over the last two seasons with historic FA Cup and Conference League victories.
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Those title-winning cup runs were built on a solid foundation with the likes of Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix.
But seeing the best assets stripped away without adequate replacement could see them come back down to earth with a bang… in the Championship.
Under new manager Pierre Sage, Palace have the worst defensive record in the top flight, conceding no fewer than two in every game so far, with the trio in 2-3 defeat to newly-promoted Ipswich on Saturday taking that total to 11.
The Frenchman arrived at Selhurst Park with a stellar reputation after guiding Lens to second in Ligue 1 and their first-ever Coupe de France title last season.
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In his pre-match notes, Sage explained the need for his players to form connections.
But the 47-year-old has contradicted that as he is yet to name the same three centre-backs for his 3-4-2-1 formation in any of his five games in charge.
That trend will continue after Axel Disasi’s sending off against Ipswich, while Palace also have a Europa League campaign to contend with starting with a clash against Lech Poznan on Thursday.
Sage admitted he would need to rotate the team for freshness but emphasised the need for stability, saying: “Yeah, we have to continue (changing) because of the red card. But we need stability with a lot of games.
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Thursday 17 September
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Sunday 20 September
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Sunday 11 October
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14:00
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Thursday 15 October
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17:45
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Saturday 12 September
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Tuesday 8 September
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Saturday 5 September
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Friday 28 August
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“We need rotation for freshness, but I have to find the best back three of the moment and have some little rotations to be more balanced.
“Today (against Ipswich), I think we were more balanced than every other game. We concede the goals, but we don’t concede too many chances, or less than the other games.
“It’s a defensive unit, yes, but now the problem is in another part of the play. We concede too many crosses and we don’t win the ball in the box.
“There’s two new problems. The consequence of what we did well, because we closed the play inside, now it’s clear we have to be more efficient in the consequence of that.”
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Sage hasn’t been helped by the loss of England goalkeeper and captain Dean Henderson through an ankle injury.
There is seemingly an issue of commitment with some stars too, with Sage revealing he dropped Jaydee Canvot because he “needs more from him”.
On the decision to drop the 20-year-old, who had previously started all three league games, he explained: “It was a sporting decision.
“I didn’t take him in the team because of his game against Fulham and what he did during the week.
“I spoke with him, I want more, I need more from him. I’m sure he’s able to, and I wait for his good reaction from Monday.”