Macca: Momentum is with Palace now

Club

24 Jan 2025

Writing in his regular programme column, former Palace midfielder James McArthur – who made 253 appearances for the club across nine years – believes the Eagles will kick on from here.

McArthur has been writing for the matchday programme in every Premier League issue this year; you can buy the matchday programme by clicking HERE.

And with Palace set to take on Brentford this Sunday (26th January, 14:00 GMT) – with limited tickets remaining – the fans' favourite is in high spirits about the Eagles' form and fortunes...

They fly so high

Both of Palace’s Premier League matches last week were very, very good performances.

Palace have good momentum, and you might even have expected them to win with the way they’re playing, but I don't think you realise how hard that is to achieve away from home.

Two in a row is very impressive – and with two great performances and clean sheets, too. That just shows you where the lads are at just now, and obviously confidence is very high.

It’s tough to go away from home and put in dominant performances from the first whistle to the last, so what’s been really important for the team is not conceding many goals.

And when you're getting into half-time at, for instance, 0-0, you know you've got goals in there – but you also know you've got a great defence and a great goalkeeper, so you can go for the game a little bit more in the second-half, with full trust that you can get a clean sheet.

Defensive delight

When someone gets taken out of the team, or when you get goals from everywhere, or someone’s not playing, but the team still performs to a high standard… I think that's what's great about this team just now.

Trevoh Chalobah obviously went back to Chelsea last week, but Chris Richards has come in and been absolutely brilliant. The depth in the squad just now is fantastic.

I think Will Hughes has really stepped his game up this year, especially with the injuries there’ve been in central midfield. He seems to be the one that's been there and really, really stepped up. When Adam Wharton comes back, as well, that'll boost everyone.

I'm really looking forward to the second half of the season, and seeing how far Palace can push up that table.

New Year, same JP

When JP Mateta scored against Ipswich, I spoke about his confidence, and him hopefully kicking on from there – and he’s definitely done that. It’s been some year for him, really.

To be honest, he probably didn't start this season as well as he would have liked – obviously, he was away with France, and it’s very tough to come back and be as fresh as you possibly can – but right now, he looks like he’s dominating defenders again. He looks like he's enjoying his football.

When you're scoring goals as a striker, there's no better feeling, and everything else takes care of itself: your hold-up play becomes better, you make the right runs… if you look at Erling Haaland last year, he seemed to be in every correct position there possibly was, and every time it fell to him, he was scoring goals. This year, with that loss of confidence, he’s not probably in the same position as last year, where it was always dropping to him.

That was probably the same with JP at the start of the season. He was still working very hard, trying his best to help the lads, and obviously trying to score for himself – but right now, everything seems to be falling for him, because his confidence is so high.

It's obviously nice to see him back scoring – and smiling! You see the videos of him and he's obviously crazy, but it’s so nice to see!

Welcome Romain

When you join a new club, you want to really impress. I think that Romain Esse is coming in to a very good, welcoming dressing room, which definitely helps.

I think he'll add a great deal of quality, but I think the important thing is not to expect too much, too early. With any new player coming into a team, it does take time to adapt to the way a manager plays and how different players play.

But it’s a great dressing room to go into. A lot of the time, in this period, when you make a new signing, it’s because you need that spark, but he’s going into a team that's really thriving. I'm sure he'll want to get in on that action to show what he's worth, but also to try and help the lads win games.

Fantastic form

Looking at the run Palace are on – one loss in the last 11 Premier League games – it’s incredible.

I know there are a lot of draws in there too, but they’ve been good draws. And when you’re not losing games, you’re getting results, and things seem to fall for you. Even when you're not playing as well or the games are tight, you come out of them with points.

The lads seem to be doing that, and it's a real joy to watch on a Saturday, when you know there's a great chance they’re going to win.

Brentford have done exceptionally well this year. They’re very dangerous, scoring a lot of goals, and the lads will need to be on it.

They’re a team who are very hard to play against. You think you've got games wrapped up and then they score that last-minute goal… I can remember it a good few times! Even if you start the game well, you need to be on it for 90 minutes against a well-organised side, who are doing well in the league this year.

I'm sure it's a game that the lads will say: ‘We’re doing great, but we need to keep doing the right things and keep our standards up.’

If they do that, I believe they'll get the result again.

Match Details

Crystal Palace v Brentford
Sunday, 26th January
14:00 GMT
Premier League
Selhurst Park
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+

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