New Crystal Palace Manager Frank De Boer to Bring Success

A History of Success

De Boer is famous for his successful Ajax side, winning four Eredivisie titles in four years. He had constructed a successful side with many quality young players. Even when some of his best players, such as the likes of Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen, left the club, he managed to rebuild the team with ease.

It could be argued that despite his time at Ajax, his spell at Inter Milan is much more worrying in how it undermines his otherwise near-perfect career. Despite signing a three-year contract, he was ousted from his role in 2016 with Inter languishing in 12th place in Serie A at the time.

Each league has a different dynamic and different demands, and it is clear what worked in Eredivisie may not work elsewhere. At Inter, De Boer was claiming that he was not getting enough time to develop a project.

Crystal Palace have some high expectations in bringing back their own glory days. Fans desperately seek a return to their top-half finish of two years ago. Since then, there has been a period of stagnation and finishes too close to the foot of the table. If De Boer wishes to have the time to build a long-term project, he’ll need to produce some promising results to stay at the helm.

Management Style

De Boer’s Ajax encompassed the style of ‘total football’. This involves possession-based football which thrives on dominating the ball. Whenever the team do not have the ball, there is high pressure. His style is still expansive, with some direct play when necessary. This style is quite different from Allardyce’s more direct play. If De Boer chooses to use a 4-3-3 formation like he did at Ajax, this could work very well with Wilfried Zaha on the wings and Christian Benteke leading the line.

Objective

Last season, Crystal Palace struggled to survive. The new season offers a chance at much higher aspirations this time around. De Boer is a manager who delivers European football to his clubs. Whilst in his first season, he will want to begin to shape the squad and implement his ideology, results may not be as forthcoming. But, over a three-year period, De Boer could reinvigorate the Crystal Palace side to fire them to finer fortunes.

De Boer’s appointment seems a wise one from Crystal Palace’s point of view. This manager is highly respected with previous links to top Premier League clubs. His style of play will complement the likes of Zaha, Andros Townsend and Benteke and should give the fans some attractive football. As the transfer window prepares to open, De Boer has plenty of time to get his team ready for the upcoming season.

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