9) Pardew’s Palace transformation should not be underestimated

It is some feat for a manager to finish a Premier League season reviled by one set of fans and toasted by another, but while Alan Pardew takes no pleasure in the situation that spiralled out of control at Newcastle he is deservedly thrilled by the turnaround he has wrought at his spiritual home in south London since January. Palace’s win over Swansea was a sedentary affair, cheered only by Marouane Chamakh’s first league goal since 23 August, but it gave them a top-10 finish and underlined the fact that Pardew – who took over when the club were 18th in the table with 17 points from 20 games – has engineered a turnaround to match Pearson’s. They have averaged 1.7 points a game since he arrived and similar form over an entire season would have seen them finish fifth. It is second time lucky for chairman Steve Parish after his experiment with Neil Warnock failed but Palace look well set for an exciting future. Upwardly-mobile London clubs are an ever more attractive prospect for players and investors alike, and Pardew has stressed that he needs to “buy some quality” if Palace are to push on. Retaining some would come in handy too and Pardew’s biggest achievement has perhaps come in coaxing consistent form from Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon, two talented but previously erratic journeymen who would each now command an eight-figure fee. It feels as if the right manager is at the right club this time, and much more of this from Pardew will create a highly positive impression of a career in which it has often been hard to tell exactly how good he is. Nick Ames