The former Chelsea man has been a real leader in Roy Hodgson’s back line.
The Eagles looked their usual selves on Saturday against Brighton as they picked up an impressive 1-0 win away from home.
The Seagulls were clearly the better team with respect to match statistics. They had 23 attempts at goal with eight on target but failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
Roy Hodgson’s side were as organised as always but one player who stood out was skipper Gary Cahill. The veteran Englishman used all his experience to put up a fine performance and Crooks feels that he is the best free transfer the Premier League has seen in a long time.
He said: “This is probably the best free transfer I’ve seen for time. Cahill was as solid as a rock again for Crystal Palace. What an inspired selection by Roy Hodgson to take his former England international to Selhurst Park and make him captain.”
Cahill won 100% of his aerial duels, made four clearances, blocked two shots and made a tackle and an interception each. He also maintained an 83% passing accuracy which is quite impressive considering that Palace defenders don’t usually look for passes in their own half. (SofaScore)
Back-to-back wins against Newcastle United and Brighton have pushed the Eagles up to 12th in the league table and they are now nine points clear of the drop zone.
A few more good results from now until the end of the season could well push Palace into the top half but, even if they stay where they currently are, it would be a very good season considering they didn’t do much in the transfer window.
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