After Everton’s insipid and passionless performance in the Europa League on Thursday, Ronald Koeman spoke of fear preventing gifted players from expressing themselves and it feels like something very similar is happening at Crystal Palace. What, though, about the players? They have been through a see-saw slice of Selhurst Park history. Sam Allardyce’s no-nonsense pragmatism kept them in the Premier League and then, just as they assumed they knew what kind of summer they would have, the former England manager resigned. In came Frank de Boer and talk…

Source: The Times September 16, 2017 14:03 UTC