Ex-Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew reveals how chess champion Eberechi Eze can checkmate Man City in FA Cup final
ALAN PARDEW says Eberechi Eze can spark a great knight by becoming a Crystal Palace king.
The winger is a symbol of how the club from the mean streets of South London has been transformed.
Eze, 26, is a chess champion and an England international.
A deep-thinking member of a polished Palace squad that is a far cry from when Pardew played and managed there.
Today is the third FA Cup final for a club yet to win a major trophy.
Pardew played in the first, managed the Eagles for the second and reckons this is the best shot ever his beloved ex-team has of finally landing silverware.
Pardew, 63, told SunSport: “Palace is an ‘edgy’ club. Always on the edge, whether relegation or the cusp of winning something.
“We get more street-type players like Wayne Rooney at our academy, who just love the ball at their feet. The area around the ground is ‘edgy’.
“We get more of that type than we do structured midfield players or centre-halves or sensible right-backs. We get right-backs who just want to fly down the wing.
“The current squad has now been internationally sourced and scouted.”
Star player Eze won Chess.com’s four-day PogChamps tournament this month — beating YouTuber Sapnap in the final.
And Pardew said: “It’s brilliant Eze won that chess tournament.
“He is actually a neighbour of mine.
“He is a humble guy, he was very respectful to me when we met. Such a lovely person and to have that talent is a blessing.
“It’s nice to see him win a chess tournament — brilliant. And it doesn’t surprise me, because when he plays the game, everything he does is strategic.
“He passes the ball when he should and he crosses the ball when he should.
“And he shoots when he should and defends when he should. And he does that all of the time. He gets the mixture just right.
“The 1990 team was Steve Coppell doing the best job he could with the least amount of money.
“Non-league players like myself, Ian Wright, Andy Gray. Geoff Thomas came from Crewe, as did John Pemberton.
“We were a band of brothers from all corners of the football world. With 12 years of Premier League money, they have invested much more wisely.
“It has taken them up a level. I would go as far as saying this is the best team I’ve seen at Palace.
“I remember Gareth Southgate, when he went to the 1990 Cup final as a young player. He was teased as he was the only one in the squad who had any O-levels.
“But our centre-half Eric Young, did go on to pass his accountancy exams after retirement, so there was some room for intelligence.”
Pardew wants a Palace win as a reward for the supporters.
He said: “I hope they get this one over the line for the fans. They are brilliant. They’ll sing the whole game.
“A lot of those people are in jobs where money is tight, so getting to this final would be a big expense.
“But they’ll still go the extra mile to be there.”
ALAN PARDEW now leads his own strategic football consultancy, channelling years of experience to support clubs at every level, from recruitment to coach mentoring.
Find him at www.apardew-consultancy.com