Positives for Allardyce?

Crystal Palace were held to a 1-1 draw by Watford in Sam Allardyce’s first game in charge.

The former England manager, who replaced Alan Pardew on Friday, watched as Yohan Cabaye gave Palace a deserved first-half lead, only for Christian Benteke to miss a penalty before Troy Deeney netted Watford’s equaliser from the spot after the break.

It was a frustrating outcome for Allardyce after such a dominant first-half performance, but were there positives for the new man in charge? Here, we look at Palace’s areas of improvement…

Confidence boosted?

In the build-up to his first Palace game in the dugout, Allardyce spoke at length about the lack of confidence in the squad he inherited from Alan Pardew. The out-of-form Eagles had lost eight of their last 10 Premier League games, and the new manager’s first task was to boost their self-belief.

Confidence can’t be fully restored overnight, but Palace’s first-half performance provided clues that Allardyce is already making a difference. The Eagles started the game purposefully, pinning the hosts in their own half and causing problems on both flanks without exposing themselves defensively.

Andros Townsend was the most obviously improved player. The England international fell out of favour under Pardew, but he was reintroduced to the starting line-up at Vicarage Road and he repaid Allardyce’s faith with his best performance in a Palace shirt.

Townsend was desperate to get on the ball at every opportunity, and his assist for Cabaye’s opening goal was …

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