Top signings and long-term planning: How Crystal Palace beat their own five-year plan to set up Chelsea clash

When Crystal Palace walk out at Wembley on Sunday, those wearing red and blue ties in the directors’ box can take huge satisfaction in a job well done.

Their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea is two years in the making and reward for the preparation, and then execution, of their plan to transform the south London club.

Palace have a new identify under Patrick Vieira and increased hope for the future. They are confident of adding to a bad week for Chelsea — but it has been a long road to this point.

In 2020, during the first lockdown, Palace chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman used the football shutdown to re-evaluate and look ahead. Between them, they decided that it was time for the club to kick on.

Roy Hodgson had brought some much-needed stability after Palace had reverted to a short-term policy after ditching the Frank de Boer experiment, but fans had grown weary of his pragmatic style, Palace had an ageing squad and a change was needed to take them to the next level.

Parish had long wanted to push ahead, but the time they had to plan at the start of the pandemic accelerated the first phase of the revamp.

A decision was made to stop new contracts for older players, with their high wage bill restricting their ability to make moves in the transfer market.

A new profile of player would be targeted. Instead of going for experienced players, such as Gary Cahill, who it should be said excelled following his free transfer from Chelsea, Palace earmarked younger signings.

Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson were signed in the summer of 2020, while their transfer business last summer was almost flawless when you consider the impact of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise, Conor Gallagher, Odsonne