There isn't any overwhelming expectation on Crystal Palace to be a big success this season. Nor is there any similar kind of pressure on Patrick Vieira to deliver a top-half finish, despite it being an ambition of the club to establish themselves there soon.
Roy Hodgson's departure after four seasons last summer and the great exodus of senior players that followed him out the door was always going to be disruptive, but Palace alleviated a lot of the potential fallout of such a sizeable change with superb transfer recruitment and the appointment of Vieira.
The Frenchman and his coaching staff have been a breath of fresh air at Palace and have themselves on the cusp of the Premier League's top ten at the halfway stage of the season.
