Goals from all positions important in Crystal Palace’s debut WSL season says Blanchard | OneFootball

Crystal Palace attacker Annabel Blanchard says that players from all positions need to chip in with goals this season.

The Eagles are set to kick-off their first-ever campaign in the Barclays Women’s Super League after winning the Barclays Women’s Championship title last season. Crystal Palace bagged 55 goals in 22 games as they battled it out to end the campaign in pole position.

Attackers Blanchard and Elise Hughes netted 27 goals between them in Crystal Palace’s title-winning campaign, however, the latter has been sidelined until early 2025 with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. When speaking to WSL Full-Time in a Barclays Women’s Super League media event, Blanchard said that Crystal Palace cannot rely on the forwards to provide the goals this season, everyone has to chip in if the The Eagles are to pick up points.

“It was disappointing to see her get injured at the very end of the season,” Blanchard said when commenting on Hughes’ injury. “She had a great year and she would have undoubtedly had a great year in the WSL this year. She’s working on her rehab, she’s working very hard. She will be back but we have to look at it that we also have new players in the squad.

“We need everyone in all positions to be chipping in [with goals], we can’t just rely on one person. We all have to up our own standards and own levels. The more people that can score, the more chance you have of winning games. Everyone puts that pressure on themselves whether they’re in midfield or attack, everyone wants to be on the scoresheet. The more people that can help and get into those positions, the better.”

Crystal Palace have had four-and-a-half months to prepare for their Barclays Women’s Super League debut. Blanchard says that the club are not underestimating the challenge ahead but it is down to the players to increase their standards.

She said “It’s exciting. Everyone is just looking forward to getting going, it’s been a long pre-season.

“We’ve just been getting some minutes in, playing some games and trying to be as competitive as possible.

“Obviously, there’s been a lot of change in terms of turnover of players and everything has gone up a notch. We have to try and match what we are going to face every single week.

“We are not naive, we know that the competition increases, the levels increase, so we have to put ourselves in the best place possible going into the season to match that.”

On a personal level, Blanchard is preparing for her first real attempt at playing in the Barclays Women’s Super League after briefly representing Liverpool in the top flight more than five years ago. While the attacker is new to the league, she is still setting herself some personal goals.

She said “I do [have targets], I have standards for myself. I want to do the best that I can for the team and obviously, that’s going to be a lot more difficult this season. We have to work a lot harder to get points. I do set targets and goals for myself.”

Crystal Palace kick-off the new Barclays Women’s Championship season with a fixture at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 22 September 2024.