Life is Never Dull When You Go To Hull... Actually It Is!

A cold, damp, midweek away trip to Hull ended goalless on Tuesday night. A dull and lacklustre affair was almost stolen by Palace with the last kick of the match. Yet apart from that Zaha chance which was saved by goalkeeper Stockdale, both sides were wasteful in front of goal. The home side had the best of the possession without being able to score.

Palace was without in form striker Glenn Murray who was suspended following picking up a booking against Leeds United. Brazilian playmaker Andre Moritz remained on the bench with Owen Garvan and Jermaine Easter starting. As a result there was not a lot for the hardy band of travelling Palace fans to get excited about. Indeed were I not staying overnight in Manchester I may have been frustrated by the madness of travelling all the way to Hull for a midweek away fixture. Massive credit should go to the supporters who made the trips to Leeds and Hull in the past week. A point away at this stage of the season in North Lincolnshire/West Yorkshire may prove massively important come the end of the season.

Hull playmaker Elmohamedy was very busy in the first half creating chances for Robert Koren but Hull was wasteful in front of goal. In the second half Aaron Wilbraham replaced Jermaine Easter up front but Palace was still generally missing their recent attacking sparkle. Robbie Brady was lucky to stay on the pitch for Hull when he pulled his man back and he was last man. Much to my and 300 other Palace fans frustrations he escaped with a booking. Had it been down the other end I am sure Palace would have been down to 10 men. The referee bottled it.

Bolasie did not have his best match in a Palace shirt on Tuesday but he clearly tried. He got through one on one with Stockdale but screwed his shot wide. Speroni saved the points for Palace when a strong hand kept out Aaron Mcleans late drive as the final ten minutes proved the most eventful of the game. For all of the possession Hull had during the match, through Bolasie and Zaha, Palace had the best clear cut chances in the game. Apart from the chance for Bolasie, Wilf Zaha could have taken all three points for the Eagles but for a brilliant Stockdale save with the last kick of the match.

On Saturday Palace face that lot from down the A23 in the Selhurst leg of the Derby. Glenn Murray will return from suspension for the derby in what following the Leeds defeat is Ian Holloway’s first big test as Palace manager. It is his first challenge as boss with this team before facing his old team Blackpool in a fortnight. Given the previous managers record in derby matches certain improvement and greater sparkle will be required from the team for Saturdays big match.

Palace 3 – 0 Derby County: - Terrific!!!

Palace extended their lead at the top of the Championship with this fantastic 3 – 0 victory. Goals from Glenn Murray and the Brazilian, Andre Moritz, who is rapidly becoming a Lombardo esque cult-hero figure in the Palace midfield. Indeed enigmatic midfielder Moritz is proving more than an able replacement for the previous midfield maestro at palace Darren Ambrose, now at Birmingham City. The pair will meet at St. Andrews on 15^th December. Moritz has now scored three goals in his last three consecutive appearances for Palace as we continue our surge to the top of the league table.

Wilf Zaha took the headlines prior to the match due to his six minute England cameo in Sweden last week. What a talent Zaha is. Right from the first time I saw him play against Leicester City under George Burley in troubled times. Through to his influential displays under Freedman over the last two years against Manchester United and recently Vs Wolves, he truly is a credit to himself and our club. What a fillet it is for Crystal Palace FC that as a Championship team the academy is again producing talent for the national side. Zaha follows in the path of players from Peter Taylor to Ian Wright as Crystal Palace again gets a player to national honours for England from below the top flight.

I share Ian Holloways hope it was not a political call up meant to pressurise Zaha because of his Ivorian roots. The media storm over Zaha’s call up shows what unfair pressure he is under at a young age to make a decision and is poor PR from Roy Hodgson and the FA. What is not in doubt is he is the best talent I have ever seen at Palace and deserves the recognition he is receiving. Hopefully he will be an England international for a long time to come.

On Saturday Ian Holloway showed what a settled talented side he has at his disposal and what an experienced tactician he is at this level. I had heard that the 1 – 2 away win at Peterborough last weekend was dominant. Yet I honestly cannot remember watching a performance like this weekends’ 3 – 0 win against Derby from Palace at Selhurst in all my time as a season ticket holder since 1998. There are simply no words to explain how a settled back four, pace from the wings on both sides, and creativity from the engine room in the middle of the park combined to allow Murray to run riot producing an emphatic 3 – 0 win.

Talented Derby teenager Will Hughes tested Julian Speroni once producing a great save. This is all I can remember Derby creating all game. To be fair at present no team in the Championship can live with Palace at this current level and that is why they are top of the Championship.

Ian Holloway has come to Crystal Palace with the club in a unique position in its history. We are playing in a style and fashion I have never seen before in the twenty two years I have being supporting the club since the age of eight. I cannot explain why or how we are playing in this fashion now. I will leave it to those more schooled and experienced in the analysis of Crystal Palace then me to explain why. All I can say is I feel privileged and honoured to be enjoying such football, with the likes of Zaha, Moritz, and Bolasie blowing me away every week.

If the club and its supporters have been on a journey together since 2010 saved the club in that fateful year, than perhaps what we are witnessing on the pitch now is the culmination of that journey. When I was honoured to receive the ‘Fan of the Year’ Award in 2010 I, like any Palace supporter could only have hoped and imagined what great steps the four co-owners have taken, and quite rapidly too to turn the clubs fortunes around. Could the culmination of the survival journey be Crystal Palace’s return to the Premier League? That is now a definite possibility, yet even if not massive credit should go to 2010 for stabilising the club. Rooting Palace back in its local community and at a competitively high level in the Championship in the process.

It took a mere twelve minutes for Murray to breakdown the Rams defences from a Bolasie corner with a header in front of nearly 16,500 at Selhurst on Saturday. From that point on domination met calm assurance as Palace destroyed their visitors to extend their lead over Cardiff City at the top of the division. On 58 minutes Derby continued to crumble as Moritz superbly smashed home a second for Palace off a Murray knockdown from a Parr clearance. A third goal came on 82 minutes as Murray picked up a brace slamming home a shot following a maizey run through the defence. The rout was complete. A tired Rams side had long since given up the ghost.

Palace travel to former boss’s Neil Warnock’s Leeds United on Saturday Afternoon. What a press conference that could be as Holloway and Warnock cross swords in South Yorkshire. It will be a tough week for palace. Hull City and another former boss in the much maligned Steve Bruce lie in wait on Tuesday. Before Palace face Brighton on the first day of advent. First Leeds United though and no doubt Delaney and Ramage will have to work hard at the centre of defence as Ellend Road will be buoyed by the prospect of GFH’s completed takeover and all the Arab riches it so promises.       

Welcome Ollie and What a Start!

(Written from NZ)


Top of the league and well deserved! True it is still only November and I missed the goal spree of 7 in 2 matches while visiting relatives. Yet it cannot be argued that Palace is in a false position because they are not. Twelve matches without defeat is the proof of that. An exciting new manager, Ian Holloway, is a big name appointment that was brought about in unexpected circumstances by the departure of Dougie Freedman as he felt he had taken the club as far as he could.

Regardless Freedman has left Palace in fantastic shape. This is shown by the professionalism of the squad during the caretaker period, when without a manager they continued the unbeaten run. Indeed this was a point acknowledged by Holloway himself when he observed what fantastic shape Crystal Palace was left in by Freedman upon his departure, both in terms of infrastructure and professionalism of the squad. Perhaps this is Freedman’s lasting legacy to the club showing his ability as a new young manager. We should be grateful to him and wish him the best in his future as he holds a place in my heart.

A slightly more circumspect view than in the immediate aftermath of the managerial change but on with the show and welcome Ian Holloway! Seven goals in two home matches against Blackburn and Ipswich continued the good work of Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming and the professionalism and hardworking bond of the players. The unbeaten run now stretches to twelve matches. Ian Holloway wants to be a part of that spirit, and apparently (I was not there) a rousing half time speech from Holloway when introduced to the crowd against Blackburn helped inspire a 2 – 0 victory. He was blown away by the ability of the squad in front of him and has given up a good job where he has done very well and achieved a lot at Blackpool to choose to take the opportunity with Palace.

As a result how Crystal Palace is perceived as a football club is changing, growing if you like. By those in the game Palace are seen as a good prospect for promotion this season and as a result Holloway sees Palace as a new opportunity and wants to play his part in that. Glenn Murray on goal scoring form, Wilf Zaha the best player outside the top flight in England make Palace a frightening prospect for opponents, and a joy to watch for supporters. Ipswich were to find this out to their peril in Holloway’s first game in charge.

Following a 2 – 0 win against Blackburn, Ipswich bore the brunt of a rampant Palace as they suffered a 5 – 0 hammering. Glenn Murray netted his second hat-trick of the season with two goals from the spot and he still had the time to miss a penalty. Goals from Bolasie and Moritz framed the Murray hat-trick as Holloway reportedly had to pinch himself to believe how fortunate he was to pick up a job in such good circumstances. Now Ollie just wants to play his part in what is becoming quite an adventure.

My next live game is Derby County on 17th November and this post is written from New Zealand. The fact I am so far away from watching Palace live, following online as the Eagles reach the top of the league gives me time to reflect on how we got here as well as the managerial change. I have reconciled my own feelings about Freedman, wish him well in the future, and thank him for the team he has left behind. The great thing is Ian Holloway is an experienced safe pair of hands who will continue his predecessors’ good work with enthusiasm and great fun.

Regardless of how the season ends we should congratulate ourselves on where we are, enjoy it, and work hard to stay there! Good luck Ollie!!