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!! 

Leicester City 1 – 2 Crystal Palace

A cold and sunny autumn afternoon greeted Crystal Palace as they looked for their first ever victory at Leicester’s King Power, formerly Walkers Stadium. This would not be an easy assignment but roared on by a proud sell out away support the Eagles were looking to stretch their unbeaten run to ten matches. Goalkeeper Julian Speroni made his 250^th career first team appearance. Congratulations Jules an achievement to be truly proud of!

Speroni was on good form early on saving well from the lively David Nugent who was supplied by useful crosses from ex Fleetwood man James Vardy. It was Palace who had the better of the early exchanges with Bolasie and Zaha combining well to feed the lone strike man Murray to cause havoc with the Foxes backline. It was this combination that allowed Jonathan Parr to get forward down the left and really test Leicester’s shot stopper Kasper Schmeichel (son of former Manchester United keeper Peter). Yannick Bolasie also went close with a shot from distance.

The breakthrough came on 23 minutes to the delight of a packed away end. A dominant start was rewarded from a set piece when a corner from the left was only parried clear by Schmeichel and Leicester’s defence failed to get any distance on the clearance. Palace defender Damien Delaney, his career enjoying a new lease of life at Crystal Palace kept the ball down and on target to smash through a crowd and give Palace the lead. 1 – 0 became 2 – 0 a mere five minutes later on 28 minutes when another central defender, Peter Ramage, got in on the act. An identical set piece corner was met by Ramage’s unmarked head as he planted the header firmly past the helpless Schmechiel. 2 – 0 and the Palace fans were in raptures.

Given the situation Palace fans deserve a massive amount of credit. Mimicked and mocked by Leicester’s fans as they stole many of our favourite terrace songs and chants. (Imitation is the greatest form of flattery after all!) ‘You’ve nicked all our songs, you’ve nicked all our songs, and shall we write a song for you?’ rang around the away end. Humour was getting us through it and the most important fact; we were taking Leicester’s 100% home record and stretching our unbeaten run to ten games in the process.

At times Palace lived dangerously Speroni made some great saves illustrating why he is such a reliable stalwart between the posts. He now has an appearance record of 250 games equivalent to a quarter of a millennium of appearances. Owen Garvan did well to clear another Nugent effort off the line from a corner with his head. Yet throughout the lively Murray was a threat and Zaha again tormented the Leicester defence, making reference to why he is valued so highly at Crystal Palace and admired and prized by the rest of the country. The fantastic midfield partnership between Mile Jedinak and KG Digkacoi gave steel to the defensive line, keeping the door closed at the back whilst being the engine room for the pace and creativity going forward.

The entire team deserve credit and a massive pat on the back for the professionalism and desire they have shown for the fans in the past week. At Barnsley and Leicester there was no quarter given as they refused to use the situation to justify any sort of excuses. I like a lot of supporters truly appreciate them all for that fact. Despite a stoppage time consolation from Andy King for Leicester Palace won 2 – 1. The result was greeted with delirium by a support that will always be there because of the special club Crystal Palace is. Although hurting there can be no doubt Dougie Freedman has played his part in making sure Crystal Palace remains standing and remains standing with a fantastic legacy in place.

The job for the next man is to continue the job by going in and just managing without reference to supporters emotions because the right pragmatic approach now could have unexpected but great results at the end of the season.    

n.b Blackburn, Ipswich and Peterborough United blog posts may be created late, outside the UK or not at all. Blog returns as per usual for Derby County on 17th  November.                                                        

Samuel

 

     

 

  

Misty Night Misty Minds Yet a Proud Point All the Same!

A first half goal from Glenn Murray was cancelled out by a good strike from Barnsley’s David Perkins just four minutes from the end at Oakwell as the game ended 1 – 1. A difficult night for Crystal Palace both the players and supporters given the managerial situation was characterised by fantastic professionalism from the players backed by loud, proud, and passionate support from the fans. A small band of supporters left stunned and shell shocked by earlier events backed the team and appreciated their efforts in difficult circumstances.

Joel Ward came in for the suspended Dean Moxey as Delaney partnered Ramage in the centre of defence. With Jonathan Parr at left back Andre Moritz came in for the suspended Zaha with Murray playing up front. Garvan, KG and Bolasie and Jedinak played across the midfield. Palace took the lead through a well worked team goal. KG broke up play and combined with the lively Moritz to spread the ball wide to Parr who crossed for Murray to knock in to the net continuing his recent impressive goal scoring record. Palace had a platform to build upon that unfortunately they could not capitalise upon. Yet an impressive defensive performance spearheaded by hard work from the entire team saw the backline breached a mere four minutes from time from a strike from distance.

Potentially Palace lost touch with the top of the table but under the circumstances the team worked incredibly hard and carried a threat on the counter all night through the pace and creativity of Bolasie and Moritz. When one considers Zaha’s absence the depth of Palace’s squad away from home, without a manager Palace have a deeper squad than they have had for a number of seasons. Some of the credit for this could go to Freedman.

Barnsley came into the match in the second half but Palace’s defending was solid and well organised a possible characteristic of Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming who deserve credit for the way they prepared the team and the tactical preparation that went into the game on short notice. The hard work and passion put into the performance by the players was a credit to the team and shows what a great club Crystal Palace is to support. Backed by a loud travelling support Palace left South Yorkshire with a hard earned useful point. Palace travel to league leaders Leicester City on Saturday

    

So Dougie WHY BOLTON?

Immediately prior to our last match Dougie freedman went to odds on favourite for the Bolton Wanderers job. Yesterday afternoon prior to our match against Barnsley Dougie took the job.

Off the back of his first managerial job in football where he cut his teeth in management, an untested rookie with a previously unquestioned legendary status at Crystal Palace walked out on Palace for Bolton. Over ninety games a win ratio of 35.5% why Bolton and does this record and experience really qualify him to work for a club that see themselves through their own eyes as bigger than Palace? Without any legendary status behind him to fall back on and after trumpeting advice to the likes of Wilfried Zaha to stick with the club until the end of the season and try and achieve something and not move before he is ready the question that sticks in my throat is should he not try taking his own advice?

After one managerial job and ninety games like Zaha and Williams as players Freedman has a lot to learn as a manager and with a win ratio of 35.5% a very good Carling Cup run last season and a six match unbeaten run that won Septembers manager of the month award masks a record of one win in 35 games. Between our semi final defeat and first victory this season against Sheffield Wednesday our only victory in the League was Barnsley at home. The start of the season yielded no points from the first three games and indeed had we lost to Charlton he could have been sacked. Yet rightly our board stuck with him on more than one occasion so to go now off the back of six good results smacks of opportunism on Freedman’s part and could be a decision that gets found out.

Clubs that do not appreciate their history often struggle with their identity but Palace does not have this problem. We understand our history and we are fair minded on average players and love our heroes. Dougie was a hero and we all should appreciate the vital part in our history Freedman has played, be it his 11 minute hat-trick against Grimsby in 1996, his club saving goal against Stockport in 2001 or his equally crucial role in Paul Hart’s management team at Hillsbrough in 2010. Yet the reality is now Freedman can only be part of our history and a very divisive figure in that history! His present day decision to walk out for Bolton because he sees them as better suited to serve his ambition to manage in the Premier League is deeply conflicting and divisive on supporters’ emotions towards him. Personally I love Dougie for what he has done for our club but I now feel confused and upset as though an eighteen year relationship has ended suddenly with no chance of being reconciled.

Whatever Freedman’s place in Crystal Palace history his recent conduct smacks of lies and hypocrisy. Telling Zaha to stay and develop at the club before walking away himself without proving himself as a manager first, and stating publicly in the press he does not leave ‘jobs half done’ before walking out for reasons that must be financial when he is close to achievement with Palace, makes the situation for supporters difficult to understand.

Freedman is a coach with a lot of potential yet if it goes wrong for him at Bolton he may have no fallback position because he has split Palace fans emotions in possibly a worse way then Steve Bruce. I stated in my very first Blog post in October 2011 Dougie Freedman was like a guardian of the Palace, a cult hero if you like which makes Freedman’s decision to leave when he was so close to something with apparent lack of care for the supporters given his status at the club confusing, hard to fathom, raw, and painful.

Dougie Freedman managed Crystal Palace from January 2011 – October 2012: 90 matches 32 wins 32 losses 26 draws. Win percentage 35.5%

 

Derby Ends All Square as Palace’s Unbeaten Run Continues!

On Fulltime Palace sit two points off the top of the table following a tempestuous and Physical encounter with rivals Millwall ended all square at Selhurst Park. Was this the curse of the Manager/Player of the Month double Palace had won as the Eagles were pulled back from 2 – 0 up against bitter rivals in front of an expectant and vibrant crowd? Goals in the form of a penalty from Liam Trotter and a bundled second half equaliser from Mark Beevers rescued a point for a physical Millwall.

The penalty saw Palace defender Dean Moxey sent off for deliberate handball stopping a goal bound shot on the line. As a result of the red card Jonathan Parr replaced Owen Garvan to play at left back, and later in the second half, Joel Ward replaced Darcy Blake to play at right back with Ramage partnering Delaney at centre back. Liam Trotter converted the penalty but Palace led 2 – 1 at the break after Millwall wasted a golden chance to equalise when a header rebounded off the crossbar and Ramage cleared. Damien Delaney put Palace 2 – 0 up before the penalty scoring his second goal in as many games with a header unmarked from a free kick. This followed a crisp drive from Mile Jedinak that put the Eagles in front rewarding early pressure.

A physical game saw eleven bookings with Bolasie, Zaha, Delaney, the dismissed Moxey, and goal scorer Jedinak all caught out by the card happy Phil Dowd. Yet the moment that clearly changed the momentum of the match came on 42 minutes when Moxey received his second yellow card and conceded a penalty as Palace failed to make it through to the break with a two goal cushion in tacked. After Trotter scored the penalty the second half was always going to be tough for Freedman’s men as Millwall had the numerical advantage Palace were going to have to work hard defensively to hold on in the second half.

Palace’s attacking instinct so prevalent over the last few matches was gone in the second half as Millwall took control in a dominant second half performance. They exploited their numerical advantage and prevented Palace from winning their sixth straight game yet Palace still remain unbeaten in eight matches. On 77 minutes Beevers prevented Palace going top with a bundled equaliser for Millwall. A tempestuous and physical game ended 2 – 2. In the context of the season this could prove a very useful point. Later results meant Palace cut the deficit to two points at the top of the league with leaders Leicester to come away next Saturday. With Palace also to play Barnsley on Tuesday today’s’ point could be very important.

The unbeaten run continues and although it is frustrating to give away a two goal lead at home, especially to bitter rivals, perhaps it shows some of the defensive frailty and naivety that lets down our excellent attacking play at times. The physical know how and brutality of Millwall’s play ultimately isolated many of our more creative players. Yet ultimately it comes down to the style of play you would prefer to watch and personally give me Freedman’s honest brand of attacking play above Kenny Jackett’s physical and aggressive style of play Millwall adopted any day of the week. Ultimately needs must and if that is the style of play they need to adopt in order to get a result because they cannot cope with Palace’s better play than ultimately Jackett has no choice but to play in that fashion.

This result could prove a valuable lesson to Palace in order to make progress during the remainder of the season. Learn from defensive mistakes, keep the attacking flair and much could be possible in the remainder of the season. The season continues at Oakwell against Barnsley on Tuesday night.          

Freedman’s Fantastic Charges Bring Family Day Cheer to Palace!

A truly incredible afternoon which saw a bumper crowd witness a pulsating 4 – 3 victory as Selhurst thronged with more than 20,000 faithful and for reasons possibly to do with the score line, memories of my first encounter with Crystal Palace came flooding back; April 1990 Palace 4 – 3 Liverpool FA Cup Semi Final that Sunday Lunchtime on TV. How many youngsters experiencing their first taste of football because of Crystal Palace’s family day initiative will be drawn back to Palace because of the vibrancy of the crowd, topsy-turvy nature of the team performance, against a backdrop or red and blue colours and claret and white the exact ingredients that drew me to Palace twenty two years ago. If they have half the fun I have had over the years those young supporters will have quite an experience as they grow up to follow the Palace.

To the game and almost incredibly in a Keeganesque attacking fashion Palace stormed to a victory for the second home game in a row after trailing by two goals. Another Wilfried Zaha inspired phoenix from the flames comeback to quote unquote comfortably win the game at full time. In the week a slip from Delaney gave Wolves a lead only for a Zaha brace to win the match then, this time around Delaney would become the hero with the third goal  following another Zaha brace this time in a 4 – 3 rout.

In much the same way as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley is not a bad side and they played their part in the match scoring three goals away from home. Goals from McCann, Paterson and Austin, (the leading marksman in the division) could have set up a winning away performance yet ultimately Burnley were thwarted by the brilliance of Zaha undoubtedly the best player in the Championship, if not arguably the form player in the country illustrated by his England U21 call up earlier in the week. Single handily he hauled Palace back into the game supplied by the majesty of Palace’s new midfield magician Andre Moritz and the predatory goal instincts of Palace’s in form Renaissance man Glenn Murray. Even substitutes Jonny Williams and Jonathan Parr helped create goals with their first touches after coming on. In the blink of an eye palace went from being out of the match to comfortably in the lead.

Strangely at no point did panic set in to a vibrant old Selhurst instead a rhythmic calm assurance beat around the ground akin to the days of AJ, Dowie, (or dare I say it even Bruce). Like the beating heart of a thoroughbred racehorse Selhurst knew it had the star capable of turning the lock and changing the game in Wilfried Zaha and that is exactly what he did in a twelve minute spell either side of the break. From two down to all square  suddenly Burnley, from exploiting a disjointed defensive Performance by Palace to take a lead were lambs to the slaughter. Two further goals from Delaney and Murray meant the Charlie Austin strike for Burnley was mere consolation. It would be extremely unlucky for Burnley to go away from home again this season score three goals and lose. The brutal reality is at present Palace have a clinical assurance about them that was simply not there at the start of the season. The Burgeoning talent of Williams, Moritz, and Bolassie alongside the explosive brilliance of Wilfried Zaha has led to this rich vein of Palace form. The new Palace fans attracted by this rollercoaster of a match surely cannot be disappointed.

This blog is one year old this week. Thanks to friends who have supported me while writing it. You know who you are. In the past year it has recorded famous away wins at Brighton, Millwall, and Charlton as well as an epic cup run recording a famous Palace victory at the home of the then Champions! Most of all it has recorded a period of stability at Palace and a period of steady progress, brought about by Dougie Freedman his love of the club and the strong working relationship and understanding he has with the owners, his staff, players, and fans. I believe it is Dougie Freedman who will bring success to the club for a long time to come. So happy birthday blog and thank you Dougie for Stockport, Hillsbrough, Hull, Old Trafford and everything else yet to come starting with Millwall after the international break. Bring It On!    

         

Aahh Haa Zaha - Palace Win Again!

Having not travelled to Bolton on Saturday I was eagerly anticipating the trip to Wolves on Tuesday evening. Glenn Murray’s penalty at Bolton secured the Eagles first ever win away against the Trotters in the league and meant Palace travelled to the Wolves undefeated in five games with four wins behind them.

Owen Garvan returned for KG Dikgacoi in midfield and Dean Moxey came in for Jonathan Parr at left back as Dougie Freedman took his charges to one of his former clubs in what would transpire to be a dominant performance. An attacking performance characterised by pace on the wings and pressing quickly closing down space. Jedinak and Garvan controlled the midfield allowing the fantastic Wilfried Zaha supported by Bolassie and Williams to torment a quiet and subdued Molineux. Zaha’s trickery could have been awarded a penalty kick just before half time when a clumsy challenge in the box from Sako went unpunished. The match was littered by bitty and cynical hard challenges which went unpunished by the referee and ultimately would cost Wolves dearly in terms of an injury in the second half.

Although playing a very attractive brand of attacking football it was Wolves who took the lead against the run of play when Sylvain Ebanks Blake capitalised on a slip from Damien Delaney on the edge of the box to give Wolves the lead at the start of the second half. Yet Palace did not give up as over the last month the team have started to believe in Freedman’s philosophy and this has been shown as the team has begun to get their rewards on the pitch. They continued to show work ethic, passing the ball around, pressing Wolves back using pace to their advantage as Wolves subconsciously sat back on their lead.

A lot of petulant challenges went unpunished early in the match by the referee as Wolves tried to combat Palace’s pace, work ethic, and creativity with physicality as challenges flew in on Bolassie and Williams especially in a very heavy fashion. Wolves’ Polish winger Slawomir Peszko was injured in a challenge with Williams that was unintentional but saw the Polish International damage ligaments but hopefully for Wolves he will return soon. The point to remember is no one wants to see players get hurt but if referees do not protect talented players such as Williams or Zaha eventually they will learn self preservation in the tackle without intending to hurt anyone. Jonathan Williams broke his leg last season so he is bound to protect himself in the tackle but he is not a malicious player. If referees do not protect skilful players and cannot control the game they are to blame if it spills over.

In a brilliant piece of management by Dougie Freedman he replaced Williams with Jonathan Parr following the challenge in order to protect his young player from undue abuse from the home crowd or possible retribution in a tackle on the pitch because it was clear at this stage he was a marked man. I think this was a very perceptive piece of man management by Freedman showing how well he reads situations during a game as they develop making sure he protects his players when necessary.

The game changed in a six minute spell during the second half when the brilliant Zaha took control and showed his class. Far and away the best player on the park if not the entire Championship, Zaha is Palace’s game changer and on Tuesday night with support from Garvan, Murray, Bolassie, and later substitute Moritz, he proved to be the match winner. His first goal showed his pace, trickery, and power as a mazy run took him into the area and his shot flew past Wanderers goalkeeper Ikeme in to the net.

 At the far end of the ground crammed into a very comfortable away end we as Palace fans went crazy at the quality of the goal, paying homage to a goal we thought could not be bettered. Yet within six minutes Zaha matched his first strike, turning his marker on the edge of the box unleashing an unstoppable bullet from twenty yards into the top corner. The goal capped a stunning passage of play with Zaha illustrating his sublime ability to change a game instantaneously as the star factor behind work rate and teamwork.

Over the remaining fifteen minutes of the match Palace soaked up any Wolverhampton pressure in a very mature fashion for a young team that is beginning to reflect the character of Freedman as their manager and the fighting spirit of Crystal Palace as a club. The team are clearly enjoying expressing themselves on the pitch and enjoying their football getting results against the likes of Bolton, Wolves, and Cardiff. Joel Ward and Julian Speroni had good games at the back and at the end of the match Freedman and the team were rapturously received by an ecstatic travelling support. We loved and appreciated the acknowledgement from Freedman and the players for our support in what was a challenging match.

We left the Molineux invigorated and singing because of a cracking performance, result and stylish team display. Palace have picked up sixteen points from eighteen points available since losing at Middlesbrough. The team return to Selhurst on Saturday to play Eddie Howe’s Burnley hoping to keep this fantastic six match unbeaten run going. Playing a style of football that is refreshing, exuberant and exciting playing to the team’s strengths whilst keeping feet on the ground to the realities of the Championship at the same time.