Burchy Blog Extract two
14/9/11
My first extract tried to explain the history of why I love Crystal Palace so much. There is no doubt they are a massive part/love of my life, there is also no doubt that the Palace class of 11/12 have got off to a cracking start. Before the international break we followed an opening day defeat to Peterborough with victories over Burnley, Crawley, Coventry, Hull, and a come from behind draw against Blackpool when not playing well, with muscular ex seaweed striker Murray scoring a predatory first goal for the club. What struck me about this period of the season is how we proved pundits wrong and how the legend that is Dougie Freedman (see extract one) has got the team playing with a spirit of togetherness that has got Crystal Palace off its knees standing proud again toe to toe with the rest of the Championship.
Away from football during the international break I took the opportunity to visit my parents in Newfoundland Canada. I must admit how delighted I was to enjoy myself getting out there and back without worrying about my Wheelchair getting damaged. Credit for this must go to Air Canada for how helpful and friendly the cabin crew and ground staffs were during both journeys. As a disabled traveller being able to get around easily certainly relieves many travel stresses. The weather in Canada was fantastic ironically enough until we drove to Bai Vete in driving rain looking for Icebergs which we found which was fantastic but unfortunately cloud cover meant visibility was poor.
The driving rain which added excitement to the Iceberg hunt also played havoc further up the east coast in New York with the US Open. Now I am not the biggest tennis fan but American TV coverage of the open was laughably different from my experience of tennis at Wimbledon. Crowds were not quiet during play and music from other courts could be heard while other players were serving. Most laughably though TV coverage only followed a match until the change of ends and then flicked over to another match which made it complicated to follow if you nipped to the loo for example. Cultural differences are what make the world an interesting place I guess.
On my return to England I travelled to Leeds having missed our first success on the road against Hull in a long long time. (October 2010 to be precise) How unlucky we were against Leeds, 1 – 0 down to a scrappy goal, and then two goals in ten minutes meant I went ballistic and we deservedly led at half time. Yet an inability to score a third before half time meant we were punished in the last twenty minutes by the skills of Becchio and a lack of defensive concentration meant we lost 3 – 2. Although initially devastated there was true hope in the performance considering how low we have been in the previous eighteen months and the progress of Sean Scannell as a strong and fast centre forward is very exciting. Disappointingly Leeds fans en mass were ungracious as ever however at least individually many Leeds fans admitted the best team lost.
This made me realise how difficult it is to win at Ellend Road. The only time I have seen Palace win in Leeds was in 2006 when Jobi Macanuff scored the winner. I was critical of Jobi over the way he left the club for Watford straight after our playoff defeat to Watford in 2007. It is time now with hindsight that I gave him some credit because he scored a rare winner the last time we won at Leeds and he scored a crucial away winner against Brighton at the Withdean so Jobi please forgive me!
As for Leeds it is sad they are living of past glories from 20 – 30 yrs ago and while I can understand it I don’t think their 2011 offering were too hot and there are interesting comparisons with Ice Hockey’s Fliers of Philadelphia who won the Stanley Cup in the late sixties and early seventies, known as the ‘Broad Street Bullies’ both the Fliers and Utd’s physical style made them unpopular with their opponents.
I close this section of my blog by reflecting how good it was to see Palace turn over a Premier League even though it was lowly Wigan whose best players, (Moses and Watson) were arguably developed by Palace and Watson scored Wigan’s consolation. Jonathan Williams and Wilf Zaha are true prospects for the future and Freedman is creating victories while rotating goalies and the backline reflecting his confidence in the Palace squad. Who knows with a bit of luck we might make Wembley. Thanks for reading. S B
No comments:
Post a Comment