31/10/11;
Wow how good are Palace! Top performance lads! Unbelievable all the superlatives are not quite enough for what I am feeling towards Crystal Palace, the boys, and of course the Doog at the moment as this incredibly enjoyable but equally unexpected season is developing. Two wins and a draw in a week sets up an unexpectedly high league position and a league cup quarter final place. The only disappointing thing is I was looking forward to Barnsley away on a Tuesday night guess it will wait as Palace are destined for a bigger more high profile game night.
What a week starting against Ipswich at Portman Road I got an insight into the Carling Cup line up as goalkeeper Lewis Price told me he was likely to start. I also had a quick chat after the game with ex Ipswich and current injured Palace midfielder Owen Garvin who was in high spirits about the victory, results and Palace’s current form. The result against Ipswich started a great week that ended for me in an executive box at Selhurst Park watching the League Cup quarter final draw after our 2 – 0 victory in the fourth round against Southampton. I am writing this after the 0 – 0 draw against Reading that completed an undefeated October for the Doog and followed the exciting news of an away tie at Manchester United. Your prayers from now to the football gods would go down well and be appreciated. First however I want to look to where the good week started away to Ipswich.
Our victory at Portman Road was based around a solid central defensive partnership between Paddy McCarthy and Anthony Gardner being protected by David Wright and Mile Jedinak sitting in front the back four in the midfield and playing the ball to the pace of Scannell, Zaha, and Williams to attack beyond them. It worked too as second half pressure led to a rare goal for the accomplished Paddy McCarthy who up from the back for a free kick swept home a Scannell cross who sent in a centre after his free kick had come back off the Ipswich wall. The significance of the Ipswich result is it sent Palace into the Southampton cup tie brimming with confidence but in terms of the league it meant four wins by the end of October away from home surpassed the entire number of wins on the road all last season (a mere single victory!)
And so to the Southampton victory a solid 2 – 0 win over the league leaders seeing Palace advance to the League Cup quarter final. The win was inspired by the industry, majesty, guile and shear class of Palace’s academy prospect Jonathan Williams who won a penalty and set up the first goal for Darren Ambrose with a pin point cross. A well deserved victory set up by a strong young side produced by the Crystal Palace academy hopefully the proposed new EPPP Youth Development Programme will not be too damaging to its future. It is important therefore our fans voices were heard as part of a national fans protest on Saturday against Reading. At least Freedman and Parish know the value of giving young players a chance in the first team and Palace have a history of giving young players a pathway to playing on a regular basis giving the club a chance to point to precedence to make Palace always attractive to young footballers into the future. The future is uncertain but in the meantime the current crop of Palace youngsters have set up a deserved League Cup quarter final with Man Utd at Old Trafford what a prospect. Credit to my Saints following friend Ash who watched the game with me for not being too disappointed even if he could not accept it that yes, Zaha was “just too good for you!”
After the cup draw against Manchester United on Saturday came the 0 – 0 draw at home to Reading. Reading is always a big match for me as I lived in the area around Reading since 1991 and currently live in Wokingham. Saturday’s game was especially exciting and enjoyable though as it formed the prize won by a friend at last seasons fans forum and so courtesy of John Walker I was in an executive box with my friend, carer for the day and Reading fan/club employee Stuart Croucher. We all had a very enjoyable day thanks to the club for the prize and John for including me and Stuart. Despite being goalless it was memorable it was memorable for disallowed goals on both sides, penalties that were not given as well as fouls that could have been red card offences but were not. Eventful enough that even a fox wanted to watch.
Tomorrow Palace faces Portsmouth at home at the start of a November that if it is a month that follows the pattern of an undefeated October could be the lift off to a stable and successful season. If you factor into this a continuing cup run the season could go beyond successful and become historical but let us not get ahead of ourselves there is a long way to go. It will be exciting though! S B
Wow how good are Palace! Top performance lads! Unbelievable all the superlatives are not quite enough for what I am feeling towards Crystal Palace, the boys, and of course the Doog at the moment as this incredibly enjoyable but equally unexpected season is developing. Two wins and a draw in a week sets up an unexpectedly high league position and a league cup quarter final place. The only disappointing thing is I was looking forward to Barnsley away on a Tuesday night guess it will wait as Palace are destined for a bigger more high profile game night.
What a week starting against Ipswich at Portman Road I got an insight into the Carling Cup line up as goalkeeper Lewis Price told me he was likely to start. I also had a quick chat after the game with ex Ipswich and current injured Palace midfielder Owen Garvin who was in high spirits about the victory, results and Palace’s current form. The result against Ipswich started a great week that ended for me in an executive box at Selhurst Park watching the League Cup quarter final draw after our 2 – 0 victory in the fourth round against Southampton. I am writing this after the 0 – 0 draw against Reading that completed an undefeated October for the Doog and followed the exciting news of an away tie at Manchester United. Your prayers from now to the football gods would go down well and be appreciated. First however I want to look to where the good week started away to Ipswich.
Our victory at Portman Road was based around a solid central defensive partnership between Paddy McCarthy and Anthony Gardner being protected by David Wright and Mile Jedinak sitting in front the back four in the midfield and playing the ball to the pace of Scannell, Zaha, and Williams to attack beyond them. It worked too as second half pressure led to a rare goal for the accomplished Paddy McCarthy who up from the back for a free kick swept home a Scannell cross who sent in a centre after his free kick had come back off the Ipswich wall. The significance of the Ipswich result is it sent Palace into the Southampton cup tie brimming with confidence but in terms of the league it meant four wins by the end of October away from home surpassed the entire number of wins on the road all last season (a mere single victory!)
And so to the Southampton victory a solid 2 – 0 win over the league leaders seeing Palace advance to the League Cup quarter final. The win was inspired by the industry, majesty, guile and shear class of Palace’s academy prospect Jonathan Williams who won a penalty and set up the first goal for Darren Ambrose with a pin point cross. A well deserved victory set up by a strong young side produced by the Crystal Palace academy hopefully the proposed new EPPP Youth Development Programme will not be too damaging to its future. It is important therefore our fans voices were heard as part of a national fans protest on Saturday against Reading. At least Freedman and Parish know the value of giving young players a chance in the first team and Palace have a history of giving young players a pathway to playing on a regular basis giving the club a chance to point to precedence to make Palace always attractive to young footballers into the future. The future is uncertain but in the meantime the current crop of Palace youngsters have set up a deserved League Cup quarter final with Man Utd at Old Trafford what a prospect. Credit to my Saints following friend Ash who watched the game with me for not being too disappointed even if he could not accept it that yes, Zaha was “just too good for you!”
After the cup draw against Manchester United on Saturday came the 0 – 0 draw at home to Reading. Reading is always a big match for me as I lived in the area around Reading since 1991 and currently live in Wokingham. Saturday’s game was especially exciting and enjoyable though as it formed the prize won by a friend at last seasons fans forum and so courtesy of John Walker I was in an executive box with my friend, carer for the day and Reading fan/club employee Stuart Croucher. We all had a very enjoyable day thanks to the club for the prize and John for including me and Stuart. Despite being goalless it was memorable it was memorable for disallowed goals on both sides, penalties that were not given as well as fouls that could have been red card offences but were not. Eventful enough that even a fox wanted to watch.
Tomorrow Palace faces Portsmouth at home at the start of a November that if it is a month that follows the pattern of an undefeated October could be the lift off to a stable and successful season. If you factor into this a continuing cup run the season could go beyond successful and become historical but let us not get ahead of ourselves there is a long way to go. It will be exciting though! S B
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