8/12/11;
Ok so it is nigh on three weeks since I last blogged and for that I apologise. Yet I am not sure how wide this blogs audience is, and frankly having Millwall come to Selhurst and going to Old Trafford back to back in the same week, I wanted to experience the moment and take it in before writing about it. Glenn Murray is forging a unique position for himself in Palace folklore and I think I love him. After arriving from Brighton and scoring the winner against his former club (What a Legend!!) he goes on to grab the winner at old Trafford just days after worrying us all by missing a penalty against Millwall in the goalless draw a fortnight ago. He is fast becoming a fans favourite and with crucial goals like the winner away to Manchester United at Old Trafford he is starting to rewrite Palace history.
Talking of that penalty miss, no one is perfect Glenn! Despite dominating the Millwall match another home draw was to follow. In what was a spiteful match off the field no love is lost off the field between supporters but that has always been the case with Millwall. Personally I have nothing to add and I am not going to dwell here on my opinions of some Millwall fans behaviour. Instead Oh Happy Days let us celebrate through the power of the written word our trip to Old Trafford, Manchester that undermined the Champions and stunned the Football World!
Remember, Remember the 30th November because I shall never forget it! Eleven heroes! Especially Stuart O’Keefe, Lewis Price, Darren Ambrose, KG, and Jonathon Parr all excelling themselves matching Utd in terms of endeavour and share effort, Palace were fully deserving of the victory. Despite being matched against nine internationals, full commitment meant they never disgraced themselves and midway through the second half the reward of something to hold onto. Take a bow Darren Ambrose what a goal, 45yds out a bending drive to the top corner giving Ben Amos no chance. Professionals like Wright, Gardner, and McCarthy realised they were in with a shot of Wembley and the highlight of their careers and therefore on share effort they matched Utd stride for stride on that pitch and fully deserved to come off winners after 120 minutes. Boy what a feeling when we did hold on. As a feeling of pride this was like no away game I’d experienced with Palace, we have toppled the Champions and now we face a Championship side in Cardiff City for a shot at Wembley Unbelievable!
I went to Old Trafford draped in Palace flag and wearing red and blue jester hat more in hope then expectation. Then I saw the team sheet and my hope and expectation levels began to rise as I honestly thought Utd have undercooked this and we have a chance. Watching a Palace side made up of youth and academy products such as Scannell, Zaha, Clyne, and other youngsters like O’Keefe matching a young and inexperienced United side that still contained nine internationals shows the difference in attitude to youth football between Manchester United and Crystal Palace. Whilst Palace have built an academy to develop players bringing them into the first team, while United play their youngsters in reserve fixtures or on loan at lower league clubs.
In my opinion this meant on the night the gap between the teams was closed because the likes of Zaha and Clyne backed by the experience of Wright and match winning ability of Ambrose were more use to competitive football then United’s youngsters. Diouf, Gibson, and the Da Silva twins were not used to the hustle and bustle of regular competitive football because unlike the Palace youngsters their path to the first team is blocked by bought talent. My point off the back of this is the Elite Player Performance Programme (EPPP) and the reorganisation of youth football should not stop Palace and other Football League Clubs using their academies to bring on players, because done properly the products of these academies are capable of effecting such historic results for clubs like Palace as they did against the English Champions.
Where does this result sit in Palace history? It has given us a historic opportunity to get to Wembley for only the second time in our history discounting Playoffs, or our magnificent ZDS Cup victory over Everton in 1991. Simply it is our best shot of reaching Wembley in a major domestic cup final since 1990. A League Cup Semi Final Vs Cardiff City gives us such a great opportunity to get to the final because we are not drawn against one of the two big Premier League Clubs left in the competition. So to Dougie Freedman and Palace history, as a player he played a decisive role in keeping the club up at Stockport in 2001, and as a manager he has moulded a team that emerged from the ashes of administration in 2010 to survive at Hull last season. Now he has moved the team forward to credibility of mid table security in the league and a famous victory in the derby at the Ammex and most impressively of all he has the feather in his managerial cap of a victory against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United at Old Trafford in the League Cup! Magnificent.
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