Football
returned to Selhurst on Saturday with the visit of Watford who themselves under
new management and ownership of the Italian Pozzo Family and Gianfranco Zola,
would prove to be a somewhat unknown proposition and indeed a tricky opponent
come the end of the day. A long preseason was replaced by competitive football
following an extended break thanks to the euphoria of the London 2012 Olympics.
The sunshine was ready to mark the event with the game being played in soaring
temperatures against the backdrop of the hottest day of the year.
A reasonable
preseason where we recorded victories against Aldershot, Swindon Town, Dulwich
Hamlets, was followed by victory against Exeter City in the League Cup. These were countered by defeats to
Margate, Welling Utd, and Reading, however most of the talk focussed on Dougie Freedman’s
transfer policy. The arrivals of Joel Ward from Portsmouth, Aaron Martin on
loan from Southampton and Aaron Wilbraham from Norwich City as well as the
permanent return of Peter Ramage from QPR was countered by the extended
transfer saga of Nathanial Clyne to
Southampton and the departures of Sean Scannell to Huddersfield, Darren Ambrose
to Birmingham and Anthony Gardner to Sheffield Wednesday.
The main
discussion point revolved around the firepower upfront with the lack of a goal
scorer to support Murray and Easter upfront and feed off the pace and
creativity of Wilf Zaha and Jonathan Williams. Yet the reality is the transfer
window is not yet closed and Freedman will be well aware of the squads’
weaknesses and where it could be strengthened. He also has the ability to
work within tight financial realities without risking the clubs future, but
still has the ability to put together a young and hungry squad capable of
fighting in the Championship.
The Watford
match saw debuts for Ward, Ramage, and Martin in defence and Wilbraham up front
as McCarthy, Williams, Easter, and Murray were all missing due to knocks. A
solid first half saw Palace go in 2 – 1 up at halftime thanks to a brace from
the forgotten man of the team in Owen Garvan who will need to step out of
Ambrose’s shadow following his departure to Birmingham if Palace are to
progress. The story of the game was defensive uncertainty with three first half
headers in the box spurned by Watford, at that point a warning of things to
come.
Watford’s
first half equaliser was a Julian Speroni mistake and indeed Julian did not
have a great game on Saturday but when you consider the number of points he has
earned and rescued for Palace in his time at the club one should not be too
critical. This was reflected by the noise from the Holmesdale and the chants
and songs of encouragement that rained down in support of him. The reality of
the situation is no one would be more annoyed or frustrated and desperate to
put the situation right then Jules himself because that is just the mark of the
professional he is. He may well get the opportunity to put things right against
Bristol City on Tuesday.
The
atritional nature of the weather played its part in the second half and the
style with which Watford held the ball and passed it around and through Palace
in an energy sapping fashion to palace in a fashion introduced by Zola should
be admired. The reality remained Palace gifted Watford their most potent
opportunities by defensive errors, a lack of concentration and an inability to
cope well with the hot conditions. Two goals in the last four minutes for
Watford meant they won the game 3 – 2 with the second Watford goal another
Speroni error and the winner a defensive mistake that compounded Palace’s
inability to close out the match.
Although the
lack of concentration must have been a frustration to the manager he rightfully
focussed on group responsibility and team ethic rather than individual blame
but there can be little doubt the fans biggest frustration was the lack of
potent striking options to capitalise on Zaha’s creativity to put the ball in
the net and convert chances to goals. Long term this may only be solved from
above with the owners finding options from outside the club in the transfer
market but due to the financial realities of the club this may not be an easy
option. It may be business elsewhere though and the transfer of ex Palace
starlet Victor Moses from Wigan to Chelsea that helps the situation along.
However the problem is solved it is clear another striker is more than needed.
In the meantime I believe Dougie Freedman has the ability to maximise his
options to get the best out of a young dynamic hard working and unpredictable
squad starting away to Bristol City on Tuesday.
It is a long
season and although it is frustrating to lose 3 – 2 to Zola’s budding Watford
team lessons can be learned. Creativity is abundant in this Palace side,
Speroni will return to form and if we learn lessons defensively with the return
of McCarthy the team will be a harder unit to breakdown and add something going
forward the team could be in business. Watford played a very impressive brand
of football and many Championship sides will struggle against them. There is no
need for panic as the manager has a clear pathway that has led to steady
improvements and progress in the eighteen months he has been in charge.
Two
difficult away games lie ahead in a week against Bristol City and then a long
trip follows up to Middlesbrough. Pick up points now and things could look
different when the transfer window closes and the team returns to Selhurst on
September 1st.
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