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Is this the best season ever?
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 Qwijibo  Bournemouth 17 Apr 14 12.24am |
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Quote Seth at 17 Apr 2014 12.00am
Quote Leicestershireeagle at 16 Apr 2014 11.52pm
I'm kind of having an identify crisis. A bit like Man United fans unfamiliar with mediocrity (relatively). We've always been hounded by nearly's and fine margins. We nearly got relegated, we nearly missed out of promotion, we were relegated on the last day. Sure there's been sparks of brilliance, defiance and pockets of joy, but we've always felt we do things the hard way. Historically, that's been the case, and we have had good reason to refer to being a Palace fan as rollercoaster ride. But in the last four or five years....we've dodged relegations more times than we'd like (as in we would prefer to not be in that situation at all), rode high in the league despite being tipped for ANOTHER relegation battle, had our talismanic leader leave for reasons that seem to be down to nothing but financial gain, narrowly maintain a play off place, beat the odds in the semis and final of the play offs without our best player, be tipped for relegation again, go a long way to prove everyone right.... And then Holloway held his hand's up, said I can't do this, Keith Millen steadied the ship, and enter Tony Pulis. How many chances have their been for "Typical Palace"? How many of those instances, where things just about went our way, would you have not been surprised if they didn't? It's like Tony Pulis has walked into our club's face, given it a slap and said "Stop ******* about and just do what I say". I suppose really, that exactly what he's done. Unfamiliar territory for us. In a world dominated by the Premier League, Sky and overseas broadcasting rights and the money that goes with it, this could be a season that defines the next ten, twenty years. Who knows? I suppose most of us are expecting reality to kick back in, and we will suffer from second season syndrome next year and drop down again. For some reason, I'm actually doubting Palace to be "Typical Palace" though. Staying up this year is nothing short of historic as it is, but this really is a chance to change our history forever.
Damn right. It recently dawned on me that we picked a f***ing good year for promotion. I don't just mean the fact that, competitively, the league has been great (Man Utd fall from grace, a genuine three-horse title challenge, the resurgence of traditionalist Liverpool amongst the 'new-money', a relegation battle that for many months literally contained half the division, and, finally, the simple fact that despite a catastrophic start, it's turned out we're actually pretty good at this football stuff). And to think to start with I thought I'd dread the reality of the season, and for several weeks into October the fears were proving to be a reality. We chose a good year for promotion from a cynical, business perspective. The massive increase in prize money this year means we have potential for infrastructure we've never had - or at the very least, stability not seen for years and years and years. The prize money to the relegated of 2014 is more than Manchester United got for winning the title last year. At this exact moment, we're half way up that list! Yes, we've proven beyond doubt that a big budget is not necessarily the significant factor for success. (As estimates, Joel Ward £400k, Chamakh £0, Ledley £450k, Bolasie £350k). But if we maintain our spirit, and invest the money more wisely than the 9 clubs currently below us, then we may be dangerously close to consolidating a place in the top flight. I'm 32 years old and I've never seen this. I've never f***ing seen this. At 3:1 up tonight I was scared s***less, at 3:2 with indefinite injury time I wasn't sure I could hold it together, basically because I'm just not in any way used to this situation. But there is a genuine, glaring possibility that we may be able to build something here. This is the first time I've said this and it feels like I should apologise or something.
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| aBert88 Essex 17 Apr 14 12.29am |
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quote]Leicestershireeagle at 16 Apr 2014 11.52pm I'm kind of having an identify crisis. A bit like Man United fans unfamiliar with mediocrity (relatively). We've always been hounded by nearly's and fine margins. We nearly got relegated, we nearly missed out of promotion, we were relegated on the last day. Sure there's been sparks of brilliance, defiance and pockets of joy, but we've always felt we do things the hard way. Historically, that's been the case, and we have had good reason to refer to being a Palace fan as rollercoaster ride. But in the last four or five years....we've dodged relegations more times than we'd like (as in we would prefer to not be in that situation at all), rode high in the league despite being tipped for ANOTHER relegation battle, had our talismanic leader leave for reasons that seem to be down to nothing but financial gain, narrowly maintain a play off place, beat the odds in the semis and final of the play offs without our best player, be tipped for relegation again, go a long way to prove everyone right.... And then Holloway held his hand's up, said I can't do this, Keith Millen steadied the ship, and enter Tony Pulis. How many chances have their been for "Typical Palace"? How many of those instances, where things just about went our way, would you have not been surprised if they didn't? It's like Tony Pulis has walked into our club's face, given it a slap and said "Stop ******* about and just do what I say". I suppose really, that exactly what he's done. Unfamiliar territory for us. In a world dominated by the Premier League, Sky and overseas broadcasting rights and the money that goes with it, this could be a season that defines the next ten, twenty years. Who knows? I suppose most of us are expecting reality to kick back in, and we will suffer from second season syndrome next year and drop down again. For some reason, I'm actually doubting Palace to be "Typical Palace" though. Staying up this year is nothing short of historic as it is, but this really is a chance to change our history forever. One of the best posts I've read in years! On the money with everything you've said, and couldn't agree more. Great post.
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Seth  On a pale blue dot 17 Apr 14 12.32am |
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Quote Qwijibo at 17 Apr 2014 12.24am
Quote Seth at 17 Apr 2014 12.00am
Quote Leicestershireeagle at 16 Apr 2014 11.52pm
I'm kind of having an identify crisis. A bit like Man United fans unfamiliar with mediocrity (relatively). We've always been hounded by nearly's and fine margins. We nearly got relegated, we nearly missed out of promotion, we were relegated on the last day. Sure there's been sparks of brilliance, defiance and pockets of joy, but we've always felt we do things the hard way. Historically, that's been the case, and we have had good reason to refer to being a Palace fan as rollercoaster ride. But in the last four or five years....we've dodged relegations more times than we'd like (as in we would prefer to not be in that situation at all), rode high in the league despite being tipped for ANOTHER relegation battle, had our talismanic leader leave for reasons that seem to be down to nothing but financial gain, narrowly maintain a play off place, beat the odds in the semis and final of the play offs without our best player, be tipped for relegation again, go a long way to prove everyone right.... And then Holloway held his hand's up, said I can't do this, Keith Millen steadied the ship, and enter Tony Pulis. How many chances have their been for "Typical Palace"? How many of those instances, where things just about went our way, would you have not been surprised if they didn't? It's like Tony Pulis has walked into our club's face, given it a slap and said "Stop ******* about and just do what I say". I suppose really, that exactly what he's done. Unfamiliar territory for us. In a world dominated by the Premier League, Sky and overseas broadcasting rights and the money that goes with it, this could be a season that defines the next ten, twenty years. Who knows? I suppose most of us are expecting reality to kick back in, and we will suffer from second season syndrome next year and drop down again. For some reason, I'm actually doubting Palace to be "Typical Palace" though. Staying up this year is nothing short of historic as it is, but this really is a chance to change our history forever.
Damn right. It recently dawned on me that we picked a f***ing good year for promotion. I don't just mean the fact that, competitively, the league has been great (Man Utd fall from grace, a genuine three-horse title challenge, the resurgence of traditionalist Liverpool amongst the 'new-money', a relegation battle that for many months literally contained half the division, and, finally, the simple fact that despite a catastrophic start, it's turned out we're actually pretty good at this football stuff). And to think to start with I thought I'd dread the reality of the season, and for several weeks into October the fears were proving to be a reality. We chose a good year for promotion from a cynical, business perspective. The massive increase in prize money this year means we have potential for infrastructure we've never had - or at the very least, stability not seen for years and years and years. The prize money to the relegated of 2014 is more than Manchester United got for winning the title last year. At this exact moment, we're half way up that list! Yes, we've proven beyond doubt that a big budget is not necessarily the significant factor for success. (As estimates, Joel Ward £400k, Chamakh £0, Ledley £450k, Bolasie £350k). But if we maintain our spirit, and invest the money more wisely than the 9 clubs currently below us, then we may be dangerously close to consolidating a place in the top flight. I'm 32 years old and I've never seen this. I've never f***ing seen this. At 3:1 up tonight I was scared s***less, at 3:2 with indefinite injury time I wasn't sure I could hold it together, basically because I'm just not in any way used to this situation. But there is a genuine, glaring possibility that we may be able to build something here. This is the first time I've said this and it feels like I should apologise or something.
I never thought we'd reach those levels again but now it seems possible, almost probable. What a time to be a Palace fan
"You can feel the stadium jumping. The stadium is actually physically moving up and down" |
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| LeedsEagle1 Leeds 17 Apr 14 12.33am |
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this is Palace in a nut shell - this is THE season to show what Palace is all about. Non stop support - even in the really tough times in October, we kept going - this is about a group of players and fans. it is quite simply, the most amazing season ever - the fact we have time to enjoy the last games without stress is amazing.
we all dream of a team of Alan Lees |
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