What is the ambition of the club’s owners?

After Roy decided to save our most creative player for a game we’ll almost certainly get nothing from instead of giving everything for a cup run, it seems he must have been told that the Premier League is the only thing worth worrying about. Yet another season in the prem might be good for the balance books, but what about us fans? Cup runs are ace.

I read somewhere that over the last 5 years, no club has spent less in the transfer market than Crystal Palace. I’m all for financial prudence, but where has that left us?

We’ve been unlucky with injuries but that simply shows up the lack of squad depth. After 11 years in the Premier League, we seem to have little more ambition than we had in the first season – to stay up. The question is where is the money going? It’s surely either:

• Saving up for the new stand
• Saving up to protect us against relegation
• Going in the owner’s pockets

It’s probably a mixture of these, but what about the main stand? Do we have 35k (or whatever) demand for tickets? Why would we with the dross we put out every week? And isn’t it all a bit of a Field of Dreams vanity exercise?

Let’s say we can fill the new stand. What difference does that make to the fans other than saying ‘ooh, that’s nice and shiny’? We’ll have more income I’m sure the owners will claim, yeah, but are you going to strengthen the squad enough? History suggests not.

It also smacks of the cart leading the horse. In any company, infrastructure is only bought once the demand is such that you simply have to do it. If the club was playing exciting football with top players, then yes it makes sense, of course you should increase capacity. But as we are, it seems a stretch.

And yet, two years ago it all seemed so promising. We smashed the player recruitment and, credit to the owners they took a gamble on a manager who had wisely cut his teeth in less demanding leagues and gave him his shot. And it was brilliant. For one season, until Vieira lost confidence and became ultra-cautious. Do the owners whisper in every manager’s ear that they must stay up?

The great shame is that when will we have a team with the likes of Johnstone, Guehi, Andersen, Olise, Eze and Doucoure at the same time again? How many of them will still be here next season? And why should they stay? I wouldn’t. And I think Roy is being hamstrung. With proper investment I think he actually could produce an exciting team – he did at the end of last season, but his time is short because of his age. And there are better managers out there.

We need more from our owners right now. They’ve shown the balls before, but that needs to be how we are all the time. If you stand still, you lose. More ambition and more investment in the squad is needed.

The new stand can surely wait until we have a better team.

What is the ambition of the club’s owners?

After Roy decided to save our most creative player for a game we’ll almost certainly get nothing from instead of giving everything for a cup run, it seems he must have been told that the Premier League is the only thing worth worrying about. Yet another season in the prem might be good for the balance books, but what about us fans? Cup runs are ace.

I read somewhere that over the last 5 years, no club has spent less in the transfer market than Crystal Palace. I’m all for financial prudence, but where has that left us?

We’ve been unlucky with injuries but that simply shows up the lack of squad depth. After 11 years in the Premier League, we seem to have little more ambition than we had in the first season – to stay up. The question is where is the money going? It’s surely either:

• Saving up for the new stand
• Saving up to protect us against relegation
• Going in the owner’s pockets

It’s probably a mixture of these, but what about the main stand? Do we have 35k (or whatever) demand for tickets? Why would we with the dross we put out every week? And isn’t it all a bit of a Field of Dreams vanity exercise?

Let’s say we can fill the new stand. What difference does that make to the fans other than saying ‘ooh, that’s nice and shiny’? We’ll have more income I’m sure the owners will claim, yeah, but are you going to strengthen the squad enough? History suggests not.

It also smacks of the cart leading the horse. In any company, infrastructure is only bought once the demand is such that you simply have to do it. If the club was playing exciting football with top players, then yes it makes sense, of course you should increase capacity. But as we are, it seems a stretch.

And yet, two years ago it all seemed so promising. We smashed the player recruitment and, credit to the owners they took a gamble on a manager who had wisely cut his teeth in less demanding leagues and gave him his shot. And it was brilliant. For one season, until Vieira lost confidence and became ultra-cautious. Do the owners whisper in every manager’s ear that they must stay up?

The great shame is that when will we have a team with the likes of Johnstone, Guehi, Andersen, Olise, Eze and Doucoure at the same time again? How many of them will still be here next season? And why should they stay? I wouldn’t. And I think Roy is being hamstrung. With proper investment I think he actually could produce an exciting team – he did at the end of last season, but his time is short because of his age. And there are better managers out there.

We need more from our owners right now. They’ve shown the balls before, but that needs to be how we are all the time. If you stand still, you lose. More ambition and more investment in the squad is needed.

The new stand can surely wait until we have a better team.

These business people with capital where are they ? We are obviously not that attractive proposition.

Some good points I hadn't considered, thank you. Alongside a link to a great article someone else posted, it has altered my thinking somewhat.

Roy seems a bit of an enigma to me. In his first stint, he did what was needed, and mostly it was a bit dire with some marquee performances from time to time.

When he came back I expected the same, but with better players he was suddenly much more attacking. Ok, maybe he simply adjusts to what he has.

This season he has been like Vieira in his second season was;
overly cautious again. Hampered by injuries and with us unable to invest much, there's a strong case for mitigation.

What is less compelling are decisions like subbing Eze at Everton which seems baffling - it can surely only be protecting an injury otherwise it seems mad. Also, why spend big bucks on Ahmada and Franca and not play them? Did we overestimate them? They are young, but so are lots of players who do alright. Why pay so much of the little money we have only not to play them? Something seems amiss there.

And since he's come back we've been so fragile defensively, this season especially. Sure we've only got one great defender (Andersen is more a quarter back and too easily exposed, Ward much as I love him is, like Clyne, basically a championship-level defender and Mitchell the same, albeit with more potential) but he should be able to coach them better, shouldn't he?

All in all, it seems he has an incredibly difficult situation, but it just seems someone more dynamic and modern could do a better job.