I know romanticising things is inevitable when you look towards the past but really, where are the stories anymore? Where's the humanity in football? What makes the memories? Outrageous moments of skill, yes, like Townsend's goal at the Etihad but the real memories that last are made of experiences; the away days on the trains and coaches, the hostility you faced at Leeds or Leicester or Sunderland...the stuff you really remember...it's just gone. Not just things that you "see" but things that you really live through. The PL offers none of that. Jeez, some people FLY to away games now. As if. There used to be a burger/hot dog van (well, they claimed to be burgers and hot dogs) by the club shop when it was a portacabin, opposite the corner of the Old Stand/Whitehorse Lane End. And we ate that s***. Now, clubs discuss the quality of their catering like that's what's expected.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

Honestly Syd, I had this conversation with my cousin on Tuesday (Millwall fan) and he was expressing real contempt with that little club in the championship along similar lines so even that may be closer to old days but not far removed from us now. He lives in Newcastle now so does somewhat follow/support them as a secondary as he did Carlisle when he lived there (amusing anecdote available there but for another time).

Whilst I don't begrudge anybody accessibility let alone a right to watch football, the core culture/experience of it is very different these days I have to say. Part of me wants to celebrate the diversity and demographics we attract now but another part of me wants to question everyone as to where they were when we lost 1-3 to Coventry at home in 2002 (I think so anyway) and barely had about 15,000 in the stands?

Again, I can't help but feel it is very arrogant if not selfish to say so but it is a different world to me now and I'm relatively young! I try to enjoy it by focusing upon some... SOME of the benefits of the intense commercialism now however it's core value remains for me.

Whether we are beating a Premier and Champions League trophy contender on a sunny Saturday, stuffed full of absurdly overpriced food and accompanied by a crowd more at home in Disneyland or there's a few unfortunate blokes along with me away whilst we're drawing with Swindon (sh!thole BTW) on a freezing and soaking Tuesday night I'm still there for the same purpose, to support the Palace as they constitute a large part of my identity and it's too late for me to change now.

It's very rarely actual enjoyment, but it's religious for me these days! All does feel worth it however when the likes of Andros let one fly, or CYLee gets a last minute winner at Stoke (where I nearly knocked a small child onto the pitch from that upper tier when celebrating), we miraculously beat Chelsea after losing first 7 games, beat Arsenal 3-0 on my birthday or albeit an unsatisfactory final result, Puncheon scores a screaming volley as I watch perfectly angled behind the goal at Wembley or even when Olise bends an unlikely, absolute worldy of a free kick beyond De Gea. COYP PTID

Edited by Nicholas91 (02 Feb 2023 10.55am)

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!