Most of the current threads seem to be remarkably similar with the same people making the same arguments in all of the threads and I can't be the only person spending less and less time here as reading the posts reminds me too much of groundhog day

My expectations change as the club changes...which has been very little over the last 3/4 years.

With the same manager, with largely the same ( ageing ) squad and with a minimal spend in that time, I'm getting what I largely expect. A mild flirtation with the bottom of the table but generally lower mid table finishes. A cup run is always a pleasant bonus, that's been somewhat disappointing of late.

When change does come - new manager, revamped squad, Academy investment bearing fruit, my expectations will change. As with investments, they could go up but could also go down !

Old, Ungifted and White

After eight years in the Prem i feel we have wasted an opportunity to move the club forward. When we finally go down (and we will) apart from the academy which is great by the way we still have Selhurst looking in almost the same condition as when we went up. We are at max achievement for a club of our size and resources, even the Clowns went down with a much improved ground. Our natural place in the football food chain is the Championship. Our desperation to stay in this league is reflected in our negative playing style and i think Sky will be delighted when we finally leave because we are not enhancing their product with our negative tactics.

I think we have all known for the last couple of years that the squad has needed more investment. We can all see that many of the current players were getting older and that were gaps in the squad. We have had bad injury records for about the last 3-4 seasons. It wasn't likely to improve this year, with a more hectic schedule and those players a year older.

I therefore do think that Roy has limited options and has well to gain the number of points we have. However, the football has been shockingly poor. It's no longer the odd poor game, it's every game is poor. We won't continue picking up many points if we carry on the way we are. We may limp over the line this year, but next season we are likely to fail spectacularly if we carry on the way we are playing.

I haven't watched the last two games. I can't stand watching us entrenched in our own half, making the odd foray into the opposition's half. It's anti-football and I don't want to watch it and I guess many of the fans don't.

Do I expect us to be really entertaining, no. But I do expect us to try and win a game against those in the mid/bottom of the table. Even with a more limited squad.

My main expectation is that the Board invest sufficiently in the squad that it can be competitive and backs the manager. I think the Board has been neglectful in that fact. I don't think we'll replace 10-11 players in the summer. We are now stuck with the conundrum of replacing too many and having half a new team or being stuck with many of these old injury prone players another year.

Personally, I think Roy should retire in the summer. He has done a sterling job, but it feels like it's time for change and for him to go with his head held high. I expect if he's here next year, the Board will again be trying to make do on the cheap and Roy's reputation will be tarnished by being sacked or by taking us down. He doesn't deserve that.

From a personal perspective I don't ever remember a season where (Brighton aside) I've taken so little joy from the games we've won. So often it feels like we've cheated somehow rather than earned the win. The occasional lucky win is great, but when every result seems lucky you start to question how sustainable that is.

As shocking as it might seem to some, I actually enjoy seeing our players pass the ball to each other and do some neat interplay, even when they don't score. I also enjoy seeing our flair players get the ball in the final third more than twice a game and trying something creative even when it doesn't produce goals. On top of that, I even enjoy seeing us have some shots and creating some drama in the opposing box. I know for some this might not seem important as it doesn't generate goals and points, but call me a romantic, I actually like watching football and not just the vidiprinter.

That’s a very fair assessment. Many fans have a clear idea of what they think the club should be, but it’s no more than a wish.
We all wish the club , could find a way to be more successful and entertaining than it is.
The reality is , unless something quiet spectacular happens to the clubs finances, we have reached our zenith, The manager gets a lot of stick we know, but the fact is if it was progress we wanted in style and achievement , the process has been massively under funded , in terms of transfer business. Some point to the wage bill as a reason for why we should have success. That is nothing more than a question for the board ,to answer. Paying good wages doesn’t always equate with paying good players. Our wage policy hasn’t been totally successful most would agree.
It seems to me we could change style ,as Brighton, and many others have tried , and fail very easily, even allowing for further investment.
The Premier is built for the outfits with mega means at their disposal ,and that’s not us, that’s what everyone has to come to terms with.
From a fans point of view ,scrapping it out in the Championship is most often not a fantastic watch, all ways made better if your a winning side. If you are a winning side the goal is more Premier, where the same old problems are waiting.
Personally I just love Palace, good bad or ugly. And the chance to upset the mega rich Royalty of football, which we do from time to time , is enough to keep me patient for better days.