Personally I struggle to see how a club our size pushes on in terms of finishing much higher up the table. Instead I'm more concerned about how do we retain a safe position in the PL but while playing a brand of football that doesn't send you into a coma. If Eze and Olise had been fit all season I probably wouldn't be so down about things and we'd probably have a few more points. Maybe I'm being hard on Roy. With Eze out I'd just like to see him stick Franca in from the start and try and lift the mood. He'll make mistakes, but he might at least add some flair and right now we could really do with that.

I dont think anyone would disagree with that ,after the recent run we could all do with a lift . £20M has got to buy something worth watching

When we go out of the cup in January, already out of the first one, and we're about 16th is when I start doing other things at the weekend. I get the occasional surprise on either Sky Sports News or MOTD. I followed far more closely when we were championship.
VAR another factor to endure that doesn't help.

A cup run and we'd take the crap league form, is my main point.

Red and Blue Army!

I've reached the stage where I find it all pointless particularly Man City, Chelsea, VAR, Saudi, adult obsession with boring sanitised youth football and academies, endless analysis and punditry and talk about money.

The game's at the point where it's literally eating itself.

The absolute worst is going to a live game and not being able to celebrate a goal which was always going to be the outcome of VAR whatever the great footballing brains thought.

I've not been to so many this season although I've kept my season ticket.

Mentions of Brighton being the model but I went last season with a friend and sat in the home end. We had to leave before the end because of the gridlock outside if you don't - so a s*** matchday experience and half the home end was empty despite a narrow win against their bitter rivals. Fvcking rubbish.

Edited by Rachid Rachid Rachid (29 Nov 2023 9.18pm)

This is what will happen in our next home game against Bournemouth:

0-0 at half time.
Bournemouth score after running us ragged early in the second half.
Palace start playing now we're behind.
Edouard gets replaced by Mateta after 64 minutes.
Palace are awarded a penalty after VAR takes 6 minutes to assess a foul and then sends the ref to the screen.
Palace score.
Roy immediately takes off Schlupp and replaces him with Chris Richards to protect what we've got.
Reidewald come on in the 91st minute for Ayew, and Palace fall back, inviting Bournemouth to attack.
Theres 10 minutes of added time for us to defend.
Whistle goes, it's a draw.
Roy's delighted with a good point against a very good side.
Attendance 24,863.

Predictable ? Boring ? Ain't it just.

You can count the amount of home games I've missed on one hand over the last 15 years, but even I'm starting to think it's becoming a chore.

It needs shaking up.

I think it matters significantly.

Exciting football lifts the crowd which, in turn, gives the team a boost. We're 16th in the Premier League home table this season so need an edge there somehow.

It also makes us more appealing to potential signings. If we want to sign the next Eze or Olise, I'd say they'll be far more likely to join a club who play attractive football rather than the current 35% possession stodge.

People keep on about how do we improve the team further. We all know our only option is to be brave, sell and reinvest.

You'll hate this but I think if we could get somewhere in the region of £110-120m in total for Eze and Guehi this summer, particularly given Eze's injury record, and can reinvest it in 4/5 young £20m players, then that is how we end up with a stronger overall team / squad.

It also sends a message to potential signings that if they join us, we won't block their path going forwards, making it more likely.

Of course this also requires a manager who isn't afraid to trust young players so, for the time being, is moot.

Edited by Canterbury Palace (30 Nov 2023 10.11am)

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...