I think if Chelsea follow through their supposed interest in Declan Rice and manage to sign him, then Gallagher will become available.

If Connor maintains a high level of performance throughout the season it may be enough to tempt Palace into paying what I am sure would be a substantial fee.

Early days yet, but he's certainly been a breathe of fresh air in our midfield.

Old, Ungifted and White

There is an element of that Beastie, I agree. Plenty of over the top comments after a couple of games. Mine included probably!

I was vociferous in my support for both Sakho and Batshuayi. Neither proved worthy.

But, I do think Gallagher is different and deserves enthusiastic support if only for the sheer pleasure he is showing as a member of our team. Someone earlier remarked about the fact that he was the last off the field, applauding the crowd as he went. That said it all.

Dad and I watched games standing on the muddy slope of the Holmesdale Road end. He cheered and I rattled.

Not really. If you read my posts written over the past few months, I've been one of a reasonably small number that's been optimistic about the approach we've taken. While others were predicting so many expired contracts at once was a disaster waiting to happen, I argued that it was a smart move, giving us the opportunity to really build something coherent. While I had reservations about Vieira, I also saw the positives and didn't dismiss him out of hand. And now, I can't for the life of me see why an FA or League Cup isn't possible, or why we can't qualify for the Europa League, if not this season then in the next couple of years. West Ham are there now; have they been any better than us over the past decade? Fact is there are four or five teams in the PL that compete for the top. The rest are more or less equal. Why shouldn't we see ourselves as just as capable as anyone else? I'm not getting carried away at all. We have the best team we've had since promotion; we have a lot of young, creative talent. If we don't believe we can exceed our achievements over the past few seasons now, what'd be the point of even supporting Palace?

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

I agree with these points, but he'll improve with a few more games under his belt I think.

Dad and I watched games standing on the muddy slope of the Holmesdale Road end. He cheered and I rattled.

I'm with you on this Syd. We are gelling quicker than I thought would be likely. I put this down to:
1. Our CB partnership already looking virtually seamless. Both Andersen and Guehi exude calmness and authority when on the ball. They both look to see if there is space they can move forward into and if not they generally identify the appropriate pass for the situation.
2. Gallagher's forward movement and runs put pressure on the opposition and creates space for others to run into.
3. As PV noted after the Spurs game, both Ayew and Zaha are giving our full backs the support needed which enables them (especially Mitchell) to be more attack-minded.
4. The players are learning the value of pressing teams high up the pitch and are enjoying having more possession and control of the game than they've been used to.

We now have options we didn't have before. For example:
start with
- Benteke or Edouard
- Ayew or Olise
- McArthur or Hughes (or even Kouyate if Luka pins down the DM role).
And there's still Eze to come back.

Of course, as the horror injury to Elliott reminds us, one or two serious injuries could place a real dampener on things, but if can have a reasonable season injury wise then we can be optimistic about the rest of the season.

I suspect that those who had us down as favourites for relegation will already be revising their lists.

As he came off at the end I thought someone should remind him he won't get experiences like that playing for Chelsea reserves. Trouble is if he leaves Chelsea there will be plenty of others after him.