i agree hes never going to be a top PL full back, but being realistic we wont attract a top PL full back to palace, i would however argue the fact he technically IS good enough for the PL, the fact hes been almost ever present in a team thats stayed up for 4 seasons says differently to your opinion. weve had 4 seasons to replace him and not one players displaced him & not one managers replaced or dropped him.

Now, people may be correct in the fact FDB doesnt fancy him or he wont be as good as a wing back but thats in the future but right now i find it hard to accept people slating his performances in the 5 years he has been with us.

‘Football isn’t instant coffee. You have to work at it. You must grow the bean, grind it.’ Ian Holloway

He's been a fantastic servant for us. As someone else mentioned I personally think he's to good for the Championship but not quite good enough for the Prem.

I don't think he has quite enough flair or enough quality going forward for De Boer.

Don't waste your time with jealousy. Sometimes your ahead, sometimes your behind, the race is long. But in the end it's only with yourself!!

Ward did look like a fantastic attacking full back for about a month or so a couple of seasons back but never saw those heights again.

I would be sad to see him go, such a dependable player

Parrot

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Is also in the Birmingham mail
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Another Damien Diagonal - Total Football

In our first year back in the Prem, he was the only outfield player that actually looked Premiership standard: the rest were honest battlers whose whole was much greater than the sum of their parts under the Pulis system.

For that season and the next he was a really solid defender, looked dangerous coming forward and was comfortable in possession, making very few errors.

Last season he really struggled against the top players in the top teams: I guess he's unfortunate that a high proportion of the most creative and talented players in the Prem play down his flank.

But at only 27 and having had no significant injuries, I would hope that he could be coached back to his original high standards. As someone else has said, he is the most durable and reliable player we've had over the last four years and it would be a real shame to lose his experience and groundedness from the squad.

I like him because he bucks the trend of the modern footballer: when asked what the first car he bought was when he hit the big bucks, he said a Renault Megane. As a coach, it must be good to have a couple of his type in the squad to counterbalance the rampant egos and entitled attitudes of the rest of the prima donnas.

Very good. !!

Palace 13th 2017/18.