July 21 2002

Carshalton Action

A trip to the Palace friendly at Carshalton once more sent Jamesey strolling down Memory Lane. It doesn't take much...

Managers really do have a cushy scenario when it comes to the pre-season friendlies. Lose a friendly game and they face their critics with a condescending smile.

"But it's only a friendly. It doesn't matter whether we win or not. It's all about trying different players, tactics and systems."

Equally a win is greeted with another smile. "It's great for the lads to get a win under their belts. It should boost their confidence when the real season starts."

Nevertheless, I was looking forward to the Carshalton Athletic friendly - my first live football match since April.

Despite watching most of the World Cup in Portugal and ranking it as equally enjoyable to the great tournaments of England '66 and Italia '90, two minutes after kick-off at Carshalton, my long-held view was confirmed. There's nothing like the real thing...live football.

Can I say at this point that I have no intention of commenting on the actual game. This site has plenty of individuals to do that, all with far more knowledge and expertise than myself.

As the afternoon wore on, I couldn't help comparing the whole scene with another stinking hot July Saturday in 1994 when I last made the journey to Carshalton to see the Eagles play a friendly.

There were certainly far more Palace supporters in evidence then. Not surprising really, when you think that we had spent four of the previous five seasons in the top tier, had bounced back straight into the Premiership, and were under the command of an astute and highly respected manager (don't giggle - Alan Smith).

Our hopes were sky-high. But we all know what happened and it serves no purpose to dwell on it all again here.

Eight years on, our support was not so voluble. Trevor Francis was not applauded - or derided either. Our manager is not a popular choice with supporters.

But I find the sniping and abuse of Simon Jordan on our message boards totally out of order. In four words: He saved our club.

From where I am sitting he deserves our respect, and whatever decisions he makes, some people aren't going to agree.

I thought our new strip was terrific and the dark shorts and socks make it far more elegant and less garish. A great improvement.

Embarrassing moment. A couple of youngsters near me were asking players to autograph shirts and programmes. In the middle of the melee was a diminutive, skinny child wearing an enormous pair of baggy shorts that almost reached his ankles. I assumed he was some sort of a mascot.

"Who's the kid?" I asked. "That's Wayne Routledge," I was told. Oh, dear.

All in all, the game, a narrow victory and nothing to get terribly excited about, was the introduction of the start of the beginning of the 02-03 season.

And, as ever, I am eagerly anticipating it. Come on, at this stage anything could happen.

Email Jamesey with any of your comments to Jevans3704@aol.com