January 18 2009

Selhurst Park

It was a game full of drama but there was little for home fans to celebrate when Ipswich's Tractor Boys ploughed furrows galore in Selhurst brows, reports Jamesey.

That most amusing - to my mind - comedienne Jo Brand was match sponsor for our home date with Ipswich Town (Jan 17) but there was nothing comic for Palace in the 1-4 pasting which the visitors inflicted.

It was my first visit to Selhurst since Boxing Day when the Canary-coloured half of East Anglia were our visitors. The 3-1 result looks rather more convincing than the reality because we were often well outplayed by a clever Norwich side.

But you can't win a football game on style and passing flair. Three of ours went in and only one of theirs found the back of the net.

Likewise, the 1-4 result against the blue half of the region does not reflect the game as a whole. The amount of play and possession that Palace controlled should have meant a far narrower margin.

When I read of Neil Warnock's all-too-predictable rant about referee Clive Penton's refusal to give a penalty as Nick Carle was chopped down from behind in the box when he started to shoot, I have to say the gaffer had a very strong point.

I sit directly opposite the Holmesdale penalty area and, despite my obvious bias as a Palace supporter, I don't think I have ever seen a more blatant penalty in my life.

What Mr Penton's reasons were for ignoring the incident completely, are beyond me. Furthermore, as Neil said, with some justification, with the score at 1-2, a Palace goal could have turned the entire game around for the Whites (can we really call ourselves Red-and-Blues any more?).

It seems that football referees have no obligation to give reasons for decisions and I return again to one of my old hobbyhorses, the rugby refereeing system.

Now, I haven't attended a live rugby union match for many years but on TV at least, the referee talks lucidly through every aspect of the game, giving clear reasons for each free-kick and scrum. And, even better, he is given the total respect of a gang of towering, broken-nosed, cauliflower-eared bruisers and not surrounded by a gaggle of whining prima donnas who dispute every decision he makes against their own side.

As far as the FA Cup is concerned I decided to give a miss to our Third Round replay against Leicester City (Jan 14). In an exceptionally cold winter spell, your columnist's ageing carcass is beginning to object to being subjected to sub-zero temperatures.

I will however be travelling to Watford on Jan 23, hopefully to see us progress further.

What is it about Watford? We seem to have been drawn against the Hornets in so many situations in recent years (league, cup and play-offs) that I can practically find my way there blindfolded. Let's just hope that the referee at Vicarage Road isn't wearing a similar object round his eyes come Saturday.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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