April 29 2012

Dougie Freedman

Despite being a bookie's favourite for the drop early on, we are still in the second division after a very mixed 2011-12 season, writes Jamesey.

We kicked off our new campaign in August away to Peterborough for what would turn out to be manager Dougie Freedman's first full season at the helm.

Our new owners, the consortium CPFC 2010 settled into their second season and, after a decade of Jordanism, it was a real pleasure to have such a sensible, fan-friendly and non-egotistical bunch of businessmen running the club.

The nation was about to be embroiled in inner-city rioting and looting and, even by the standards of poor old Britain, the outlook was profoundly depressing. It wasn't much better on the football front either, after a lacklustre display and a defeat by the Posh.

Still, our first home game against Burnley the following week brought an excellent performance from the Eagles and a deserved 2-0 victory.

The only sad note for this supporter was the summer demise of the Lap Hing Chinese chippie in Whitehorse Lane where many an al fresco luncheon had been enjoyed over the decades. It had been replaced by an Asian-run joint called "Billy's" - not as good and more expensive.

Our next home game brought a 2-1 victory against Coventry City, managed by our own once lithe and handsome defender, Andy Thorn, now anything but lithe and handsome, followed by a hard-fought away win at Hull. An away win? After the previous season's awful travelling record, this was looking promising.

Even such a hard-working correspondent as this one must take a break every now and then, but regrettably I chose to visit the Greek islands in weeks that would conflict with some games that I regret not witnessing.

After losing to Middlesbrough in the league, we beat them in round three of the Carling Cup. But one of the highlights of the season so far was to be on the evening of Sept 27.

Seated in a harbour bar, ouzo at my elbow, in Adamas on the Cycladic island of Milos, a friend texted me to say that in our away fixture against Brighton, we were 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go. It didn't sound too good. Shortly after that, another text informed me that Palace had scored three and won the game. That sounded very good - blissful, in fact.

The other game I was sad to miss was the home 2-2 draw against West Ham, but there you go.

My first match on return to Blighty was an away trip to Watford, a fixture I've always enjoyed over the years. I was rewarded by a 0-2 victory at Vicarage Road. Blimey, by mid-October, we had won three away matches, thrice the tally in the whole 2010-11 season.

Two more wins followed the Hornets result and so it transpired that at the end of October we were third in the league table and had stormed into round four of the Carling Cup. Relegation? The Show-us-the-money League and European Champions competition more like. (I'm jesting, of course.)

One would have had to have been the ultimate optimist to expect things to carry on like that although a 2-0 defeat of Southampton did take us to the quarter finals of the league cup.

A draw and two defeats in November brought things back down to earth but the end of the month held two more highlights. Our lamentable 2010-11 defeat away to the Old Enemy, Millwall, was obviously a factor in the dismissal of then manager George Burley but Dougie's team ground out a 0-0 draw at home - not brilliant but satisfactory.

As we all know, our cup opponents were Manchester United at Old Trafford and the last day of the month dawned on what was to be, for many Eagles supporters, the season's top highlight.

Five thousand travelling fans made the journey to the north-west and, watching the game on TV, their presence was highly apparent from the volume of noise they were making.

A wonder goal from Darren Ambrose and an extra time winner from Glenn Murray saw a 1-2 result for the Eagles and booked us a place in the semi-finals. Joy was unconfined that night and it was no flukey victory. The best team won.

After some indifferent results, the eve of the festive season saw us at a more realistic 8th in the table but with three tough fixtures to play over the holiday period.

We lost two of our holiday league games but the most important game in terms of club honour and pride was our visit to the New Den in SE16 on New Year's Eve. Jubilation reigned supreme as a Jermaine Easter goal gave us a treasured win on Bermondsey turf. So last season's double disappointment against Millwall was wiped out by the sweet taste of revenge.

As the dog days of January progressed there weren't too may regrets when we exited from the FA Cup away to Derby County. Our minds were on more tangible silverware and hopes of a trip to Wembley were rising when we defeated Cardiff City 1-0 in the home leg semi-final of the league cup.

Our league form was beginning to falter with a home draw to Leeds and an away defeat at Blackpool but the big occasion on Jan 24 was the away semi-final cup match in Cardiff.

The game, of course, went as far as a penalty shoot-out and we proved anything but deadly in that department. We failed to score in three out of four penalty attempts and so it was the Bluebirds who would be going to the Wembley Carling Cup final and not the Eagles.

Three anti-climactic drawn games followed until Watford travelled to Selhurst on Feb 18 and on one of those days when everything went right we walloped four past the Hornets, thus completing our first double of the season.

A succession of wins and draws February and March still saw us within theoretical reach of a play-off place but a weekday evening home fixture against Barnsley was the start of a steep decline. We clinched three points with a 1-0 win but the performance was woeful.

This writer likes to put on a brave face in the presence of adversity but one point out of 15 in the next five games saw the Eagles plungeing down the league table like a lead balloon.

As would be expected when results are disappointing, many critics of the Dougie Freedman management team's tactics were becoming more vociferous and niggling doubts about a cautious and ultra-defensive approach were provoking some lively debates on the HOL message boards.

Some long-time loyal season ticket holders were even threatening not to renew next season after witnessing some dreadful and boring football matches at Selhurst.

Many, too, were wondering if Dougie was on the same planet as us with his post-match comments praising performances which to many seemed inept, dull and strategically wrong.

Eastertide didn't lift supporters' spirits either. Although CPFC were pretty well mathematically safe from relegation, it was disappointing to see a team which started the season so promisingly losing both our games with one goal scored and five conceded.

Our penultimate home game with Ipswich resulted in an uninspiring 1-1 draw and an evening visit to relegated Portsmouth saw a victory for the home side.

Palace's visit to newly promoted Reading ended in a very creditable 2-2 draw and in our last game of the season at home to Cardiff City, the visitors were playing for a place in the play-offs and Palace were playing for nothing very much really.

And that's the way it looked to this spectator, with a first half Eagles strike from Wilfried Zaha being trumped by a brace from the Bluebirds in the second period, almost inevitably it must be said.

It wasn't the most enjoyable of seasons but on the positive side, Palace are still in the Championship, we beat Man U in the Theatre of Screams, we turned over our main rivals, Brighton and Millwall, on their own turf and we reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.

Although the Eagles only finished 17th in the league table it could have been a lot worse than that... a total league collapse in the past few months being compensated for by a few magic moments.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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