November 11 2013

Selhurst Park

Would our home date with Everton be CPFC's eighth consecutive defeat? Jamesey reports.

On a day (Nov 9) of prolonged drizzling rain, road traffic gridlocks and suspended and delayed rail services, another sell-out gate of 25,231 hardy punters grittily fought their way to Selhurst although the match was shunted 15 minutes forward so more of them could make it in time for the kick-off.

Yes, it was definitely the sort of day when your humble scribe wondered whether he should have retained his Costa del Sol holiday apartment and moved to sunnier climes for a comfortable retirement.

But would watching Malaga v Osasuna have the same enticing appeal as squelching down to SE25 to watch what on paper would be another defeat? Surprisingly No.

As one who never expected or particularly wanted Premier League football in the first place, the prospect of relegation back to the Championship doesn't fill me with gloom.

Of course, I feel sorry for the board of CPFC2010 who bravely stumped up their money to save the club and get us out of administration over three years ago. Being in the top tier was a well deserved bonus for them to gain some return for their investment risks. It would be a shame for that to finish for them from a financial point of view.

But the bookies are usually right and they assess the Eagles' chances of another season in the top tier as almost negligible.

Anyway to hesitantly use the cliche that launched a thousand blips, football's a funny old game and in our encounter with the Toffees, it would have been difficult for any neutral to identify the struggling minnows marooned at the bottom and the high-flying aristocrats from the blue side of Liverpool.

It is not always easy to get enthusiastic about 0-0 draw, especially on home turf, but that's what we got and but for some woeful finishing we could have had all three points. But let's not get too greedy, a draw at least stems the flow of defeats and, with two away games against not desperately intimidating sides coming up, perhaps we could create a points tally of a little more respectability?

The major issue occupying most Palace supporters minds at the moment is naturally the identity of our next boss. Co-chairman Steve Parish has stated that the candidates are down to three or four possibles and they hope to make an announcement in a few days' time.

At first, Ian Holloway's departure seemed a brave course of action by an honourable man who accepted his own limitations. He has, however, gone down in my estimation by slyly attempting to shift the blame for this season's debacle to Steve Parish and the board.

In his newspaper column, Ollie wrote that the one mistake he made was not standing up to Mr Parish's desire to buy so many players. He also had a little dig, saying that promoted clubs need a chairman with a viable long-term plan.

Er, Ollie, they also need a manager who isn't hopelessly out of his depth and so obsessed with making egocentric and ill-thought out statements.

And while we are on the subject of management, I was surprised at the hostility shown by many fans to the prospect of Chris Coleman taking over at the helm.

Cookie was always a favourite player of mine, both as a defender and sometimes as a striker when Steve Coppell had no one else to fill the hole. He also stayed with our club after the '93 relegation and played a big part in getting promotion again.

As we know all too well, excellent players don't always make top-notch managers but Cookie seized his chance as manager of Fulham and kept them up against all the odds for many seasons - possibly just what we need at Selhurst?

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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