January 26 2015

Alan Pardew

Jamesey reflects on an amazing January following the arrival of our new boss, Alan Pardew.

Before I allow myself to bask in the warm glow of current success there are two extremely irritating matters which I must get off my chest.

First was the inexplicable treatment of our Southampton FA Cup tie (Jan 24) by the BBC's "experts" who edit "Match of the Day".

Now, I am sure that the programme's editors get fed up to the back teeth with partisan supporters who whinge that their club was not covered adequately on the late night replays.

But having listened to the BBC's excellent live radio report on the game, co-broadcast by our own former shaggy bear, Matt Lawrence, it sounded one of the most surprising and exciting affairs one could imagine - a view that was confirmed by just about every red-and-blue army squaddy who was fortunate enough to be on parade at St Mary's.

Blow me down, if MOTD didn't relegate the match to a brief afterthought, as sleepy eyes were closing towards the midnight hour and without even any replay of the goals. We are, of course, accustomed to playing second fiddle to the Chelseas and Man Citehs but that was plain ludicrous. Two Premier League clubs, both on a roll, five goals and a nail-biting finish?

Being a former journalist myself, I am always careful not to be too hard on members of our noble profession (ahem). But some miserable, tripe-mongering scribbler had the audacity to include the Saints' exit as one of the surprises of the fourth round, along with Chelsea, Citeh and Tottenham, plus Liverpool and Man U's inability to progress any further so far.

If the team lying 3rd in the Prem was unable to defeat the side in 13th position, is that really such a massive shock? I think not and even Private Eye's legendary hack, Lunchtime O'Booze, wasn't often inebriated enough for such errors of judgment.

There are, we hope, parallels with two other epic turn-rounds involving two managers whose names are not often mentioned in polite company any more in the environs of SE25 - Iain Dowie and Tony Pulis.

Just before Christmas 2003, Dowie became manager of a struggling team which didn't look as though it had much clue about anything. Many of us still aren't quite sure how it was done, but that particular gaffer took the Eagles on a terrific run, scraped into the last play-off place and won the final in Cardiff. And so, against all expectations, Palace were in the elite once more.

Subsequent events proved disappointing and the Dowie era ended with relegation and all sorts of political wrangling and court disputes.

Saviour Number Two, Tony Pulis, arrived at Selhurst in late November 2013 and performed similar alchemy as Dowie. Just like a decade earlier, the team and tactics were adjusted and Pulis took the Eagles to 11th place in the top tier and picked up Premier League Manager of the Season award for his efforts as well.

His reign ended with his shock departure shortly before the current season started for reasons which we can only speculate upon.

Anyhow to return to happier topics, Alan Pardew, who arrived in SE25 in uncannily similar circumstances to the above two, must be a happy man (the fans certainly are) with his record to date - played four and won four.

We shouldn't tempt the fates to bring down wrath upon our heads by trying to sanctify Alan yet but it's certainly a case of so far, so very good. But there's a long way to go yet.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

In Depth Jamesey's Veteran View Index

Email the HOL editor with your comments to editor@holmesdale.net