August 2 2015

Warming up before the game at Craven Cottage. The result was an uninspiring 1-1 draw

Jamesey awoke from his off-season slumbers and made his way to Craven Cottage for a pre-season friendly against Fulham.

Perhaps I go on about the passing of time too much? Age tends to make one more aware of what ration of mortality might remain.

Anyhow, before I start waxing too philosophical and quoting Beckett's "Waiting for Godot", as I made my way to our final friendly game (Aug 1) before the real business begins in a week's time, it struck me that it is almost exactly 10 years since I last entered Craven Cottage.

It was cold. It was New Year's Day 2005. It was a Premier League fixture against the Whites.

Iain Dowie was our manager. Andy Johnson was our top marksman and we were already struggling to stay in touch with maintaining our top tier status.

It was not an entertaining game. We lost 3-1 and another defeat helped push the Eagles towards the relegation which was to come at the end of the season.

You could say that the mood as I write now is somewhat different. Of late, Palace have shown great resilience, stayed creditably in the EvenmoreTVdosh League for two seasons and hope to remain there for the immediate future.

On a lovely summer's day, it is a pleasure to walk from my home in Wandsworth to Craven Cottage - along the Thames now lined with riverside blocks of apartments, apparently bought to launder Russian money and invest profits from Chinese developers and totally out of the purchasing reach of most Londoners.

Then one progresses over Putney Bridge and through the green serenity of Bishop's Park where posters for open air evening jazz concerts and film shows entice the middle class punters from their bijou residences in the surrounding streets.

It certainly makes a contrast to my journey to Selhurst Park from Fort Neef train station through a High Street where Asian groceries mingle with African stores and fast food outlets. Surrounding the stadium the seedy SE25 streets are in a different world from the Fulham experience.

Two faces of the many in modern London.

Back to the present. I was once again seated in the Putney Stand which was then an away area but is now called a "mixed stand". And it was fine, with Palace and Fulham fans supporting their teams happily and no sign that I could see of any unpleasantness.

I don't know what the attendance figure was but it looked surprising large for a match of no real importance.

Alan Pardew put out a strong team to start and the first unpleasantness from a Palace point of view was a Fulham goal after six minutes.

That didn't silence that vociferous Eagles support and I think I can say that I have never heard so much noise from a home backing in all the away friendlies I have ever attended.

And I have never been to a pre-season game with so many police and stewards in attendance too. I don't know whether trouble was expected but Palace and Fulham are not exactly notorious in the problem area. A steward even searched my rucksack at the turnstile - was that really necessary for a pensioner at a non-league game?

The new Gallic acquisition from PSG, Yohan Cabaye, was on parade and along with Glenn Murray looked lively and the Eagles had most of the play and chances in the first period although Fulham always seemed dangerous on the break.

Palace defender Pape Souare equalised after half-time and subs Wilfried Zaha and Jordon Mutch added a little more vitality to the Eagles attack.

But the scores remained even and presumably the Whites boss Kit Symons (a man with a good chunk of Palace history, having been player, assistant manager and caretaker manager over six years at Selhurst) will presumably be satisfied at holding a top tier team to a draw.

Alan Pardew, busy scribbling in his notebook, will hopefully have seen enough to finalise his team for the first league game at Norwich next Saturday.

That will be a tough one so we'll be hoping for more of the spirit that put Liverpool and Swansea to the sword at the tail-end of last season.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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