Crystal Palace FC Thread + Premiership Palaver

[Ant040689]

Gayle is being misused at the moment for us. We are playing him as an attacking midfielder/winger, when he is an out and out striker. He hasn't got much flair but you can just tell he would be a handful as an out and out striker, but we play a 4-5-1 and he won't be displacing Chamakh.

Frustrating to watch, as Palace fans are only judging him for his midfield performances and he has been poor when really he needs to be used in a 4-4-2 formation. But we like to persist with a 4-5-1 and three in the middle with two defensive central midfielders in Dikagcoi and Jedinak. I would like to see if Campana and Jedinak in the middle with Bolasie and Puncheon either side with Gayle and Chamakh would work up front, because I think that would be the correct way to go.

I think Gayle is being hamstrung at the moment and it is ridiculously annoying to watch.

Chamakh I thought should have had a shout from Speroni for the second goal and never should have headered, and for the follow up what he did is normally enough to get the ball away and even if not, how often does it fall to the oppo player like that. I am not annoyed at him for that at all really.

Really interesting stat on Chamakh btw, and one that is disgracefully overlooked on him, is that whenever he starts he has a good record in the prem. 22 starts 9 goals. I think Palace will benefit from a striker that is too good for a team of our stature but has been dreadfully underrated by managers of teams that are better.

A note too has to be said on how Holloway subbed off our three best players from the first half, probably, in Campana, Puncheon and Chamakh, which made no sense to me, but apparently there are fitness issues there. Dikagcoi got our man of the match according to our forums, which will make it harder for him to be dropped for the system I would like.

[Ant040689]

Steady on Cardiff!

[TheDazzler]

Surprised you haven't mentioned Jedinak Ant. I haven't seen your 2nd game but he looked very tidy in the Spurs game.

[Ant040689]

Surprised you haven't mentioned Jedinak Ant. I haven't seen your 2nd game but he looked very tidy in the Spurs game.

You are right. If it isn't broke i don't much mention it. He is a great player for us and had another good game. Dikagcoi, probably pipped him yesterday tho.

[DungBeetle]

Holloway is grizzling that he can't get enough players on loan.   

"The answer is to scrap the window - it's an absolute joke. Do it how we used to do it. Then us people who've just come up might just have a chance of catching some of these big people. They write their own rules, that's what they do. Now I can only have two loans. Why's that I don't understand."

[rfgqqabc]

Holloway is grizzling that he can't get enough players on loan.   

"The answer is to scrap the window - it's an absolute joke. Do it how we used to do it. Then us people who've just come up might just have a chance of catching some of these big people. They write their own rules, that's what they do. Now I can only have two loans. Why's that I don't understand."

Just doing his job i guess

[Ant040689]

Holloway is grizzling that he can't get enough players on loan.   

"The answer is to scrap the window - it's an absolute joke. Do it how we used to do it. Then us people who've just come up might just have a chance of catching some of these big people. They write their own rules, that's what they do. Now I can only have two loans. Why's that I don't understand."

Good to see you are letting things go Dung! Ha.

Not this in particular, but I hate with a passion deflection from a manager about immovable things and Holloway recently has been terrible.

Example being rules in place like the loans, (he did have a point last year though about Watford), about refereeing decisions, about the annoyance of getting promoted late and how far behind we are on that front, bemoaning the transfer market for being harsh on him, it existing in the first place. Bemoaning injuries, bemoaning a poor pre season against lower league teams, bemoaning lack of fitness in new players.

He falls short of taking much responsibility for any wrong, he has done in the past but isn't at the moment and I think it is indicative of a highly stressful for time for him now when he is trying to sort our squad out and he is using interviews to just vent and I think he isn't giving a good account of himself by doing this.

I think Holloway needs to play a top 2 to accommodate Gayle and Chamakh in the same team, and I don't think he will pull the trigger, so I think I am going to be constantly frustrated to some level when i am watching. He is going to play Gayle on the wing trying to make him learn the position and I doubt it will work.

Little murmurings that we might be signing Niklas Bendtner too which would be amusing.

[Royal Flush]

Surely if you play 4-4-2 you will just get destroyed, 4-5-1 with 2 DM's makes it hard for teams to score against you

[pleno1]

Surely if you play 4-4-2 you will just get destroyed, 4-5-1 with 2 DM's makes it hard for teams to score against you

This obviously.

Man U
Spurs
Arsenal
Chelsea

All play with 1 striker. Even city will revert I think. I remember seeing dzeko at right back t times anyway on Sunday.

Against any team who play 5 in the middle you will just get completely outclassed.

[Ant040689]

If that is the case why did we buy Gayle or look to start him when we have Chamakh? Both are out and out strikers there is only a place for one. Or at the least why play both at the same time. Tis frustrating.

[anthonyl]

Surely if you play 4-4-2 you will just get destroyed, 4-5-1 with 2 DM's makes it hard for teams to score against you

This obviously.

Man U
Spurs
Arsenal
Chelsea

All play with 1 striker. Even city will revert I think. I remember seeing dzeko at right back t times anyway on Sunday.

Against any team who play 5 in the middle you will just get completely outclassed.

Palarses best chance of winning games IMO will be playing two upfront from the start then reverting to two defensive midfielders.

Think gayle will be converted to a winger, far too weak for the prem to be upfront on his own!

[Ant040689]

Our [reserve] team lose 2-1 away to Bristol City tonight, some first team players, but none of the others staking a claim to a starting place berth. Really sounded terrible on the radio, didn't make much chances at all.

Garvan scored a worldie though by the sounds of it, recently in the prem he has appeared a little lightweight.

[Chompy]

Gayle not even on the bench tonight? Wtf is Holloway doing? This would have been the perfect chance to play him where he HAS to be played. If he's asked to play as a winger, his confidence will be shot by Christmas. Farce that they paid £6.5m for an out-and-out striker and then play him out of position.

[Marky147]

Holloway and Pardew having a competition to see who can get their P45 first?

[Ant040689]

Gayle not even on the bench tonight? Wtf is Holloway doing? This would have been the perfect chance to play him where he HAS to be played. If he's asked to play as a winger, his confidence will be shot by Christmas. Farce that they paid £6.5m for an out-and-out striker and then play him out of position.

We are going to play him in the Bolasie/Zaha role of last season, or an attacking central midfielder but not as an out and out striker. It is a bit of a disgrace we aren't using him effectively and yes tonight would have been great to use him.

I wouldn't mind seeing how long it is going to take for Holloway to realise he needs to play a 4-4-2, or have Gayle to come on for Chamakh on the 60th minute as a part of the 4-5-1. What is happening currently is a little unacceptable.

And Marky, despite rumours about disharmony at Palace I think that Holloway stays despite results, unless maybe we are really shocking. On the fact that he is a good championship manager, and why get rid of someone who is one of the best in the league we are quite likely to be in next year.

OFC we may want someone to give us a better chance of staying up this year, but I don't think Holloway will be that far adrift to give our chairmen the opportunity.