Crystal Palace FC Thread + Premiership Palaver

[Ant040689]

Acidmouse - I notice that when we are level or winning in games we have looked very competitive and can play some decent stuff, thinking back to Stoke first half, and you can even say Fulham up until their worldie. The problem is when we get pegged back or are behind we show absolutely nothing. It is ridiculous. We begin to not know how to play football. The energy is gone, we don't close down, we cannot pass, and play no through balls, we show no rel attacking intent.

This is a massive problem and we need to show heart here, it isn't like these lads are outrageously out of their depth technically, I think they are mentally. Don't get me wrong, we probably are the worst side int he league technically but good enough to stay up, if we can get mentally tougher and be much more competitive.

Also you have to look at our defending and say that on the whole it is pretty good. We absorb pressure well and do not look unworthy against most teams in this league, even aginst Fulham I cannot remember one chance they had in open play that was down to poor defending, generally that is. Our general defensive play us good. And then we have splatterings of these ridiculous mistakes that we wouldn't have made in the championship. Our goalkeeper hugging his front post, not being able to clear a ball properly, unable to command his box, being dodgy with some shots flying in. We have been excellent from corners all season, until we let in two from Fulham that were inexplicable. We have given two avoidable pens away from Moxey being a bleggard. We have done some really bob basic stuff in not tracking a runner when needed to, or Jedinak not being able to pass, or even KG taking Ashley Young down when he should have stayed on his feet.

Against Stoke, two of their goals were from not being able to clear. I mean it is weird. We look capable defensively until these lapses that come. What I am trying to get at is there is a distinction between our defensive display that we put out most of the time, and then we have these outlandish silly, avoidable errors. I make the point because the errors are easy to resolve. Just make better simple decisions, hoof the ball out if needs be rather than dilly dally for example. It isn't like the core of our defense is completely terrible, I think it is just these isolated errors, which can be mended, rather than core problems that couldn't. But what may be the issue is that at our core we cannot get rid of these mistakes, and if that is the case we have regressed from the championship, where we were not playing silly buggers to the extent we are here. So I think that there is room for improvement here and there could be a short term lift to our defensive problems if we get that mental assurance that we needn't make these basic errors, and we deserve our place in this league.

Then to our mental acuity in the Prem. I don't think any of the players think they deserve to be playing at this standard or that they are good enough. I think we are but they don't think so. I think their technique is good enough to stay up but only with a sense of belief and heart that it is achievable. I get that view from our play when the going is good in games. We have looked good. Look at the Sunderland game, and some of the others when we were not losing. We could play some good stuff. We just generally need a sense of heart that if we are losing or the going isn't good we can turn things around. At no point have we gone behind and looked like we could get back into the game. WTF is that? I haven't seen that in a Palace team for a while, this complete lack of heart when losing in games. It is pathetic. But like the silly mistakes problem, I think it can be mended, and I think if the mistakes become less and less, our heart grows.

A lot of what I said above can be perceived as drivel and I think that is fair enough. I am an optimistic fan and the above is a little cliched for what a supporter may say about his team that, lets face it, are a pile of crap. But we are a decent side technically, we have showed it already, we just need to show more of it more often and get rid of the mistakes.

[Ant040689]

He sounded really negative and downbeat in his post match interview last night, wouldn't be surprised if he was sacked in the next few days.

We went on a 10 game run just before the playoffs without a win and he was very much the same during that run. He would seem dejected in the interviews and it is much more to do with the fact he probbably has a terrible gameface for interviews and is either completely and obviously excited by a win, or looks dejected at a loss. He doesn't often have a good middle ground approach to interviews, unless of course we have lost despite playing well, which hasn't happened in a while to be honest!

I wouldn't say his interviews prove his job in under terrible threat, it's just how he is.

[Ant040689]

Will Ollie get the bullet, or is the understanding that the team are happy to take the money, invest in the stadium, go down and come back stronger the next year and hence he is under no pressure?

Feels harsh to sack him - they obviously haven't spent enough money to compete.  Unless they think another manager can attract better players in the next transfer window, but they might be marooned by then. 

Chairmen have planned for relegation but are obviously wanting to stay up. We have spent to stay up this year, but a lot of Holloway's signings haven't added enough quality. I do like Chamakh and Puncheon from their displays so far and then the rest have been underwhelming, including Gayle. But with Gayle you can see much more promise than many of the others.

I really doubt Holloway is getting sacked, unless he cannot get this heart problem sorted from our players. I mean at least put a fucking fight up in the games and lose with grace, not like this.

[aaron1867]

How many has Chamakh scored so far? think it is only 1?

[horseplayer]

press conf for 5.30pm at palace

[The Camel]

Ollie gone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24643421

[horseplayer]

I really struggle to get the Holloway love in from most of the media

signed 14 players this summer, left two of them outside the 25 man squad and ended up with a weaker team than last year.

An interesting strategy that!

[DungBeetle]

Think this is really harsh.  What did the chairman expect from his low budget strategy having also lost Zaha?

I think Holloway is an idiot, but this makes no sense to me.

[rinswun]

What was Holloway's overall record in charge of Palace?

Ant, your dedication to Palace is to be marvelled at but I have seen you use the phrase 'we are good enough to stay up' or similar on a few occasions. What is that based on? From my perspective it should be based on comparing the absolute best performance each team could have and working out whether there are three teams worse. I don't think there are.

[anthonyl]

Think this is really harsh.  What did the chairman expect from his low budget strategy having also lost Zaha?

I think Holloway is an idiot, but this makes no sense to me.

Also they were the biggest over performers for the quality they had in their side last season.

Shame he's gone, they might get more than 20 points now

[Ant040689]

He sounded really negative and downbeat in his post match interview last night, wouldn't be surprised if he was sacked in the next few days.

Pretty immaculate live tell, you selling any live packages at all?

[Ant040689]

What was Holloway's overall record in charge of Palace?

Ant, your dedication to Palace is to be marvelled at but I have seen you use the phrase 'we are good enough to stay up' or similar on a few occasions. What is that based on? From my perspective it should be based on comparing the absolute best performance each team could have and working out whether there are three teams worse. I don't think there are.

I have a lot of hope for my team obviously, but there is logic there and it isn't all faith. Pointing to last year. I have been a regular on this forum since the start of 2011, didn't mention a word about Palace until late 2012 when I saw something special and the capability to go up. Put my money where my mouth was, put £200 on at 11/1 and it came in nicely. We had Zaha/Bolasie/Murray and for me we had the two best wingers in the league and the best striker and thought it was enough to see us up, and despite a rocky road it just about was.

This year though, it is a lot tougher to see how we could stay up, but there has been pockets of performances that were good and it is all about elongating those. Like you have mentioned, would these best performances be better than 3 other team's best performances, you don't think they are, I think you are right as well, but I see the potential. Potential that can be unlocked quickly. Something some of the play that I have seen that calms me.

As I have said I think it is a mental problem at Palace which Holloway has just admitted he lost control of. A major reason to him leaving was in fact that second half performance on Monday. It cried of a team that had no self belief, and Holloway admitted he didn't know how to change that. He also admitted to bringing in too many too quickly and getting rid of the core that brought us up, and getting rid of that energy that was crucial to that.

Would say one big part in this is dropping players like Garvan. He was crucial to a lot of what we did last year and then was harshly left out of our 25 man squad. Garvan prophesied on twitter that day he would be at the club longer than Holloway and he has been proven correct a lot earlier than I thought. I think for him to even say that, as a pretty smart young man he is, shows he was gauging that Holloway was losing the players, and it has showed this season.

Generally I think we have the capability here to play good football, enough to keep us up, we just need that togetherness and grit, that Holloway couldn't instill. Hopefully someone else will. I want Pulis for his great record at Stoke. If he does anything similar with us, as he did with them I would be happy. Pulis did disillusion a lot of fans there though with his style of football, but in terms of stabilising this club, he is probably our man. But I really am out of my depth talking about Pulis, my knowledge of prior Premierleague campaigns is a little ropey.

And Rinswun, I hope this didn't come across as me taking anything personally, as it didn't, I thank you for your kind comment on my support of the club.

[pleno1]

di canio being appointed in the morning i hear.

[Ant040689]

di canio being appointed in the morning i hear.

Would be close to tears if that happened.

[The Camel]

Think this is really harsh.  What did the chairman expect from his low budget strategy having also lost Zaha?

I think Holloway is an idiot, but this makes no sense to me.

Best manager QPR have had since Terry Venables.

The man will always be a legend in my eyes.