If you have never celebrated a hard fought and lucky draw like you have just won the lottery then you are likely to not be a supporter of Crystal Palace.
It is times like these where, as a collective, we can agree that we should not be celebrating a lucky point. We can also probably agree that we must. The same sense goes that we should not have to rely on other results to go our way, but unfortunately, the current circumstances mean that we must.
It was a delight to see Dwight Gayle slide the ball into the net for our second, in fact, I broke my phone celebrating as it flew off my lap when I let my excitement get the better of me. This is the real Palace fan experience. Celebrating results you should not want to celebrate, and yet here we are.
Six months ago the pundits were asking whether we were the next big thing, whether we could be top six contenders. Now, we are sitting near the foot of the table in what can only be described as a small relegation scrap.
Like me, many remain positive and confident that we will remain in the Premier League but this situation cannot go on. We are only out of the relegation places because the three teams in them currently are performing so badly. Aston Villa are down. Newcastle United are pretty much down after Saturday’s results. Sunderland will most likely join them for the Tyne Wear derby in the Championship.
Next year we cannot rely on others, there has to be a more balanced season.
It is strange how in our first two seasons we had an awful first four months, and a brilliant last four, while this time around is the exact opposite. If we put this seasons start with last seasons finish we would definitely have a top six finish, so it is incredibly frustrating to keep experiencing extended periods of poor form. I can see how some Palace fans have turned their frustrations to social media which is always a mistake.
Leaving Palace for a moment, I would like to touch on Saturday’s opposition, West Ham United. They have turned from the days of being also-rans, much like Palace, and are now genuine European contenders. The only reason they did not win today was due to an unfortunate piece of refereeing by (yes, you guessed it) Mark Clattenburg. Obviously, I am exceptionally happy that for once, the decision was in our favour rather than against us.
The quality from some of the West Ham players, especially their star man Payet who scored an absolutely superb free kick. There has been a real change at the club and with their move to the Olympic Stadium, their success is only going to build and grow. I firmly believe they deserve every plaudit and every bit of success this season. Let us hope for the good of Premier League football that it lasts.
Aston Villa on the other hand are the complete opposite. Their pitiful performances and diabolical results have made them the laughing stock of the Premier League. It is a shame that the players seem to have given up and are just waiting for their impending relegation. If this was a Palace team, I would be furious and I am sure the Aston Villa fans are equally so. These players are paid millions every year to do pretty much nothing it seems, which is disappointing to see.
There is not a huge amount of time left in this season, and there is not much of a gap between us and the relegation places, so I am grateful for the honesty and integrity of the Palace players, who always seem to put in 100%, even when we have a bad run of form. There is never a good time to be losing games, but losing them as a Palace fan is never as bad as it seems, because we are always used to some kind of adversity.
The good thing is, we can look at the start of our season, and see how we can perform and how we can play with the big boys of the league. We have just got to figure out how to be consistent and find a few gems to sign in the summer to keep our progress going. We have stagnated this year, and the key to success is young talent. If we can find the next Dele Alli or Marcus Rashford, things might get better next year, and for once, we may go a whole season where we are consistent.
Unfortunately some of the fans we inherited upon our Premier League return have begun to lose faith at the same point we began losing games. This is not the attitude and could cause us more harm. The Palace fans, the real Palace fans, the ones who are in it for the long haul, they know that this suffering is an example of one of the many times we have faced a big chunk of adversity, and in reality, losing a few games in the Premier League is nothing compared to extinction.
In the grand scheme of things, we are not in that much trouble at all.
