It certainly wasn’t the ideal start we were expecting to our Premier League campaign and then couple that with the departures of Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak, all of a sudden everything is looking bleak in SE25.
Let us not throw in the towel just yet.
Sure, defeat to West Bromwich Albion was hard to stomach. I think a lot of people might have expected something like that to go down but letting go our former captain and arguably our most exciting player go was something we kind of did not see coming at the beginning of pre-season.
It has happened and now we move on, and go out and get our targets. I cannot emphasise enough, we need reinforcements. Whatever Steve Parish and Alan Pardew are doing they certainly need to get a wriggle on with the end of the transfer window looming.
It was evident on Saturday that we had no cutting edge. We had our moments as we almost always have in games but we just did not have enough of our them in this one. There seemed to be a lack of everything. Composure, timing, the lot. That was a shame as the Baggies were certainly beatable.
There is quite a lot I want to cover in my article this week but I have found it hard to fit them all in. Instead, I will have a ramble about the two most pressing issues – whether letting the former skipper go was the right decision, and where the hell our goals are going to come from this season.
The only logical place to start is with Jedinak which my fellow TEB writers Sam and Lucy have already had a ‘write off’ about but I would like to add my piece. Liverpool fans had a saying about Steven Gerrard, ‘Captain. Leader. Legend.’ Most will agree that the former England captain and Liverpool legend was one of the best midfielders ever to grace the game. While I am not suggesting Jedinak is at his level, but that saying epitomises Jedinak to the tee.
When I first watched him at Palace, I instantly thought he was too sloppy. And to a point that sloppiness and distribution was not up to scratch in the top-flight on many occasions. He made up for it though with a steely determination, a will to win and above all, a huge passion for the club.
Midfielders must have a bit about them in the tackle, but also have that ability to unlock defences. Jedinak often lost sight of the second attribute, but with the first he always showed his desire and hunger and appetite to grab the game and try to push Palace over the line. Further down the line, we may miss the big Aussie.
I am sure our TEB chief Jay will not mind me opening up a discussion all the writers of the site had about Jedinak. Sure, some of us were heartbroken when the news finally broke that he had signed for Aston Villa. Others were of the opinion that he had outgrown the club, and in terms of his quality, we needed an upgrade. I agree in parts, but when push comes to shove, we will miss Jedinak.
Just take the second half of last season. We know what happened to our league form but when Jedinak came into the side, he transformed it and added that extra bit of bite to what was a tired looking, and soft midfield.
There is little we can do now, he has gone to pastures new whether we like the decision or not, but I insist that he will be a miss. A big one.
Right onto this debate which we have had for the past four seasons, ever since we were promoted to the Premier League – where will our goals come from this campaign?
That question is ever more relevant this term. At the moment we have one fit striker, Connor Wickham. Frazier Campbell is injured, and I do not believe Freddie Lapado or Keshi Anderson are up to the rigours of the top flight just yet. Then again, similar was said that about Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford.
It is patently obvious that we need not one, but two or maybe three strikers before the close of the window. Palace had another bid for Christian Beneteke turned down this week by Liverpool. We know how the clubs are splashing the cash regardless of how good the player is, but for some reason Parish is reluctant to pay over the odds which is understandable.
This summer window is starting to remind me of when we got promoted back in 2004 when the club was run by Simon Jordan. That summer, we basically signed ourselves a death wish with some of the players we bought in.
I do not want to sound too bleak, but of course this squad is a lot better than the class of 2004/05, however, we do need to sort out some new additions otherwise we are going to be playing catch up in the Premier League which is never good.
We are all waiting with bated breath to hear some good news in the next couple of days. Tottenham are next up, a side that performed well last season, and in our current predicament I cannot see us coming out of that clash with a positive mind-set but hey, maybe Palace will go and prove me wrong.
