The latest edition of The Eagle Speaks is brought to you by Paul Price …
This week has not really been a good one for Palace in principle as we lost to Arsenal, went bottom of the Premiership and also lost our manager.
Some may say that this is a truly awful situation but this is all really just part and parcel of being a Palace fan as previous seasons have shown. It appears that the roller-coaster ride just continues along its un-made path which conjures up images of the mining trucks in an Indiana Jones film.
In seasons past, we have lost plenty of games in the Premiership, spent a great deal of time at the foot of this division and have lost a few managers under varying circumstances along the way.
The main even this week was when Ian Holloway left his position as manager. Despite going out of the club at a pretty critical time, he left with a great deal of dignity, some pride still intact and able to be open and honest to the full about his reasoning. He also left under mutual consent which normally means you have been sacked but, this was completely different and not the case in this instance.
A press conference was called and he sat there next to Steve Parish and gave us a very open hearted insight into the footballing and personal reasons behind his decision with full support of the board who had apparently tried to persuade him to stay.
This expedition into the Premier League for Holloway obviously became too much and there has been concern about his mental state from a footballing and personal perspective since the beginning of the transfer window. Despite the very refreshing interview, it was clear to see that he was broken, lacked confidence and had lost the sparkle that we all grew to expect and love.
Long gone was the funny little man that did a publicised dance in the Brighton dressing room and the man that joked and said what we all would like to say at interviews to the media.
At the time, Palace had lost seven games out of eight and this must have been a factor in many respects but it was clear to see that he never really recovered from the strain of the transfer window, a lack of rest and the constant pressure of trying to balance this with getting a team prepared for the start of the season in a very short timescale.
As well as the actual transfer window, the actual result of the transfer window took its toll as well. Long gone was the happy go lucky boys club that won us promotion back in May with their funny tweets, boyish antics and a team spirit that we all admired and loved.
We now had loads of new faces in and around the club, people that were not there or invited to the promotion party and new personnel that would take time to break into the previous squads lives, mentality and clique. We also lost a number of the ”Wembley” people to other clubs once the squad was announced.
Many people really liked Holloway (and I was one) as I really wanted to see him do his best and get rewarded for getting us to the “Promised Land”. Whilst I was and continue to be a fan of Holloway, he did unfortunately make a few mistakes on the surface that cost him dear and made mistakes that will also cost us dear as we continue (at least up until January).
The lack of a decent full back pairing is surely the biggest issue for Palace. Still to this day, we do not have a rock solid back two that commands the box which is obvious when you look at the goals that we have conceded this season.
We purchased far too many midfielders than we needed and it was as though our buying strategy was being governed by a kid in a sweet-shop.
Another probable error was letting some of the old team go off to other clubs such as Peter Ramage and Dobbie. Ramage was certainly one of the crew and fans favourite for his passion and can do attitude. Dobbie was different in that he did well generally at Palace, was one of the old squad and many felt that he would do a better job than the new faces that came through our door. There are a few others that left of course for differing reasons such as Zaha and Moritz to name a few, but Ramage and Dobbie stand out for me as they bought different things to the squad and its overall ambience.
A previous article written before the season started covers and slightly sums up our current predicament with a team of new players that have not quite gelled with a team that looks different every time it takes to the field. The article covers expectations and the feeling that we should keep the main core of players that got us promoted and compliment this with four or five new players that would fit in with what we are trying to achieve. Not suggesting that it was Holloway’s fault but we ended up with a complete silly season and seventeen new signings which is too many and too quickly.
There have been many candidates to replace Holloway and some are less than favourable. We just need to hope that we do not get a new manager on the cheap again and actually look for the right candidate with a good record, experience of the Premiership and somebody that kicks a few arses into shape in the dressing room. Whoever it is, we just have to hope that they can make an impact to the team and turn the results (and especially the performances and team spirit) around. If they arrive soon then they have loads of games at their mercy to make a difference and get the squad and team spirit back on track ready for the push to the end of the season.
Personally, I don’t think that Palace need to rush into getting a new manager and can afford to wait for the right person at the right price. Keith Millen looks good as a temporary stand-in so maybe we just need to get a level of stability again after such a shock before going out into the market again.
The only really good news currently is that Sunderland beat us to the signature of Gus Poyet so thank-fully he is off the radar at this critical time as our new Manager. With regards to Gus Poyet, the little dressing room pooping, monkey faced simpleton only went and had the audacity to win with Sunderland this weekend in the North East derby which rooted Palace to be bottom of the league.
Finally we move onto the Arsenal game. Many feared the arrival of Arsenal with the attacking flair and big name players.
Despite the final result, Palace played more than their part in this fixture and actually had more attempts on goal than Arsenal. On the previous Monday, Palace were undone by two wonder strikes from Fulham and on this occasion Palace were undone by two wonder saves from the Arsenal keeper at a critical time.
The team that took to the pitch was unexpected to be honest and it had a number of different players that hadn’t started previously. We cannot second guess but, it had the feeling of a team of players that were given an opportunity to shine and make a mark. It also had the feel of a team of players that were put together to send out a message to those that have not performed or caused other issues recently.
On a positive note, the Palace side looked rejuvenated and showed a lot of commitment which was very refreshing to see. Ward and Moxey both had a stormer, Bannan was impressive, KG did well and Pep was excellent with the exception of giving away the penalty which was a shame after his performance generally.
Jedinak commanded the midfield well up until the point where he started trying to spray long balls all over the pitch like David Beckham as we became desperate for a break , Gayle looked excellent when he came on and Bolasie was a handful on the wing as usual. Delaney and Gabbidon did pretty well and were solid until the game opened up after the penalty. Speroni did really well to save a few very good shots but does need to be more commanding and courageous when crosses are flying into our box.
All in all much more positive from the boys and I hope that we stick with this team for the next outing in order to build a bit of familiarisation and consistency.
It is probably not a coincidence that most of the players mentioned above are the ones that were indeed in the squad that we took to Wembley at the end of last season. This was a squad that had something more important than individual brilliance and skill but showed real togetherness and beat all the odds and got us promoted as a tight unit.
