We welcome Stuart Ions to the site as the latest recruit to our growing band of merry writers here at TEB. In his first article for us, Stu gives an honest fans view of what we all may be feeling right now.
Stu works in the ventilation industry and has been supporting Palace from birth, attending games since the mid eighties. He is passionate about music, football, boxing and darts and is happily married to fellow Palace fan Katie.
It feels like a lifetime ago we were bouncing up and down at Craven Cottage celebrating the end of a monumental return to the top flight.
Even the most die hard Palace fan could not have seen the season panning out like it did. The squad bound together and produced some displays that will live long in the memory.
The new season is rapidly approaching. The realisation that we are about to enter our second consecutive season in the Premier League is daunting. We survived last season against everyone’s expectations but the question is can the players produce the same spirit again this season?
Summer has seen more players exit Selhurst Park than enter. Some corners of SE25 are beginning to get a little concerned about our lack of activity in the transfer market.
The memory of the club panic buying at the end of last summer is still fresh in all fans minds. There is a sense that we are missing out on targets and are being outdone by clubs around us. It is unclear how much of what we are hearing in the media is speculation.
Transfer gossip is rife on social media but you get the impression that most of what we are reading needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Everyone seems to have a trusted source this time of year! Everyone knows someone who knows someone that is mates with someone at the club.
Maybe I’m a bit old fashioned, but until the club officially announce anything, I am always going to skeptical.
The signing of Fraizer Campbell may start to ease the nerves of some fans ahead of our new campaign. I am sure we can expect more players through the door before the transfer window slams shut. Tony Pulis is renowned for doing business late in the window. He will likely bring in a few players of quality, quietly and with little fuss which let’s face it, is better than the transfer circus that happens at some Premier League clubs.
The window in January speaks volumes – Scott Dann, Joe Ledley and Wayne Hennessey were great buys. Both Dann and Ledley where instrumental in the teams steady climb up the table and Hennessey real competition for Julian Speroni. The only exception was Tom Ince who did not quite have the impact that we had all hoped.
Whoever comes into the squad we need to remember the core of the team that performed so well last season is still in place. If we can build around what we already have, who knows what we can achieve this season.
COME ON YOU PALACE!!!!
