After the Liverpool game, confidence must have been high amongst the supporters. Confident that Palace could push on up the table. That has not happened but it was not for the want of trying.
In South Wales we gave a very good account of ourselves considering the first fifteen minutes looked like we were going to get blown away by an impressive Swansea City side. We persevered and came away with a credible point.
The disappointment was another home loss where we really should have won. I still do not know how we lost the game on Tuesday evening. We had the chances and yet again it begs the question, do we need another striker?
Swansea: 1-1 (Bony, Jedinak pen)
The Swans will certainly be up in the top half of the table come the end of the season. I hope we will be there too but we have to be realistic, another season of consolidation will do us Palace fans just nicely.
The line-up was unchanged from the Liverpool game the previous week. That meant Dwight Gayle had another opportunity to stake his claim as our regular number nine. Marouane Chamakh occupied the number ten position to give us that aerial and physical threat.
The first quarter of an hour was tough. Swansea have evolved under Garry Monk and their talisman Wilfried Bony will no doubt play for a top side very soon. He is very Drogba-esque. His goal was taken very well and it is difficult to blame Brede Hangeland. He thought he had the Ivorian covered but the turn and finish was sensational.
I felt the turning point in that game was the unfortunate injury to Gayle. Him going off certainly gave us a foothold in the game as James McArthur took his place and the formation was shifted and we got our rewards.
Since coming in from Wigan Athletic, the Scottish international has been superb. At the Liberty Stadium he played in the number ten role as Chamakh took the position vacated by Gayle as the single striker. Is this a position that he could take up in the future?
I feel that he is not that type of player. He would not be what I would class as a creative midfielder but alongside either Mile Jedinak or Joe Ledley he is great. He has tremendous attitude and most importantly, he keeps it simple.
We lack a creative midfielder. I thought we had one in Tom Ince but he opted to continue his travels with a move to Hull City and now to Nottingham Forest, neither of which seem to have done him any favours.
We need a player like Philippe Coutinho. The Liverpool playmaker is as classy as they come. He has terrific feet, his dribbling ability is second to none and nine times out of ten he picks the right ball. He is Brazilian so it says it all.
If we could find our own Coutinho it will help us greatly, along with the pace and trickery of our wide men, someone in the hole will fill that gap and give us that little bit extra.
Aston Villa: 0-1 (Beneteke)
I was sure we were going to pick up the three points against Villa. They were on a horrible run with no wins in their previous ten games before their victory at Selhurst Park.
It was a superb finish from another striker that should be and most probably will be playing at a higher level soon. Belgian forward Christian Beneteke is another man mountain like Bony but his finish had such a delicate touch and he took it with aplomb.
The mistake by Scott Dann was very uncharacteristic. Dwelling on the ball in the Premier League is always dangerous and he was punished. However, what followed in the first half was encouraging. We played with attacking verve and excitement. Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie never cease to get spectators off their seats, all that was missing was that elusive goal.
Injured Gayle came off for Frazier Campbell who offered us something a bit different, a little more of a physical presence. It was a feature of our game last season. We need a striker that will at least hit ten goals a season. Do we have one of them?
Gayle will get you goals, no doubt about that but he needs a run of games. I really want him to be a success in the Premier League. When he has started games he has scored goals but not enough for him to be continually picked in the side. Is he better suited as an impact player? I will let you decide that one.
Campbell has been a bit of a journeyman but has that vital experience in the top flight but he has the same problem, he does not score enough goals. Kevin Doyle is not the answer either and was clearly brought in a backup.
The month of January is looming and there will definitely be activity. It is just the case of the management identifying what we need. It will once again be an important transfer window. Bring in the right players and we could push on. Bring in the wrong players and we could be facing a very tough second half of the season.
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