A point is a point in the Barclays Premier League. We cannot argue with that, it will help us with our overall goal, which is to survive.
These types of games we need to try and take full advantage of. We messed up against Sunderland and Aston Villa. Did we mess up against Stoke? I think we did, but we move on.
There are a couple of things I want to discuss in this edition. Firstly the January transfer window and what that could potentially hold for us, and then a word on our home form.
January Transfer Window
I read Stuart Ions recent article and he was talking about how the January window could make or break our season, in case you missed it, this is what he said:
In a few weeks time all the madness starts again. It could be a pivotal month for the club. If we can invest wisely in January, we will be in charge of our own fate for the remainder of the season. Invest badly and we could be heading right down the swanny.
He is definitely right. If we make the wrong signings it could derail the rest of our season, we all know what the problem area is, the forward position.
We have Marouane Chamakh, Dwight Gayle, Frazier Campbell but they are not what you would call 10-15 goal a season striker. We need someone with Premier League pedigree, most importantly someone that can score goals regularly.
I have heard and read a few names mooted in the media – Jordan Rhodes of Blackburn Rovers and Troy Deeney of Watford. Are either of those what we need?
It will be interesting to see what Neil Warnock would class as a quality striker. If he is thinking the names above are the answer, I think he is wrong. They are prolific in the Championship but could they make the step up, I am not so sure.
We have to trust Warnock and his team, I am sure they have identified players we need. I just hope we do not wait around, get the faces in so we can crack on.
Home Form
Home form is everything in this league. Home form and vital away points keep you up. We have been picking up some good points away from home but we need to improve at Selhurst.
Last season teams came to Selhurst Park and struggled, more importantly we took our chances when they came. This year it has been a different story. We are not killing teams off.
It is not that we have looked average at home, at times we have played really well but we have lacked that killer instinct. If we had it against Villa we would have had three points.
Coming into the crunch time of the season, we need to make sure we up our game at Selhurst. If we go down with our home form being a contributing factor that will be a tough pill to take.
We have some tough games coming up, starting with a trip to Manchester City this weekend. Not many teams go to the Etihad and get a result. I remember last year playing reasonably well so you just never know.
Then we take on Southampton, the surprise package of the season. After all those outgoings you really thought it would be tough for them this year but they have excelled all expectations even though they have hit a poor run of form of late.
Looking Forward
Warnock has done a good job so far but when the pressure truly starts to bite it remains to be seen whether he can he hold his nerve. He has never really lasted in a job in the Premier League. He was sacked by Queens Park Rangers and moreover he was relegated whilst in charge of Sheffield United. It is probably better if Palace fans forget about those statistics.
I think we have enough to stay up, we now have the experience, at this current moment we do not have the squad depth. That is why the January transfer window is so important for Warnock and his staff.
We are not playing badly but we are not picking up those vital points at home. If we can improve on that then I am confident our club will survive relegation.
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