Crystal Palace returned to winning ways after they beat Leicester City at the King Power stadium. It was not pretty, but it was effective. Joe Ledley’s goal proved to be the difference.
It was the classic case of being a relegation six pointer before the game, Leicester had a lot riding on it, losing for them was simply not an option. A win for Palace would further strengthen their league position and put a little daylight between themselves and the bottom three.
Julian Speroni
Some say keepers come into their own later in their career, if that is the case Julian Speroni is certainly an example of that. At first he struggled to find his feet at Selhurst, but what a difference ten years has made.
I feel his best years have been in the last three seasons, two of them have been in the Premier League. At the weekend against Leicester he proved just how important he is to the side by making three top drawer saves.
He was definitely a factor in helping the team survive the drop last season under Tony Pulis, and there is no doubt that the Argentine will have another crucial role to play.
Long Balls
One aspect of our game that frustrated me the whole afternoon was the willingness to play long balls. They just kept coming and coming and coming. It was boring, predictable and in all honesty did not benefit us. It was only when Yaya Sanogo came on, that it started to make an ounce of difference.
With Pardew’s style, his eagerness to play open and attractive football it was not what Palace fans have come to expect in the last five weeks. I feel we now have the players to expand our game, to take it to the next level. Our midfield is strong, with Mile Jedinak returning and the addition of Jordon Mutch. I feel the latter will be used in a more attacking role.
When our wide players are on their game they are as good as anyone. Wilfried Zaha proved in spells that he is getting back to the his old self that we know and love. Jason Puncheon was composed and offers that technical ability when cutting in. We have so many options but Saturday all we wanted to do was to pump the ball long. It was slightly disappointing.
Nigel Pearson
I just want to weigh in on the Nigel Pearson incident with James McArthur. Both men have played down the incident, McArthur seems like a top class bloke, so plaudits to him.
Pearson said this after the game:
Because he said something to me. I do not have to reveal anything do I? I am more than capable of looking after myself. Listen, I have a lot of respect for the lad, he is a good player. You know what happened in the summer in terms of him coming here. I am as disappointed as he was with how things panned out, but it was nothing to do with either myself or the player.
The bulk of his argument was because McArthur said something to him, well if that is the case Mr Pearson, grow up. Whatever way he tries to defend himself, the physical action he applied to McArthur seemed more than what Pearson said, I think he was a lucky boy.
It was not too long ago that Pardew was involved in something similar when he was in charge of Newcastle, his headbutt on David Meyler attracted lots of media attention. Pardew got a ban, what Pearson did was no different. Will he get a ban?
Yaya Sanogo
Finally, Yaya Sanogo. Ah that big, lanky (not a finisher) Sanogo. A lot has been sung and written about the Frenchman on social media this week. If you have not seen the ‘Let it Sanogo’ parody by Jim Daly, I encourage you to watch, it is class.
On to the more serious point, he came on and caused that ‘chaos factor’ which Pardew bought him in for. Although his end product has left a lot to be desired, if he was more composed in front of goal I suspect we would have a decent goal-scorer on our hands.
He is only young and I think people forget that. Shola Ameobi coming in could be good for him, learning from someone like him is a must for Sanogo. As I have mentioned, the long balls frustrated me no end but when the Under-21 French international came on we had more joy with that area of our play.
Overall it was a solid, plucky away performance. We have put the Foxes deeper in the mire as we continue to move away from the drop zone. I am quietly confident that a respectable mid-table finish is on the cards this season.
This week we move on to play Newcastle and take on Liverpool in the FA Cup both of which are at home. We could put some serious daylight between us and the bottom three with a win on Wednesday.
A win over Liverpool would be amazing. It would keep our dream of Wembley alive. It will be tough, Liverpool have improved since the last time we met. Daniel Sturridge is back from injury and Philippe Coutinho is firing on all cylinders. Another explosive game is in the offing.
