Monday night was a special night for Crystal Palace football club.
The Champions came to Selhurst needing a win to keep their title hopes alive, but instead they came away from SE25 with no points and the realisation that the Premier League title could well be heading to West London.
Although Palace were under the cosh for most of the game taking your chances is the single most important aspect of Premier League football. Glenn Murray and Jason Puncheon took theirs but Manuel Pellegrini’s men wasted 21 of theirs, only Yaya Toure converted one of their chances with an arrowed finish.
Each week it is becoming increasingly difficult to find ideas to write about; I have spoke about our need to invest wisely in the squad, also our need to harvest a good reputation both on and off the field – but where do I go from here?
Premier League football for another year is virtually secured, and the future is looking bright with each passing game what else can Palace achieve this season?
Breaking last season’s point tally
The only other viable goal they have left to play for is to break last season’s point tally which was 45. We are currently in the exact same position as we ended last season and it looks as though we might stay there, barring a late collapse from Stoke City.
Under Tony Pulis last season we went on a marvellous run which catapulted us right up the league. Our form at the moment is very similar to that of last season and I am hoping we can break that tally, because not only will it mean a second consecutive year in the top flight but it will show the remarkable progress of the club over the past five years.
Our remaining fixtures are the following:
- Sunderland (away)
- West Brom (home)
- Hull City (home)
- Chelsea (away)
- Manchester United (home)
- Liverpool (away)
- Swansea (home)
The seven games we have left are nice ones to end on. There are games which in our current form would suggest we should win. But then there are bonus points up for grabs with the games against the top sides such as Chelsea, United and Liverpool.
If we were embroiled in that relegation fight that is happening below us then I would be a little worried, but thankfully we are not and we look forward to these games with optimism.
I will be hoping to get to Selhurst for the return of Tony Pulis; I will be interested to see what kind of reception he will get. We can forget what he done for us in footballing terms – keeping us up when we seemed dead and buried. But I think the manner of his departure left a sour taste in all of our mouths.
Out of all seven games that one is the big one – we can’t let Pulis’s Baggies walk into Selhurst and take the three points can we… but at least we know what we will be up against.
Glenn Murray
Over the last weeks and months Palace fans have spoken a lot about Murray and his goal scoring exploits. His goal against the Champions took him to five goals in five games now. I saw recently on Sky Sports News that his minute to goal ratio is better than the likes of Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane at the moment. That has to tell you what kind of form he is in at the moment.
At the start of the season he was shipped out to Reading in the Championship, and probably many of us Palace fans thought that it would be the last we saw of Murray in the Red and Blue. But under Alan Pardew he has come back into the side and looked comfortable in the Premier League.
There were question marks over whether Murray could cope in the top flight but he has proved those critics wrong, and I am including myself in those. In our promotion winning campaign under Ian Holloway he was scoring goals for fun in the Championship.
I think he ended up with 31 goals, although the Championship is an extremely competitive league, the step up in class is noticeable. Now Murray is finding his feet he will be a valuable asset to the group in the next year as we look make our assault on the top ten.
Squad Rotation/Fringe Players
I have wanted to talk about this for a bit of time now. Another season in the Promised Land is almost secured – do we begin to experiment with the squad?
I have my views on squad rotation which are that you do not change a winning formula. The team is playing arguably the best football we have seen Palace play in the Premier League, and I am sure we all want to see that continue.
We cannot forget that we have some good players on the bench that are capable of coming in and turning in a good performance. Also we have some exciting prospects from our academy that are knocking on the door of the first team.
Hiram Boateng was on the bench for the game on Monday. Jake Gray has been in and around the squad on occasions. Also Keshi Anderson would be someone that I would like to see involved at some point. So maybe it is time for Pardew to throw them in and see what they can do.
With our goal of survival virtually completed there is a chance for these next batch of youngsters to impressed the gaffer and begin to earn a living playing at the highest level.
