So, what happens now?
What happens now that the season is entering its twilight phase, Crystal Palace continue to glide towards the splendour of a potential top-half finish.
There is a very much an air of strangeness in the atmosphere at present. Much like last season, albeit earlier, a Crystal Palace side have defied odds and expectations to prove themselves more than capable of establishing themselves as a solid Premier League force.
This is refreshing, because as any observer of the Premier League will know, the longer a club can entrench their presence in this league, the harder it sometimes is to lose that sense of belonging and rightful status.
Of course, football is not that simple, as our editor Jay Crame pointed out earlier this week with a cautionary tale of the pitfalls that can come in an inexplicable instant. One minute you are a proud and gallant beast, the next you are discarded, fur coat languishing in a flea market with the rest of the fallen and the hopefuls.
It is unforgiving, painful and largely unforeseen. It is usually quick, tortuous and devastating. This is why football clubs will tend to have clear plans, both short term and long term that are in place to push back against these possibilities.
It is indeed this very reason that one could feel that the opportunity for developing promising Crystal Palace youth stars has never been better than the remaining five games. Yet while Palace’s youth strategy is quickly lauded and heralded alongside the likes of West Ham United, Southampton and others, it is hard to envisage players getting the top level minutes that can only serve them well.
Frustration comes to mind when looking at Jonny Williams – an immensely talented player who, although having a bad run of injuries, is a player who potentially could have had more time to shine in a Palace shirt this season. Granted, with Ipswich Town’s promotion push, Williams has had the game time he needs, but what of the others, and what next for them?
News broke this week of new contracts for some of the academy’s brightest talents including Jake Gray, Jerome Binom-Williams who along with others from the U18 and U21 sides, have been earmarked as future first-team stars.
Over the course of the season, Palace have used to great effect the loan market to blood some of these youngsters in the lower leagus. Sulley Kai-Kai bagged two goals for Cambridge United recently. Binom-Williams has starred for Southend United. Prior to his injury, Ryan Innis had successful loan spells at Port Vale and Cheltenham Town.
A huge problem with player development within a Premier League club is the risk associated with introducing new young players, due to the unforgiving and frenetic pace of the league. With five games to play, it would provide the perfect chance for the likes of Gray to earn some early high level stripes.
The Premier League and the swaying nature of football morality means that ‘honour‘ and ‘respect‘ are words that come up regularly in the run-in. Hull City are fighting for their lives, and was Alan Pardew to give starts to a number of youngsters in these games, the accusations of disrespect to the other teams scrapping would be in overdrive.
Of course any football supporter, the author included, would be quick to feel aggrieved were their team to fall foul of a team tinkering in the final games. If the Premier League has poisoned our minds with any notion, it is that of greed and selfishness.
From the lofty position of eleventh at the moment, Palace fans could be forgiven for thinking that their side got themselves out of their own mess, so why should they be beholden to stall on their own club’s player development in order to maintain a high standard of ethics. Ethics? Morality? This is the Premier League, damn it. Ethics and morality are left at the door, as is the want among participating clubs.
Give the kids who are not out on loan the chance to impress in an environment befitting of where their new contracts envisage them. Give our kids a chance to get those games under their belt.
Sure, the loan market is very valuable in helping player progression, but get them in a Palace shirt and get them learning. Allow them to make the mistakes and take away the sort of lessons that they need to make it at the top level.
Crystal Palace are proud of the players that have come through in recent years and in the years gone by. Why not further that tradition? Better yet, why not improve that tradition? Put these games to bed – Crystal Palace are safe. Why not make the last five games interesting and see what some of our kids have.
They will have to learn sometime. What better time than now?
