Palace slumped to another defeat at the hands of struggling Hull City.
It was a disappointing afternoon and it is a shame at how our run of good form has come to a halt. Key decisions went against us on Saturday but there is no taking away from the fact that Hull simply wanted it more than us on this particular occasion.
Long Ball Game
I felt that we got it a bit wrong in terms of tactics and the way we approached the game to break Steve Bruce’s side down.
They played a 3-5-2 formation which is not unusual but it is by no means popular in the Premier League. With the type of centre backs they fielded, we played into their hands by pumping it long a lot of the time. It got predictable and Michael Dawson and company ate it up.
It is not like we had no creativity on the field, we had plenty of players that could have caused them problems, but it just did not happen. We had to be a bit clever with the ball, we went long too often and with the wide players we have at our disposal I do not think we utilised them to their strengths.
Jedi Or Not To Jedi
After the game I read a lot on social media about whether Mile Jedinak is the central midfielder we need to move the team on. What I gathered was that many fans felt Jedinak is past his best and cannot influence games like he has done in previous game this season.
I have to say I totally agree with those claims. Captain Jedi is the driving force of our midfield and he has been for years. Let us not forgot he was instrumental in our promotion campaign and on many occasions he has been pivotal in us picking up very important points. It does not mean that after a couple of poor games he is past his best.
People talk about Steven Gerrard in that vein, and I am in no means comparing Jedinak to Gerrard but it is the same issue. Do not get me started on Gerrard, my view is that he is and has been one of the best central midfielders the league and arguably the world has seen over the last ten to fifteen years.
He might not be the most technically gifted player of our midfield because I think Jason Puncheon has that accolade but he is by far our most influential midfielder when he is on top form and getting rid of him now when we are embarking on one of our most exciting periods would be daft.
West Bromwich Albion
The previous week saw us take on Tony Pulis’ West Brom and it was another disappointing afternoon. We lost by the same scoreline but what made it even worse was our former manager outfoxed us.
The reason why that game got away from us was because we let in the first goal. If we had got ourselves ahead in the game the Baggies would have found it very difficult.
The defending for the first goal was a bit hap-hazard as they exploited Puncheon’s inability to defend from corners. The second was a great effort from Craig Gardner, he has that in his locker and there was not much Julian Speroni could do.
We have to put these two defeats behind us and look ahead to Chelsea away. One thing is for sure, the performance levels have to be raised. They were unlike our other game where we blew teams away, maybe a hint of complacency has crept in.
I am sure a stern talking to from Alan Pardew after the defeat to Hull will whip the boys back into shape ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.
