“And now, the end is near. And so I face, the final curtain …”
The end of the season is on the horizon and I hope I am not alone in feeling a tinge of sadness that it is almost all over. But boy, just like ‘ol blue eyes himself, we certainly did it our way.
The visit of Swansea City at Selhurst Park will be one of two celebrations in the next few days with the second being the testimonial for our favourite Argentine Julian Speroni.
Our visitors travelling from South Wales will certainly be in good spirits themselves, some of which are noting the occasion by riding the distance from the Liberty Stadium to Selhurst Park for some very worthwhile causes. We wish them well for a safe journey from Swansea taking in Bristol and Windsor before heading on to South London.
First up we can pay tribute to everyone involved in securing a third successive season in the Premier League. From the ball boys, the kit men, the tea lady, the programme sellers, the academy, the ladies teams. Everyone.
Everyone has played their part but none more so than the players and management that have got us to the brink of a top ten finish in arguably the most competitive league in European football. Ending up eleventh on our return to the Premier League was incredible enough but to be in a similar position just a year later is perhaps even more special.
The time is not to wonder what the summer or even next season may bring. It is the time to take stock of where we are and what we have achieved leading up the kick off on Sunday.
In my opinion we face the perfect opponents in our final game that sees out the season. The Swans have carried on their exceptional recent good name in the Premier League by securing an eighth place finish sandwiched between Southampton and Stoke City.
They play good football and have a decent young manager at the helm who knows what it means to be part of a club that has risen the way that they have. He was, after all, a player in the bad old days and has made the journey back to the promised land.
We know what it is like to almost lose the club we support but it was so much worse for Swansea. Just ninety minutes away from dropping out of the league completely and the rest is history.
Their recovery has been simply remarkable and the club are part owned by fans is a feat in itself in this day and age when it is not so much the colour of the money, but the amount that is the be all and end all.
I will leave the superlatives there other than suggest that we as a club could do a lot worse than follow a similar path to that of this weekend’s opponents from the last few years.
In saying all that I have, I of course want to see Palace see out the season in style with a win. I wish the good friends that I have made from Swansea a safe journey to South London and wish them a very enjoyable summer.
After all it will not be long until we start doing all of this once again.
Let us celebrate the now.
