I am raring to go and hope Palace fans up and down the country are ready for the new Premier League season to begin.
The lads face a tough looking trip to newly promoted Norwich City on August 8th, which I feel will be a good test for our side.
Barring any late dramas like in previous seasons, we can look forward to hopefully what will be a season where the club will reach new heights.
Everything resonating from the club now breathes ‘established Premier League club’. It should be a season where Palace fans can look up instead of what is going on down the bottom of the table. We have been there and done that.
I would also like to think our readers will notice that we as a site have evolved over the past two seasons and very much think we are reaching the higher echelons of the many fantastic fan sites that are out there.
We have come back refreshed following our summer hiatus, and we are ready to provide another season of fantastic coverage.
We have a mix of new writers, and ones that have signed extensions on their contracts, myself included! (but if an offer comes in I simply cannot refuse, I might have to think about it Jay!)
My feature has not escaped a revamp either as the Progress Report will now be aptly named the Red And Blue Report which will go online every Saturday.
Now I have finished the introduction, I suppose I had better get into the finer details of Palace’s pre-season so far and the summer signings we have made.
The signing which has got me intrigued is our capture of Chelsea’s Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan. I will be honest, I am one of those who are a little sceptical of the move.
I saw what he did in the Championship last season with Middlesbrough, scoring 17 goals in 36 matches, but whether he can cut the mustard in the Premier League remains to be seen. He certainly is not someone with lightning speed, but his eye for a goal and his link up play could be very useful behind whoever we decide to put up front.
He will also give us another option in that number ten role. In previous seasons it has been a troublesome position with Marouane Chamakh being used and also Jason Puncheon. Now we have found a home for Puncheon in the centre of midfield, Bamford could be the ideal solution.
The pre-season campaign took Alan Pardew and his team to South Africa following an invite to the inaugural Cape Town Cup contested by Sporting Lisbon, Ajax Cape Town and Supersport United.
Palace won the opening game 4-0 against Supersport but then lost 2-0 in the final against Sporting. I would not read too much into that result though, Sporting are side that have pedigree on the European stage. Sure, it was a marker to see where we are in our preparations but other than that it was just a glorified friendly tournament to attract some interest.
I am sure you were as happy as I was a couple of weeks ago when Palace signed a renowned French midfielder in the shape of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint Germain for a fee that could rise to £13m. It is a fantastic piece of business for our club, and a real statement of intent.
At the time of writing we have signed Cabaye, Bamford, and Alex McCarthy (from QPR) and now it looks as though a deal has been struck with Sunderland for the services of Connor Wickham.
I am hoping we do not stop there in terms of transfers. I think we all know we need cover at the centre of defence, Ashley Williams has been mooted but whether that will materialise we will have to wait and see.
Back to Cabaye. The Frenchman arrives with pedigree having played at Newcastle United under Pardew. We are all aware of his talents, he has the ability to control the game, as well as being able to provide that killer pass. Something we have very much lacked in recent years.
I am drooling at is the prospect of Jason Puncheon and Cabaye linking up in the centre of the Selhurst Park pitch. The partnership could be absolute dynamite.
Well, after a summer off, the Premier League is now just a week away from returning. It should be an absolute blast of a season.
As for Palace, can we expect another fantastic season? Or is that being a little too optimistic? Should we be happy with the forty points and another season in the top flight?
Personally, I think we should aim high. We should take this club into unknown territory. A top eight finish would be superb and for me a cup run would also represent an outstanding season.
That is all from me for this weeks edition. Stay tuned as next week I will look back at the opening game of the season and what we can really expect from the squad Pardew is assembling.
