Isn’t this how it always is at Palace?
That familiar foreboding that eternally follows Eagles fans around like an overenthusiastic dog wanting to play catch. The drool covered tennis ball repeatedly dropped by your feet serving as a reminder of its presence.
While the transformation has seemed endlessly painful for Palace fans over the last dozen or so league games, the transition from gun powder to cannon fodder has been stark in its quickness.
The winless run continues unabated, with only intermittent cup victories and upsets providing some welcome respite from the pummelling Palace have endured in 2016. And while there have been some positives on display within the vast number of negatives, the manner with which West Bromwich Albion dismantled Palace in the first half of their recent clash was the biggest sign of all that Palace are now embroiled in a relegation battle.
TEB have talked before about how quickly football narratives can turn around. This chapter has been particularly brutal for Palace. Using West Brom’s visit to Selhurst Park earlier this season as a benchmark, it is hard to believe it was the same two sides on display.
The victory for Pardew’s side was epitomised by the negativity and conservatism displayed by Tony Pulis that day, hauling his most potent attacking threat off at half time with the score at 0-0 in place of a deeper lying midfield option with a view not to losing the game. Palace went on to control the game and win 2-0. After thirty minutes on Saturday, the Baggies were three goals to the good.
The introduction of Yannick Bolasie in the second half on Saturday coincided with Palace’s not-quite-enough upturn in fortunes, and while the visitors gave a good account of themselves (complemented by Connor Wickham’s spectacular second goal) in the second half, each point needed between here and the end of the season seems further and further each week.
For Yannick Bolasie, see Attilio Lombardo. Lombardo’s electricity and abundance of talent in the 1997/1998 season helped propel Palace to a position of early strength. While not quite the heady heights of European football talk like had been mentioned earlier this season, Lombardo’s form and the inspiration others found from being around him had Steve Coppell’s side perched in tenth position in November.
What was notable was not only the dip in form that coincided with Lombardo’s prolonged absence from the side through injury, but it was a Palace side with similarly mirrored home woes that were prevalent throughout that tough season. For those of you who take significant heed in signs and facts that contrive to convince you history is destined to repeat itself – look away now.
As the games keep coming, they get bigger and bigger, each one more crucial than the last. The trip to Sunderland is no different, while facing up to the fact we are not merely glancing over our shoulders anymore as the chasing relegation train has firmly caught up with Pardew’s free-falling Eagles. The tricky tie at the Stadium of Light suddenly has much more gravitas than anyone would have anticipated six weeks ago.
The North East might not be the best place to find a fresh flow for those once mighty Eagles’ wings given the conditions, but if we do seek solace in previous occasions on that ground then perhaps we are in luck. I think we are all hoping that Bolasie is declared fit for purpose tonight.
If not, does anyone have the number for Darren Powell?
