I think we can all agree that last weekend was quite special.
Palace had their moment in the spotlight as Alan Pardew and company booked their place in the FA Cup final in what will be a re-run of the famous game in 1990 against Manchester United.
Connor Wickham’s headed goal was a thing of sheer beauty as he rose highest above Nathan Ake and placed a superb header beyond Costel Pantilimon in Watford’s goal, sending the east side of Wembley into absolute bedlam.
He deserved that moment, he really did. He has had an unfortunate campaign with injuries and I will be the first to tell you that I wasn’t sure on a player that at a young age had so much hype around him.
The spell with Sunderland wasn’t the best, although he did single-handedly keep them in the 2013/14 season with his goals at the end of the campaign. I don’t want to go in-depth on Wickham as my fellow writer and new TEB recruit Sam Smith has done a fabulous write-up on Wickham, so go and check it out.
Right now, there is only one thing to talk about and that is our 2-1 victory last Sunday. I was lucky enough to get my hand on a ticket and drifting out of Wembley at around six o’ clock I felt immensely proud of not only what the players had achieved, but also what the supporters did.
Every single one of us present at Wembley played our part in what was an electric atmosphere, from the first minute to the final minute we did not shut-up. Even when Troy Deeney equalised all you could hear was noise from the ‘famous red and blue.’ It was just truly incredible, it will be a day that will live long in the memory.
Obviously I can’t talk about the day and not mention the players who achieved the feat on the pitch. From the get-go Palace were superb. That is how I like Palace to play, getting at teams and although Pardew said there would be a different game plan for when we play United in the final, I hope it is not too dissimilar to the one we utilised perfectly against the Hornets.
There wasn’t really a bad performance from anyone but special mentions must go to Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie, Wickham, and Mile Jedinak who were all utterly superb.
I used to play in the holding midfield role for my local club, in my illustrious playing days and it is a one that only few can do, let alone do it well.
Over the years we have seen some truly fantastic players who have occupied that area of the field. Take Claude Makelele for example. He was the lynchpin of Chelsea’s side for so many years. Patrick Viera, Diego Simeone among others were all top draw holding midfielders and before I get slated, I am not putting Jedinak in that bracket, but I would say that I feel he is underrated in the Premier League for the job he does.
Once again on Sunday Jedinak’s game was on the money. His aerial ability is something we hugely benefit from, but it was his composure (something we often have a gripe about) and especially his leadership that was certainly evident from the stands.
The big Aussie got everyone fired up and the rest of his team certainly repaid him with a fine performance.
Now attention turns back to the league and although we are not mathematically safe from relegation, it would be a big ask for two from Sunderland, Newcastle United, and Norwich City to catch us. I really believe we will pick up a win or two before the end of the season is out.
This week, Pardew travels to his former club and with Rafa Benitez giving the Magpies renewed belief it will not be an easy game but given the high everyone is on, I am confident heading into the game.
It has been hard for me this week to switch focus away from the FA Cup, let alone the players. However, the league is upon us once again, and we need to show the rest of the teams that we are far better than our current position shows.
The Selhurst faithful know we are better than sixteenth and in the remaining games we have to show that ahead of what could be a transforming summer for the club.
