Pessimism Rears Its Ugly Head

It has been one of those weeks at Palace.

Arrivals, departures, fleeting hope, carefully manufactured distractions and more of the same.

This column in an entry two weeks ago talked of ‘new ideas, new faces, new beginnings’ and what we are now seeing is only one of those to be true.

The long awaited arrival of Christian Benteke from Liverpool this week heralded what many hope will be the first of some final forays into the transfer market in the coming weeks to bolster a squad that looks thinner in depth and quality as each week passes.

Has there been a joy as short-lived as the four hours Palace fans enjoyed on Saturday morning from the Benteke announcement until the announcing of the sides just before 2pm?

It becomes apparent very quickly, there are a few new faces, but for all intents and purposes it appears that last season did not end, and Alan Pardew’s ‘Big Book of New Ideas’ is glaring in its emptiness. You begin to wonder whether such a text existed at all this summer.

Pardew’s position as commander in chief has never been under the spotlight as much as it has in this last week. While sentiment towards Pardew deteriorated at a similar pace to the side’s form throughout 2016, there were many too who felt that the almost glorious cup run was a justifiable triumph to merit him getting more time.

That tide seems to be turning.

The pessimism is back at Palace. It has been a few years since that foreboding guttural churn has weaved around Selhurst, but in these opening two weeks of the season it seems to be alive and well, and rightly so.

Pardew has overseen an abysmal run of form that would see 99.9% of managers face the chop. With the pessimism and growing lack of confidence in his ability to be the man to turn things around at Palace, there is a sense that he is on borrowed time. He seems to have been borrowing time since April.

There are concerns as there always have been about his ego. The arrogance that he possesses, a perceived admirable trait in times of good form, seems detached from reality in the current plight the club finds itself in.

Talk of transition and building has resulted in him overseeing a very undignified and unbecoming showing of the door to Mile Jedinak, a man who in the last five years has done as much to endear himself in the eternal walls of this club as any before him. Stripping Jedinak of his captaincy days before he was ushered out the back door was akin to a bare naked walk of shame seen only on the streets of King’s Landing in Game of Thrones.

Is it, perhaps, that we are witnessing a very cunning coup? A cleansing of the squad and staff of those big characters. Characters whose presence and influence over large sections of the Palace faithful may pose a threat to his own infallibility.

Most reading this of sound football mind won’t argue with the decision to sell Jedinak on footballing terms, but it is the manner with which it was orchestrated that is concerning.

What impact does that have on a dressing room? What impact does that have on close allies and friends of a key club figure, still being asked to fall in line behind the man who so humiliated their captain?

The next game is crucial for Pardew. Saturday heralded an explosion of questions and derision on team selection before the game, with the bafflement at some of his choices becoming ever more vociferous.

Has anyone, for example, reported to the police our concerns about the whereabouts of Steve Mandanda, or why a hardly utilised Yohan Cabaye is deemed to be tired after his Euro exploits?

We’re concerned about the stagnation. How is it that a team can supposedly travel to the US for a pre-season tour aimed at preparing the squad to compete at an elite level, yet seem to need a second more on the ball than the opponents facing them? Fitness levels are poor, decision making is poor and the quality of play is poor.

While the woeful run of form last season was brought to a welcome end when the season finished, there was a glimmer of hope that with some rest and fresh impetus, Pardew might be able to restore the side to the levels they were at the beginning of last season and the end of the season before.

First impressions are lasting, and first impressions of the season so far are far from convincing. You can’t help but wonder what happens if the next date with Bournemouth at Selhurst doesn’t go well. A restless crowd, a hapless squad and a miserable league position entering into September? That restlessness could well spill over.

You feel that the ‘it’s not you, its’s me’ text from the top brass can’t be too far away. Sadly, you can’t help but sense that Pardew’s response to it might be simply to send a dick pic, the irony of it as an accurate self-portrait completely lost on him.