Bournemouth Defeat Is Wake Up Call For Palace

There was more than an air of frustration as the final whistle sounded as the Eagles put in a passive performance which the visitors took advantage of to hand the hosts a defeat that has fans aiming their frustrations at several quarters.

MATCH INFORMATION

• 7.30pm – 6th December 2023
• Crystal Palace 0-2 Bournemouth
• Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU

PLAYER RATINGS

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 5 James TOMKINS, 11 Matheus FRANCA, 23 Malcolm EBIOWEI, 31 Remi MATTHEWS, 44 Jairo RIEDEWALD

OPPOSITION LINE-UP

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 6 Chris MEPHAM, 7 David BROOKS, 8 Joe ROTHWELL, 26 Gavin KILKENNY, 42 Mark TRAVERS

TEB VERDICT

There is no possible way to explain this result other than with complete apathy and disappointment. This defeat should be a real wake-up call as the Eagles are slowly sleepwalking into trouble if they do not start to improve.

The fans frustration was clear for all to hear at the end of the game and post match comments from Roy Hodgson will do nothing but add fuel to the file suggesting we have been ‘spoilt’. Not quite sure what he meant by that, but we would dearly like to know what he may have been referring to.

On the pitch, it was disjointed and uninspiring on an evening where fans found it difficult to get to Selhurst Park for more reasons than one. Many will wish they had not bothered after witnessing a side void of any ideas and struggling to match a side who have struggled to get any points away from home this season.

It is hard to suggest whether the players are not playing for the manager any longer, but it certainly does not look very far away on this showing and after defeats to Everton, Luton and now Bournemouth, there must be some concern higher up at the club.

Whether or not Hodgson should be shown the door is perhaps a question to pose once the dust has settled, but the fixtures do not get any kinder with Liverpool coming to town on Saturday followed by a trip to the reigning champions the week after. It could get rather messy before it starts to get any better.

BOB’S POINT OF VIEW

Bob White was a coach at Palace under the tenure of Steve Coppell and Alan Smith and will be sharing his point of view each week in our review article.

“A stadium two thirds full at the start of the game and barely a quarter full at the final whistle summed up the performance levels we saw from our players in between. Nowhere near 100% in quality, ideas, intensity or passion.

Hodgson obviously shoulders a fair amount of responsibility but a poor summer transfer window meant overall we have a squad weaker than last season even if every player remained fit for the whole year. With key injuries already this year the current squad depth situation is even worse.

Parish in a pre-match interview talks of incomings in January including maybe a couple of loans but it all looks so reactive rather than planned strategic recruitment. Most of our supporters can readily identify the players who are fine as cover squad players but it’s concerning to see such players starting.

Once Bournemouth scored the first goal it was always going to be an uphill battle to gain three points from the game. They dealt with the threat of Olise effectively often doubling or trebling up or shepherding him into non-dangerous areas. With no threat on the other flank our attacks became ponderous and predictable giving Bournemouth’s defence one of their most comfortable games this season.

Not one Palace player is worthy of a mention in dispatches. Every player should understand that for whatever reason the performance from them was unacceptable. Looking at our next run of fixtures there are enormous challenges ahead with an increasing possibility that we will be dragged into a relegation fight. My 10 wins mantra is looking to be a tough target to reach as things stand.”

POST GAME QUOTES

ROY HODGSON

“The score line is a bit harsh. The second goal is one of those that is a nail in the coffin but we’d lost the game by that stage and these games are the really awkward ones for any team. We’re not playing as well as we’d like at the moment. Our home form has not been good.

We’re playing against a team whose form is very good but, unfortunately, everyone thinks that that team is nowhere near as good as we are – and that’s a false observation because they are as good as we are. Tonight I thought they were better than we are.

I can’t fault the players for effort. I thought we tried very hard, especially second half. We didn’t concede many goal chances until they got the late one. All our efforts, all our work, all our toughing it out to keep us in the game didn’t create enough goal chances and, as a result, the fans are unhappy because they came here expecting us to blow this tiny Bournemouth team away.”

ANDONI IRALOA

“We were efficient today. We were not brilliant. It was very important for us to score first. Whenever you score first, you can attack the spaces more. They are not a team that gives you a lot of transitions but, at the end especially, we had some chances to score the second one. Luckily we did.”

MATCH STATISTICS

POSITION IN THE TABLE (at the final whistle)

UPCOMING FIXTURES

09/12/23 Liverpool (h) – Premier League (12.30pm)

16/12/23 Manchester City (a) – Premier League (3pm)

21/12/23 Brighton (h) – Premier League (8pm)