Wow. What a week it has been for Crystal Palace Football Club.
After a positive start I do not think any fan thought that we would be sitting second in the table, having beating the reigning Premier League champions.
Let us just let that sink in for a few moments. I had to watch the highlights multiple times to even consider what we had just achieved. A Chelsea team, full of world class players arguably not firing on all cylinders, were played off the park by Crystal Palace. Nobody expected that.
Every pundit, every manager, even Jose himself believed Palace won the game fair and square, this was no smash and grab win. We genuinely outplayed Chelsea in similar vein to Manchester City not too long ago, although to a lesser extent. Truthfully, the reason for the win was a mixture of a poor performance from Chelsea and outstanding play by Palace.
This was truly epitomised by our captain, Damien Delaney, who I wrote off suggesting we could do with a newer, younger centre back. He could not have proved me more wrong. The man had an outstanding game, dominating one of the greatest and most powerful strikers in the Premier League. Diego Costa was made to look merely average throughout the game, and after trying to pick a fight with our Damo, the Spaniard certainly paid the price.
What about Alex McCarthy? He made some outstanding saves in the game, I really do think we have found our new number one. Pape Souare looks better and better each game he plays, linking with our wingers seamlessly and not forgetting that solid attacking midfield which pulled the strings last Saturday.
It is so good to be a Palace fan right now.
I must not get carried away, and what better way to bring me back down to earth than the good old international break. My Saturday is going to be incredibly boring, with no Palace to fill my day. I can use this to reflect on our transfer deadline day deals, and dwell on one topic in particular, which is close to all our hearts. Yes, you know exactly what I am going to talk about. It is the loss of our beloved Glenn Murray and you will have noticed that it is a popular topic among us TEB writers at the moment.
The man epitomised everything that was great about Crystal Palace. Hard work, spirit and determination. He is the main reason we are in the Premier League, the 30 odd goals he scored single handedly fired us into the Championship play-off’s. The rest, as you all know, is history.
I could not hold Glenn in higher regard, especially as he is one of the few players to score in every tier of the football league. He helped us, and in return, we helped him by bringing him back into our first team setup. However, as time goes on, he gets older, and our squad becomes stronger, and I think we have made a good decision to sell him now. After all, £4 million for a 32 year old is very good money, especially as Glenn really is limited in my opinion when it comes to technical ability, and relies on his intelligence to get goals in the Premier League.
That said, his performance at the back end of last season was excellent, and I for one am sad to see him go, because I am sentimental and he has been an important part of our recent history. However, a football club is a business at the end of the day, and my opinion on the matter is that this was good business, and for that, I admire Steve Parish, the board and management for taking what ultimately must have been a tough decision.
Our other transfer dealings on deadline day were all departures, but nothing compared to the sadness of losing Murray, and I think I speak for every Palace fan that we are going to miss him, and that I hope he performs well for Bournemouth. Just not against us even though that is the Palace way.
It was slightly disappointing not to see any of our squad named in the England squad for the international break, especially as we have at least two players who are capable of doing the business for our country as well as our club. Scott Dann and Jason Puncheon can consider themselves very hard done by, especially after recent performances, and you cannot help but think there is a little bit of ‘big club bias‘ involved.
Many of the squad are not first team regulars in their respected teams and when called upon, are often not in peak fitness and seem to underwhelm. I feel this is due to the increasing numbers of highly skilled foreign players entering the Premier League. Palace started nine English players against Chelsea I believe and Chelsea started two which says it all.
Enough about England though as I could rant for ages about squad selection. I wish to touch on our fortunes in the Premier League so far this season, and where I think we can realistically end up. After seeing an article on Sky Sports where Paul Merson suggested we could finish fifth, and with praise being heaped upon us, what can we actually achieve this season?
I always maintain that as long as we stay above the relegation zone, I do not really care where we end up, but wouldn’t it be great to finish in and among the big boys in the top six? I would love to be sitting around Southampton, Liverpool, Spurs and Swansea because I think that is where we deserve to be.
Realistically I do not think that is going to be plausible, and I reckon Merson may have been on the wine when he predicted us to finish so high. Tenth is the benchmark for me this year, any lower, I do not mind because finishing anywhere above eighteenth is a result in itself. Above tenth and I will be in dreamland and so, I imagine, will most of the Palace faithful.
That is pretty much it from me folks, just a quick note to say keep it red and blue, keep believing in the team and keep dreaming. We really are on a journey to greatness.
