‘New Year, new me’.
That is the phrase on people’s tongues this past week, as the tired and half-baked motivational clichés of change come upon us.
In Palace terms, it is fair to say 2014 was mixed, so there is every reason to be optimistic as we begin our 2015 journey under ‘Pardiola’. Let us not get ahead of ourselves. It is likely that our revolution will not live up to the lofty expectations many seem to have incorporated into their daily outpouring of twitter joy.
Before you refuse to read on, trust me when I say this is not a negative blog, or even a negative blog for the sake of being negative. It is just one Palace fan taking a step back from what is a lethal combo – a new manager and the opening of the transfer window.
In a blog earlier this year, I spoke of narratives, and the narrative that was so often unfairly painted last year of Palace as the plucky, miracle working underdog defying odds despite possessing a squad deemed below par. I am almost even more perturbed about the narratives and dreams that some of the Palace contingency are daring to believe in now.
Like most, I am delighted that Pardew has replaced Warnock, a man who should never have got the gig back in August, and am quietly optimistic about the organisation that Pardew can bring. Palace have uncharacteristically leaked goals this season and while goalscoring remains a problem, Pardew is the man who can address tactical flaws that are leading to such a high goals against rate. While he is talked of a more ‘risky’ approach, a glance at his last few years at Newcastle paint anything but an expansive, fluid passing set-up.
Much was made of the fact that Pardew has left Newcastle to join a relatively ‘smaller’ club in Palace, the regularity of which is irking many Palace devotees. But it is clear that an abundance of underlying issues paved the way for his arrival. You could argue that Mike Ashley, upon weighing the situation up, asked himself how likely it would be that he would have to sack Pardew before the end of the season. His answer? Take the £3.5 million and run.
I spent a number of years working in pubs, and always justified it by theorising I was making a twofold saving. I was earning money I did not have by working a Friday and Saturday night, rather than blowing the money I already had on a weekend out. Ashley applied a similar logic. Whatever you say about the man, there is no doubting he is a shrewd businessman. The £35million received for Andy Carroll is testament enough to that.
What we do need to face up to, however, is the fact that Palace are probably a smaller club than Newcastle. There is no doubting that they have significantly higher financial clout and stadium capacity, which is evidence of Newcastle likely succeeding in a race for a player were the two clubs to go head to head on a signing. Anybody who thinks otherwise needs to turn the rose-tint down a notch or three on their glasses. After all, it was back in August when Pardew distanced himself from the job. Do not read too much into the ‘romanticism’ of it all.
Now that is not to say Newcastle’s arrogance in proclaiming they are a huge club is not irritating. Bigger than Palace in that sense they may be, but believing you have an automatic right to be challenging for the Champions League every year when you have not had any success in over 40 years is comical delusion. Palace have a Zenith Data Systems Cup in that time, what about you? No, your Intertoto Cup does not count.
There are endless arguments that football fans get drawn into about measuring club size, and in many ways it is in the eye of the beholder. What matters is how one person feels connected to a certain club. For 24,000 at Selhurst each week, there is nothing bigger.
But again, that must not blind expectations, and since Pardew’s appointment Twitter is awash with wild speculation and frenzied excitement about potential incomings. We see it all the time at Palace. A host of names get linked with us in the press, a bid is rumoured to have been made/accepted, a reliable twitter source will say it is nearly over the line, and ultimately the player ends up going to a Swansea City, a Queens Park Rangers or even a Newcastle.
It is important to be honest with ourselves early in the window, to avoid the disappointment that will no doubt greet us when we scan through the squad sheet in February. There will be no Gomis. There will be no Jonjo Shelvey. There will be no short-term loan deal for Ashley Cole. There will be no Jermaine Defoe or Rickie Lambert either. Pardew might have a reported £20 million to spend, but that does not guarantee players want to come the other way, no matter how much money you have.
Let us take a look, quickly, at our recent track record. In August we were linked heavily with Sigurdsson and Caulker amongst others. We ended up with Brede Hangeland, Zeki Fryers and Kevin Doyle. Granted, James McArthur was a good signing but had Leicester City not signed Cambiasso, do you think he still would have come to Palace over them? I am not convinced. ‘But Gomis has a release clause’ I hear you say. So what? Gomis also has a brain and the ability to make up his own mind.
It would be very surprising if Palace’s attractiveness as a prospect has changed dramatically. Pardew is not van Gaal, or a manager with a worldwide reputation to overhaul our image. Selhurst is run down, we are mired in a relegation battle, have had more managers than hot dinners over the last eighteen months and simply do not have the cash to splash like some of the clubs around us are willing to dish out on talent.
It is likely that as the rumours continue, Palace will pay over the odds to get a Troy Deeney or another high quality Championship striker on the books. We will scour the loan market, raise a few eyebrows picking up reserve players from some bigger clubs and hope for the best. We will convince ourselves that Glenn Murray will chip in with goals, that Zaha will start performing, that Delaney will recapture the solidity of the last two seasons. The reality is that we will struggle, we will continue to struggle and we might scrape survival. I would be happy with that. I think most would.
To reiterate, I am delighted Pardew is on board, and looking to Tottenham on Saturday it should mark a great welcome to a welcome arrival. I will be in the Arthur Wait, armed with salt sachets, taking regular pinches to keep myself grounded.
The sooner the transfer window shuts, the better. It is bad enough being back at work after Christmas, without having to contend with more deflation and false dawns.
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