Our unbeaten run came to an end Saturday courtesy of Romelu Lakaku’s early goal. It was one of those games that could have gone either way.
We have to forget about that one and move on. Leicester City away next weekend is another huge game, one we simply cannot lose.
Slow Starts
It has been a feature of our game the last couple of weeks, starting slow.
In Alan Pardew’s first game in charge against Tottenham, we were not quick out of the blocks and after the game Super Al hinted that he was not happy with the first half performance.
The following week Palace travelled to Turf Moor in what was a must win game. After twenty minutes we were 2-0 down and fearing the worst. What followed was great, the comeback, the determination and the courage to fight and win in what was a massively important game.
I hope you get the picture, our start to games has been poor but the results have been covering that. As we have been winning, fans will not moan and grumble, but if we were losing those games it would be a very different story.
After the epic Burnley game we travelled to St Mary’s in the FA Cup. As a spectacle, that game was fantastic. There was attacking football galore, a true advert for the FA Cup, and some people have said it has lost its magic.
At Southampton we fell behind and to be honest, our attacking swagger outweighed our defensive frailties on that occasion. It was certainly our attacking endeavour that bailed us out on the south coast.
It is something that Pardew has noticed so we can only trust him and hope that our beginning passages of play are much better in the future.
Jordon Mutch
It was busy last week, we signed three new players in Jordon Mutch, Shola Ameobi and Pape Souare. The latter is actually a left-back. Yes, a left sided defender.
I want to focus on the first two recruits in this latest edition of the Progress Report. Mutch has been signed from rivals Queens Park Rangers in a deal worth to be around £4.75m. It could be a shrewd piece of business by Pardew and the board.
He is another midfielder, so in that area we will certainly have competition for places which is good. Mile Jedinak is coming back after winning the Asian Cup with Australia so the options in that area will be beneficial.
In regards to our other players, Mutch I think will offer that something different, he has quality. I watched him at Cardiff City last season and the bits I have seen of him at Queens Park Rangers, he can certainly carry the ball well, something we do not have.
What we are all hoping for is if he can add some goals. James McArthur has some goals in him, but probably not enough. So it is down to you Mutch, go and score some goals and endear yourself to the Palace faithful.
Shola Ameobi
Our next recent recruit is Shola Ameobi. He has been a free agent after leaving his previous club in Turkey.
He will bring a wealth of experience to the team and especially to our strikers so I think it can only be a good thing. A short term contract will work for both parties. It was nice for the fans to get one over on West Bromwich Albion who were also in the hunt for the former Newcastle United target man.
He has played with Pardew before at Newcastle but more importantly, he has played in the Premier League most of his professional career. This is the type of experienced player we need around the club to help us stave off relegation.
When he is fit, which could be in time for the FA Cup game on February 14, it will give us some different options upfront.
I was worried under Neil Warnock. However hard he was trying, the lads were simply not responding and we were certainly looking destined for relegation. Pardew has come in and lifted everyone, I am not worried now as I feel Pardew’s experience will push us through.
We just have to win the games with the teams around us starting with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
