Crystal Palace FC Thread

[izzy]

Had to make this thread.   

Name: Crystal Palace FC
Nickname(s): The Eagles, Glaziers
Founded: 10 September 1905; 108 years ago
Ground: Selhurst Park (26,255)

2013-2014 Barclays Premier League Season:
Highest ever finish: 11th, 45pts
Top scorers: Jason Puncheon, Dwight Gayle (7)
Manager: Tony Pulis (Won PL Manager of the Year) Hired on the 23rd November 2013
Crystal Palace FC Player of the Year: Julian Speroni (GK) 4 time-winner.
Losing Streak: 7 Game losing streak from matchday 4-10.
Winning Streak: 5 game winning streak from Matchday 31-35.

Season highlights:
0-3 Away Win @Cardiff.
1-0 Home Win Vs Chelsea.
2-3 Away Win @Everton.
3-3 Home Draw Vs Liverpool.

[izzy]

Tony Pulis named as Premier League Manager of Year after Palace 'miracle'

[Art Morte]

Palace

Here's a tricky question: among top-5 relegation candidates next season or not?

[izzy]

Palace

Here's a tricky question: among top-5 relegation candidates next season or not?

With this current crop? Top-5 Relegation Candidates.

We need to get 2 goalscorers in the summer. It is pivitol to our progress for next year. Our goal-scoring this season was horrendous. That happens again? We're going down.
Need a CM or 2 imo.

[izzy]

Pulis: We Have Massively Overachieved

Tony Pulis arrived at the club on the morning of our victory at Hull City with just four points to the club's name and finished the final game with 45 points. It could have been more but for a late equaliser by Fulham although the Palace boss was delighted with his sides display.

"It would have been great to have come and won here today to finish our season with a victory but once again you have to give this group of lads a hell of a lot of credit for the way they performed this afternoon in a game we came so close to winning.

"It was an entertaining match with chances at both ends and lots of opportunities.  We are disappointed we couldn’t make more of our second half chances, I don’t know how Glenn Murray’s shot comes off the post and hits Dwight Gayle and then goes wide but once again my lads showed what they can do and it was no surprise as this group have been absolutely marvellous this season."

The boss can look back on many proud moments since he took charge but overall he is delighted at the way his side have overachieved amongst the elite of the footballing top flight.

"If you look at the stats from when I came in it shows what a great achievement this season has been but one stat not to forget is that we managed to finish eleventh with the smallest budget in this league. This football club has massively overachieved and everyone should take great credit, its been a great ride."

Two goals in this London derby mean it is four goals in two games for Dwight Gayle and Pulis feels that the youngster is a different person from the one he met when he first arrived to take over.

"When I first came to the club Dwight was the marquee signing. We'd spent a lot of money on him and it looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders in lots of respects.

"He wasn't really integrated into the group and he looked a bit on the fringes, so we spent a lot of time opening him up as a person and a player.

"He's become a lot closer to the group and his mates in the dressing room. He didn't need the pressure, we took that away from him and he's improved immensely."

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/pulis-we-have-massively-overachieved-1546200.aspx#GgriMHqF0Q2H6ItY.99

[izzy]

Season 2013/14 in numbers

Learn interesting stats about Crystal Palace's landmark Premier League campaign.

33 - Goals scored by Palace - the joint-lowest ever in the club's history. Over 2013/14, only relegated sides Cardiff (32) and Norwich (28) scored fewer.

3 - Number of times Yannick Bolasie crashed shots against the woodwork.

48 - Number of goals conceded by the Eagles who had the seventh meanest defence in the division.

13 - Games won by Palace - their highest in a single Premier League campaign.

31 - Most shots were fired on goal by Jason Puncheon.

7 - Palace's losing run at the start of the season - the longest streak in the division.

133 - Most tackles in the Premier League was by Mile Jedinak. He got the second highest average per game too (3.5).

9 - Palace's position in the Barclays Premier League Fair Play table. Points awarded for cards, positive play and respect towards opponents and officials.

6 - Penalties won (joint-third highest) and same number conceded (joint-second highest).

75,170 - Fans who watched Manchester Utd v Palace at Old Trafford on September 14 was the biggest crowd ever to watch a Palace league game.

2 - Players sent off in the season - Kagisho Dikgacoi and Bolasie.

11 - Final place in the Premier League table - the club's third best top flight finish.

24,377 - Average attendance for the season which is the sixth highest of all time.

1 - Crystal Palace survived a Premier League campaign for the first time at the fifth attempt.

39 - Most appearances was by Damien Delaney.

1.46 - points per game after Tony Pulis became manager at the end of November 2013. Palace averaged 0.33 points before his appointment.

3.7 - Average interceptions per game by Jedinak - the highest in the Premier League.

2.6 - Bolasie completed an average of 2.6 dribbles per game to make the division's top-five dribblers.

21 - Players signed permanently and on loan by the Eagles since the end of the previous campaign.

5 - Winger Bolasie had the team's most assists.

139 - Jedinak also made the most interceptions in the Premier League

8 - Goals netted by top scorer for the season Dwight Gayle.

10 - Yellow cards picked up by Maraoune Chamakh and Delaney.

78.4 - Percentage pass success rate from Puncheon - the best in the squad.

59 - Jedinak commited the highest number of fouls.

13 - Clean sheets from Julian Speroni (including cup).

57 – Total number of yellow cards.

404 – Fouls made by Palace, while 386 were given Palace's way.

172 - Corners from Palace (fourth lowest), with 250 flag kicks given away (joint-third highest).

414 - Total shots from the team, which was the fewest in the division.

http://www.holmesdale.net/page.php?id=82&story=6057

[Forza]

3.7 - Average interceptions per game by Jedinak - the highest in the Premier League.

[izzy]

Crystal Palace Announce American Tour

Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm details of a pre-season tour to the United States of America.

The Eagles will fly out to the north east on Sunday 20th July to begin their summer series of friendlies with three fixtures during a nine-day Stateside stay.

Tony Pulis’ men begin their camp with two days of training, ahead of their first fixture against Ohio-based Major League Soccer outfit Columbus Crew – managed by former Palace defender, Gregg Berhalter – on Wednesday 23rd July.

The squad will then travel east to Pennsylvania, ahead of a clash with fellow MLS side Philadelphia Union at PPL Park, on Friday 25th July.

Palace jet south for our third and final game in the States, concluding the tour with a friendly against USL PRO club Richmond Kickers at the 22,000-capacity City Stadium, on Monday 28th July.

Kick-off times for the three matches will be confirmed in due course.

The Eagles are already proving a draw in America following our first season back in the Premier League after our home clash against Sunderland in August last year drew one of NBC Sports’ highest viewing figures of the 2013/14 campaign, with almost 900,000 Americans tuning in to watch the 3-1 victory over the Black Cats.

Games against Manchester United and Liverpool at Selhurst Park during the latter stages of the season also drew high audience numbers, as Palace’s reputation and fan base continues to grow across the pond.

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/crystal-palace-announce-american-tour-1556313.aspx#MJD08r91htDefWp7.99

Link to teams Palace will play:
http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/palaces-american-opponents-in-profile-1558226.aspx

[izzy]

Premier League Palace: 2013/14

Season Summary

Following eight seasons back in the Championship, a memorable day at Wembley in May 2013 saw Crystal Palace promoted back to English football’s top flight for the 2013/14 season.

Ian Holloway, the man who had masterminded those play-off victories over Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford, brought in a raft of reinforcements over the summer as the Eagles aimed to avoid relegation from the Premier League for the first time in their history.

But despite the optimism surrounding Selhurst Park on 18th August 2013, a Roberto Soldado penalty was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for Tottenham Hotspur on the season’s opening day.

After a similar tale unfolded at Stoke City a week later, where a promising performance again went without reward, the Eagles had lift-off when goals from Danny Gabbidon, Dwight Gayle and Stuart O’Keefe secured a 3-1 win over Sunderland.

Those three points proved to be the only ones Palace could amass during a tumultuous start to the campaign though, as away defeats at Manchester United, Southampton and Liverpool were accompanied by disappointing home reverses at the hands of Swansea City and then Fulham – which led to Holloway’s departure.

Enter assistant manager Keith Millen, who laid the foundations for our recovery with a first clean sheet of the season in a 0-0 draw with Everton in November. But it was in Millen’s final game as caretaker boss against Hull City that the Eagles really began to turn the season on its head.

Despite the sending off of Yannick Bolasie in front of the on-looking new gaffer Tony Pulis, 10-man Palace rallied and stole a memorable late winner at the KC Stadium through Barry Bannan.

Although fellow strugglers Norwich City ruined Pulis’ party in his first game in charge, two home matches in a week at the start of December brought priceless wins over fellow strugglers West Ham United and Cardiff City.

Following defeats against Chelsea and Newcastle United, the Boxing Day brilliance of Gayle at Villa Park took Palace out of the bottom three for the first time since early September as a renewed belief and optimism began to take hold of SE25.

The New Year began with a draw against Norwich and, despite back-to-back defeats in north London at Tottenham and Arsenal, Palace’s form in the south of the capital was becoming imperious.

Jason Puncheon bagged crucial winners against Stoke and Hull in January, as the winger displayed a renewed guile and vigour under Pulis. The Eagles were suddenly flying and a frenetic transfer deadline day saw the additions of Wayne Hennessey, Scott Dann, Tom Ince and Joe Ledley – with the latter duo bagging debut goals in an impressive 3-1 success over West Bromwich Albion.

As winter turned to spring though, Manchester United left Selhurst Park as comfortable 2-0 victors, before clashes with Swansea City, Southampton, Sunderland and Newcastle United garnered just two points to leave the club on the cusp of being sucked back into the bottom three.

Off the back of those five games without a victory, Jose Mourinho’s title-chasing Chelsea arrived in SE25 as the hot favourites, but an own goal from Blues captain John Terry gave Palace an unforgettable win that kick-started a miraculous run of form.

A week later, Puncheon found his scintillating best once again with brilliant brace to see off Cardiff City – and the former Southampton man provided the sucker punch once more in another 1-0 home win, this time over Aston Villa, to leave the Eagles sensing survival.

The trip to Champions League hopefuls Everton four days later looked a daunting one on paper, but goals from that man Puncheon, boyhood Liverpool supporter Dann and Jerome gave Palace the three points that took their seasonal tally to that magic 40.

Then it was left to captain fantastic Mile Jedinak to dispose of West Ham with his first ever Premier League goal, which made it five consecutive top-flight wins for the Eagles and, more importantly, mathematically sealed our safety.

Home matches against Manchester City and Liverpool could then be enjoyed rather than endured – and the red and blue army certainly did just that against Brendan Rodgers’ men in what was one of the games of the season on a memorable May Monday night.

After goals from Joe Allen, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez appeared to put Palace out of sight, Damien Delaney’s deflected effort and a brace from super-sub Gayle earned the Eagles the most unlikely of points as the Selhurst season ended on an unbelievable high after a 3-3 draw.

Gayle was the man of the moment again on the final day as he added another two goals to his tally in a draw at Fulham, which left Palace celebrating their highest-ever Premier League finish of 11th.

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/premier-league-palace-201314-1582479.aspx#L4sJtEwFwc1yZ5wY.99

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Parr, Moxey and Gabbidon Among 12 Released

Crystal Palace Football Club have confirmed their retained list ahead of the 2014/15 season, with 12 players set to leave the club when their contracts expire next month.

Long-serving defenders Dean Moxey and Jonathan Parr will both depart SE25, having racked up over 100 appearances each for the Eagles during three seasons at Selhurst Park. Both full-backs played key roles in helping the club reach the Premier League last season and went on to make 35 appearances between them in the top flight this campaign.

Two other members of the side who featured in the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley last May will also leave south London upon the conclusion of their current contracts this summer. Welsh international defender Danny Gabbidon will move on to pastures new after playing 38 times for Palace since September 2012, and striker Aaron Wilbraham's two-year association with the Eagles has also come to an end, having made a total of 33 appearances and scoring twice during that spell.

Scottish goalkeeper Neil Alexander has also been released alongside development strikers Osman Sow and Ibra Sekajja, as well as fellow youngsters Quade Taylor, Derek Tieku, Ross Fitzsimons, Tom King and Alistair Gordon.

Crystal Palace Football Club would like to place on record its thanks to these players for their efforts and we wish them all the best in their future careers.

The club can also confirm that we currently remain in talks with three more out of contract players, Julian Speroni, Marouane Chamakh and Kagisho Dikgacoi, about prolonging their stays at Selhurst Park.

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/parr-moxey-and-gabbidon-among-12-released-1572199.aspx#7Phrr1styUg611fa.99

[izzy]

Season Review: Crystal Palace’s remarkable turnaround

It’s been a quite incredible season for Crystal Palace FC. Once again they have defied the odds, answered their critics and achieved what many deemed to be impossible. Crystal Palace will be in the Premier League next season

“Palace are here, let the games begin” read the Holmesdale Fanatics’ banner as the teams walked out for the opening day of the season in front of 23,000 odd supporters. Crystal Palace was back and the fans were ready to give it everything they had to ensure that this was where they remained.

On the pitch, however, a controversial penalty for a Dean Moxey handball was tucked away by Roberto Soldado to earn Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 victory. Another defeat came at Stoke despite Marouane Chamakh’s first goal for the club, before the Eagles chalked up their first victory of the season, as Stuart O’Keefe’s stunning effort clinched a 3-1 victory against Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

At this point, everything began to fall apart. Palace progressed through the next three months with just a solitary victory to their name.

The fans became restless, and Ian Holloway’s style of play had left the side vulnerable in defence, yet toothless up front. It was during this period that the Eagles faced a Fulham side in SE25 for what was seen to be a relegation six-pointer. With Palace leading 1-0, Patjim Kasami controlled a long ball on his chest and struck an audacious volley into the top corner of Julian Speroni’s goal with tremendous technique to equalise. What came next was completely unexpected as Palace capitulated into a 4-1 defeat. There were calls for the sacking of Ian Holloway, and rumours began to surface that the Bristolian had resigned from his post. These rumours were confirmed on the afternoon of 23rd October 2013.

Keith Millen took charge of the team after Holloway’s departure, the boyhood Palace fan delighted to be at the helm. Under his tenure the Eagles managed a respectable four points, with a draw against Everton and victory over Hull City. There was a distinct difference in tactics; with Millen focusing on solidifying the porous defence which had cost the side so dearly in previous matches. A more defensive style, with the counter-attack proving to be the means of escape, proved to be somewhat better than the gung-ho style of Holloway.

After a month of deliberation, club owners CPFC 2010 announced the appointment of Tony Pulis as the new boss; and with him arrived a heap of skepticism from the Eagles’ supporters. The Welshman was known for his less-than-exciting style of football whilst in charge of Stoke City, but it was inevitably his phenomenal record of being relegated precisely zero times in his career which convinced the Palace board to take him on.

As a Pulis sceptic, it is intriguing to look back and realise that some of the most exciting moments I have had in my twenty-one years of following Palace – I was indoctrinated from birth – arrived under the management of a man deemed to be living in the dark ages still.

The early signs were promising as home victories over relegation rivals West Ham United and Cardiff City encouraged a counter-attacking style of football arguably not too dissimilar to Holloway, as Pulis sought to examine his players. A disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Newcastle began to worry some once more, but it followed an excellent performance backed by a noisy travelling contingent at Chelsea – so loud, in fact, that Jose Mourinho immediately applauded them following the final whistle – gave the team and supporters real belief again, despite the 2-1 loss.

Boxing Day saw Palace travel to the Midlands, facing Aston Villa and hoping for a belated Christmas present. With time running out, record signing Dwight Gayle curled an absolutely sensational shot into the top corner of the net. The Eagles’ travelling fans celebrated deliriously, after a tedious game exploded into life with a moment of pure quality from a man who only a couple of years ago was plying his trade in non-league football. It has been a meteoric rise, resembling the rise of Palace from the administration of 2010.

http://thecroydoncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/The-season-in-numbers.png

Pulis strengthened his squad in the January transfer window with the acquisitions of Scott Dann, Joe Ledley, Wayne Hennessey and Tom Ince. Two of his signings would make an immediate impact in February with Ledley and Ince marking their home debuts with goals against West Bromwich Albion in a 3-1 victory. The game also saw Glenn Murray make his Premier League debut following a serious knee injury incurred in the play-off semi-final against Brighton.

January had seen the South London side pick up seven points; running out victorious over Stoke and Hull, with a draw on New Year’s Day at home to Norwich City. Perhaps most memorable was a defeat to Spurs, however. The Eagles had dominated the opening stages of the match, and after Marouane Chamakh was felled, Jason Puncheon stepped up to take the penalty. Instead of calmly placing his spot kick, the forward sent it spiraling into orbit with a shocking attempt on goal. Palace went on to boss the remaining part of the half, but fell behind early in the second half before eventually losing 2-0.

Victory over West Brom was sandwiched in-between defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United. Form failed to improve for the Eagles in March; as they gained only two points from three away matches, when in reality at least six were expected from teams either in poor form or in the relegation mix like Palace.

A trip to Swansea saw the rain lash down throughout the day in South Wales, and Palace produced their worst first half performance of the season as the Swans completely played them off the park. The second half saw Palace gradually come back into the match, before Glenn Murray latched on to a defensive error and was hauled down in the area. Murray tucked home the penalty to score his first ever Premier League goal; and become one of the only players to have scored at seven different levels of the English football pyramid, as well as ending the Eagles’ run of almost six hours of football without an away goal.

http://thecroydoncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/The-season-in-numbers-2.png

A home match with Southampton saw the Saints take the lead on 37 minutes after a shocking defensive lapse by both Jason Puncheon and Dean Moxey, and from then on the Eagles never looked likely to even trouble Artur Boruc in between the sticks.

Palace failed to come from behind to win a Premier League match this season, largely due to the fact that the team was set-up to defend and counter, score first and defend some more. Sit deep and pick off the opposition with ferocious pace – that was Palace’s tactical approach, and to a large extent it was very successful.

Two trips to the north-east ensued. First up was Sunderland – deep in relegation trouble themselves – and then Newcastle United a week later. The games were identified as two potential winnable games, and that would ensure Palace had an excellent chance of survival; alas it proved not to be. A turgid display of ‘football’ at Sunderland saw the Eagles go out to earn a point and hope to nick a win, and it showed. Sitting deep and reluctant to commit men forward, Palace were poor in attack but sufficiently capable in defence. A 0-0 draw was a fair result.

Incidentally, the same type of football was deployed against the Toon Army the following week, but this time Palace showed a little more invention and dynamism. It was perhaps inevitable then that Papiss Cisse would pop up and win the game for Newcastle with almost the very last kick of the game.

With Chelsea the next visitors to Selhurst Park, it could only get worse, right? Wrong. In one of the shocks of the season, Palace not only held their own against the former Premier League and European Champions but emerged victorious in a wonderful match. Down as a dead cert for a win, Chelsea began brightly but failed to turn possession into goals, before Palace had two extremely strong penalty claims waved away. It wasn’t to be their day…

Or was it? Half-time commenced and with the scores still level the Eagles knew they were in with a shout of a point, or even three. When John Terry connected with Joel Ward’s teasing cross, Petr Cech was left stranded and Palace took the lead. Two world class saves from Julian Speroni kept the Blues at bay, and the defence stood firm to record one of the most exciting victories at Selhurst Park in years. The tortoise had certainly out-fought and out-thought the hare. Rags to riches, and riches to rags in 90 minutes.

That result was the beginning of something quite magnificent from Crystal Palace. It was at this point that everyone believed the Eagles could stay up, and although there were still tricky fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City at Selhurst to play, Palace had found themselves with determination, resilience and firepower.

Indeed, they went on a five match winning run which began against Chelsea, defeating Cardiff City, Aston Villa and West Ham. However, the most impressive result came against an Everton side in excellent form and fighting for a Champions League spot, with one of the finest away performances for many a year seeing the Londoners come away from Goodison Park with an excellent 3-2 win, which almost certainly guaranteed safety, before confirming it against West Ham at Upton Park a week later.

In true Palace style, there was more drama to come. A defeat to Man City ended the unbeaten run, and it looked as though Liverpool – needing a hefty goal swing at least to pip City to the title – would inflict a miserable end to the season at Selhurst Park as they controlled a three goal lead with less than 15 minutes to play.

Damien Delaney fired home to grab a goal back, before Dwight Gayle gave Palace hope with a second goal late on. There was still time for Gayle to double his tally as he found himself in-between the Liverpool defenders to poke home a dramatic equaliser for the Eagles. However, Gayle had not finished there. A week later, on the final day of the season, Tony Pulis gave him a starting role up front and the former Peterborough man rewarded his manager’s faith with a poacher’s goal and then a superb free-kick to claim Palace a point at Fulham and make himself Palace’s top scorer for the season.

Tony Pulis’ turnaround was remarkable. From the relegation zone with one victory from twelve matches, to eleventh position with eleven victories from 24 matches; with ten clean sheets, all from the last side promoted, which cost the lowest amount of money.

I defy you to find a more united club than Palace – you won’t – what a season, what a fanbase, what a community, what a club.

Read Article at: http://thecroydoncitizen.com/sport/season-review-crystal-palaces-remarkable-turnaround/

[izzy]

Dikgacoi Joins Cardiff

Crystal Palace midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi has agreed to join Cardiff City.

The South Africa international will officially join the Championship side on a free transfer when his contract in SE25 expires at the end of this month.

Dikgacoi joined the Eagles from Fulham in February 2011 on an initial loan deal, which was made permanent five months later for a £600,000 fee.

The 29-year-old went on to make a total of 114 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals - including a memorable winner against Charlton Athletic at The Valley during our 2012/13 promotion-winning campaign.

Crystal Palace Football Club would like to thank Kagisho for his services and we wish him all the best in his future career.

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/dikgacoi-joins-cardiff-1641242.aspx#KqPwTWbZPIPtLHKZ.99

Don't know how I feel about this, decent CM imo.

[RealGunner]

He barely started last season didn't he

[izzy]

He barely started last season didn't he

Nah, he started 25+ PL games for us last season. Him and Jedinak were great together in the middle once Pulis was brought in.
Really think we should of kept him.

[izzy]

Speroni Signs New Contract

http://www.cpfc.co.uk/cms_images/news/speroni-contract-4361-1643092_478x359.jpg

Crystal Palace are delighted to announce that Julian Speroni has signed a new contract with the club.

The Argentine goalkeeper has today put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months, which will now take him into his 10th season at Selhurst Park.

Speroni was one of the Eagles’ stand-out performers last season as the club finished 11th in the Barclays Premier League, in what was an historic season for the former Dundee stopper.

The 35-year-old made his 300th league appearance for Crystal Palace in last December’s home game against Newcastle United and kept his 100th clean sheet for the club in the 1-0 win over Aston Villa in April, before becoming the first player in our history to be voted Player of the Year for a fourth time.

Speaking to cpfc.co.uk immediately after signing his new deal this afternoon, Speroni said: “I’m delighted. This is my home. This is where I always wanted to be, so I'm really pleased.

“I've been saying for months and months this was always my first choice. I'm really please we can forget about what happened, deal with it and look forward to next season now.

“The expectation will grow as long as we stay in the Premier League, but we are going to do our best, of course, try to stay in the league again and finish as high as we can.”

Read More at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/speroni-signs-new-contract-1643094.aspx

[izzy]

2014/15 Fixtures: Arsenal Up First For Palace

Crystal Palace will travel to Arsenal on the opening day of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season.

Tony Pulis’ men start their second successive top flight campaign against last year’s fourth place finishers and FA Cup winners in what is a tough opening fixture at the Emirates Stadium.

Palace lost the corresponding fixture 2-0 last season, with England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring both goals.

This season's clash with Arsene Wenger’s men in north London is scheduled to take place on Saturday 16th August, with kick-off at 3pm.

The Eagles’ first home game of the season comes a week later, throwing up another London derby against West Ham United – the side whom Pulis recorded his first win as Palace boss against back in December last year.

Palace then round of August with a long trip to the north east to face Newcastle United, who are managed by former Eagles’ midfielder Alan Pardew.

Boxing Day sees Southampton visit Selhurst Park, while 2015 begins with a trip to Aston Villa – Palace’s Boxing Day opponents last term.

Easter weekend sees Manchester City make the trip to SE25, while the Eagles have been handed a testing finish to the season.

Pulis’ side travel to both Chelsea and Liverpool in May, with a home clash against Manchester United sandwiched in between those fixtures.

Palace finish their season with a home tie against Swansea City on Saturday 24th May.

Read more at http://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/article/201415-fixtures-arsenal-up-first-for-palace-1648057.aspx

[izzy]

Haven't posted here since June......

Anyway, pleasantly surprised with how the team is playing so far.

Thought we would struggle immensely with Pulis gone and a lack of a decent striker up top (Gayle is alright though), but the midfield and defense are keeping us competitive in these games and the guys up top are working their asses off to pressure the opposition midfield and defense which leads to more chances for them.

I like it.

Have to give credit to Warnock and the players. I had my doubts (They were warranted though).

Up to 13th after 13 games ( Number 13), hopefully we can continue these types of performances.

Let's keep it going.


P.S. I will start posting here more regularly.

[Robespierre]

Good , I hope Palace gets saved for their fans.
Palace has the loudest fans in Premier League probably   , I am impressed from their support whenever I watch a Crystal Palace match .D
The Holmesdale Fanatics.

I thought also Palace would have collapsed after Palace, probably I was affected by results got under Holloway  in Premier League.
The team is settled in Premier League now and the job made by Pulis is still fruitful .
I could have doubts on Warnock ( although he would have saved Sheffield if Tevez...) but surely he is better than Sherwood , tha man who was going to take CPFC after Pulis went away

[izzy]

Yeah, the fans have been great this season. They were immense last season as well.
The general consensus amongst Palace fans is to just to support the players at all times this year. We know we'll be in the relegation battle (last year was special), so we aren't gonna jump down the players throats if the performances are good.
We still would like this season to be some-what of a settling period. A chance to establish ourselves as a legit PL club (finishing some-where around 10th - 16th), but staying up would be just as great too.

I'm still a bit wary of Warnock but, I prefer him over Sherwood. There's no doubt that the groundwork that Pulis laid last year has served the team well going forward. The hard-work, pressing and defensive organization is still there. Hopefully it remains there for the majority of the season.

[Art Morte]

Palace have been doing well. But it's looking like that relegation battle could be a tough one yet again. But I think Palace have that a bit of quality in certain areas that they can avoid the drop. I certainly can think of three teams I'd rather see going down.

[izzy]

Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Aston Villa

Bit of a deflating defeat to a team that has been struggling to score goals. However, it was a great goal from Benteke, great goal.

Credit to Villa. As soon as they got they got that goal, they set up to protect that lead a hit balls down the flank and over the top for Benteke to run onto, boy did he punish us in that respect. Kept us on our toes all game and forced us to always be cautious.

Team struggled to really break down Villa except for the odd spurts. What's really damaging is that this was a game where we should be looking to get something from.

Anyway, onto Spurs this weekend.

[izzy]

Just lost 0-2 to Hull.

We're at that point where we are now trying to break are points tally from last year (45pts) and maybe sneak into the top half and finish there.....

Would be a great accomplishment. I thought we would finish somewhere between 10th and 16th tbh.

I was VERY against the Pardew signing, but he has silenced me. That was our 1st league loss in 5 games.

Going great.

[RealGunner]

2nd loss brah. You lost last week as well

I don't think Palace have any objective anymore which they would put maximum effort in. You are right that aiming to finish higher than last season is a good aim, but I think Pardew wants to finish this season asap and focus on the summer to improve the team

[Great Leader Sprucenuce]

2nd loss brah. You lost last week as well

I don't think Palace have any objective anymore which they would put maximum effort in. You are right that aiming to finish higher than last season is a good aim, but I think Pardew wants to finish this season asap and focus on the summer to sell the team

[izzy]

1 - 3

After about five minutes I realised I'd picked the wrong team today. Norwich were brilliant for the first 20 minutes.

"We got a bit too comfortable at 2-0 and sat too deep. We should have done better with their goal."

......................

This guy man...... anyway, we got lucky. Norwich were clearly the better team and dominated every aspect of the game. We were just more clinical and that's what matters, taking your chances. 3 points on the board, the title is within our grasp.

Zaha had a decent game, was a constant threat.
Puncheon was alright.
Glen Murray was VERY poor, wow.
Cabaye was good. He didn't really help to control the midfield or bring a sense of control, but when you play 3 at the back and 4 up top, leaving 2 in the middle, it's pretty hard to do anything. We are fcking Palace btw.

More on the game is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33744606

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