Crystal Palace

[Jockney]

How long til we start talking about them being the new Derby then? Zero points and zero goals in their six opening games is an astoundingly awful record. The sort of form that a suspicious person might even say was no accident, especially given some of the attacking quality they have at their disposal.

 

[Benji]

I think with Benteke injured they don't have a striker now, which sounds unideal.

 

[Laura]

Literally the worst start in the history of English football.

I'd be okay with this.

 

[G.B]

Worst set of defenders in the league imo. A lack of quality to go next to the rapidly declining Cabaye. I don't see the attacking talent either tbh. Benteke will certainly get you goals with consistent supply but who's supposed to provide it? Townsend has shown it occasionally, Puncheon is over the hill and wasn't that good to begin with. Chung-Yong I don't know much about his career recently, he had the awful injury and hasn't played regular football since, as far as I know. Sako... meh. Zaha is flashy but has never been the sort of player to consistently make the correct decisions or show any real end product. I've never rated him but his return will be a boost regardless given he offers something different. From back to front a neglected and extremely poor side imvho and that.

FdB was a horrendous appointment too. How they/he expected to get that pile of wank playing proper football is beyond me. Spend that money on improving the squad ffs and then attract someone who can improve the style of play once you have a base to build from. That said, I think Hodgson has every chance of keeping them up. He's been unsurprisingly mocked since the announcement but he'll definitely get them organised and difficult to beat at the very least. The usual disciplined 2 banks of 4 and grinding out points. Look at 'Udders and ourselves atm. No real flair or "progressive" style of play but we're both really fucking organised and well drilled. And so we pick up points.

The next 2 games are a write off. If they get anything it's a massive bonus. This is the time for Woy to get them organised on the training ground. Then their season starts on the 21st of October against the mighty Newcy Toon Magpies, which is a winnable game and could be a massive boost to go on a run. Looking at their fixtures they could be fairly comfortable by the end of December if things with Hodgson go well. Most teams in the division will go on terrible runs at some point. At the moment it looks really, really bad when you see their start to the season (worst in 70 years or whatever it is) but when you look at the table they're still only a few good results away from moving to safety. Stoke are shit, Bournemouth haven't really clicked yet, Swansea are apparently lacking fitness according to sources, Brighton will be in the mix for relegation, West Ham are a mess, Newcastle, Huddersfield and Watford won't remain where they are now. West Brom and Leicester are more than capable of falling apart. It's a strange division nowadays because pretty much everyone from 8th or 9th and lower (once the table settles ofc) are equally shit. It's about who can get some confidence going and somewhat consistently grind points out more than anything else.

Basically, while things may look irreparable right now, it's still early and it's still doable. I don't have any real fondness for Palace as a club and their "ultras" are a fucking embarrassment to English football. But I do like Skinner me, and I hope they can do it.

All that said, I'd be fucking raging if it were my team and would have accepted relegation after 4 games.

 

[Luke_1884]

Probably the biggest tease for us since 07/08.

They'll piss past our tally no doubt.

 

[Cornish Piskie]

Roy Hodgson has two games left to sort it out.

 

[Renegade]

Who is the replacement for Benteke since Wickham is also out? Play one of the wingers up front? Drafted Benteke in my FPL team.

Calling Palace to go down is probably the only pre-season prediction I am going to get right. They were pitiful in the second half of last season and things have only worsened on and off the pitch. It's a tailspin. They have had a brutal run of fixtures, but 0 points from 8 games is likely and will only serve to crush their confidence and cohesion by the time more winnable fixtures come along. I would trust Roy if he had a full summer, but don't think he'll be able to do enough after De Boer imposed a vastly different style on them.

 

[Relentless]

Who is the replacement for Benteke since Wickham is also out? Play one of the wingers up front? Drafted Benteke in my FPL team.

Calling Palace to go down is probably the only pre-season prediction I am going to get right. They were pitiful in the second half of last season and things have only worsened on and off the pitch. It's a tailspin. They have had a brutal run of fixtures, but 0 points from 8 games is likely and will only serve to crush their confidence and cohesion by the time more winnable fixtures come along. I would trust Roy if he had a full summer, but don't think he'll be able to do enough after De Boer imposed a vastly different style on them.

Loftus-Cheek as a striker I guess?

 

[Jockney]

Worst set of defenders in the league imo. A lack of quality to go next to the rapidly declining Cabaye. I don't see the attacking talent either tbh. Benteke will certainly get you goals with consistent supply but who's supposed to provide it? Townsend has shown it occasionally, Puncheon is over the hill and wasn't that good to begin with. Chung-Yong I don't know much about his career recently, he had the awful injury and hasn't played regular football since, as far as I know. Sako... meh. Zaha is flashy but has never been the sort of player to consistently make the correct decisions or show any real end product. I've never rated him but his return will be a boost regardless given he offers something different. From back to front a neglected and extremely poor side imvho and that.

FdB was a horrendous appointment too. How they/he expected to get that pile of wank playing proper football is beyond me. Spend that money on improving the squad ffs and then attract someone who can improve the style of play once you have a base to build from. That said, I think Hodgson has every chance of keeping them up. He's been unsurprisingly mocked since the announcement but he'll definitely get them organised and difficult to beat at the very least. The usual disciplined 2 banks of 4 and grinding out points. Look at 'Udders and ourselves atm. No real flair or "progressive" style of play but we're both really fucking organised and well drilled. And so we pick up points.

The next 2 games are a write off. If they get anything it's a massive bonus. This is the time for Woy to get them organised on the training ground. Then their season starts on the 21st of October against the mighty Newcy Toon Magpies, which is a winnable game and could be a massive boost to go on a run. Looking at their fixtures they could be fairly comfortable by the end of December if things with Hodgson go well. Most teams in the division will go on terrible runs at some point. At the moment it looks really, really bad when you see their start to the season (worst in 70 years or whatever it is) but when you look at the table they're still only a few good results away from moving to safety. Stoke are shit, Bournemouth haven't really clicked yet, Swansea are apparently lacking fitness according to sources, Brighton will be in the mix for relegation, West Ham are a mess, Newcastle, Huddersfield and Watford won't remain where they are now. West Brom and Leicester are more than capable of falling apart. It's a strange division nowadays because pretty much everyone from 8th or 9th and lower (once the table settles ofc) are equally shit. It's about who can get some confidence going and somewhat consistently grind points out more than anything else.

Basically, while things may look irreparable right now, it's still early and it's still doable. I don't have any real fondness for Palace as a club and their "ultras" are a fucking embarrassment to English football. But I do like Skinner me, and I hope they can do it.

All that said, I'd be fucking raging if it were my team and would have accepted relegation after 4 games.

I don't watch much Premier League football but I was under the impression that they had a solid squad, Geeb. Guess my opinions about the likes of Cabaye, Puncheon, etc, are several seasons out of date. One thing everyone should know about Palace is that they're something of a footballing paradox: incredibly gutless, but jammy as fuck. You think they're down and out, but they'll fluke several results and pull out of it somehow. Bunch of c***, too, apart from Skinner (and that other bloke who posted on here years ago, who had the Mark Bright profile picture (or was it John Salako?)).

 

[Super_horns]

I think it was "solid" under Big Sam because he made them so - and having in form Benteke/Zaha helped.

But their defence seems weak and now both the 2 main attackers are injured..

Don't think any of their summer signings have made much impact.

 

[Leewilson]

They have the potential to be so much better than they have been so far. Last season, they took points from some very difficult fixtures when nobody expected it.

Sakho will be a big signing for them and Zaha, their best player, has missed pretty much the whole season so far. Benteke is a confidence player and when he gets up and running, he'll bag 10-15.

I agree though that they need to bin Puncheon. They should be playing Townsend, Loftus Cheek and Zaha behind Benteke with Milivovevic and Cabaye behind that.

What on earth is Lee Chung Yong still doing in the Premier League though? He was good for 1 season about 8 years ago when Bolton had the likes of Klasnic, Sturridge, Holden and Petrov playing tidy football and helping them to around mid table. Bin him!

 

[Jockney]

What on earth is Lee Chung Yong still doing in the Premier League though? He was good for 1 season about 8 years ago when Bolton had the likes of Klasnic, Sturridge, Holden and Petrov playing tidy football and helping them to around mid table. Bin him!

Alright Donald.

 

[AnkleBiter]

How much has really changed from the side that won at Chelsea and Liverpool and fucked Arsenal at the end of last season?
I'm certainly not counting them as down yet, they're going to need top half form after these (probable) 8 straight losses, but I wouldn't put that past them if they play the attacking line up Lee put above.

 

[St. Juste]

I thought Fosu-Mensah looked a good prospect when he first came in with Van Gaal.- pity he's got his fingerpints on this one.

Quality wise they are no worse than any of the other bottom 10-12, and certainly a lot better than Derby. Might stay up, but clearly big favourites for the drop at this stage.

I once brought someone a Crystal Palace calendar for Secret Santa, and for that reason alone I hope they stay up.

 

[johnnytodd]

Palace would win the Scottish Premier League easily imo

 

[St. Juste]

Palace would win the Scottish Premier League easily imo

Probably, such a league hasn't existed for years.

 

[Pagnell]

*bought

 

[Jockney]

*bought

Much like a Palace supporter, you have nothing of value to say.

 

[HarvSFC]

Palace are turning to free agent Carlton Cole to solve their striker issues, according to the media.

 

[Gilly?]

Osvaldo and Rossi are available and Palace look at Carlton Cole. Lol.

 

[Renegade]

My friend bet me about five years ago that Carlton Cole would never play in the Premier League again. His exact words were - "I'll eat my own hair if Carlton Cole plays in the Premier League again." Since then he's been re-signed twice by West Ham and now potentially by Crystal Palace. The gift that keeps on giving, I have no idea how he was in the league 10 years ago, let alone potentially returning now.