You can't change 3 at halftime (ask Warnock) - especially when 2 up He should have bought buttocks on earlier but you don't go "all in" unless you have nowt to lose and at 2-0 we had everything to lose Hindsight is wonderful
I got in last night from a night out just as we kicked off. In my pissed up state, I watched the 1st half and unfortunately nodded off at half time. I had a really, really bad feeling that we were going to slip away in the 2nd half and when I saw Jon Williams come on at half time (then I fell asleep again), I knew we could be in for trouble. I'm bitterly disappointed we didn't see the game out by half time. If we went in 3-0 (and we could have done) at half time I really don't think that Palace would have been able to come back at us and leave with a point. As soon as Chalobah was struggling in the first half, I had Battocchio down as a dead cert to come on and replace him then and there - why he didn't is beyond me. I really felt like he could have been in his element last night had he come on in the first half or at half time. I have to say that after the last few games, I'm a little concerned that we might not have what it takes to go up this season. I'd love us to, but I'm really concerned that we simply don't have a plan B if our passing game isn't working, and that we perhaps aren't playing as well as we should. We have 15 games left to play, and now is most certainly not the time to be taking our foot off the pedal.
How on earth were we poor against Bolton?! A sloppy first 15 aside, we played well against a very decent footballing side. Disagree it was only 20 minutes where we were on top. We looked dangerous on the counter for the whole of the first half whereas they created no clear-cut chances.
We weren't great and had Bolton possessed any clinical edge, they could and should have won. I've not seen stats, but they dominated possession and territory for much of the game. We've taken 4 points out of 9, but could easily have come out with 0/9. That's a positive or a negative, depending on how you want to look at it.
Agree. Palace made almunia make 1 save, that's it. We should have been 3 up and game set match by half time in my opinion.
A point gained for me rather than two points lost. The way we played in the second half, we were lucky not to get beaten. As it turned out, Vydra's headed miss at 2-0 turned out to be the turning point. Palace deserve credit for the way they came back at us but we were not impressive, at 2-0 it almost looked like we thought we could stroll through the rest of the match.. Impressive performances from Chalobah and Hoban..Vydra and Deeney didn't click last night but on another day they will..Abdi's performance seemed to sum up the team as a whole, great in the first 30 mins, faded afterwards.. So what does it all mean? Well on a positive, it means we are 3rd right now and have taken 4 points off a promotion/play off rival. On a slight negative, it means Leicester/Hull could go 6 points clear once they've played their games in hand, in effect 7 in Leicester's case due to their goal difference. So at the moment we look like a play off team..but if we could string a run of 4 or 5 consecutive wins together and beat those two sides when we play them, automatics are still a possibility. I know we shouldn't complain about lack of January signings as we signed 15 in the summer..but I couldn't help but think last night the extra competition for places plus a fresh face or too to boost the squad in January might have been a good idea. Woke up this morning to hear Quinn and Mark Saggers, who I know personally and respect, having a right go at us. As we've been playing with so many 'loanees' since August, I think the joke's on them if they're only just making it out to be an issue in February! And btw, we did start last night with 6 English qualified players and 1 Irish.
A few weeks ago, Hogg was a vital part of our midfield 3, now he's dog****. A few weeks ago, Fessi was an automatic starter, now he's a primadonna, distracted by a new contract. A few weeks ago, Zola was a tactical genius, now he's an inept Buffoon. We're 3rd. We're in a very good position to get a play-off place, which is more than most expected at the start of the season. We've lost 3 times in our last 18 league games. We're playing attacking, entertaining, goal-scoring football. Lets not be too downbeat.
Pudil is really starting to get to me. He seems to be programmed always to turn infield about 10 yards inside the opposition half, when often there is lots of space further down the wing. Skinning his man and going for the byeline either to put a decent cross in or even to feed Deeney or Vydra into the box would make a pleasant change!
15 games to go, we play 3 of the top 7. And we'll be a maximum of 6 points off with the freshest, biggest squad. Disaster, this hasn't, and will never, work.
You should support the team mate, instead of slating them. If you don't like it, **** off and support Chelsea.
Brighton dominated possession and lacked a cutting edge. So too Middlesborough. It's not a coincidence, it's what happens when we play on the counter. We should have scored more against Bolton and fully deserved the win. Also, aside from the first 15, Bolton barely threatened, and hardly dominated territory.
Usually gives 100% but ultimately a limited player. Less than 30 goals in over 100 appearances is not a great for a striker. He does bring something to the team that no one else does and that's a presence up front. He's not going to improve though.
Trying to put a positive spin on it, I think the fact there is so much criticism of our performance today shows just how far we have come. A year ago, we'd probably have just shrugged our shoulders, accepted our lot, and just casually glanced at the league table to see if we were 11th, 12th or 13th. Now, each dropped point matters so much more..and each perceived 'bad' performance hurts/angers/frustrates so much more..because this season we are a very good team with a very good chance of progressing. One of my favourite quotes in life is from the movie Withnail and I. 'I can take the despair, it's the hope I can't stand'!!! And it's never felt more true than after that match..2-0 up, cruising it, 2nd in the league..then bang, crash, wallop. So it's totally natural so many people feel gutted today. But who knows..that POINT last night could still be the point that wins us promotion! In 15 games time, we'll all know! Not today.
Agreed.......but it's even more possible that the 2 points dropped could be the difference between auto and play offs, or play offs and 7th!
Yes but at the end of a season every club will look back and say 'it was that result that cost us' etc! For me, we can do that with Blackpool away when we lost 2 points in injury time and Cardiff/Blackburn when we lost 1 point in injury time. But last night, well being 2-0 up after 15 minutes doesn't guarantee a win so I don't think you can really look back and say it was 2 points dropped in the same way you could at Blackpool. For me at the moment we are taking 2 steps forward then 1 step backwards..progressing but not at a good enough rate yet to get 2nd place. It's 4 points out of the last 9 now. That's not to say we WON'T get 2nd..but to get it, I believe we need to put a run together of 5-6 straight wins, as Leicester are indeed doing.
That's the way we play, down the middle. If you haven't noticed already we rarely swing a deep cross in because we are always cutting inside. Every time we seem to be doing well everyone says we're doing it wrong e.g under boothroyd it's wrong to play the long ball. People aren't used to us being better than them and thats that.
Disappointing last night but please, some perspective. We are third. We are the highest goalscorers in the division. At each position in the squad we have players that are better than their counterparts of last year (and I include Almunia in that v Kuszack), or we have the same players hugely improved - in fact we probably have a back-up in every position better than last year's first choice. Our 'natural' football is the best that I have seen in many, many years, probably ever. We have the best striker in the division, the best midfielder, and a couple of the best defenders. Nobody is perfect, we won't win every game, but who realistically saw us where we are at this stage of the season. Enjoy the ride. (and best of all we don't have that tortoise-headed west (untry bumpkin as a manager)
I think the tactic of going through the centre was based on reports previously that Palace had problems containing teams that went straight for the jugular - it worked well for the first 20 minutes or so, they got wise to it, brought Zaha in from the wide areas to a more central position and stopped us playing to an extent, then when they brought Williams on for the second half, they got the upper hand - we didn't adapt and in the end did well to get a draw out of the game. It's not the end of the world ffs. Let's look forward, not back... COYH
From my point of view, after 20 mins i was expecting the worse, but we turned it round nicely and probably should have won the game but i am more then happy with the point.The Palace support was superb although i expect that nowadays when on the road, thought you boys were quiet. Very annoyed about the broken seats, we are better then that and this is the first time that i am aware of this kind of behavior from palace fans, get the bill in the post ASAP.Your a decent side and will be in the shake up, honestly believe our paths will cross before season end. Enjoy the rest of the season,and good luck.
As much as I agree with that there's one problem- Pudil is a wing back, not a winger. He feels he wouldn't be great in running down the wing, probably because he'll use his energy up in running (as he thinks aimlessly) for a poor cross only to sprint back to cover the gap left behind
Not the greatest of behaviour but at least you didn't chuck it into the Family End hitting a kid in the mouth like your South London brothers (3 guesses as to who did it). I thought we did make some noise certianly in the first half but you can forgive us for not making noise in the second especially when you're seeing your team give the ball away every 5 mins
Palace fans have adopted a never stop singing attitude even if your losing, keep supporting the team and who knows, been commentrd on by several clubs we have visited this season, even carry on if in midsong and we concede, a kind of we dont care, we will pull it back, even if we dont, its not arrogance, just letting the team know we are right behind you, i believe the fans have been responsible for quite a few points this season.Charlton and brighton both went from singing loudly to complete silence once they conceded, when they should have responded because thats what your team needs.You were vocal in the first half, you were on a high but as you say you tailed off in the second.Still a great atmosphere though and i think every one went home fairly happy.
But do you do that at home as well? I mean away support is always more vocal from my experience as an Orn is it the same for Palace? Also for most of the first half I thought you were singing "Ian Holloways Pretzel Army", well it sounded like it. I mean I like the odd biscuit but to chant about it, seems a bit OTT. And the "2-0 and you ****ed it up" chant .. c'mon Watford we should hav been "Top Spot and you ****ed it up"
It's February, not May. Some teams still have 17 matches to play. We still have 15, which by my maths is a shade under 33%, a third, of the season. And until 4.50pm tonight, we sit in our highest league position since November 2007.
This ^^ Our weakness still isn't fixed: we crumble under pressure from the better sides and don't retain the ball
Some reasonable views on here. Should have been out of sight in first half. Palace have a record this season of coming back strongly in second half. We did not make subs or tactical changes to counter their better performance so i was relieved to leave with a point. In fairness the Palace support has been pretty noisy for the past few seasons-what is it with the fireworks/flares-Bolton had one last week and a couple last night-can you imagine that in the rookery Is it me or is the first time i have heard/seen this from GFZ ...But there are 15 games to go and I don't want to be second now, I want to be second at the end of the season. It's going to be a race to the end.. Maybe cos the Pozzos were there ?-anyway if we are now looking up not just talking about "lets keep going and see where we are etc...then hopefully that positivity will feed through into either future performances or maybe a new loan or two as for the new owners there may not be a better chance of getting up. I agree that this was not to be a promotion year and we were building for next season but to my mind all that is out of the window now
The lower holmesdale and a section of the authur waite sing constantly at home games. Yeah away from home its always more noisy, people sit in different parts of selhurst so any singing in the main or family stands tend to make little impact because not enough do it. I recall the first game of the season and you were very vocal.
If we finish 6th, it'll be a disaster. Home to 3rd first, get a hammering, then away and get a hammering. This season suddenly took a horrible turn and it's the managers fault.
Brighton? Middlesborough? Leicester? That second-half was a one-off in terms of retaining the ball and it's no coincidence it came after so many games in such a short period of time, including an international break. That does hamper preparation.
None of them applied pressure without the ball, they allowed us to play our game our way. Hull, Palace. Both got in to our faces, didn't give our back 3 or the midfield 3 any time on the ball. That's what I'm talking about. We don't have a response, we get deeper and deeper and end up going longer and longer.
Wait what? All I kept on hearing from Palace fans was that we were quiet until the 3rd goal. Where do you sit?
To a lesser extent so did Bristol City. Got in to our faces, made us rush things and ultimately knocked us out of our stride. We need to learn to deal with that better.
