Exclusive interview with Neil Danns

I recently caught up with influential Palace midfielder Neil Danns who spoke about his return from injuries, his love of music and why Victor Moses can be one of the best.

Who is your all time hero?

One of my all time heroes is John Barnes, because growing up as a young black boy John Barnes was one of the few men of colour at Liverpool, who i supported as a kid so he sort of inspired to be a footballer as a kid

What was your perception of the club before you signed, and has that changed since you’ve been here?

My perception of the club was good as I knew it had spent some time in the Premiership and produced alot of good talent such as Routledge, Fitz Hall etc, and I think everyone in the game knows who Simon Jordan is , so to be honest before I came I had good views on Palace.

After you arrived at Selhurst Park you were plagued by injuries for a long time. Did this make it difficult to settle into the dressing room and the area as a whole?

Yes I found it difficult to settle at first because of my injuries, because I wasn’t able to bond with the players on the pitch and training ground because I was injured so I felt a bit embarrassed that I had got a bad injury so soon after I signed so kept myself to myself.

You seem to have put your injury problems behind you now and your performances have been inspirational, are the Palace fans seeing the best of you now?

Yeah I think they are starting to see the best of me, I am always looking to improve though so there is still more to come and i would like to have a few more goals this year but I’m confident they will come

What do you make of the Palace fans?

I think the palace fans have been brilliant for me personally because i can understand some were frustrated with my injury at first, but they haven’t held it against me and have been brilliant with me since I’ve been back playing so I have nothing but positive comments for them on a personal note.

Who do you most admire in the Palace squad and why?

In terms of talent probably Victor Moses because the boy is seriously gifted and he can go as far as he wants if he works hard enough.

What effect have the off-field financial problems made to the spirit in the dressing room? Has there been much discussion over it on the training ground?

To be honest we can’t effect what happens off the pitch so we just stay focused on what we can affect and that’s on the pitch, course we chat now and again but that’s just human, anyone in any job would do so if there employers were constantly in the papers for financial reasons.

Has it brought the group closer?

We are a close knit group and any negatives always bring us closer so that’s how we turn negatives into positives in those situations.

You played under David Gold at Birmingham, how does he compare to
Simon Jordan, in the way he runs the club?

To be honest you don’t really see much of what goes on in the running of the club and behind the scenes, we just see the football side of things so I couldn’t comment

The side this season seems to have a lot of potential to do good things, what would be a realistic expectation for this season?

I think realistically we could be outsiders for the playoffs, and considering, if we achieved this we will have surprised a few.

What do you make of the “everybody Danns now” song that fans sing for you? Would you like it to be played after you score like they used to with the old announcer?
I love any song that is sung for me, that chant is good because it gets people bouncing so I like it alot ha ha.

Will you get to spend much time with your family at home over Christmas or does football kind of overtake it?

Football overtakes the holidays but I’m lucky enough to have my kids and partner with me up here so that’s good but I wont get to see the rest of my family and friends until after Christmas, we will be training on Christmas day

Coming from a musical family was football or music your first love?

Music was at first I was an avid Michael Jackson fan as a kid I could do all the moves, but once I started playing football on the playground that was it football took over.

What have your musical influences been?

My influences in music came from my mum and dad, I grew up in a house where music was always playing, in the house or the car, so I was hooked from early on.

What is your favourite album?

My favourite album is probably the black and white album by Michael Jackson, it has some classics on there, and that was when I was fully into Michael Jackson as a kid, certain songs on that album remind me of certain times in my childhood, good memories ha ha.

First ever record bought?

First record ever bought think it was Gloria Estafan ha ha don’t ask me why, my dad liked her so, I was a sheep and followed I think I was only about 7 or something lol.

Did working on your music help you through your injuries?

Music has always been something that helps me relax, so yeah you could probably say it did get me thru some of my dark times during my injury definitely.

Do you see music as your career route after your football career?

I see it as one of many routes I want to take, I am very ambitious and want to achieve many things in life as you only live once but I will give music a right good go along with other media and business ventures

Visit Neil at http://dannzy.com/ and you can follow him on his official twitter

Sears recalled by Hammers

Neil Warnock has revealed that striker Freddie Sears will return be recalled by West Ham in January. He said: "West Ham have asked for him to go back in January,"

"They have one or two problems up front and he is their player at the end of the day.

"He'll be with us for the next two games but it's likely he'll go back after that."

All I can say is they must have some severe problems if their relying on Freddie then they've got bigger problems than I thought possible. This season he has shown nothing to support his massive reputation he had when he arrived at Selhurst Park.

He has pace and his movement can be good but he can't finish his breakfast and his distribution is mostly poor. The gulf in ability between him and Victor Moses just goes to show the difference between a highly rated youngster and someone very very special.

Kop chase Vic to recue Rafa?

Under-fire Kop boss Rafa Benitez is set to turn to young Victor Moses in the hope of saving Liverpool's so far disastrous season.

He faces a tough battle though as a host of clubs both at home and abroad including Tottenham, Arsenal, Hoffenheim and Barcelona all chasing the signature of our boy.

But while these sides decide wether to take a risk on the starlet, Liverpool are looking to jump to the head of the queue with a £5m offer.

Palace 1-1 Barnsley

Not only was the game on but it also contained one of the most sensational goals ever witnessed at Selhurst. Moses saved a point for the Palace with an unbelievable 18-yard overhead kick straight into the top corner of the net.

It was a good job he did aswell as his more experienced colleagues queued up to miss guilt-edge chances; probably the most guilty being Darren Ambrose who boasted a third minute penalty miss.

Claude Davis, Clint Hill and Alan Lee also missed chances and we were made to pay when Barnsley scored with their first real opportunity as is the way with visiting sides at Selhurst now.

Luckily Moses rescued a point shortly after the break and secured a very good result in the circumstances although admittedly it could have been much better against a Barnsley side who came with a bemusing game plan to shut up shop and stifle our midfield.


His moment of brilliance will once again set Premier League tongues wagging as the January transfer window edges closer and closer. Neil Warnock was certainly reiterating the fact we are selling the player in his post match press conference:"What can you say that I've not said before? I look at the top of the Premiership and think there must be something wrong if they do not come down (to look at him).

"He's finally clicked because he is doing the mucky bits of football now. He's doing the hard graft and you cannot get anywhere without doing that.

"He is now tackling back. He will remember me in years to come when I am asking him for tickets. I would pay money to watch Victor at the moment."

But we can't dwell on the fact we will lose Victor we must instead enjoy him while we have him and savour moments like this as a few years down the line when he's starting for England, you can say you watched him when he started.

Will the game be on

Normally on a Friday i would be previewing all the team news for the upcoming game. This week however after the freezing conditions that have swept across the south-east the debate is all about whether the game will be postponed.

The weather men claim predict that there will be a high of 2 degrees in South London tomorrow and i some how believe that our, lets face it state of the art, tarpaulin sheet won't be much of a defence against the frost.

Warnock may be quietly hoping for a postponement as a virus that has struck down five members of the squad including the influential pairing of Darren Ambrose and Neil Danns who were worryingly the worst affected by the illness and didn't train for most of the week.

One person with fingers and toes crossed that the game is on will be Simon Jordan. It is rumoured that he has this week received a winding up order by Her majesty's Revenue and Customs due to the club falling behind on payments and a home game being called off with the loss of revenue that entails would be desperately untimely.

Kalou handed trial

No not that Kalou, we've handed a trial to his older and slighlty past it brother, Bonaventure who has even less of an idea of where the goal is than Salomon.

Neil Warnock confirmed that the 31-year-old will play a few reserve games as he runs the rule over the Ivorian: "He is training with us and he will probably play a couple of reserve games." said Warnock.

Djilali returns to the nest

Youngster Kieran Djilali has returned to Palace today after completing his month-long loan deal at Chesterfield.

The winger bagged himself one goal in six appearances at saltergate and I'm sure he will return to the squad a much sharper player.

Loan spells in the lower leagues is exactly what our young players need, to gte some games under their belts and also to acclimatise them to the rough and tumble world of frist-team football.

Sheffield United 2-0 Palace

Yet another frustrating performance has followed an impressive win. Just as happened before against Doncaster last week the lads just never turned up, didn't threaten and showed nothing for the travelling fans to shout about.

We went behind to yet another contentious refereeing decision as the linesman adjudged Lee Williamson's shot to have crossed the lane despite Claude Davies insisting that he had cleared in time.


The goal stood and we never really recovered.


I was not at the game personally but from reports from those who did travel we offered very little going forward and the Blades could have extended their lead long before they finally did in the 90th minute.

You have to question Warnocks decision to remove Clyne from the side after a such a good performance and grabbing his first goal in the week. I feel he concentrated too much on matching Sheffield United's physicality and not enough on the thing's that made Tuesday's performance so good. I feel Clyne, despite being a right back gives us a real threat going forward even at left back, while also being more than capable defensively. Warnock may point to United's strength but last season he was the stand out player on the pitch in one of his first appearances.

But maybe its too simple too blame the manager who we have to admit is doing a terrific job, the players are as much to blame, it is they who were second to every ball this afternoon.

Neil Warnock has just said that a bout of diarrhoea this morning struck five players down, which may give a few clues for why we performed so badly but who knows. All i can comment on is the performance, the result and the worrying trend of a sensational performance followed by a disastrous one. Even more worrying is that there is no real trend in the pattern for instance being bad at home or bad away, we just seem to be very inconsistent all of a sudden.

We've got an in form Barnsley on Saturday at Selhurst Park so we will have to see how we fare against them to further understand whats going on at the moment.

Here's hoping we can get back to winning ways!

Next up: Sheffield United

So the gaffer leads us up north to his old stomping ground once more to take on his apprentice Kevin Blackwell in the hope of continuing the current hoodoo he has over his beloved Blades.

The lads face a tough test today when we will meet a team not dissimilar to ours in its approach to the game.

We won't be able to bully the blades like we did Watford and Reading but what we can do is compete with them negate their approach to the game and give our more talented players the license to hurt them.

This worked beautifully against Reading but it very much relies on the form of Darren Ambrose and Victor Moses who were at their sparkling best on Tuesday night.

If picked today Moses, which he should be, will be playing on his 19th birthday so happy birthday to the lad and good luck for today.

United will be without Darius Henderson and Toni Kallio while surprise surprise Nick Montgomery is suspended. Neil has no simmilar concerns with the only absentee being Paddy McCarthy who will be sidelined for three months after undergoing shoulder surgery this week.

This game worries me, the signs are ominous; we won three of our last five games, we're unbeaten in eight and worst of all we are unbeaten against Sheffield United under Neil Warnock. Knowing Palace as i do, something has to change and i fearthat change could be today.

Heres hoping it doesnt!

Reading 2-4 Palace

An exquisite brace from wonder kid Victor Moses sealed a 4-2 victory in a pulsating tie at the Madjeski Stadium.

Nathanial Clyne opened the scoring with his first senior goal, and what a goal to open your account with. He cut in from the right wing and unleashed a shot from 20 yards that beat the keeper at his near post. Reading hit back with a Sigurdsson header before Moses retook the lead for Palace with an arrowed strike from 30 yards and Darren Ambrose found his shooting boots again with a near carbon copy of Clyne's goal.

Reading came back again after the break converting a penalty conceded by a clumsy Jose Fonte challenge.

After some nervy moments Moses cut inside from the left dropped his shoulder beat two defenders and finished emphatically to seal the win and leave the Eagles just two points of the Play-offs.

It was a sensational performance and just the right tonic for Palace fans who were left deflated after last weeks financial news and the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers.

Reading v Palace

So the question is which Palace will turn up tonight to face Reading?

The side that thrashed Watford or the side that were thrashed by Doncaster Rovers? Only time will tell but personally I am have faith in the managers ability to turn things round and ensure that Saturday doesn't happen again.

It's expected Warnock will name an unchanged side but hopefully he won't be tempted to be overly cautious and exile Victor Moses out onto the wing again. This is what happened on Saturday and look at the result; we need to be brave and take the game to a Reading side who are decidedly brittle at home.

The Royals' danger man will surely be Gregorz Rasiak who has a nasty habit of scoring against us and is dangerous aerially. There's also some old faces in the opposition camp tonight with Jobi McAnuff likely to start on the right wing (cue boos from Palace) and legend and former captain Dean Austin in the dugout after being named as Brendan Rodgers's assistant in the summer.


On a side-note, congratulations to Clint Hill who is in line to make his 100th appearance for the club tonight.

Good luck to the boys tonight and let's hope we can get back on track.

Here's hoping!

Ambrose named player of the Month

Darren Ambrose has scooped the prestigious Coca-Cola Championship Player of the Month award for November after scoring in all four of last months games.















The Midfield maestro fought off stiff competition for Kevin Nolan, Darius Henderson and Simon Cox for the award.

Unfortunately it seems to have had the same effect as the Manager of the Month curse as the defeat against Doncaster on Saturday saw the breaking of Ambrose's run of eight goals in eight consecutive games.

Nonetheless it is an honour and a fitting reward for a player that can surely be regarded as the signing of the season.

Let's hope his he can continue this form into the busy Christmas period.

Here's Hoping!

A little Premiership praise from a City fan

After attending the Carling Cup 2nd round tie at Selhurst Park, Manchester City fan Christopher Wildgoose was left surprised by the quality of football that we offered.

So much so that he has given his views from what he saw that night:

Many people have criticised Palace for playing long ball, rather than beautiful football and, although some long ball was on display, it was great to see the effects of Victor Moses bursting down the wing and causing the Manchester City defence problems.

It was a game that Palace deserved to win, and had it not been for a few dodgy refereeing decisions they may well have gone on to cause the shock of the round.

Darren Ambrose was one of the best players on the pitch that night, and it was clear to see that he was going to be vital in the Eagles' promotion push this year. He came very close to scoring a sensational goal in the first-half and pulled the strings as Palace piled on the pressure and it looked ever more likely that a breakthrough was imminent.

If Palace play as well as they did that night then I have every confidence that they can go on to at least snatch a play-off place at the end of the season. The performance against Watford was fantastic as they stamped their authority over a team who is also capable of challenging for a top-six finish come May.

What I think Palace are lacking is the clinical striker. West Brom have one in Luke Moore and Shola Ameobi is rampant at St. James' Park. This is what separates the very best from the teams on the borderline of reaching their full potential.

I can not see Palace going into administration. The fan base is fantastic, and it was clear to see when I was sat with my City faithful just how much you got behind the team. With the support and the current form I have confidence in saying that Palace will be a Premier League team very soon.

Palace 0-3 Doncaster Rovers

So after having two full days to calm down I feel I am finally able to reflect on the game fairly and without any snap judgements. For instance I no longer have the urge to have every Palace player who played apart in Saturdays defeat put up against a wall and shot, which is probably good news for Simon Jordan as he has precious few assets as it is.

After going through the highlights again numerous times you can see we just didn’t get the rub of the green like we did last week against Watford and a keen Palace observer could see it wasn’t going to be from a very early stage. Last week we had two chances early on and scored them both, this week we had those same two chances but Neil Danns and the newly crowned player of the month Darren Ambrose inexplicably managed to miss both chances with the goal gaping on both occasions.

If we had gone 2-0 up we would have cruised to victory, as it was, a potent mix of lacksadaisical defending and ruthless finishing left us 1-0 down just before half-time. A big performance was needed after the break and just as we looked really fired up Donny hit us with a sucker punch on the break and the player’s collective heads dropped. The final twenty or so minutes must have been torture for those in the ground as James Hayter smashed home their third of the afternoon but the score line flattered them. Julian Speroni had nothing to do for the whole ninety minutes except pick the ball out of the net so as Mr Warnock say’s we will just have to “Take this one on the chin” and remember the performance last week and all the good things that have taken us to within striking distance of the play-offs.

Even opposing manager Sean O'Driscoll admitted that his side rode their luck on the way to victory: "I thought we were excellent. Palace are a difficult team to defend against and we took our chances well. In this division you need a little bit of luck and we took it."


Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was it destroyed in a day, so fans will have to keep some perspective (including me) when the lads have a stinker, take it on the chin and just accept that that is what Supporting Palace means. Even if we are less Rome more and more Pompeii at the moment with our finances.

I wouldn’t bet against a good result against Reading on Tuesday and a much improved performance, it’s a certainty Warnock won’t allow a repeat Saturday.

Here’s Hoping!

Help the club and 'Pass it on'

Show your support for the team by helping the club in its 'Pass it on' campaign that it hopes can help to sell out our christmas fixtures. Join the Facebook group and Pass on the brilliant new ticket offers that have jus been released based on meetings between the club and fans.

Administration looms!

For those palace fans old enough to remember 1999, the word administration prompts a sickly feeling deep in their stomachs.

It was a helpless feeling knowing that the fate of the club we hold so dear to our hearts was perilously close to existing no more.

Alas ten years on and we find ourselves in the same situation as the club announces that yet again it cannot afford to pay its staff and looks doomed to financial ruin, administration and now more worryingly, a swift drop down the leagues.

Simon Jordan however cannot be blamed for this as much as many may wish to. He has done his best in a worsening financial climate until this point where he is close to the presaphis on the verge of bankruptcy having lost his entire fortune supporting Palace. He has personally guaranteed a large proportion of the debts rumoured to be as high as £30 million that has accrued over the years but he no longer has the liquid funds to support those payments.

As fans,although we are not yet in administration, we need to call on the spirit of 1999 and do as much as possible to help in our own little way. Whether it's renewing that season ticket that you weren't sure you were going to renew or simply buying a replica shirt like me, we need to stick together and stand up to be counted.

The manager has led the rallying call and has shown that he and the players will do their bit after the 3-0 victory against Watford: "But it's not like that - Simon's doing his best. Obviously the cash flow is a problem. But we've got another home game next Saturday, and you've got to accept in the modern day that these things happen.

"Rather than let it affect you, we've got to be positive. We're doing ever so well at the moment. We've got a small squad, we've got a lot of players out on loan to help with the financial aspect as well, and the fans have been brilliant.

"I would expect the chairman to support me if I were in a situation like that, and likewise I said to the players 'he's been great with us, so let's help him'."

"We haven't got prima donnas. They're all hard working lads and the team ethic is fabulous.

"I am in a positive mood because I want to help the chairman - he's been brilliant over the years and I know he's been disappointed that he's not been able to give me some of the millions he's give other managers, but it hasn't stopped me from working as hard as I can for the club and for him."

"He's a very astute businessman and a very good friend. I'm aware of the problems he's had with the [economic] climate. But he's still put many millions into Crystal Palace to keep it going, and I think we owe him a lot.

"The least we owe him is to roll up our sleeves and try to get the results that will help him over this period."

Those of us present at the Watford game can see how much fight the lads had so let's show how much we love this club and fill the ground on saturday because if we can't in this hour of need then we don't deserve to have a club.

I think i'd speak for many that we'd rather go out fighting, with 20,000 kicking and screaming than with 12,000 whinging fans bemoaning SJ's stewardship and whispering the club to sleep. We can't save the club alone; only a new investor could do that but we can show that we are a club worth saving.

Protest successful

The planned protest against aggressive stewarding in lower Holmesdale seems to have achieved some positive results in terms of club-supporter relations.

Word from protest organisers have reported that as a result of their action positive action has been taken by the club.

1) A number of bans picked up by supporters at the Boro game were overturned after a review of the CCTV.

2) Block V of the Arthur Waite has been reopened and the Arthur Waite massive were in great voice yesterday.

3)The Police co-ordinator from the Middlesbrough will not take charge of a game at Selhurst Park again.

4) Discussions have begun between the club and supporters and club for ways to improve take the club forward together.

5)A meeting between the club and Police has been arranged by the club in early December to discuss the events.

6)The head steward has been removed from his post in front of block B of the Lower Holmesdale.

So it looks like all those who took part have made great strides in making the club and Police listen to us the fans.

Lets hope this cooling of relations can continue into the future.

Here's hoping!

Palace 3-0 Watford- Sensational!

The title says it all really; what a game.

Warnock's pre-game promise of attacking play, goals and Victor Moses from the start all came to fruition with a cherry on top.

The gaffer switched to a 4-4-2 with a front two of Moses and Lee (something I've wanted for a while) for his 100th game as Eagle's boss. Moses and Lee had alot more than a modicum of understanding i thought they would need which resulted in a mouthwatering blend of physical power and technical ability, showcased perfectly by the opening goals.

Lee won everything in the air and victor was reading the flick-on's as if they had played together for years, and once he got the ball he was a menace for the Watford defence and was the difference between the sides.


Darren Ambrose sealed an emphatic victory with his sixth in six games; the first Eagle since the great Ian wright in 1988 to do so.

Watford for their part didn't impress me at all and didn't show why they were one of the form teams going into this weekend. Admittedly had Julian Speroni not once more re-enforced our belief that he is one of the best exponents of his trade in the division if not the country by saving Danny Graham's weak penalty.If Maradonna continues to ignore him they are missing a golden opportunity.

The atmosphere was extremely rocking and there was some good terrace banter for those of you who saw the group of guys wearing the blue bobble hats trying and failing to leave the game early.

Some good news for tomorrow's game

I will be making my first trip to Selhurst in a while for Watford and was originally expecting a cagey game and to win a bucket full of money betting on a 1-1 draw.

Now though Neil Warnock announces that he is going for an attacking team tomorrow with Moses set for a recall to the starting line eleven.

"We are concentrating on ourselves and trying to get some more goals from other areas other than just relying on Darren."

"Victor has looked sharp in training in the past couple of weeks and I don't think he is far away from a starting role," said the Palace boss.

"Freddie badly needs a goal but it's becoming a matter of just how long you can give him. It might be time to give someone else an opportunity."

I believe a Moses-Lee front line could work very effectively in a 4-4-2 if the pair can strike up even a modicum of understanding. They provide a good blend of flair and Warnockness that i think we had with AJ and Shippers; a partnership that was so successful.

A more attacking stance is an intriguing proposition and should hopefully end our run of draws and produce a more entertaining game.

so I think I will be reverting to my usual betting system instead of putting 50p on a on a Palace defeat just to be safe.

Palace v Watford- A Hornets perspective

Watford fan Joe Whitbread gives his verdict on the season so far and looks ahead to Saturday's game.

Watford are currently exceeding everyone’s expectations and are sitting a very pretty eighth in the league, a position that would be very welcome at the end of the season.

Our squad is a blend of high wage earners that we can’t shift, loans, deadwood and average players playing beyond their ability. Defensively we have been a bit terrible so far, mainly due to Manchester United loan signing Craig Cathcart (Carthorse as he is affectionately known) and Lloyd Doyley who is something of a legend around the club having played 234 games and scoring no goals. Doyley is a bit useless but we love his clumsy workmanlike style of football, probably because it provides us fans with some amusement.

We’ve had to shift a lot of players over the past couple of years, notably Marlon King (remember him guys?), Darius Henderson, Tommy Smith and Tamas Priskin. Like you, we are in a bit of a financial state but at least we have an ex chairman who happens to be a global superstar singer and will be hosting a concert next year to raise some much needed cash.

We have a highly rated goalkeeper in Scott Loach who is prone to the odd error and might be off to Tottenham in January. The players to watch out for are Tom Cleverley and Henri Lansbury who are on loan from Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. Cleverley is destined for bigger things and many Watford fans reckon he could be pushing for a spot in Manchester United first team next year. These two make our midfield tick and are a real handful with their movement and passing, a lot of opposition teams have struggled to cope this term.

Up front we have Danny Graham who ended his goal drought on Saturday and a familiar face in Heidar Helguson who joined us on loan from QPR till January. Helguson originally signed for the club in 1999 and left in 2005 but has rejoined as a last hurrah. Despite being fairly old and injury prone, he is still a real threat in the air and could cause some problems. A modern Watford legend.

I’m expecting a difficult game but with our away form being good and having a decent record at Selhurst over the past few meetings I’m confident we can nick a win. Good luck for the game and for the season.

Oh, and cheers for McAnuff, he was a pile of shit.

Coventry 1-1 Palace

I wouldn't want to know what the odds are for Darren Ambrose to score after thirty or so minutes and Palace to draw 1-1 but they must be getting slimmer by the week.

The inform playmaker was once again in top form as we came away from the Ricoh with yet another good away point. We seem to be very hard to beat and this result leaves us beaten just once in eleven games which under the circumstances is excellent. It's a shame we could not hold onto the three points but we were on the back-foot throughout the second half and it was a powerful header by Irish forward Leon Best.

He was probably the stand-out player in a game which was hampered by torrential rain and blustery gales, making flowing, passing moves few and far between.The draw was a fair result and Neil Warnock will be further buoyed by the return to action of Calvin Andrew after a long lay-off. The youngster came on for a late cameo and nearly scored with his first touch of the game. I for one am looking forward to the impact this yet unproven player can make to our goal-shy side in the coming months.

Another bright note will be the return to the bench of Paddy McCarthy. We will need him over the tough Christmas period if we are to have the necessary defensive cover unlike last year when his injury de-railed our season.

Cadogan out on loan

Precocious talent Keiron cadogan has gone out on a month long loan to League 2 side Burton Albion. This is exciting news for all of us as we will get to see just how good this boy is going up against big burly League 2 centre-backs.

Coventry v Palace- Preview

So after yet another meaningless international break that involved no Palace players we're finally back in action and hoping to continue our fine form. Tomorrows game will see us go up against two more former Palace men as we travel to the Ricoh Arena to face a Coventry side bereft of confidence.

Clinton Morrison will go down in Palace folk-law as a legend and not just for his 113 goals in 316 appearances in red and blue. His charisma was phenomenal, as was his passion for the club which he has insisted he wants to return to before his playing days are over. He was approachable and had a good rapport with the area and the fans and obviously you can't forget about his mums interviews on Talksport when he first broke through.

Coventry manager Chris Coleman will also get a great reception from the Palace faithful. He was an integral member of the Division One championship winning side of 1994 where he built up a great centre-back pairing with Gareth Southgate. Let's hope Coleman's side have the same fate as Southgate's former side Middlesbrough did just before the break.

The omens are good for a repeat performance, Coventry are bottom of the form table and are in a dismal run of results that has left them taking just two points out of a possible eighteen. Conversely We're on a hot streak at the moment as we look to extend our unbeaten run to five games, we haven't lost to coventry since 2004 and have won every game at the Ricoh Arena. All the signs point towards a Palace victory but I've watched us for too long to believe statistics especially considering the last time we returned to action after an international break and got beaten 4-0 by Scunthorpe.

Sean Scannel will miss the game after picking up a thigh injury for the Ireland U21's but that shouldn't have to much baring on the outcome of this one; he's been very poor this season and his number of appearances have reflected this. Paddy McCarthy remains out with a dislocated shoulder and will be for some time yet.

Other than that there are no new injury concerns and Darren Ambrose should make his 250th club career appearance as he goes in search of his fifth goal in five games.

Keiran Westwood should return for the sky blues which is a little worrying as his ability will further diminish our potential for goals. After all we still only have four names on the goal scorers list which needs to amended sooner rather later. I'm predicting a score draw but we can always hope for better. Here's hoping!

Coventry away: My experiences

Coventry away has been a rich hunting ground for palace in recent years; we often score four!

But it has not always been that way. The first experience of this fixture came on the last game of the 2004 season when we needed a victory against a poor mid-table side with a new manager to secure a spot in the play-offs. Typically, Palace failed to do this and instead lost 2-1 after missing a hatful of chances. Fortunately irony came to the rescue as West Ham’s Brian Deane produced that famous goal and the rest as they say is history.

The last time I travelled to Coventry however was a far different affair as Palace turned up all guns blazing and producing one of the best performances of Iain Dowie’s last season in charge. We won 4-1 on the day but it could easily have been more.



It was one of the first games to be played at the new £150million Ricoh Arena and I have to say I wasn’t impressed. The ground is out of town which makes it extremely difficult to get to (especially by public transport), the atmosphere was subdued and there were a lot of teething problems.

One of which was one of the strangest things I have ever heard at any game I’ve been to. Mid-way through the first half with Palace on top, the tannoy suddenly started blasting out ‘Glad all over’ at full volume. It wasn’t the most successful method of keeping the away fans quiet I have ever seen. I only wish I was there to enjoy it, unfortunately we were in the home end, although you wouldn’t have thought it seen as my mum managed to get away with celebrating all four Palace goals without a steward batting an eye lid.

We tend to travel in numbers to this fixture, so those in attendance should find a good atmosphere and with any luck a good result.

Here’s hoping!

Biggest fan protest in 10 years planned for 28th November

Palace fans will sensationally march on Selhurst Park to protest at perceived heavy handed stewarding in recent games. More than 200 fans are expected to join the protest that is scheduled for the home match with Watford on 28th November.

The problem of stewarding has long been a bug bear of many of the more vocal sections of supporters who wish to be a part of the atmosphere on a match day. Not merely sit on their hands for 90 minutes and at the end, win, lose or draw applaud both teams and say a very well done to the visiting fans.

This problem came to a head when during Saturday's game with Middlesbrough their were reports of seven young fans (albeit the club claimed four) being ejected from the Holmesdale for offences ranging from 'jumping up and down', standing, making hand gestures and swearing. Now I'm sorry if this makes me a criminal but I do believe I have in the past directed hand gestures towards away fans and maybe once or twice have even sworn at the bastards; pardon my French.

People need to get it into their heads that this is how Football is and any more attempts at sanitising it further will result in the death of it and our club. Yes there are kids in the ground and some parents would prefer it if their children didn't hear such language. But if that is the case sit in the family stand or the main stand, in fact at Selhurst you can have the privilege of sitting in most areas of the ground without being subjected to these perceived atrocities.

However I don't believe these latest goings on have anything to do with this. The Police and stewarding were to blame for grossly over-estimating the number of police they needed at this 'high-risk' fixture between two clubs that hadn't played each other for years and who's fans were sharing pints in the same pubs before the game. So the Police were left with a heavy presence inside a football stadium with nothing to do; they must have been a bit worried at this point "how will we possibly explain this to the chief? He's going to have my guts for garters if we don't justify this."



Luckily some fans in block B had the temerity to swear in a singing section of a football ground and acted; one eye witness reported that a young lad was swamped by seven Policemen and was left badly bruised.

The club have released a statement regarding these events and in reply to the number of complaints they received from affected fans. In this they reiterated that it was a high-risk game although they did not care to elaborate on this.

They also regurgitated the stadium rules on standing and swearing which is relatively funny in this instance considering the Boro fans were not treated in a similar way to the youngsters at the front of block B despite standing the whole game. Moreover did anyone approach Mr Jordan who, as always was stood by the entrance to the directors box and in doing so partially blocked a fire exit, another crime committed by Palace fans on Saturday.

Fans should be free to support the team in whatever way they wish; if they prefer to observe quietly then they should be able to and if you want to make some noise then you should also be able to do that. There is enough room in the ground as maore and more fans are driven from Selhurst Park by the overbearing stewarding and continual harassment. Fair enough rules are rules but why have they not been enforced previously and why now only partially i.e. targeting the supporters groups?

We are not Millwall, we're not Cardiff infact our support could be called docile, it always has been. In my lifetime I remember only a handful of incidents actually in the ground which all involved away fans, more specifically Millwall and Bristol City.

So where are the grounds for this 'clampdown'? Hopefully we shall get some answers when the protest happens on the 28th when the organisers are hoping to be able to present their petition to Simon Jordan personally.

Crystal Palace 1-0 Middlesbrough

Crystal Palace finished off an amazing week with a 1-0 victory over promotion favourites Middlesbrough.

For Palace it was a similar story with in-form Darren Ambrose scoring at one end while Julian Speroni performs heroics at the other.

Neil Warnock made only one change from the side who started the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road with Freddie Sears coming into the starting eleven.

The game started evenly with chances at both ends. It was Ambrose who troubled the Middlesbrough goal first with a swerving 25-yard free-kick that narrowly missed the target. Neil Danns and Alan Lee also came close to putting Palace ahead.

Middlesbrough's best opportunity came through the highly rated winger Adam Johnson who was denied by Speroni who was branded 'the best keeper in the country' by Warnock in the week.

Palace eventually took the lead in the 64th minute as Ambrose finished cooly to bag his tenth of the season after a concise break including Alan Lee and Danns who combined to find Ambrose alone in the Boro area.

The Eagles were left once more hanging to the points with more than a hint of desperation but another couple of wonder-saves from Jules who denied first Wheater and then O'Neil to secure a crucial victory.

I said last week this week would tell us alot about our squad and you have to say taking five points from three games against top eight oppositon is fantastic when you consider our small, youthful squad.

However this week has also highlighted one glaring issue that will worry the Palace faithful in the coming weeks.

The past three games have shown how much of the burden Ambrose and Speroni take. An injury to one of them could leave us tumbling back down the table from whence wwe came. More alarming will be the January transfer window where any sizable offer will surely test Simon Jordans ambition. Some saw Warnocks comments regarding Speroni as 'touting' him to Premier League suitors with a view to selling the Argentine in the window.

Personally i would rather lose one of the procotious youngtsers over one of these two but with the state of the finances you have to think every player is up for sale.

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Palace

So a good result and a battling performance from the boy's tonight. A draw was probably a fair result as both sides although Rangers probably had the clearer of the chances.

The game eventually though was settled by a brace of penalties either side of half-time. A rash tackle by Danny Butterfield allowed Buzsaky to take the lead from the spot on 17 minutes. Palace pressed the hoops and Aleesane N'Diaye had a volley cleared off the line before Julian Speroni performed heroics on the stroke of half time, denying Wayne Routledge with a magnificent save.

Freddie Sears was introduced to the action for the second-half and it was a change that pay dividends as he was hauled down by former Eagle Fitz Hall.

The ref pointed to the penalty spot and Darren Ambrose duly sent Radek Cerny the wrong way to net his ninth of the season.

Another second half substitute Alan Lee could have put Palace ahead minutes later but couldn't get enough power behind his far post header to squeeze the ball past the Rangers stopper.

Speroni was at it again at the other end as he made a string of saves to deny QPR as the Palace goal was put under siege. Two wonder saves denied Alejandro Faurlin and Akos Buzsaky as the Eagles held on for a hard-fought point.

The manager was full of praise for the Argentinian after the game aswell as the overall performance, he said:"Julian Speroni is the best keeper in this division by a mile and I don't see anyone better in the Premier League.

"It's good that nobody rates him. But he's not leaving while I'm manager - unless I take him somewhere with me.

"I'm disappointed in a way we didn't win, but it was a good game and the players gave me everything."

Preview: Queens Park Rangers v Palace

The opposition team sheet will make nostalgic reading for Palace fans for tonight’s game, with no fewer than five former Eagles now plying their trade at Loftus Road.

Fitz Hall, Wayne Routledge, Mikele Leigertwood, Gary Borrowdale and Ben Watson could all feature tonight so expect us to lose to a late goal from one of that contingent.

Wayne Routledge’s reception should be a bit tasty after the petulant wingers acrimonious departure from SE25 in 2005. Wayne refused to sign a generous contract and pay back some of the loyalty that the club showed him in re-housing his family and paying for his place in the sought after Whitgift School.

Instead he chased riches at Tottenham and subsequently finds himself back in the championship after years in the footballing wilderness.

However he was always a smashing player and in my opinion was on track for an England place before his career stagnated and he will need to be marshalled very closely by Palace tonight.

Alan Lee will make the game despite sustaining a head injury in the draw at Preston on Saturday while Clint Hill is set to return at left back after his suspension leaving Nathanial Clyne back on the bench.

No other changes are expected from the side that started at Deepdale.

The QPR team is largely expected to be un-changed from the side that slipped to defeat on Friday against Leicester. Although skipper Gavin Mahon is battling for fitness and Ben Watson could return to the midfield after his somewhat harsh sending off two weeks ago.

The game could go one of both ways; if we press them from beginning to end then we could very well get an impressive result. On the other hand if we let them play there expansive quick passing game we could get torn apart from tonight. I’ve got my fingers crossed for the former.

Here’s hoping!

Simon Jordan sparks furious fan backlash

Scores of Palace fans were left outraged with Palace owner Simon Jordan yesterday after an frank interview in the South London Press. The Palace supremo's outburst attacked 'stayaway fans' who have left the club's attendances under 13,000 on the financial crisis that has beset the club recently.

He said: “People need to look at the reality. Charlton, Norwich, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton have all been relegated in recent seasons with enormous attendances - if we’d had as many fans coming as Norwich did last season we’d probably get an extra £5million or £6m a season.

“People can turn around and say we’re in the middle of the recession and there is a credit crunch but they got 25,000 fans. If we only get 12,000 it makes life very difficult. I’m not criticising the season ticket holders, they support the club.”

These comments sparked a furious backlash amongst Palace fans who vented their feelings on the messageboards seeing the chairman’s statement as an attack on loyal fans who could no longer afford to attend games or those who lived too far away or had other commitments.

Many fans retorted, claiming that Jordan had lost touch with the average supporter. You have to see their point; Palace has long since been near the top of the championship in terms of price with £30 being the going rate for the dubious privilege of watching what has often been dull football over the past few seasons.

Others added that the unquestionably poor facilities that Selhurst Park has offer simply don't justify that sort of price. The catering is poor and vastly overpriced and the toilets in some of the older parts of the ground are simply a health risk, not to mention the cramped, cluttered club shop that doesn’t seem to have air-conditioning.

I can see Simons point though, however misguided it was to say what he did publicly. The club needs to see 17,000 crowds every week just to break even and we’re getting nowhere near that at present which leaves him covering the losses again. Remeber he already guarentees nearly all the debts attatched to the football club personally which means financial ruin for him if the club goes belly up. He continued: “We should be getting 15-16,000 if we’re doing okay and if we’re doing well it should be 22-23,000. The fact of the matter is we’re getting 12,000 fans and the only way we can compete is if someone like me bridges the gap month in and month out. Why should I go on being the only person prepared to do that?”


It isn’t fair although I don’t see it how blaming ‘casual fans’ is going to remedy the situation, infact it seems to have accomplished quite the opposite. There is a malaise at the football club, know-one can be bothered and many have lost their craving for football and attacking these fans won't bring them back. What will bring them back is cheaper tickets and on field success. Unfortunately this can only be rectified with a 20 goal-per-season striker and a good run at the play-offs which can only be achieved with money which isn’t coming into the club because of low gates.

It’s a catch 22 situation and one would think good leadership would be the way of it but unfortunately Simon himself has lost his motivation that was once so infectious. An interview he did shortly after taking over at Palace gives a deeper look into his psyche and how the man works. There are clear comparisons between the situation he finds himself in at Palace and that of his mobile phone business before he sold up. The telling section of the interview was this, “By the time he had sold out of his phone business, he had lost much of the drive that had made it such a success. "I wasn't performing the way I wanted to perform. My energy levels had dropped and I had started to come in at 10 in the morning." He’sclearly lost his motivation and therefore isn’t putting in the same energy and enthusiasm into Palace that he once did. A by-product of this is a lack of investment in the team and facilities which lead to poor performances and leaves us now with dwindling crowds.

A take-over needs to happen soon to reinvigorate the club at all levels. If it doesn’t happen and we continue on this course administration is the only outcome I can see. Fortunatley One man hasn’t lost his enthusiasm; Neil warnock continues to work wonders in difficault circumstances. We arre playing some entertaining football and picking up good results and if only we had that free scoring striker we would be up their in the play-off hunt.

The club has become removed from the fans and both parties are pulling against eachother, only Neil Warnock is offering any stability, so for the clubs sake a compromise needs to be found so we can all pull in the same direction and pull this club back from the brink.

Here’s hoping!

Lucky for some 13

Crystal Palace rose to 13th in the league today as they drew 1-1 with an in-form Preston side at Deepdale.

Yet another spectacular Darren Ambrose effort secured a good away point for the Eagles as he equalised in the 37th minute.

The midfielder, who is slowly gaining a cult status amongst fans, got on the end of an Alan Lee knock down to smash home from 18-yards and bag his eighth of the season.

The equaliser came just two minutes after going behind to an expert Ross Wallace free-kick that left Speroni with little chance.

The second half saw Palace have the better of the game in terms of chances but Preston stopper Andy Lonnergan was once again on top form to twice deny the standout player on the pitch Ambrose as well as Nathanial Clyne and Stern John.

We can be extremely proud of the performance and taking a point from Deepdale is always a good result especially considering the injuries we had going into the game and obviously not to mention the off-field difficulties.

Contrary to speculation it was Clyne who once again came in at left back leaving Lee Hills to settle for a place on the bench. However the young left back did get his chance to impress as Clyne limped off in the second-half, let’s hope it isn’t a serious problem.

Claude Davis did come in at centre-back though and contributed to a commanding defensive display from the Palace rear-guard. A good sign considering the opposition we have coming up next who have an uncanny knack of scoring four goals per game of late.

Another injury concern for Tuesday’s derby clash with QPR will be Alan Lee who was forced off the field with blood streaming from a head wound. Although it’s probably the gaffer who will have a headache of the selection variety as he tries to find a recognised forward to start with Stern John. Sears didn’t make today’s game, Moses was dragged off after 50 minutes and now Alan Lee is a doubt.

I’d like to see young Cadogan or Nathanial Pinney given an opportunity from the start on Tuesday. The current crop of youngsters have been off the boil recently with Cyne out of the team, Moses finding form and goals hard to come by in equal measures and Scannel and Hills left out in the cold. I think it would give the whole place an injection of excitement both in the terraces and in the camp especially going forward where we need it most.

Mick Jones said last week he thought they were ready to come in to the team in the coming weeks and this injury crisis and lack of goals is surely a perfect excuse to throw them in.

Here's hoping!

Preview: Preston North End v Palace

The gaffer has come out this week, stating that this coming week is the toughest we have faced yet and I am going to have to agree with him.

The next eight days will tell us a lot about this team and will test the strength depth of the squad that to me, looks a bit thin.

We start the week with an away day at Preston North End. North End as ever, are going about their business quietly and effectively. They always seem to be around the Play-offs come the end of the season and they look like achieving the same this year.

Alan Irvine has a fully fit squad to pick from with captain Callum Davidson expected to return to the side after a lengthy lay-off.

From our perspective Freddie Sears is a major doubt with the recurring groin strain that saw him limp out of the 1-1 draw with Forest. Lee Hills looks set to start in his preferred left back birth after the ever committed Hill picked up his fifth booking of the campaign triggering the unsightly touchline scenes and war of words last week.

Claude Davis could return to the fold and Warnock has been hinting all week that Ryan Smith could be set to play a bigger role in first-team in the hope of securing a longer term deal.

There are also murmurings around the club that influential centre back Paddy McCarthy has suffered yet another recurrence of dislocated shoulder that kept him out of action for half of last term. We will not know the severity of the injury until the club release a statement but the sign’s certainly aren’t positive.

McCarthy will leave a huge hole in the Palace rear guard so the onus will be on Claude Davis to perform heroics as he steps into the fray against his former club despite doubts over his match fitness.

Despite the injury woes Deepdale has been a happy hunting ground for the Eagles in recent seasons with North End winning only one of the last five meetings between the two teams.

I have a good feeling about this game, and believe we can snatch a scoring draw, maybe were even start putting some of our chances after Warnock’s comments earlier this week about taking chances. This should be helped if Stern can get his second start of the season, I believe he’s a natural finisher and has promised us 15 goals this season.

And who knows if he can stay fit maybe Victor can get on the score sheet this season. He certainly came close last week and if he’s played up top with his new mentor Stern John then I’d put money on him scoring tomorrow.

Here's hoping!

Seventh anniversary of THAT victory over the weed

This week sees the anniversary of a game that will live in Eagles fan’s memories for the rest of their lives, and which will go down as one of the finest moments in the clubs history.

It was a warm afternoon at Selhurst Park; on the face of it, like any other. But this was different; I could taste the anticipation on the long walk up Holmesdale Road with the thousands upon thousands of fans who would eventually cram into the ground.

The Police presence was greater than I had seen before and lined the route to the Stadium; there was the faint murmur of the Police chopper that was circling the area, scouting for trouble.

My mum I sat as we ate chips and she reminisced, as she told me her experiences of Palace-Brighton games she had attended with my uncles through the years since the curious rivalry begun back in the 70’s.

The two sides climbed the leagues together, from Division Three to the old First Division and in that time there were, F.A. Cup replays, career ending tackles, a game that included five penalties (three of which we missed), hooliganism, huge crowds and changes of manager between the two clubs.

This last point was particularly poignant seven years ago as while Allan Mullery had flopped after joining in 1982 from our now deadly rivals (which finally made sense of why the reasons he went to Rome to see the pope!) Crystal Palace legend, no, hero Steve Coppell was now in charge at Brighton giving the sense of this being a special occasion.

The Palace faithful weren’t let down either as we not only won the game, but a star was born.

Four corners in the opening four minutes hinted at Palace’s intentions as they dominated a beleaguered Brighton side who were looking to arrest a 12 game losing streak.

The fourth of those corners was converted by a young unproven forward we had received as part of the deal that took Clinton Morrison to Birmingham for £4.5 million. In all his previous appearances he hadn’t managed to impress the home fans, least of which my uncle who as I remember described him as “awful”.

Of course he no longer holds this view as after and this game was where “AJ’s” love affair with the Eagles crowd started. The diminutive striker was man of the match as Palace romped to a famous 5-0 victory as oddly the home sections of the 21,000 strong crowd chanted “Steve Coppell’s red and blue army”.

You couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for then manager Trevor Francis who as he masterminded probably his most important victory as Palace manager, was still reminded of his un-popularity among Palace fans. Once again my uncle had strong feelings on this matter but I won’t go into that.

As the game ended and ‘Glad all over’ blasted around Selhurst Park nearly everyone stayed where they were stunned, the Brighton fans that filled the Arthur Waite stand were forced to but oh well it added to the occasion and allowed the Holmesdale to rub salt into their wounded pride.

Ultimately the two sides have stood toe to toe since but this game for me was special. It was my first experience of the fixture and everything about the day has stayed with me since and I fell even deeper in love with Palace as a result.

As a match day experience it was only beaten by that magical Play-off matches of the following season in which that same striker who had ignited his Palace career the year before, fired Palace into the big time.

Warnock right to hit out

The gaffer really came out fighting tonight didn't he!

Appalled at accusations of over-physicality Warnock raged: "I think that's a disgraceful statement. If I'd spent nearly £4.5m on players, I'd probably say a bit less than that.
"He should keep his mouth shut and as how come we carved them up so often and created so many chances.
"I thought the challenge on Paul Anderson was a yellow card, not a red card. It was a reckless challenge but it wasn't deliberate."

The Yorkshire-man was responding to Billy Davies's comments in his post-match interview who told BBC Sport: "When you look at the way Neil sets his sides up, it's a very difficult game for a young, maturing side.
"It was a big test - physically and mentally. They had to play a certain game. It certainly wasn't pretty".

Neil Warnock took exception to his comments and fumed at Forest manager Billy Davies; and quite rightly so.

This is the championship, you will come up against players like Clint Hill and no matter how many millions you have spent in the summer, if you can't deal with physicality then you can't complain.

You can understand the managers frustration as it seems every week opposition managers excuse poor results against us by trotting out the "Their played a typical Warnock style" line. We competed with Forest today, had the better of the stats and played some good football, and yet we don't get any credit for this as media outlets scramble to jump on the all to popular anti Warnock stance.

Take the Football League show for instance. There are disagreements between managers across the country every week but as soon as it's Warnock, they dedicate a section of the show to his post-match comments. Another key example of this media bias was revealed by Warnock this week in his Independent column: “Something else which did not get much coverage was the news that Cardiff had withdrawn the accusations made after last week's game. Funny that, because the allegations themselves got a lot of coverage.”

On the other hand though, I suppose having this growing reputation should ensure that teams continue to dread their visits to South London, and that we continue the impressive home form we've enjoyed of late.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Palace put an end to Forests run of six consecutive victories today at Selhurst Park with a 1-1 draw.

In an entertaining end to end game, Palace opened the scoring as Darren Ambrose netted his seventh goal of the season with a trademark free-kick five minutes before the break. The goal came after the introduction of the lively Victor Moses changed the game after replacing the injured Freddie Sears mid-way throught the first half.

Despite goin in at the break a goal to the good, the Eagles couldnt hang on and Forest's potent strike-force hit back in the 47th minute. McGoldrick tapping in a low Lewis McGugan cross and leave the game perfectly poised.

Both sides had chances to snatch victory, the best of which was a glaring miss from Palace's mercurial youngster Victor Moses which will surely go down as miss of the season. He shot over from six-yards after connecting with a pin point Shaun derry cross.

It was a good result for the Eagles who have turned Selhurst Park into somewhat of a fortress in recent weeks after an unbeaten home run that now stands at four games. Another aspect of the game today that will surely please the Palace faithful as they trudge down Holmesdale Rd is the number of chances that we created.The boys created thirteen chances against a very good side who will surely be in contention for the Play-off spots come May.

On the other-hand this statistic is also one that will worry fans as they sup their post-match pints. Only converting one of seven shots ON taget isn't good enough and just goes show our lack of quality at the sharp end. Once again it was Ambrose who is carrying the goalscoring duty's for the team and that alusive fifth goalscorer has not yet materialised this season.

This must be a worry for Neil Warnock, especially with his hands tied behind his back in the transfer embargo and tight finances.

Overall considering our weaknesses it was both a good result and performance which is the important thing here and the point takes as a third of the way to safety and the magical fifty point mark.

Next up we travel to deepdale with a chance to set off on another unbeaten run.

Here's hoping!

We are Gold! Gold!

After months and months of hearing nothing from the orange one on the sale of the club, the Croydon Advertiser has sensationally revealed today that former Birmingham City chairman David Gold could very well be a surprise candidate to buy the Palace.

Gold, a one time enemy of Simon Jordan sold his shares in Birmingham City for £82.5 million recently and has been on the look out for a new club ever since. He was reportedly interested in buying a stake in the Hammers; his boy-hood club but was put off by the "massive debts".

Indeed Palace are not without their financial problems which have worsened since the recession took hold last year. Added to this is the age old ground issue which has been like a meal stone around the neck of Palace ever since the Goldberg takeover in 1998 and has been the biggest factor in restricting the growth of the club.

But David Gold can see a way around these issues, the source said: "Most teams in the Championship need a bit of work and Palace is no different.

"The fact that they don't own the ground isn't ideal but it is something David thinks could easily be resolved."

He may not be too far wrong with that assumption either with Selhurst Park currently under administrators PriceWaterHouse after the collapse of Paul Kelmsley's Rock Investments who had owned the ground previously. This could in theory reduce the asking price for the freehold although the administrators have come out this week stating that they expect alot of interest in the ground.

However the over-riding factor here is that Crystal Palace is in desperate need of financial investment and more importantly, stability. And while some long for a Middle-Eastern takeover a-la Notts County to take us to the top of the rich lists, I do not. All this would achieve is to rip the soul out of our club that is so rich with history. Selhurst would surely be ripped down and we'd move to one of those bowl stadiums that everyone has these days that all look the same (anyone who's been to Cardiff, Coventry and Southampton will know what I mean). I believe David Gold is exactly what we need, he would be a steady hand at the rudder investing wisely and taking his time in developing and taking this club that we all know has great potential, forward.

Gold also know's the area and lives just eight miles away in Caterham. The source in the Croydon Advertiser has claimed that this is a major factor for his interest: "He wants to stay involved in football and after years of travelling up and down the motorway he wants a club that is local.

"There is nowhere more local to him than Crystal Palace; he lives eight miles away from the ground."

Although it is currently paper talk and all the quotes are as yet un-substantiated, Palace fans around the world will be eager to see this deal go through as without it, I feel administration is the only possible outcome in the long-run.

Here's hoping!

The reason for the malaise at Selhurst Park in recent years.

Crystal Palace face an uphill battle on Saturday as high flying Nottingham Forest visit Selhurst Park on the back of six straight victories.

Conversely the Eagles suffered their first defeat in four on Tuesday night at the Walkers. Despite making all the running in the first half as the same old problem seemed to be haunting this squad, goals. Palace have the dubious record of producing the lowest number of individual goal scorers in the league. Is their more though to worry the Selhurst faithful, with our top scorer being midfielder, Darren Ambrose?

This is a problem that has haunted us since the departure of Clinton Morrison in the summer of 2008. It can surely be said that the current crop of strikers are among the worst and least exciting I’ve seen at the club in all the time I’ve followed Palace. When you've seen the likes of Ian Wright, Mark Bright, Chris Armstrong, Dougie Freedman, Clinton Morrison and Andrew Johnson in their pomp, seeing Alan Lee ploughing a lone furrow up-front doesn't really get the juices flowing.

Indeed this isn't helped I don't think, by Warnock's persistence of with the 4-3-3 formation as this all to often reverts to a 4-5-1, leaving Victor Moses, our most naturally gifted player and a natural striker playing as a winger with either Sean Scannell or young loanie Freddie Sears. This has lead to a lack of width and delivery from wide areas which in turn negates the need to play the much maligned Alan Lee.

There is hope on the horizon mind you. In his brief cameos, summer signing Stern has impressed many and looks to be a very sharp forward who knows what areas to be in to score goals. But once again he would be more suited to 4-4-2 playing upfront with a partner, possibly Victor Moses, who with his pace and trickery would occupy defenders and leave space for the veteran forward.

Another option could be the latest group of exciting youngsters who could be set to make their impact in the coming months. The most promising of which include Nathanial Pinney and Keiran Cadogan who have struck up a great understanding for the reserve side. Palace assistant boss Mick Jones today revealed: "Cadogan and Pinney are scoring goals every time they play and are forming a terrific partnership. They are certainly another two for the future. I am sure they’ll come into the first team again this season. Kids who score goals suddenly become confident - and they can take that onto Selhurst Park."

Hopefully the pair can continue their form into the first team and cure the great Selhurst striker drought. Or should that have been put, they better continue their form and fulfil their great promise? As the academy is the only hope we Palace fans can cling to have while the transfer embargo remains well and truly in place as we struggle to pay for the mighty Alan Lee.

Will Warnock fly the Eagles nest?

Neil Warnock has refused to rule out a move to manage big spending Notts County following the sacking of Ian McParland.

The news will come as a blow to the majority of Palace fans who will surely fear the consequences of his departure. Warnock has been a stable influence and worked wonders in the face of difficult circumstances with the mooted sale of the club, financial restraints and the transfer embargos.

Presently, Eagles legend Peter Taylor; the man Warnock replaced at the Selhurst Park helm is the firm favourite for the County job but the Yorkshireman's affinity with the League 2 club will surely keep him in the frame.

The Palace boss made his name as manager of County between 1989 and 1993 where he achieved successive promotions to take the club to the top flight. And Warnock would probably relish the chance to repeat that feat with his career in its twighlight years.

Not to mention that the oldest club in the world has become an incredibly attractive proposition for any manager following the recent takeover by the Middle-Eastern consortium Munto Finance.

The 60 year-old may welcome the chance to rid himself of the financial constraints he currently works under and have one last tilt at building on his already impressive record of achieving promotions at every level of the Football League.

He got tongues wagging whilst working as a Sky Sports pundit during Notts County’s 2-2 draw with Torquay United; incidentally another of Warnock’s former clubs. He said: "You can never say never about anything in this business."

Indeed, after last months crushing defeat by Scunthorpe, Warnock himself admitted that he was close to walking out after what he described as his lowest moment in football.

He said: "I seriously considered it at the time. I'd never seen anything like it, it was absolutely horrendous and I really didn't see how we could fight back. I thought leaving might be the best option, but the idea only lasted 24 hours."

Luckily For the Palace faithful, they can seek solice in the fact that Warnock was also quick to point out that he is "Happy where he is for now" and has, on numerous occasions praised the fans for the welcome he and his family have received since his arrival in South London two years ago this week.

The former Blades boss is also a personal friend of Palace chairman Simon Jordan of whom he enjoys a healthy working relationship. A relationship that he insists was a deciding factor in staying to fight on after the Scunthorpe game.

"The thing with me and the chairman is that we like to prove people wrong," he said. "Things are tough right now but we keep each other going."

Palace have since recovered some impressive form and fans will hope that the speculation doesn't hinder recent progress.

Nick Gentry