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