Manager Alan Pardew has admitted that Crystal Palace can have few complaints and certainly don’t have excuses, as he felt in the end Liverpool deserved their FA Cup victory over us at the weekend.
In quotes carried by the Croydon Advertiser he explained.
‘I felt we didn’t put enough pressure on Liverpool. They can keep the ball well at times, and I kind of thought getting the goal was a negative, getting it early and sitting back a little. Liverpool have fantastic technical players who ask questions, and it was a great goal – unstoppable to a degree. Maybe the pivotal moment was in the first half when Dwight Gayle was one on one and if he has put that in then we would have been very difficult to beat. We only had control in minimal periods. Towards the end we had a little bit more and it would have easily been a draw.’
Despite that Pardew goes on to say that he’s not overly disappointed, but he certainly knows it was an opportunity we have missed, but the performance wasn’t good enough for him so we have to accept it, not make any excuses, and then move on looking to improve in the next game.
With Pape Souare making his debut, with the 24 year old’s work permit coming through ahead of the game, Pardew said of his performance.
‘He looked like a player that had come out of Ligue 1 French football because now he’ll understand the intensity of a Premier League game. In France, you can attack and then slowly drift back to a defending situation and the other team will attack at some point. In the Premier League that doesn’t happen, the turnover happens all the time.’
Pardew says that in his experience of working with French defenders before the intensity always catches them out, but it’s something they adjust to, they improve their own fitness and sharpness so he wasn’t surprised by the performance, but more than believes the player has all the attributes to be a solid Premier League full back when he adjusts and we probably won’t see the best of him until next season.
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The king is no more, long live the memories of better times!
It seems to be the overwhelming opinion of most palace fans towards Julian Speroni displays lately that they are not a vintage one?s. The ever increasingly frustrated Palace faithful seem to be crying louder and louder and for once I think they might be right in levelling criticism at the once faultless keeper.
Perhaps it is time for Julian to move onto pastures new, where ice cold calmness, and the reactions of a machine are not needed in every match played, as it is needed at this level of football in every game played. The sharpness and exacting skills of the premiership forward is I am afraid to say beginning to outwit our hero between the sticks of so many years.
Deep in our minds we all knew that the day when Julian would not be quite up to riggers of premiership football, and it would come one day hopefully not sooner, but rather than later. I am sad to say perhaps the days of our once faultless hero in the colours of Palace are numbered, as the ratio of points and victories gained are being replaced with those that are lost by avoidable mistakes or faulty judgements.
I for one am gutted that some supporters are beginning to regularly vent their frustrations on what is a living Palace legend and will always be remembered for such agility, determination and ability to somehow and miraculously keep the ball out of the Palace net. Those thoughts sadly are now seemingly being replaced by forebodings more along the lines of when will the ball end up in the net after another unlike Julian of the past ten years error?
That said there is more than one person defending, but sadly and increasingly when the last line of defence is breached there are no more hero?s that can save you from conceding goals and unfortunately this is becoming more and more of a fact that we are having to accept. I know that it is going to be hard for some diehard loyal Palace fans to accept the realisation that our once faultless goalkeeper is becoming less reliable that we should expect, but sadly it?s true.
The price for any footballer for the failure in that key ingredient of reliability between the sticks, is I am sad to say being replaced by someone who is, and can do what Julian seems to be unable to on a more and more on a regular basis. That sixth that has been there for so many years, that ability to push the ball out nowhere near predatory forwards or punch the ball into an area of safety seems to be vanishing rapidly.
After ten years a hero none of us want Julian to go in the way as many have gone before him. The memory of Julian Speroni?s saves and wonder stops of 99.9 certain goals will live in my memory like bright lights of inspiration and wonderment. I do not want that brightness dimed or to burn less bright than what it should really be as the shining example that Julian Speroni has been. I do not want my hero?s to become just another zero due to the errors we are increasingly witnessing.
Dear Julian our wonderful Crystal Palace goalkeeper, our much loved and worshiped Palace Player, some of us think it may be time to hand the responsibility over to another and take your place forever our goalkeeping hero. Please do not hold on too tightly and lose your focus on what we all believe in, if it means stepping down to let another keep us in the premiership you will be commended and demonstrate your unflinching loyalty to the club and its supporters who hold you so dear to their hearts, and we shall all live the memories of better times untarnished forever!
ANT FOS
Wow, that took some reading ANT FOS but was worth the effort to do so. Speroni should’ve save Sturridge’s effort but I still think he’s got some life in him.
As far as the game goes, this was ours to win at half time but in the end Liverpool deserved the win, I’d agreed with Pardew.
His record since coming in has been very pleasing and he’s obviously hit it off with the players but that cutting edge upfront remains an issue – we aren’t the only club – but as I was covering the interview I wondered if Liverpool was really the introduction we should’ve given Souare.