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Crystal Palace - The Eagles Have Landed

Started on 19 December 2013 by k1rups
Latest Reply on 30 December 2013 by MJK46
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11 yearsEdited

8 Games In


Since taking over at Crystal Palace, we’ve played 8 games in 5 and a half weeks. I came to the club to prove a point that I’m not a defensive manager and set up accordingly but I quickly realised that I have to adapt my tactics to the players we have at the club and frankly I found that the best way to win points is to contain the opposition and hit them on the counter to snatch a win or a draw.

Crystal Palace FC 1 – 0 Fulham FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Delaney, Parr, Jedinak, Puncheon, Campaña, Guédioura, Thomas, Chamakh. Subs: Price, McCarthy, Grandin, Gayle, Ward, Garvan, Bolasie

Fulham – Stekelenburg, Zverotic, Hangeland, Senderos, Riise, Duff, Parker, Boateng, Taraabt, Berbatov, Rodallega. Subs: Stockdale, Hughes, Briggs, Ruiz, Dejagah, Kacaniklic, Passley

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Hunt, Guédioura

Fulham - Senderos

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Mariappa (9)

The first game in charge was against Fulham FC. We started brightly and took a 1-0 lead on 9 minutes, with centre back Adrian Mariappa nodding home from a corner. Fulham bossed possession and had so many more shots on goal but Speroni and Jedinak were in fine form. Our task was made easier with Philippe Senderos getting sent off with 15 minutes to go. A great win to get off the foot of the table against fellow strugglers.

Crystal Palace FC 1 – 1 West Ham United FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Delaney, Ward, Jedinak, Puncheon, Campaña, Bannan, Chamakh, Gayle. Subs: Price, McCarthy, Williams, Guédioura, Parr, Thomas, Bolasie

West Ham – Jääskeläinen, O’Brien, Collins, Spence, Rat, Noble, Diame, Nolan, Cole, Jarvis, Petric Subs: Adrian, Chambers, Potts, Collison, Maïga, Driver, Homans

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Mariappa, Jedinak

West Ham - O’Brien, Nolan

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Mariappa (25)
West HamCollins (76)

This was a tough game and one that was there for the taking. Unfortunately we couldn’t capitalise on our possession and leaked a late goal from a corner. Mariappa scored in his second consecutive game and has been putting in strong performances at the back as well. We are so far unbeaten under my reign and hopefully have more wins coming up before the busy Christmas period. The frustrating thing is that Hull and West Brom are also picking up points and we can’t escape the relegation zone yet.

Cardiff City FC 2 – 1 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Cardiff City – Marshall, Théophile-Catherine, Caulker, Turner, McNaughton, Cowie, Gunnarsson, Medel, Noone, Campbell, Cornelius. Subs: Lewis, Mason, Mutch, Brayford, Bellamy, Bo-Kyung, Connolly

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Delaney, Parr, Jedinak, Puncheon, Campaña, Thomas, Chamakh, Gayle. Subs: Price, Jerome, Guédioura, Williams, Ward, Bannan, Bolasie

Bookings:
Cardiff City - McNaughton

Crystal Palace - Jedinak, Bolasie, Parr

Goals:
Cardiff City
Campbell (7), Cornelius (27)
Crystal PalaceThomas (72)

We were outplayed and outfought. Cardiff aren’t too far ahead of us at this point and a win would have lifted us right out the relegation places. Unfortunately we couldn’t come together and suffered another loss. We seem to lack that finisher up top who can make a real goal scoring difference and the strikers are suffering from a lack of confidence. I believe in them though to turn things around.

Crystal Palace FC 2 – 0 Stoke City FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Kyrgiakos, Parr, Jedinak, Benayoun, Guédioura, Thomas, Chamakh, Gayle. Subs: Price, Bannan, Campaña, Delaney, Puncheon, Bolasie, Williams

Stoke City – Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Muniesa, N’Zonzi, Whelan, Adam, Pennant, Etherington, Crouch Subs: Sørensen, Edu, Shea, Ireland, Walters, Jones, Pieters

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Guédioura

Stoke City - Wilkinson

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Benayoun (52), Puncheon (79)

An absolutely massive win. Stoke are currently a top 10 team and have been performing well defensively yet we managed to bag two goals against them. The win managed to lift us off bottom spot but Hull bagged a crazy 4-3 win against Swansea to keep them off the bottom too and keep pressure on us. Benayoun was magnificent and did what we got him to do.

Arsenal FC 0 – 0 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Arsenal – Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Flamini, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud Subs: Viviano, Chu-Young, Bendtner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gibbs, Podolski, Walcott

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Delaney, Parr, Jedinak, Benayoun, Guédioura, Thomas, Chamakh, Gayle. Subs: Price, Ward, Kyrgiakos, Puncheon, Bolasie, Moxey, Inniss

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Mariappa, Jedinak

A massive draw against a team chasing the top spot. With a front three of Ozil, Cazorla and Giroud we knew we would be up against it as Arsenal dominated possession but were very wasteful. We had a chance to nick it late on but just couldn’t squeeze the ball in to the net. This time Hull lost but West Brom won and it was the same 3 teams occupying the relegation spots.

Sunderland AFC 0 – 0 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Sunderland – Westwood, Celustka, O’Shea, Roberge, Colback, Cabral, Giaccherini, Larsson, Borini, Johnson, Fletcher Subs: Talbot, Dong-Won, Honeyman, Brown, Altidore, Mavrias, Cuéllar

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Kyrgiakos, Parr, Jedinak, Puncheon, Guédioura, Williams, Chamakh Subs: Price, Moxey, Bannan, Bolasie, Ward, Benayoun, Gayle

Bookings:
Sunderland - Celustka
Crystal Palace - Mariappa

I was disappointed with us in this game. Mariappa got himself sent off so early on and left us to play 70 minutes with 10 men. The nice surpise was the fact the lads played harder and created more than Sunderland. Chamakh was poor and could have had a hat trick. Borini had an 88th minute penalty saved by Speroni and he was our last ditch hero today.

Crystal Palace FC 1 – 0 Aston Villa FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Delaney, Kyrgiakos, Parr, Jedinak, Williams, Guédioura, Puncheon, Bolasie, Jerome. Subs: Price, Moxey, Bannan, Thomas, Ward, Benayoun, Chamakh

Aston Villa – Given, Hutton, Vlaar, Okore, Baker, Sylla, Bacuna, Delph, Weimann, Tonev, Benteke Subs: Guzan, Westwood, Herd, Helenius, Agbonlahor, Lowton, Clark

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Guédioura, Jedinak

Aston Villa - Herd, Westwood

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Benayoun (86)

Another late win snatched us all 3 points. The team are gelling and playing some nice football at times. Benayoun managed to score a cheeky flick from a corner late in the game when we finally pressured Aston Villa a lot more. A good recovery since losing to Cardiff with 2 draws and 2 wins. 12 points out of 21 possible means we are making big movements to securing our future in the league.

Crystal Palace FC 1 – 4 Everton FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Delaney, Kyrgiakos, Parr, Bannan, Guédioura, Puncheon, Thomas, Benayoun, Chamakh Subs: Price, Moxey, Gayle, Bolasie, Ward, Williams, Jerome

Everton – Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines, Barry, Gibson, Mirallas, Barkley, Gueye, Jelavic Subs: Taudul, Long, Oviedo, Hibbert, Lukaku, McCarthy, Distin

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Gayle (78)
Everton - Mirallas (41, 65), Lukaku (72), Barkley (82)

Everton are currently chasing Champions League football and the difference in class on the pitch showed. Keeping them out for 41 minutes wasn’t too hard but once they got the first goal they ran the show. There were no real positives apart from Gayle’s first goal of the season. We finished the intense Christmas period still stuck in the relegation places, albeit we weren’t bottom anymore.

League Table

some good results, especially the draws but I don't understand the league table :p
Great start to the story Krups and some decent results in that month, good luck at keeping Palace up :)
You did really well with most teams although there were a couple you should have beaten. I suppose that draws will only get you so far.
1
Some good results here, ashame about the loss to Cardiff though.
Seni: Cheers for reading :) hope you understand it now haha

pompey: Thanks mate hope you keep reading

Jozef: Yeah I need to cut down on the draws but against Arsenal I was happy with that haha definitely should have beaten Cardiff at least

Eden: Thanks mate I know that was a pretty poor result

Magazine Interview


Jon Williams = JW
Richard Cawley = RC



RC: Hi Jon, we’re glad we’ve managed to catch you for a bit at the training ground. We wanted to see if it was alright to ask you some questions for the Christmas magazine.

JW: Alright Richard, that’s fine with me. Happy to be involved.

RC: Let’s start off with a few questions about the new boss and how you feel he’s doing. You’ve played 8 games, won 12 points out of a possible 24 but got some credible draws against strong teams. That wouldn’t have happened before would it?

JW: Nah I reckon the gaffer has really added something extra to the team. Apart from the Everton game, we’re a lot tighter defensively and a bit more clinical up top. Like he said when he took over, we needed our belief back and hes given us that and more.

RC: You’re still a youngster but getting some good game time. Do you think you’ll be able to nail down a permanent starting position before the end of the season?

JW: I hope so. That’s what every player wants – to be picked week in week out but we cant take anything for granted. We’re always competing against each other, pushing each other to improve and I can already feel changes in my ability with the new training regime.

RC: It’s reported Tony is making the squad work on fitness a lot more. Doesn’t that bring about the risk of more injuries?

JW: Not at all. If anything it’s making us stronger as we’re increasing stamina and preventing cramp from happening in games. It’s not just fitness that has an increased focus though. Our defensive positioning has improved with the new coaches at the club and Tony is really looking towards the future of the club with the improvements he’s made.

RC: It seems as though he’s bringing the squad closer together. That’s always a positive when a new manager has that impact. We’ve also got a few questions from some younger fans. Stephen Michaels in Croydon wants to know what you do when you’re not training or playing football?

JW: A lot of us get together and play FIFA or head out and do a bit of bowling. Guédioura is actually a beast at bowling and batters all of us but I’m by far the best at FIFA.

RC: Josh in Norbury wants to know what your favourite meal before a game is.

JW: I love a bit of pasta with prawns or a chicken fillet. Anything that will get me through a game and more afterwards is always good.

RC: And one from the club journalists – you were seen at the Christmas party with Tulisa, who’s also been rumoured to be dating Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj. What can you tell us about that?

JW: HAHAHAHAHAHA you’re kidding right? Adnan can have that little druggie tart. She’s not right mentally and I was only talking to her because I was warning Julian Speroni not to get to close to her hahaha. You lot are funny

RC: Right well now that’s been cleared up off you go back to training or whatever you do at this club haha. See ya round Jon.

JW: Cheers Richard that was a good laugh.
Great update here :)
1
Considering your team, you've done well, and have added important points in your push to get out of the relegation zone. Loved the Williams update as well, brings something new to the site.
1
You should be going route one rather than "retain possession", because you're playing as Tony Pulis!
Lovely update mate, especially the part about Tulisa :))
1
Nice update :P
1
Eden: Thanks for reading :)

Pauker: Thanks mate need to keep climbing the table though still stuck at the bottom!

zAhHH: Haha it should be but Tony's got a point to prove :P

Jozef: Aha thanks mate!

Louis: And a thanks to you :P

The Revival Continues


Chelsea FC 1 – 0 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Chelsea – Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand, Chalobah, Lampard, Willian, Mata, Schürrle, Eto’o. Subs: Schwarzer, Torres, Oscar, McEachran, Aké, Ba, Cole

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Kyrgiakos, Cresswell, Dikgacoi, Bannan, Thomas, Guédioura, Williams, Puncheon, Chamakh Subs: Price, Moxey, Mariappa, Bolasie, Parr, Ince, Gayle

Bookings:
Chelsea - Chalobah, Lampard

Crystal Palace - Kyrgiakos

Goals:
Chelsea
Ba (65)

A tough loss to take but with Chelsea chasing Man Utd at the top, and with the gulf in class it was going to be difficult. Despite that challenge we had made some good chances but lacked the composure to finish them and Demba Ba came on and got the winning goal.

Oxford United FC 1 – 0 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Oxford – Clarke, Foster, Mullins, Wright, Newey, Potter, Hunt, Davies, Rigg, Kitson, Bignall Subs: Brown, Raynes, Meades, Smalley, O’Dowda, Lee, Whing

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Kyrgiakos, Parr, Moxey, Williams, Dikgacoi, Puncheon, Bolasie, Chamakh, Gayle Subs: Price, Cresswell, Murray, Guédioura, Ward, Mariappa, Thomas

Bookings:
Oxford - Newey, Hunt

Crystal Palace - Kyrgiakos, Dikgacoi, Moxey

Goals:
Oxford
Bignall (72)

An absolute joke of a game. We lined up very strongly but couldn’t beat Clarke in goal. I was dumbfounded with how poorly we finished and the need for a striker who can finish is more evident. We got knocked out of the FA Cup but it could be a blessing as we can focus on the league.

Crystal Palace FC 0 – 0 Manchester United FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Mariappa, Kyrgiakos, Cresswell, Ince, Jedinak, Guédioura, Parr, Chamakh, Gayle Subs: Price, Delaney, Boyata, Dikgacoi, Bolasie, Moxey, Ward

Manchester United – De Gea, Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, Nani, Kagawa, Young, Welbeck Subs: Amos, van Persie, Giggs, Jones, Hernández, Valencia, Evans

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Jedinak, Kyrgiakos

Manchester United - Rafael, Carrick

To finally stop the rot of 3 defeats in a row we managed to hold firm against the top team and title favourites. Despite giving up 69% and 29 shots, they only got 4 on target and we had a chance to grab a goal on the stroke of half time but couldn’t finish. A great, resilient performance and another point towards safety.

Crystal Palace FC 3 – 2 Southampton FC


Line-ups:
Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Boyata, Kyrgiakos, Cresswell, Ince, Jedinak, Dikgacoi, Guédioura, Bolasie, Chamakh Subs: Price, Ward, Thomas, Murray, Mariappa, Parr, Gayle

Southampton – Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fox, Schneiderlein, Wanyama, Ramírez, do Prado, Lallana, Lambert Subs: Davis, Shaw, Lovren, Davis, Rodriguez, Fonte, Chambers

Bookings:
Crystal Palace - Cresswell

Southampton - Ramírez

Southampton - Shaw

Goals:
Crystal Palace
Ince (4, 12), Guédioura (37)

Crystal PalaceKyrgiakos (78), Lambert (90+2)

What a win! Tom Ince managing to bag two early goals put us in the driving seat but we got sloppy in the second half and it could have cost us. Southampton are tough with the squad they have but we managed to play them off the park.

Swansea City FC 2 – 1 Crystal Palace FC


Line-ups:
Swansea – Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Amat, Davies, Chico, Britton, Michu, Hernández, Lamah, Lita Subs: Tremmel, Pozuelo, Vázquez, Routledge, Taylor, Monk, Copp

Crystal Palace – Speroni, Hunt, Kyrgiakos, Mariappa, Parr, Williams, Jedinak, Guédioura Bolasie, Ince, Murray Subs: Price, Campaña, Thomas, Chamakh, Boyata, Puncheon, Gayle

Bookings:
Swansea - Chico

Crystal Palace - Kyrgiakos, Guédioura

Goals:
Swansea
Lamah (42), Copp (73)

Crystal PalaceInce (54)

After a great draw and win, we lost a fairly even game. Swansea had 2 more shots on target though and had one that went in. It was a very winnable game and we have to regroup and start again in February but we are finally out of the relegation spots and have very winnable games coming up.

League Table


A vital few points there, but that loss to Oxford.. :))
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