August 2013
After a decent pre-season, Crystal Palace got their competitive campaign up and running this month, with the side playing their first meaningful fixtures under new boss Paul Ince. His new signings, including his son Thomas, also got the chance to show off their skills to The Eagles fans, with the team playing three games in the Barclays Premier League, and a tie against Sky Bet League 2 side in the Capital One Cup. As chief editor of the official club website, it is my job to present to you the results, statistics and general feelings on the games.
It was a shame that we couldn't get our league campaign off to a good start, but this game was always going to be tough. A home match against Liverpool for a newly promoted side is daunting, and from the general opinions gathered from the fans, they are pleased that we did not slip further behind, and feel that we gave a very respectable performance. You voted new signing Răzvan Raț as the Crystal Palace Player of the Match.
The first point of the season came in a game in which we were generally very poor. After Darren Bent opened the scoring for Fulham, we then threw all of our attention to attacking and it worked. Marouane Chamakh equalized just before half time, and then all eyes turned to Itumeleng Khune. The South African produced a dazzling second half display to ensure that we got the point we needed to get our season up and running and the goalkeeper was chosen as the official Man of the Match.
After picking up our first point away to Fulham in the previous game, we faced another tricky game. Having already faced Liverpool so far this month, we now had to host fellow London side Arsenal. We gave a good fight and fired some shots in at goal, but in the end it was just not enough to stop the fantastic Arsenal attacks. A late Thomas Ince goal pushed Paul Ince to signing his son on transfer deadline day, the Palace manager revealed to us. Ince was also voted by you as the Crystal Palace Player of the Match against Arsenal.
Having been drawn against Wycombe Wanderers in the Capital One Cup 2nd Round, many of our fans expected an easy tie. But the underdogs put up a brilliant fight, and everyone associated with their club should be proud. It isn't easy to come to a Premier League clubs' ground, but they seemed to have no fears, so fair play to them. But credit to our boys as well. Barry Bannan gave a terrific performance to win us the match and win himself the official Man of the Match award. We have been drawn away to Southampton in the next round, so buy your tickets now!