Sh!t Or Bust Sheffield Wednesday Sunday.

Such is the modern football generation, Sky feel the need to give everything a 'catchy' title: 'Survival Sunday' & 'Showdown Sunday' being two of the finest/most annoying examples.

Well, tomorrow's game isn't on Sky and even if it was, Richard Keys & co. wouldn't give a toss anyway. And why should they? Our all or nothing tete-a-tete with Sheffield Wednesday is insignificant when put next to Liverpool/Chelsea's glorious gimmicky, high-definitional, 3-dimensional Premier League hootananny.

I decided I wouldn't be able to stomach going to the game tomorrow, opting to keep within the comfort of my 4 walls with a steady supply of refrigerated beers and a big box of tissues (i'm expecting tears whatever the result.)

Now I'm seriously considering avoiding the BBC's coverage (not because I'm expecting it to be second rate TV like the Football League Show and not because there's no way they'll fail to mention Newcastle at least 12 times) but I honestly don't think I can watch. My stomach churns at the very thought.

There's bound to be snooker on isn't there?

Seriously though, watch or not, this could be the last time we see our beloved club on the tellybox. It could be the last time we see our beloved club FULL STOP!

You don't need me to go on about the importance of tomorrow's match yadda yadda, i'm sure Manish and Claridge will cover that during the coverage tomorrow. All I'll say is this:

20 years with CPFC.

Has certainly not been easy.

With ups, with downs,

Seagulls and clowns-

With Norwich City's and Ipswich Towns

Goals galore from Clinton and Wright,

And that Freedman bloke, he was alright.

From Wembley to Watford and Cardiff to Stockport,

With tension high, and emotions fraught.

For every Moses a Torghelle

And every Coppell a Francis

Then there was that Venables-

He certainly took the piss!

Together we've seen it all-

through the highs and through the lows,

the horror of Dowie's face,

the bend of Bruce's nose.

Gabor doing the splits

Cantona doing Kung Fu

Hopkin curling one in,

Rubins hitting row U.

With Goldberg and his plan

and Jordan with his hair,

With Corbett, Brand and Izzard-

and De Courcey with Nookie Bear

Byfield, Fox and Side-O,

the mispelled Chrystal Palace,

Lap Hing and The Tasty Jerk,

The jubblies on that Alice (sorry Pete)

The Arthur and the Holmesdale

The left side and the right

That time AJ played Brighton-

He scored all fuckin' night.

So to tomorrow

What's in store?

I'm certainly hoping

Soares doesn't score

If we're up come Monday

It's time for a big party

and that's all that i can find,

that rhymes with Riihilahti.

Let's have it.

Glad All Over... always

PTTP

"Who's on first" , "Butts on second"!

Now, let me start by saying it's rare that I criticise team selections and formations as it's very easy to do so after a game. But early on Saturday, when the team was announced, I thought we would struggle- it then became worse as the minutes went by.

We've done so well over the past 3 games and that makes this genuinely gutting to say, as i truly believed we'd turned a corner. However, the fact that i'm still fuming on a Monday morning speaks volumes.

So, here goes, hold on:

The management team ballsed that up on Saturday- royally!

1. As has already been said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If Ertl, along with the other 10 players from the PNE game were fit, they should have started as per Monday. It's called momentum.

2. Danny Butterfield as much as I love him, is not a player that we should be getting over-excited about on a return to fitness. Danny has put in a handful of truly remarkable performances this season- but the vast majority of those have been when he's NOT playing at right back.

I'm sure Danny would freely admit his pace isn't his strong point, so why throw him straight in against a team that use the wings with proper, decent wingers?

No way should he have replaced Ertl on Saturday. No quicker, no better in the tackle and more prone to 'napping'.

If Natahaniel Clyne and Butts were all of a sudden fit enough to be considered, and the management team felt Ertl wasn't up to it- then Nathaniel Clyne should've been the one to be thrown in. At least he could've kept up with the 4 QPR players that were constantly flooding our right hand side. Never before have I seen such a one-sided biase to an oppositions attack***

3. QPR are a great passing (Championship) side. Two things you don't give to good passing sides are time and space- so why did we serve up plenty of both on a silver platter?

The best way to prevent a team playing their passing game is to keep the ball (like on Monday.) On Saturday however, we couldn't keep hold of it for more than 5 seconds- anything above that resulted in a long ball- straight down the throat of Kaspars Gorkss. He certainly didn't need any dinner on Saturday night.

If you can't keep it by playing attractive, then at least try and stop them by playing a little uglier. Getting in their faces? We couldn't get near their faces.

Second to absolutely everything, it was like they had 15 players on the pitch.

4. Ok, Calvin going off is nobodies fault. But bringing on ANOTHER (not 100% fit) right back in his place? (***Did Hart & co. think playing two right backs in the same position would be an effective solution?) We had several better options on the bench- and even at that point it was clear we were being over run in midfield. We needed more guile, skill, craf... actually scrap that- we just needed another body in there to at least try and get in the way. Even putting Terry 'is this thing on?' Byfield in there would've helped.

5. I've read in a couple of reports that 'Clyne came on, so Butterfield was pushed up to right midfield and Scannell went upfront.' Well I'm sorry, but Danny Butterfield was not playing right midfield and Sean didn't look particularly 'up front.'

I've looked through all the pre-set formation suggestions on FIFA and i can't find 1 that even slightly reflects ours at the weekend.

'4-4-2'- no

'4-5-1'-no

and there doesn't seem to be a '4-fuck-sake' on the list.

6. On 70 mins: Alan Lee on, Danny B off... a striker for a defender... a positive move and a good substitution. Two upfront = double the chances of scoring yeah?

Again, it's not their fault that Lee had to come off but we still needed TWO goals with 20 minutes remaining. Sh!t or bust time right?

So out of Lee Hills, Nick Carle & Johnny Ertl- who is the most likely to create or score a goal? (hint: it's not Johnny Ertl.) Why did a striker come on for a defender, only to be replaced by another defender?

Truly baffling.

Benefit of the doubt tells me that Warnock's 3 years of inside knowledge eclipses Paul Hart's 28 days- understandable. What scares me though, is that even if the 'inside knowledge' Top Trump score was even between them- I don't think it would have made an iota of difference.

Back to normal at Derby please.

http://tinyurl.com/cs5evt

PTTP

Warnock, ringworm, chickenpox- all get under the skin, all very infectious.

In case you hadn’t heard, Neil Warnock returns to Selhurst Park tomorrow.

From the moment the QPR team bus rolls up to the moment that it leaves the ground, Neil Warnock will be the centerpiece of tomorrow’s family lunch. Agree or disagree, try as you might to not make it so, we just can’t fight it- there is no ignoring Neil Warnock… that’s why he’s Neil Warnock.

Whether it’s from the Blades, the Owls, the Eagles or the fruitbowl- the man loves attention. Some may suggest it’s for his ego to suckle on, but the smarter guys in the room will know that this is far from the truth.

When it comes to mind games, Neil could hold his own with Wenger and Fergie (he puts Benitez to utter shame!)

All his ranting and raving on and off the touchline is designed to take any pressured attention away from his players, and onto himself. And it works.

Neil Warnock builds teams based on confidence, work ethic and team spirit. It may take a little while to do but much like a fresh on the scene stepfather, Warnock busts a gut trying to win over his adopted charges. And when he does, it works.

A good performance will bring praise no matter the result. A bad performance will bring an equally passionate, less praise-based response. If Neil’s disappointed, he’ll be sure to let you hear it- but here’s the trick, he’ll only let you hear it directly from him, and never in the public domain. Should that frustration manifest itself as a bit of referee bashing, so be it. Why publicly humiliate your dressing room when you can give it to the (often-inept) men in black instead?

Neil Warnock doesn’t use a carrot and a stick… he’s somehow managed to combine the two into a big, orange, carrot-flavoured stick. Confusing? Sometimes. Frustrating? Often! Effective? Definitely…

For Neil Warnock, a player’s passion, attitude and work ethic comes first. If a player can show that they want it, then they’ll be given a chance to go out and get it. It’s only then that their abiity with a football comes into the equation.

Two polarizing examples: Clinton Morrison and Alan Lee.

Clinton’s one of our all time top scorers and a hero amongst many. However, he’s never been someone to burst his lungs chasing the ball and putting defenders under pressure. Always likely to grab you a goal, but his sleeves were very much rolled down.

So when it came to his contract expiring, was it any surprise that Warnock’s offer came with a very clear “not guaranteed a first team place” clause? Was it anymore surprising that Clinton didn’t sign it?

See also: Stern John, Ashley Paul Robinson, Nick Carle and pre-turnaround Victor Moses

On the other side, there’s Alan Lee. Signed by Warnock for £600k, he arrived out of shape and with a poor attitude. Deservedly sent out on loan, and unsurprisingly back with us when it ended. Yet this season saw him transform. Much fitter, committed to the cause and he now chases after the ball like it’s tugging on his… nose. That didn’t happen overnight and you can only attribute that to the Neil Warnock effect.

See also: Shefki Kuqi, Johnny Ertl and post-turnaround Victor Moses.

You either get on board, or you’re not invited to the party.

This is why I think we’ll overcome a faltering QPR side tomorrow. Not because their squad isn’t capable, not because they’ve got a bad manager, but the two elements haven’t met in the middle yet- it’s not Neil Warnock’s QPR. Let’s hope that consummation happens in the summer (£10million later) and not before 5pm tomorrow.

When he emerges tomorrow if you’re going to abuse him, do it after the final whistle. If you’re going to give him a warm reception, do it after the final whistle- everything before that needs to be focused solely on everybody who has stuck around for the fight in the red ‘n’ blue corner. Not for the mischievous little scamp in the naughty corner.

PTTP

(This blog wasn’t meant to be all about Neil Warnock, but in a weird way, I’ve proved myself right- there’s no avoiding him! That’s why he’s Neil Warnock.)

P-Diddy "will consider joining CPFC2010 consortium"

...sorry

Mo' Money Mo' problems

My enthusiasm for the England team is already at an all-time low. Comprised mainly of over privileged, under performing man-parts, my interest in how they get on in Seooth Ifrica is near zero. Ashley Cole, Aaron Lennon & David Beckham are all definitely/probably out and I’ve always worried that England would lose one more major player. I really hope this premonition isn’t to be confirmed today.
At approximately 9:30pm in Munich last night, Wayne Rooney went down, clutching his ankle and then signaled to the bench that he was in severe pain. This did not make good viewing- well maybe for the blue part of West London, but even the Chelsea-ist of Chelsea fans can’t have grinned that much?
If Beckham not going to the World Cup is like a problem with the car’s steering: Rooney not going is like taking away the wheels… and the engine. And then replacing that engine with Peter fahking Crouch.
If Rooney doesn’t make it, I’ll be forging a long lost Brazilian/Spanish/Argentine birth certificate.


Fortunately, Palace fans have plenty else to smile about this morning. It was revealed yesterday that P Diddly Ding Dong has moved aside for an even bigger musical juggernaut. David ‘Da Kid’ Jensen and the CPFC2010 consortium which he represents, are in early talks to rescue the club. Not enough to get really really excited about (yet), but positive at least.
The consortium is believed to consist of at least one Steve Parish and one Martin Long… and Jensen’s offer for “others to join” is bound to tug on Ron Noades’ colostomy bag, that’s if he’s not involved already.
The key to this offer is securing Selhurst Park, which is a potential major stumbling block. However, it is also essential for the club to move forward- under any new ownership.
The rumored asking price is just shy of £10million, which seems far too high- considering the holding firm are in administration. Uncle Ron’s ‘generous’ offer of buying the ground and leasing it back to the club just will not work. It’s as simple as that. If Noades is to return- he needs to be involved and onside, working with/for the club and it’s new owner (which I’d settle for.) However, he must not be solely involved for purely ‘Selhurst Park reasons’. It’s not logical, it’s not viable and it means more of the fan’s money will be bypassing the club and going straight into a third party’s pocket.

We wait and see.


Anyway, with ‘preferred buyer’ status granted to the consortium- that was to be the extent of yesterday’s good news right? This is Palace after all. We’d ruin it by losing to Watford surely?

No.

Not being able to make the game, I had one eye on the Champions League offering, one eye on my mobile phone… and the other eye getting ever closer to wetting my trousers as each of our goals came through. A truly fantastic result.
PTTP’s correspondant wanted to stress how great the support was from start to end- with the left side, the right side and those queueing outside all contributing. Let’s hope that fantastic spirit stays with the team- both home and away. It’s clearly important as Neil Danns’ Twitter confirms-

“Thanks for the support tonight the fans were amazing onwards and upwards the boys all appreciate it, come onnnnnnnn”

No moaning, no groaning, no booing. Just for the remainder of the season. Is that too much to ask?

We look forward to ‘Boro (why do they call themselves ‘Boro’ when it’s clearly spelt Middlesbrough? Simpletons) and to be honest, who knows what to expect from this lot. A true mixed bag of a season with the last 9 matches featuring only 2 wins and 4 draws. Even a point would be a great result! Certainly doesn’t sound unrealistic.
4 points by the end of next Monday… how does that sound people?

The next 7 days could be massive.


PTTP

QUIZ TIME. Stern John and Sean Scannell both scored last night. When was the last time we had 2 different strikers score in a match? Who were they? Who were we playing?

Answers below or on the Twitter, winner gets a lollipop!
(lollipop to be provided by the winner)

Warnock has the Hart of A Freed man.

Much like ripping off a scabby old plaster, Warnock leaving didn’t hurt as much as I anticipated, and that was my reaction before we’d poetically turned over his all time favourtie team. No more Mick Jones’ blog though, that does hurt!
The QPR rumours had somehow been rumbling on and on for days and days with no real comment from any involved party, yet the next thing we knew, Warnock had swapped stripes for hoops.
The circumstances were murky; QPR announced it, Palace responded it wasn’t a done deal (which it clearly was,) and suddenly, the vast majority of Palace fans were looking to the sky, praying for the clouds to part and in turn, reveal the Archangel Coppell looking over SE25.

Well, in a move that was almost as left field as Shaun Derry’s position in the 2003 play-off final, we were presented with Paul Hart, Dougie Freedman and John Pemberton. At one point, just as I turned my tellybox onto the press conference, I thought we had somehow secured an un-spectacled Fabio Capello for the months between now and the World Cup. However, when I finally put on my glasses, it turned out to be Brendan “just an accountant” Guilfoyle. How much is the VAT on a Palace tie?

Now, I’ve always thought Paul Hart comes across really well whenever I’ve seen him on the TV. Modest, focused and he clearly has the guts for tough times (just look at his C.V). However, when he was unveiled as our new gaffer, I did seriously pose the question- is he the man to come in, grab the bull by the horns and shake the players up the table? My heart said no, and my head said the same. Yet, upon hearing what he had to say about the situation, that suspicion was made abundantly clear. Paul Hart won’t come in, grab the bull by the horns and shake the players up the table. What he WILL do is come in, reassure the players that they are more than capable of avoiding the drop and in a very calm, dignified manner, steady the boat. That’s all we need right now. Nothing more, definitely nothing less.

He was also savvy enough to know that 85% of Palace fans wouldn’t be over the moon with his appointment, and that they preferred a Coppell/Southgate/Kolinko type legend’s return.
Well, bringing Mr Dougie Freedman back in the supporting role (and Pembo) has gone a fair way to quench that thirst and in turn, created a very wise, sensible management team, showcasing both head AND heart appointments. And they got off to a bit of a flyer-

The new-ish faces in the dugout were the only real notable differences on Saturday.
The team was set-up pretty much the same-not that Hart & co. have loads of other options, yet they seemed fresh and invigorated with no signs of any FA Cup/too many fixtures hangover. Still no Neil Danns, so in went Calvin; 2 big’uns up front and that was it! We were off!
Calvin Andrew impressed from the start and with his and Lee’s persistence up front, we really looked game for a fight. Quite literally at times! You had Palace showing the guts and spirit of a “typical Warnock side” and you had Sheffield United showing the uglier, more mainstream view of a “typical Warnock side” It was like he hadn’t left either club.
There were a few moans in various match reports that Alan Lee should have seen red for an elbow. Well, in a truly Wenger-like statement- I didn’t see it. However, I did see Lee Williamson blatantly thrust an elbow into Claude’s face… I also saw him make at least 3 other yellow card “challenges”, yet only receive a booking on 68 minutes and was subbed shortly after (quit whilst your ahead perhaps?)
That being one of only 2 yellow cards that their whole team gathered. Which is a joke when you hear that we received 3! Neil Warnock isn’t here anymore, so I’ll assume his mantle for this week- the officiating was an absolute fahking shambles! It gets worse and worse each week-which seems ever more impossible as the weeks go on. That refereeing would’ve tipped him over the edge.

Luckily, the players grabbed a well-worked goal and then threw everything on the line to protect it. Nick Carle was demonstrating why he was brought to the club in the first place and I can see him particularly benefiting from Freedman’s guidance. A similar sized player with very similar feet. Let’s hope so.


Much like when Steve Bruce left, nobody really knows what brought about the Warnock/Hart switcheroo.

1. Brendan claimed Warnock had said to him “I don’t have the stomach for this anymore.” And a suitable compensation fee with QPR was negotiated.

2. Warnock said it was a contractual security/insecurity issue and he needed to protect his family.

3. Unsurprisingly, Simon Jordan has come out with his opinion on the whole thing. Surprisingly though, he has sided with the administrator rather than his old friend.



Now I’m no Vorderman - but adding the above 1, 2 and 3 together does not make 6. There’s a lot of grey between those lines and a consortium of Poirot, Marple, Creek & Holmes would do well to conjure the truth.
Warnock? No fight? Sounds unlikely. And let’s face it; he has gone to 'the biggest shambles of a club ‘09/10'… hardly a ‘cushy number’ is it?
Contract insecurity? Well, the players that Neil always managed to motivate are all in the same boat, so that excuse seems a tad rich (if true.)
Warnock’s and Guilfoyle’s versions were always going to conflict but it’s Jordan’s comments that really throw everything out.


“There is one reason and one reason only that Neil Warnock went to QPR. It is nothing to do with the administrator.”

His recent QPR interviews seem to be full of a man grinning, smiling and buoyant. No sign of the stern, frank and blunt statements of harsh realism that littered his last few weeks of Palace interviews. And who can blame him? A great burden has been taken from him. (A great big contract replaces it.)

Could it be all 3 individuals are speaking a certain degree of truth?

There’s no doubt he loved his time here, but administrators and dirty rumours of your best players being pimped out behind everyone’s back (Danns to Swansea apparently) is something no manager of his experience and caliber should be expected to deal with.
The guy loves football and he’s gone to a job where he’s got 2 of the manager’s favourite tools- money and time. Time meaning at least a month or two in QPR terms.
He’s been very complimentary towards us both during and after his Selhurst tenure; I can only reciprocate and wish him the best.

Whatever happened is irrelevant, and we will never know the truth- we are only the fans after all. But the song remains the same- we’re a club in administration with a small squad who are in a very real, very tight relegation battle which continues tonight against Bristol.


In the words of Theakston and co.-

“give it some Hart”


PTTP

P.S - yes Gary, we are sure the game is on- scout’s honour!

Villa Shmilla

There hasn’t been a Power To The Palace article for a while and we can only apologise- the last two league games dulled any inspirational high that the Villa game injected and thus, no word flurry has come to pass until now- and even this has taken longer than it should. It seems like a month ago that we nearly stole the FA Cup headlines with another “we’re proud of you” performance. In reality, it’s only just been a week.
Two poor losses since Valentines Day, still no real takeover speculation and now QPR’s ‘throw enough balls at enough targets’ method of manger selection, has inevitably chosen Warnock as it’s next temp.

All in all, the sad reality is, I couldn't give a toss about the Villa game anymore... win, lose or draw (after 90 minutes)

Don’t get me wrong- the 1st 'leg' was a fantastic occasion all round- a great display from the players, management team and fans alike. It will go down in my memory as one of the best days at Selhurst for a fair while.
However, the moment it went to a replay, we were all saying things like: "oh well, we were unlucky, but at least it's more TV money!" Well, once again, the little fish are being lightly simmered, whilst the bigger ones are being fried- ITV1 are understandably showing Chelsea’s Champions League match, but can’t find room on their 3 other useless channels to show our replay... it’s not like we need the money or anything, so a live stream on the FA’s website will have to do- which I’m sure will run really smoothly…. It is the website of the FA after all.

Should we defy the odds, and beat a team that just smashed Burnley 5-2, what can we expect as subsequent reward in the 6th round?
An away game at either one of the best championship sides, or one of the current form teams who are on a bit of a roll, including a 3-1 win at our place.
It’s highly unlikely to be shown on television, but very likely to sap more energy out of an already, tired, small squad. Even worse, it could go to a replay and give us another mid-week fixture. Yeeeees, i know that may get televised and give us more gate receipts yadda yadda, but the fact is this: we are knackered and playing too many fixtures. Championship survival is priority #1, not fairytale cup stories. It hurts to say it, but it’s true.
What with snow, FA cup exploits and a demoralizing 10-point deduction, our fixture list has become the exact thing that a team in a relegation battle doesn’t need. And believe me, the loss to Coventry does mean we are in a relegation battle.
Swansea, Reading and Coventry all at home and 0 points out of 9 is not good enough. But what makes it frustrating is that there’s nobody to point the finger at! I wouldn’t dare start to criticize playing/management staff because they are busting a gut, twice weekly! Sadly, you can’t boo, jeer or sack circumstances- they just exist.

Warnock is clearly feeling the squeeze, and the players are clearly shagged, and the only takeover talk, is paper talk.

The week ahead is going to be massive.

PTTP