October 8 2004

Iain Dowie

That punch has been a long-time coming! More than four months have passed since Dowie last threw his victory upper-cut at the Millennium Stadium, but Monday's version was delivered with equal relish.

The crucial victory against Fulham marked Palace’s arrival in the Premiership and vanquished talk of Dowie’s side being the worst in it’s history.

After seven games of stuttering improvement, they have finally found a formula to thwart and beat top-flight sides, based around the solidity of the five man midfield and breath-taking pace on the break.

Five points is a moderate start and the task ahead remains daunting, but a look at Palace’s international-clad bench (Kaviedes, Sorondo, Torghelle, Lakis and Speroni) suggests everything is now coming together in SE25.

With players like Hudson, Freedman, Butterfield and Shipperley to come in, not to mention Powell, Leigertwood, Danze and Derry, excuses about squad size and strength won't carry.

If Palace can gather momentum and net 20 plus by January, Dowie and Jordan are ready to bring in top-class quality to secure Palace’s Premiership status.

Sadly I will not be here to bring you the Guardian’s view on how they get on. The last three-and-a-half years covering Palace have provided highs and lows in equal measure - but the last nine months, watching a great club rise from the ashes of past mistakes has been a real joy.

Now I hand the mantle on to our bright young thing Stuart Pink, and hope you will continue to support our unique range of coverage - brought to you free every week. All the best, Joe.

The Guardian’s kick by kick match report service will continue to bring you all the action from Palace Premeirship adventure. The next game see Dowie’s side travel to Bolton on Saturday, October 16, log on from 2.50pm at: Live Croydon Guardian text commentary