October 1 2008

Selhurst Park

SE25 was a joyous place to be on an autumn Tuesday night when Crystal Palace secured their first league win against Charlton Athletic in 12 years. Jamesey joined in the euphoria.

September was a rather a washout for me, in all senses of the word. I spent much of the month on a tiny Greek islet in the Ionian Sea, Meganissi.

Instead of sun, blue skies and turquoise sea, we were subjected to torrential rain, thunder and lightning, high winds and chilly temperatures. According to the locals it was the worst September weather in living memory.

To add to the gloom came the Palace results texted by friends - a 2-1 defeat at Wolves, a 1-2 loss at home to Plymouth and a 1-1 draw away to Ipswich. One point out of nine, not exactly the flying start we hoped for after our swaggering finish to the 07-08 season.

So, your columnist made his way to Selhurst Park on September 30 in not over-optimistic mood.

Well, I needn't have worried. Right from the kick-off the Eagles team streaked from the starting blocks and looked hungry, mean, committed and dangerous. This was more like what we have come to expect from a Neil Warnock squad.

The winning goal in our 1-0 victory came from another inspired loan capture, Craig Beattie. He seems to be filling the boots of another brilliant loanee Scott Sinclair who made such a difference to many of our performances last season.

I was surprised to see Shefki Kuqi on the bench. Warming up, he was given a surprisingly non-hostile reception from Eagles supporters and it seemed as though a few months abstinence from Albanian goat-and-potato pies had given his large frame a lean and hungry look.

After his famous "gesture" looked like ending his CPFC career, maybe Shefki could be on the road back. If he could come on and score a crucial goal, he could easily metamorphose from derided villain to lauded hero (remember Dean Austin a decade or so ago?).

To conclude, I was ruminatively sipping my pint of real ale in the Two Brewers before the match when I was approached by a young(ish) gentleman. "Are you Jamesey of HOL?" he inquired.

I had to admit I was, although how he spotted me was a masterly piece of detective work as he had never seen my profile picture and the Two Brewers is chockful of old geezers like me ruminatively sipping pints of real ale.

It transpired that Steve and I had corresponded by email and it was a great pleasure to meet him and chat about things Palace. His family has a superb pedigree of Eagles support.

He does, however, owe me a pint of Spitfire.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

In Depth Jamesey's Veteran View Index