February 1 2012

Dougie Freedman

January was not a very happy month for the Eagles, writes Jamesey.

Our 1-1 draw with Brighton (Jan 31) concluded a dismal month, home and away, for Crystal Palace.

We garnered only two points out of 12 in the league and were booted out of the two cup competitions by Cardiff City and Derby County. Anyone who can be cheerful about those statistics must have spectacles with a rose tint of the strongest hue.

I was surprised at the small gate for the Seagulls fixture - 17,271.

Admittedly it was a midweek affair, freezing cold and one must allow for the fact that many older fans (like me) and family groups don't particularly care for an atmosphere of mutual hatred, the real prospect of a bottle flung at you outside the ground and policing making it even more difficult than usual to get home in the late evening.

If the Seagulls, according to many of the younger element of our support, are supposed to be our main rivals, it doesn't say much for the strength of the so-called rivalry.

Anyway a penalty each settled the issue and one can only assume that Senor Poyet and Co returned to the coast well satisfied.

The away game with Blackpool (Jan 21) was an odd sort of occasion. Manager Dougie Freedman elected to field a second-string side with the obvious intention of keeping our powder dry for the far bigger game against Cardiff in the Carling Cup a few days later.

Bearing in mind that a trip to Wembley would have been the prize for a draw or victory against the Bluebirds, one could see the point of his tactics. A Carling Cup final appearance would certainly have been the high point of the season for the Eagles.

Dougie's second 11 acquitted themselves much better than could have been expected and looked like taking three points back down south with a 0-1 victory. But, of course, conceding two goals in the last five minutes put paid to that illusion.

Our evening fixture (Jan 24) against Cardiff City was an exciting prospect. We had, of course, already beaten the Bluebirds 1-0 in the home leg so surely a team that could turn over Man U at Old Trafford could do the business in Wales.

Well, three very important lessons in how to chuck away an important game were learned at the Cardiff City Stadium. First, concede an own goal early on. Second, get your captain and central defender sent off. Third, miss three out four penalties in a shoot-out.

And so it was that Cardiff were on their way to Wembley and not us.

A trip to Middlesbrough awaits us next (Feb 4) and anyone planning to visit the Riverside Stadium and endure the icy February blast of the North Sea has my heartfelt admiration. It makes Selhurst feel like a tropical paradise.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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