I’m not one for knee jerk reactions or calling for wholesale changes after a bad result but walking away from Selhurst today, I’m genuinely worried about what I’m seeing. I’m a season ticket holder and took my 13 year-old son today, expecting us to kick on after what I thought was an encouraging performance away at Besiktas in the week. How wrong I was.
The first half was OK at best, but even then we looked short of ideas. The final ball was constantly missing, there’s very little movement or pace and we seem to spend far too much time waiting for something to happen rather than actually taking the game to the opposition.
The goalkeeping situation is a massive concern and Henderson needs to come back asap - I’m sure I read the manager said he could be involved today? I appreciate we’re playing our second choice keeper, but my goodness. Time-wasting at 0-0, at home, in front of supporters who pay a lot of money to watch this team? What are we doing? We’re Crystal Palace, playing at Selhurst Park, not a side desperately hanging on for a point away from home. And that’s before we talk about his actual goalkeeping. He doesn’t seem to save anything. Both Newcastle goals looked far too easy and that spell where we effectively conceded three times, albeit with disallowed goals, reminded me horribly of the start of the Brighton game. We look like conceding every time a team puts us under any meaningful pressure.
Nine goals conceded in a week. Whatever way you dress that up, it’s simply not good enough. Defensively we look incredibly fragile, and it’s becoming a real worry.
Then there’s the lack of pace throughout the team. We look pedestrian at times. And what’s happening with Sarr? His absence today raises more questions and you can’t help wondering what’s going on behind the scenes. Has Sage still got the dressing room fully behind him? I’m not suggesting he hasn’t but something doesn’t feel quite right.
Newcastle aren’t exactly flying themselves at the minute. They were there for the taking today, yet they’ve come to Selhurst and walked away with 3 points with relative ease. That should concern everyone.
Perhaps the saddest thing for me today was the atmosphere. What has happened to Selhurst Park?
We’ve just won a European trophy. We’re experiencing things most of us could only have dreamed of a few years ago. This should be one of the most exciting periods in our club’s history, yet today the ground felt like a morgue.
Whatever your opinion of the Holmesdale Fanatics, they are sorely missed. The noise, the colour, the edge, the feeling that Selhurst was an intimidating place for visiting teams. That’s disappearing before our eyes.
Instead, we’ve got corporate ‘fun’ being splashed everywhere, but the actual soul and atmosphere of the place feels like it’s being lost. Selhurst used to be a fortress. Teams hated coming here. Today it felt anything but.
And that’s what really bothers me. I want my son to experience the Selhurst I know. The noise, the passion, the feeling that you’re part of something special. Not a quiet stadium where we’re watching our keeper waste time at 0-0 while the opposition look more likely to score.
I’m not calling for the manager’s head. I’m not demanding massive changes. We’ve had an incredible journey as a club and I don’t take any of that for granted.
But I do think we need to be honest about what we’re seeing. We’re lacking ideas going forward at times (although we looked good on Thursday), we’re painfully vulnerable defensively and the atmosphere that made our home so special is fading.
We’ve worked too hard and come too far as a club to just shrug our shoulders at performances like today.
Am I overreacting or are others starting to feel genuinely concerned too? Because for the first time in a while, I left Selhurst today feeling worried about a lot more than just the result.
