Crystal Palace (Home)

[chalkpie]

Coulda shoulda won that match, but I see more positive than negative there. Its easy to get down on the lads but we hit fuckin post like 2 times, and showed some real intent. The negative for me comes down to the lack of subs - where the F was Mirallas?

[markjazzbassist]

There will be players sitting there thinking WTF is going on here. Naismith, Mirallas & Lennon. They must be pissed off.

I was wondering the same thing. Gerry needs a rest too and Kone could have come off. Basically both of them for 60-70 a night is fine then put on the subs.

 

Rm needs help.

[Pearso]

It was at the 55minute mark I started thinking we needed a sub for Kone. Why it came ill never know.

 

There was no pace about our attack late in the game, just get it to Gerri and hope he comes up with the miracle ball. He had Souare covered most times I thought, but his final ball was poor besides the assist for Rom. That's where we need Baines and someone ahead of him with some link up to create.

 

Looking back on the Moyes era it seems a bit strange that it was our right side that got all the attention whilst the left did nothing.

[Hafnia]

Just in case anyone missed it. It's worth repeating, especially given the source

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously, it's wonderful that Rom is proving his critics wrong. He's really putting in the effort. 50 in 100 is a major achievement.

It's not a case of proving critics wrong, it's a case of him improving in the areas that people have rightly criticised him.

 

To say "proving critics wrong" is almost suggesting that it was wrong to question his touch and work rate.

[Romey 1878]

It was at the 55minute mark I started thinking we needed a sub for Kone. Why it came ill never know.

 

There was no pace about our attack late in the game, just get it to Gerri and hope he comes up with the miracle ball. He had Souare covered most times I thought, but his final ball was poor besides the assist for Rom. That's where we need Baines and someone ahead of him with some link up to create.

 

Looking back on the Moyes era it seems a bit strange that it was our right side that got all the attention whilst the left did nothing.

 

 

We're unbalanced with Kone being the other wing man. It's going to be something tough to solve because Kone has earned his spot and I can totally see why he starts, but what I'm baffled by is why Martinez doesn't sub him out for a proper wide man late on in games. Especially because Kone usually looks absolutely knackered by around the hour mark. It would give us fresh legs, more balance and the opposition (who would be tired at that point) problems on both sides of the pitch.

 

I'm at a loss to explain Martinez' reluctance to use his bench after saying we've got a great squad. In his first season he was brilliant at making substitutions, and positive ones at that. But since then they've been shite, particularly this season.

[Lowensda]

When you consider how much we stretch teams out in the last 20 mins of games, i'm surprised we're not seeing more wing play later on. I thought that was one of the reasons that Baines came on?

 

Kone is a great impact player or early support player but after 50 mins, he can't run (or shoot). He's done his main work in the first half, interchange him with Kevin and get Kev to pop shots in from the left.

 

For me, the last two games highlight our issues. Lack of ruthlessness and susceptible to losing concentration. We've dropped 4 point IMO. That's the difference between and Europa League qualification and a CL place. The latter we can rule out now.

[Romey 1878]

In the first half I thought we were decent without really being that dangerous. I think we were caught between knowing whether to stick or twist - should we just control the play and maybe find an opening somewhere along the way or properly attack Palace and risk leaving ourselves open to what is their only weapon; hitting teams on the break. It meant that it was a performance that seemed to lack commitment. I wasn't displeased with the performance though; we still created openings - eg Lukaku hit the post, Kone should've at least tested the keeper but hit his shot high and wide - there was plenty of nice interplay. Rom and Geri in particular looked like they were having fun for much of the half. At half time we could have quite easily been ahead without really being at our best, so I was happy at that point and just hoping we might actually put a full game together and not have our customary shitty half.

 

Second half I thought was vastly more committed from the players, they had a proper go at Palace. We were creating openings for fun and it looked like only a matter of time until we scored and then I felt like the floodgates would open for us because Palace would then have to come out and our attacking players, who were already having joy against a stubborn defensive performance, could then exploit the gaps that would inevitably be left. Cleverley had a thunderous shot tipped over, Lukaku hit the woodwork again, Deulofeu was having a field day and when his crosses weren't being blocked out for corners they were causing mayhem in the penalty area. It was frustrating and painful to watch because we were slaughtering them but couldn't get the goal we so desperately needed, and Palace were looking increasingly dangerous on the break. The moment I knew that we weren't going to get three points and that Palace were going to get the first goal of the game came when Barkley put in a peach of a free-kick (for a change!) and their own player headed the ball onto the bar. My heart sank when that happened and then our Achilles heel of not being able to defend corners struck and we found ourselves undeservedly behind and without much time to rescue things. Fortunately though Geri weaved his magic once again and found the right ball across the 6 yard area for Rom to tap home. After that though, despite pushing for a winner, Palace managed the remaining minutes very well and held out.

 

This draw was easier to take than against Bournemouth because this wasn't due to us being absolutely dire, it was just one of those days when the rub of green isn't with you. Tbh, this result only hurts at all because we drew with Bournemouth. If we'd managed to win that game then I'd have happily taken 4 points from those two games.

 

Lastly; I was very underwhelmed with Palace. The only thing they had in their arsenal was to counter-attack. Other than that they really don't have a lot of quality in their play. We are a hugely better side than they are.

 

 

Howard - I can't fault him last night, he made some tremendous saves that meant we could at least take a point from this one.

 

 

Coleman - I thought he was absolutely fantastic. He got up and down the line all night long, constantly providing diversion runs for Geri to exploit or inter-playing with him. It was such a dynamic combination for us and pretty much everything went through the pair of them. They were our attacking outlet. What most impressed me about him last night though was his defensive showing, which isn't his strongest attribute. Geri did help out but when you've got an attacking player in front of you you're going to have a lot of defensive work to do and he did it more or less flawlessly. I lost count of the amount of times he simply stepped across their attacker and took the ball from him. Quality.

 

 

Stones - There were a couple of occasions when he just took the piss completely and I loved it. He does need to learn when not to do it though because another time he tried waltzing out of defence past a few of their players and lost out and it almost cost us. I love his willingness to impose himself on the game though, I don't want him to lose that.

 

Mori - I thought it was another poor performance from him, as I've said elsewhere. He looked very flustered all game. Wickham bullied him and he let it get to him big time; he was losing out in more aerial battles than he has done; getting caught out of position; ball watching; awkwardly trying to win balls that he's never going to get near; clearances going straight to Palace players. No, not a good night for him.

 

 

Galloway - I hope this was his last game starting unless he's absolutely necessary. He's never been any help attacking, which is why we once again concentrated our efforts down the right, with him mostly making up for that with being very solid defensively. But, once again, he wasn't solid defensively last night. I thought he was all over the shop in all honesty and Palace fully exploited our weak link by hitting our left at every opportunity. But he'd often be caught napping. He wasn't helped by Kone, who often actually found himself on the right with Deulofeu and Coleman!, and I was impressed that he didn't buckle under the pressure and showed a lot of grit but the time has come for our real LB to take his rightful place.

 

 

Deulofeu - I know his end product wasn't the best last night but how exciting was he? There's a reason our players look to give him the ball whenever they can, and it's not just because we have nothing down the left. It's because he's fucking dynamite. He had their LB beaten all ends up, it was just his decision making that often let him down - not putting first time balls in and instead trying to beat his man was the main fault. But every time he got the ball I was on the edge of my seat because something could happen and despite not having the best of nights with end product he still managed to get another assist. I also loved it whenever he cut inside the ball because you could see the Palace visibly panicking at what his quick feet might do.

 

Cleverley - I thought he was quiet but effective in the first half without me noticing him all that much if I'm honest, he just kept things ticking and went about his job. I really noticed him in the second half though, he got so much more involved. He was everywhere and showed what a good engine he's got, particularly when you consider he's only just coming back from injury. He broke up play, he harried, he won tackles, he used the ball really well. And lets not forget his stonking shot that deserved a goal. Wowsers.

 

Barry - It's a shame that he he was at fault for their goal and probably should have conceded a penalty, because I thought he was brilliant other than those two moments in the game. He was our metronome and dictated our play, and he had us ticking along very nicely as he just sat in and conducted things.

 

Kone - Him starting leaves us massively imbalanced but he has earned his spot and for the first half last night he was, on the whole, very effective for us. He is an animal with his brute strength when he's put under pressure; he was rarely bumped off the ball, and would then just roll away with the ball and pass it on or take the ball further forward. He did demonstrate in this half that he's not a reliable finisher though when he blazed over a good chance in that half. He was blowing through his arse for pretty much the whole second half but I can't fault his effort because never gave up.

 

 

Barkley - I was very frustrated with him last night because he failed to impose himself on the game, IMO, and failed to take responsibility often enough. There were flashes of his brilliance throughout the game but I felt that he was coasting through much of it. There were too many of those farty 5 yard passes that take us nowhere when he's more than capable of taking it on himself and driving forward with it. That's what I mean about him needing to take responsibility. I know he's young but so are Stones, Geri and Lukaku and they have no problem with taking that responsiblity. They don't hide from it. I know Ross is capable of it, he's got quality in abundance, I just want him to show it more often.

 

 

Lukaku - What a purple patch this lad is in at the moment! Right place at the right time to notch his 11th league of the season and undoubtedly would have had at least one more on another night. His all-round game has increased ten fold though and I thought it was really on display last night. He was winning flick-ons and using his strength brilliantly, linking up play, making good runs. It really was a monster of an effort from him, he's come a very long way. My one criticism of him was that he dropped out to the right a bit too often in the second half when he should have just been sat in the penalty area like he was for his goal. Still my MOTM though.

[MikeO]

Haha, priorities right!

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-borough-councillors-apologise-after-getting-caught-watching-football-on-ipad-during-debate-a6764741.html

[Finn balor]

I thought we were excellent last night and if we would have gone in front I think we would have won comfortably. However we didn't and Roberto once again has failed to take the iniative and change his team/formation to win the game. The game was crying out for kone to come off, mirrallas or even naisy to get in the right place and score a goal. I think if he continues that way we will miss out on top four when I can honestly say we are better than all of the other contenders. Martinez sort your Napa out!

[Matt]

Great write up as usual, Mark. I disagree with Mori as we've previously discussed though.

 

One mention for Baines. If we are going to bring him back in to the fold, then we had better involve him in the sodding play. The amount of times he got up and down that line, for the time he was on, was incredible. But, each time (and it was usually Ross), the ball went the other way meaning that attacking outlet was completely ignored, and thats his biggest strength not to mention the main reason we want him back in the starting 11. I understood why the players were getting it to the right as often as possible, but it would've thrown Palace off if a few balls had come across from the left. Even if Baines had over hit them, Geri and Coleman would've been on the other end to whip them in immediately, which probably would've had their players on their arses.

 

One word for Palace though, because I thought your comment was a tad unfair... They came to counter against a team who like to keep possession. I've said it for years that it's the best way to go (though they sat far too deep for me) and we've used it perfectly well on several occassions, Southampton being the obvious one. I don't think it was that they didn't have much in their arsenal, more that they knew how to approach the game and that we didn't give them any other option that to do counter. I mentioned in the thread earlier - it was a true Moyes peformance on their side.

[JoeQuince]

 

One mention for Baines. If we are going to bring him back in to the fold, then we had better involve him in the sodding play. The amount of times he got up and down that line, for the time he was on, was incredible. But, each time (and it was usually Ross), the ball went the other way meaning that attacking outlet was completely ignored, and thats his biggest strength not to mention the main reason we want him back in the starting 11. I understood why the players were getting it to the right as often as possible, but it would've thrown Palace off if a few balls had come across from the left. Even if Baines had over hit them, Geri and Coleman would've been on the other end to whip them in immediately, which probably would've had their players on their arses.

 

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I don't think our failure (or Ross's) in utilizing Baines had to do with not passing him the ball. We certainly weren't passing him the ball. That's clear. But, it was also clear that it was useless to pass him the ball. To explain, every time we were in possession, Kone sucked straight into the middle of the pitch. This meant there was nobody in front of Baines and nobody near him on the left. So, when we passed it to him in their half, he would have no other options than to play it right back to Barkley or further back to Barry/Mori. I don't know if this is just something Kone does naturally or because he was gassed. I don't know if Roberto told him to suck into the middle and leave Baines on an island. Whatever it was, it made passing to Baines useless further up the field.

[AlbanyNYToffee]

The biggest takeaway for me, and largest cause for optimism, is the team spirit. Last year Eto'o and Mirallas seemed to break up the squad. This year totally different story. We have the team spirit we had under Moyes or RM year 1 when Lukaku scored against Arsenal. Its finally back and it will propel us up the table. Draws are always disappointing but that game was my favorite of the year thus far. Had everything i want to see as a fan. I am fired up moving forward and have high hopes for the festive period. COYB