It has been a long time since Crystal Palace tasted victory in the Premier League and a cloud of frustration is evidently hanging over Selhurst Park.
Since December 19th when the Eagles were able to defeat Stoke 1-0 thanks to a Connor Wickham penalty, they have played 13 games with four draws and nine losses, which works out to be four points out of a possible 39. This is a far cry from the success at the start of the season where they found themselves sitting sixth before the terrible run started, now sitting in 16th and just seven points in front of the relegation zone.
In most situations when a team is having this poor of a run the manager is normally the first to be put under pressure, but there are some reasons that the board are unwilling to get rid of the man in charge, given that Alan Pardew has had some form of success this season.
Palace are through to the semi-final of the FA Cup, going up against Watford in a winnable fixture given that they beat Southampton and Tottenham on the way to Wemble. If the Eagles are able to win the tournament they might still be able to sneak into at least the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, which would be seen as some kind of success to the objectives that were set out at the start of the season and the place they found themselves in halfway through.
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The time that Pardew spent at Selhurst during his playing career will also work in his favour. During a stint at Palace from 1987-1991 he played 128 games and scored eight times, including a goal that sent Palace through to the 1990 F. Cup final after they defeated Liverpool 4-3 in extra time. He was also a part of the team that saw Palace claim their highest finish in the top-flight at third in the 1990-91 season. The belief that he would bring the good times back when he arrived at the club in January of last year has now turned to the fans speaking out against this poor run of form.
In a column written in the Croydon Advertiser, Palace fan Matt Jenner voiced his concern over the slide that the club is currently on.
“Come on, Palace fans! We are on course for our worst season in the league since our promotion and this is a very worrying sign with so the called ‘progress’ we have made.” Jenner said.
“You can blame injuries or bad luck but I said in February that the abysmal lack of activity in the January transfer market was going to come and bite us.
Every team suffers injuries and suffers bad luck. It is how one deals with it and approaches the next game that defines your fate.”
It cannot be denied that Palace has had a disappointing run with injury, starting when Yannick Bolasie went down with a thigh injury during the last game against Stoke on the 19th of December. On the upside for Palace in terms of injuries, key midfielder James McArthur is hoping to return in time for the clash with Watford in the FA Cup on the 24th of April.
The poor form from Yohan Cabaye, however, is of a serious concern. Since the start of the month he has really struggled to make a real important impact on the game and the quality of the set pieces that he has provide of late has really let the attack down. The Frenchman needs to sort this out after he became the clubs record signing in the summer.
The board may have become a bit shy over making any knee-jerk reactions, not having a coach since Neil Warnock back in 2010 that has lasted more than 18 months. It is possible that they are keeping Pardew at Selhurst to try and create some stability.
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