Two goals from Watford’s Danny Shittu meant that once again we’ve been turfed out of the F.A. Cup at the third round stage. There were five changes to the team which drew with Norwich on New Year’s Day, including Scott Flinders replacing Julian Speroni in goal (always a white flag in my opinion – when was the last time he was on the winning side for Palace? Has it ever happened for that matter?).

Hopefully at the moment Neil Warnock is concentrating on the league to ensure we are relatively comfortable by season’s end, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see the signs of a cup run at some point in the next few years. Warnock has had some success in the cups in the past, and it would be a welcome change from what we’ve seen in the past few years.

Watford 2-0 Crystal Palace [BBC Sport]