Saints Steal A Point

Neil Warnock, , ,

Not the way you’d like to follow-up your first defeat in a fair while. Having taken the lead in the final twenty minutes through James Scowcroft we then had Ben Watson hit the woodwork twice, only for Shaun Derry to lose possession and have Southampton work a move which ended with Stern John levelling the scores.

It was the concession of possession which appeared to annoy Neil Warnock the most. “We got punished with an elementary defensive error by Shaun Derry,” he said after the game, adding that Derry, “is one of our most experienced players.”

This is our last Saturday game for three weeks. Next Friday we head to The Valley for the return game with Charlton.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Southampton [BBC Sport]

Unbeaten League Run Ends in Leicester Mudbath

Live on Sky, , ,

Looking back tonight’s 1-0 defeat at Leicester City seemed like an all-too-familiar story which we all remember.

  • Palace playing below their best against Leicester City – check.
  • Despite a poor performance, Palace seem to hold on with relative ease – check.
  • In the dying moments a Leicester player scores the winner off their shin – check.

Thankfully for those of us who still have scars from the 1996 play-off final this was just a league game, and the winner was scored by Barry Hayles, not Steve Claridge. Still not a happy night though.

Leicester City 1-0 Crystal Palace [BBC Sport]

Second-placed City Beaten, Palace Climb to Fifth

Neil Warnock, , ,

I’m getting to like Sunday mornings lately. As our run up the table has continued so we’ve featured more and more on ITV’s Championship coverage, and that continued this morning with yesterday’s 2-0 win over Bristol City at Selhurst Park. Our goals came from Clinton Morrison (via a somewhat fortunate deflection) and Mark Hudson’s late header.

Neil Warnock said afterwards, “The dressing room here is super. The formula is hard work, it isn’t rocket science. But there is a lot of ability in the team as well.”

Our next appearance before the cameras is a feature length edition, with the Sky cameras following our trip to Leicester City next Monday.

Somewhat shockingly given where we were when Warnock took over we’re now up to fifth in the table on 44 points, a mere 4 points behind second-placed Watford.

Crystal Palace 2-0 Bristol City [BBC Sport]

Scowie’s Sky+ Special

Neil Warnock, , , , ,

We all know the frustrations of ITV’s coverage of the Championship. The changing times, the condensed shows when there is a clash with a Grand Prix, and the fear that they might forget about the Championship completely if they’ve got Champions League game to promote.

(By the way, am I the only person who can’t be bothered with the Champions League? Too much hype, too much bias, same old games and outcomes… yawn.)

Anyway, to be safe each week I’ve set my Sky+ to series link The Championship, and this week I got a treat. With Palace already two up thanks to Clinton Morrison and Sean Scannell we got a spectacular third from James Scowcroft, who hit a wonderful volley to wrap up the points. Moments like this make having Sky+ completely worthwhile.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-3 Crystal Palace [BBC Sport]

The Fourth Round of the Cup Eludes Us Again

The F.A. Cup, , ,

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]

New Year, Same Old Norwich

Neil Warnock, ,

My early days of supporting Palace are filled with memories of seeing us play Norwich, due to my Dad’s business connections. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen us beat them in a league fixture (although the Zenith Data Systems Cup is another matter), and they again frustrated us in yesterday’s New Year’s Day fixture at Selhurst Park.

Darel Russell opened the scoring early on for Norwich, while Clinton Morrison got our equaliser early in the second half.

Neil Warnock pointed out that we’ve now played four games in ten days, but on top of that we’re now unbeaten in thirteen games as we head to Watford in the F.A. Cup.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Norwich City [BBC Sport]

Warnock Returns to Bramall Lane, Leaves With Three Points

Neil Warnock, , ,

Funny feeling, having a late lunch on Saturday with a Palace win already secure. Neil Warnock’s hyped return (by the Sky coverage anyway) to Bramall Lane resulted in a 1-0 win thanks to James Scowcroft’s neatly taken goal in the dying stages of the first half.

Warnock was gracious in victory, stating “I had a fantastic welcome and couldn’t have asked for anything more.” He also threw out the first mention of a phrase we didn’t expect to hear this season: play-offs.

Oh, and Lee Hendrie is a nasty thug. Don’t expect Palace fans to forget you leaving your studs in on Julian Speroni in a hurry.

Sheffield United 0-1 Crystal Palace [BBC Sport]

On the Day After Christmas Palace Gave To Me

Neil Warnock, , , ,

… a victory over our ex-boss who’s ugly.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Second half goals from Clinton Morrison and Paul Ifill did the trick for Palace, along with a great penalty save from Julian Speroni.

Even better, our former manager didn’t sound very happy. “The two goals are a joke… Clinton Morrison shouldn’t be on his own in the box unless he is offside and then we are mugged at the end of the game when we are chasing it.” Shame.

Next up is a trip to Neil Warnock’s former club, Sheffield United. For those us – like me – who enjoyed snippets of coverage today on Sky Sports News will be pleased to learn that Saturday’s game is live on Sky.

Coventry City 0-2 Crystal Palace [BBC Sport]

Argyle Beaten – We’re a Top Ten Team at Christmas!

Neil Warnock, , ,

What a December Palace have given us. Another win – 2-1 at home over Plymouth Argyle yesterday – saw us move up to 10th in the Championship, where we will now be for Christmas Day.

The early season struggles seem like years ago, and for that much of the credit must go to Neil Warnock. I’ll admit to being sceptical about his appointment but in a results-based business he has won me over.

Yesterday’s goalscorers were Clint Hill and James Scowcroft. Next up are Coventry City, who we will face at the Ricoh Arena on Boxing Day.

Crystal Palace 2-1 Plymouth Argyle [BBC Sport]

Scannell’s Late Show Sinks Wednesday

Neil Warnock, , ,

I’m pleased to type familiar sentences with different figures. Another win, another game in the unbeaten streak! Our 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday saw us come from 1-0 down. Our equaliser was scored by Clinton Morrison before 17 year-old Sean Scannell scored his first goal for the club a minute from time for the win.

You can tell what the result meant to Warnock from the quote, “It’s always special against Wednesday, you can tell the feeling is mutual between me and the fans and I hope they think about me on their five-hour trip home.”

Great to see some optimism around the BBS as well.

Crystal Palace 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday [BBC Sport]