It's no surprise Holloway got axed - every time he opened his gob he was slapped with a fine or a suspension, and made the club look foolish in doing so.
Is Pulis the man for the job? Really don't think they have the kind of (rugby) players that he needs to get them playing the 'Pulis' way. I'd go for O'Neill / Steve Coppell Or... PDC?!
Don't know if Coppell would want to go back there,i wouldn't want him to as he used to sign Sutton's best players
I might be right in saying their best game, not result, best game was against us! their captain was standout as they frustrated us, and we needed a penalty to win...just. A difficult job to keep them up because I can't see a enough goals from them, he has some bad luck, but he has made a mess of things.
Holloway became a real prick the moment he came up to the Prem with Blackpool, got even worse at Palace. Used to be a right laugh prior to that (well I thought he was anyway).
As for Palace, I don't think any manager could save them from the drop. They done really bad in the transfer window, their record signing was an unproven kid with a half decent Championship strike rate... What happened to the rest of the Zaha money they received? If I was in charge of a newly promoted side, the type of signings I'd look for at the start of the window would be a few "oldies" that have been released by bigger clubs or are on the fringes and looking to leave. CB's would definitely be my priority as very rarely are defences good enough when coming up from the Championship. Gallas and Dunne were both available, they'd have been perfect for Palace, both leaders who'd have marshalled their full backs and midfielders. Iaquinta is still available on a free transfer, maybe 32/33 but he's been a proven scorer throughout his career. Mohammed Sissoko was released by PSG, Benayoun was available too... These sort of players could've done wonders for Palace.
Firstly: agree with SoS assessment of the players they needed. Secondly: you could also argue that they had a really good game (better?) against ManU, the difference being the extremely dodgy decisions that went against them when the game was level. People forget the consequencs of these decisions, for ManU its just a couple of points, but if Palace had gone away from OT with a point it might have given them a much bigger incentive going into later games. They've looked much worse *after* the games against us and ManU. A team like Palace needs a bit of luck - or at least an even playing field - as well as the right players.
All good points, as a promoted club you need a couple players with good PL experience in the dressing room, look at Palaces, Gabbidon, Jerome, Puncheon, and as for keeping Kevin Philips on, there's some poor decisions there as you say in the TW.
My favourite CL goal this week has to be Ibra's third last night, in real time the keeper was only halfway through his dive before the net ripped, astonishing from that distance, unfortunately the best view for that is omitted in this clip, but it is on Sky's CL Goals round-up, an absolutely pure pile driver no keepers getting near... [video=youtube;OJJ0HYD6ZSk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJJ0HYD6ZSk[/video]
When you are in the form Ibra is in, no attempt is too audacious or incredible to fail. Ba and Cisse had patches like that for the Toon the other season.
I have to admit Ibra is another player who when I first saw him i thought, what a lazy useless twat, but no, he's been providing quality finishing for a few seasons now for a number of clubs and country, I think its a bit more than a patch. He's in the top5 European strikers for me, the two you mention....well I'm not sure why you have?
that is some goal. To hit it that hard on the volley without it leaving the stadium is pretty good, to bang it in the top corner is something else.
I think Ba and Cisse scored some incredible goals for the Toon when they first came on the scene. Never seemed to score anything 'normal'. The trouble is it gives a false impression of the quality of a player when they score a few incredible goals, because unless they are real class it could just be that they've hit that one spot the keeper couldn't get to, which can always happen randomly, and if a few random things happen in a row people start making all sorts of conclusions about it. And when a few wonder strikes go in for a team people forget that luck might be involved and start claiming how great the manager is etc etc. When they stop going in the pundits all start stories about 'where did it all go wrong....'.
Just checking the top five of the Powerlist of the most influential black figures in the UK, and I can't see Peter Herbert's name on it... 1. Malorie Blackman, author 2. Ken Olisa, chair, Restoration Partners 3. Matthew Ryder, QC barrister 4. Mo Farah, Olympic athlete 5. Karen Blackett, CEO, MediaCom UK
I've got to say that I have always found Holloway to be a complete and utter twat, whereas the common view appears to be that he is a "refreshing voice in football." The man is and always will be a clown.
