Rival Lines
CC: Connor Wickham will have to sit out this game by the look of it (question asked before his right to appeal) - will he be a big miss for Palace on recent performances?
PFT:I feel like it’s a blow for us to be without Conor Wickham, certainly. Despite a lack of goals, we have performed best this season when he has been on the pitch.
Emanuel Adebayor has just recently joined, but my guess is that he won’t be deemed match fit to start this game – leaving it likely we could see either Fraizer Campbell or Marouanne Chamakh start up front.
Physically Campbell is far less suited to our style of play, and Chamakh has struggled to regain form since his lengthy injury, plus he tends to be better suited in a slightly deeper, attacking midfield role.
Without Wickham we could even see Pardew decide to not start a striker, just like he did away to Villa in December. However, it’s fair to say it was a complete failure which he was forced to change at half time in that game. So I would be surprised to see him try that again.
No Wickham is certainly a negative, but my fingers are crossed that Adebayor will start and put in a great performance on his league debut.
CC: What do you think about Alan Pardew's signing of Emmanuel Adebayor?
PFT: Being honest, when the rumours started I was against this move.
A big part of Palace’s success in recent times that you regularly hear from the players is the team spirit and togetherness of the dressing room to work hard for each other.
I think many people have a perception with Adebayor that he isn’t that team player, and my concerns were that he could harm that togetherness of the squad.
Also the fact he hasn’t been playing and this is a time when we need someone to come in and start scoring goals!
But saying that, if he does come in with the right attitude, I can’t really see how this won’t be a success.
He is clearly a high calibre player with a fantastic goal scoring record. Physically he is a perfect match for our style as well, so if we can get the best out of him he could end up scoring and making a lot of goals between now and the end of the season.
CC: Do you think Pardew was right in saying Charlie Austin was not a good fit for Palace?
PFT: Like I said about Adebayor, physically he is the perfect fit. We need our number 9 to be a catalyst to bring our talented midfield into play, and I am not sure how well Charlie Austin does that part of the game.
But saying that, we need goals at the moment. We have just one goal in our previous 6 league games, which was an own goal, so in that sense, with a proven goal scorer like Charlie Austin it’s hard to see how we wouldn’t have benefited by having him in our squad.
But I trust in Pards – so if he said that, for whatever reason I’m sure he’s right!
CC: Goals have been a bit of a problem of late but you got one against Spurs and could not hold on to the lead - that sounds similar to AFC Bournemouth. So is the first goal vitally important in this game?
PFT: I wouldn’t say ‘vital’ as in whoever scores first will win the game, but yes I think it will be important. As fans we are really looking at this game to get ourselves back on track in the league, so an early goal for Bournemouth and it could mean a nervy night for Palace. But even if you guys score first, I saw enough in the Spurs game to think we can definitely cause you problems and get ourselves back into it.
CC: Is a top six finish still on for Palace?
PFT: Of course. Do I think it will happen – no. I don’t think our squad quite has the depth to push for that type of league position just yet.
CC: How important is it for the team to get Bolasie and Sako back playing soon?
PFT: Bolasie has been a huge miss for us. He is so important to our counter attacking style and this season he started contributing with goals as well. In my opinion, getting him back and fit will be vital for us if we are going to finish in the top 10.
Sako is not quite as influential for us, but if he can start getting a few goals when he gets his chance, just like he was doing at the start of the season, that should push the competition for places which is always healthy.
CC: Palace have only had a return of one point since the Boxing Day draw against Bournemouth (sorry to remind you), but did you think there was much difference between Bournemouth, Swansea and Aston Villa in terms of quality?
PFT: I think from those 3 fixtures, only vs. Swansea were Palace the better side.
Away to Villa was the worst I have seen Palace play in a long time – it was really disappointing to see against a team who had only won once all season.
But based on the games against those sides, Bournemouth caused us the most problems and looked the best equipped to move away from the bottom end of table.
CC: Are you hoping Glenn Murray gets a cold?
PFT: I would never wish anything bad on Glenn Murray. I love the guy.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say as I hope he scores on Tuesday, but I hope he either gets subbed on or off towards the end of the game so that the Palace fans can get on their feet and show appreciation for a legend of our club.
CC: Who is the most underrated player in Crystal Palace's squad and what qualities does this player have?
PFT: I would say James McArthur. Last season was his first at Palace and he almost won player of the year. He has gone up another level this season since he has been paired in midfield with Yohan Cabaye.
McArthur is your typical all action box to box midfielder, tough in the challenge and quality on the ball. When he signed from Wigan I thought a reported transfer fee in the region of £7m was a lot, but he has been worth every single penny.
CC: I always think it must be great to be a Palace fan because even if your team loses at least you get to enjoy seeing the Crystals do one of their cheer-leading routines, but do they wrap up warm and cut their dancing short on cold February evenings?
PFT: Come rain or shine, they are there. I think I am right in saying the majority of them are Palace fans, so they probably love a mid-week game as much as the rest of us, so expect them to be there on Tuesday.
CC: What is your score prediction for this game?
PFT: I am going for a 2-1 home win.
CC: Thanks to Dave and PalaceFanTV for giving Cherry Chimes readers such detailed answers. The question of who does Alan Pardew play up front for this game is one that I looked at and I guess I come to the same decision that Adebayor has to play some part in the game and it's probably best to start him and see how long he lasts as far as Palace are concerned – ring rusty or not. I also hope Glenn Murray does get on and gets a good reception. This game really is about two strikers so we'll probably find a defender comes away with all the glory.
Score Predictions
Send in your score predictions for Crystal Palace v AFCB. Tweet them and follow @PeterBell19. The prize for this game is a fridge magnet. In the event of more than one person predicting the right score we will pick a winner from the correct entries, from the hat.
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Match Preview: Crystal Palace v AFCB
Blogger Interview: PalaceFanTV
Twitter: @PalaceFanTV
I decided that we would have a bit of a change for this blogger interview in that rather than asking a traditional writer to sill the beans on Palace's season and the forthcoming game against the Cherries, I'd ask one of the new media video Fanzine craze to get involved by talking to Dave the man behind the camera at PalaceFanTV who started it off and who works with Jim Daly – the guy you'll find always asking the questions on PalaceFanTV videos.
CC: Connor Wickham will have to sit out this game by the look of it (question asked before his right to appeal) - will he be a big miss for Palace on recent performances?
PFT:I feel like it’s a blow for us to be without Conor Wickham, certainly. Despite a lack of goals, we have performed best this season when he has been on the pitch.
Emanuel Adebayor has just recently joined, but my guess is that he won’t be deemed match fit to start this game – leaving it likely we could see either Fraizer Campbell or Marouanne Chamakh start up front.
Physically Campbell is far less suited to our style of play, and Chamakh has struggled to regain form since his lengthy injury, plus he tends to be better suited in a slightly deeper, attacking midfield role.
Without Wickham we could even see Pardew decide to not start a striker, just like he did away to Villa in December. However, it’s fair to say it was a complete failure which he was forced to change at half time in that game. So I would be surprised to see him try that again.
No Wickham is certainly a negative, but my fingers are crossed that Adebayor will start and put in a great performance on his league debut.
CC: What do you think about Alan Pardew's signing of Emmanuel Adebayor?
PFT: Being honest, when the rumours started I was against this move.
A big part of Palace’s success in recent times that you regularly hear from the players is the team spirit and togetherness of the dressing room to work hard for each other.
I think many people have a perception with Adebayor that he isn’t that team player, and my concerns were that he could harm that togetherness of the squad.
Also the fact he hasn’t been playing and this is a time when we need someone to come in and start scoring goals!
But saying that, if he does come in with the right attitude, I can’t really see how this won’t be a success.
He is clearly a high calibre player with a fantastic goal scoring record. Physically he is a perfect match for our style as well, so if we can get the best out of him he could end up scoring and making a lot of goals between now and the end of the season.
CC: Do you think Pardew was right in saying Charlie Austin was not a good fit for Palace?
PFT: Like I said about Adebayor, physically he is the perfect fit. We need our number 9 to be a catalyst to bring our talented midfield into play, and I am not sure how well Charlie Austin does that part of the game.
But saying that, we need goals at the moment. We have just one goal in our previous 6 league games, which was an own goal, so in that sense, with a proven goal scorer like Charlie Austin it’s hard to see how we wouldn’t have benefited by having him in our squad.
But I trust in Pards – so if he said that, for whatever reason I’m sure he’s right!
CC: Goals have been a bit of a problem of late but you got one against Spurs and could not hold on to the lead - that sounds similar to AFC Bournemouth. So is the first goal vitally important in this game?
PFT: I wouldn’t say ‘vital’ as in whoever scores first will win the game, but yes I think it will be important. As fans we are really looking at this game to get ourselves back on track in the league, so an early goal for Bournemouth and it could mean a nervy night for Palace. But even if you guys score first, I saw enough in the Spurs game to think we can definitely cause you problems and get ourselves back into it.
CC: Is a top six finish still on for Palace?
PFT: Of course. Do I think it will happen – no. I don’t think our squad quite has the depth to push for that type of league position just yet.
CC: How important is it for the team to get Bolasie and Sako back playing soon?
PFT: Bolasie has been a huge miss for us. He is so important to our counter attacking style and this season he started contributing with goals as well. In my opinion, getting him back and fit will be vital for us if we are going to finish in the top 10.
Sako is not quite as influential for us, but if he can start getting a few goals when he gets his chance, just like he was doing at the start of the season, that should push the competition for places which is always healthy.
CC: Palace have only had a return of one point since the Boxing Day draw against Bournemouth (sorry to remind you), but did you think there was much difference between Bournemouth, Swansea and Aston Villa in terms of quality?
PFT: I think from those 3 fixtures, only vs. Swansea were Palace the better side.
Away to Villa was the worst I have seen Palace play in a long time – it was really disappointing to see against a team who had only won once all season.
But based on the games against those sides, Bournemouth caused us the most problems and looked the best equipped to move away from the bottom end of table.
CC: Are you hoping Glenn Murray gets a cold?
PFT: I would never wish anything bad on Glenn Murray. I love the guy.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say as I hope he scores on Tuesday, but I hope he either gets subbed on or off towards the end of the game so that the Palace fans can get on their feet and show appreciation for a legend of our club.
CC: Who is the most underrated player in Crystal Palace's squad and what qualities does this player have?
PFT: I would say James McArthur. Last season was his first at Palace and he almost won player of the year. He has gone up another level this season since he has been paired in midfield with Yohan Cabaye.
McArthur is your typical all action box to box midfielder, tough in the challenge and quality on the ball. When he signed from Wigan I thought a reported transfer fee in the region of £7m was a lot, but he has been worth every single penny.
CC: I always think it must be great to be a Palace fan because even if your team loses at least you get to enjoy seeing the Crystals do one of their cheer-leading routines, but do they wrap up warm and cut their dancing short on cold February evenings?
PFT: Come rain or shine, they are there. I think I am right in saying the majority of them are Palace fans, so they probably love a mid-week game as much as the rest of us, so expect them to be there on Tuesday.
CC: What is your score prediction for this game?
PFT: I am going for a 2-1 home win.
CC: Thanks to Dave and PalaceFanTV for giving Cherry Chimes readers such detailed answers. The question of who does Alan Pardew play up front for this game is one that I looked at and I guess I come to the same decision that Adebayor has to play some part in the game and it's probably best to start him and see how long he lasts as far as Palace are concerned – ring rusty or not. I also hope Glenn Murray does get on and gets a good reception. This game really is about two strikers so we'll probably find a defender comes away with all the glory.
Score Predictions
Send in your score predictions for Crystal Palace v AFCB. Tweet them and follow @PeterBell19. The prize for this game is a fridge magnet. In the event of more than one person predicting the right score we will pick a winner from the correct entries, from the hat.
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