Crystal Palace PL (H) Post match thread

[David White]

Our problems are stacking up tbh. Another 2 minutes and they’d have won that. We’re so so slow in possession and we have stopped killing games off. It doesn’t matter that place or whoever else for that matter sit back, we allow teams to get back into shape anyway.

We’re wasteful, we don’t go for the kill and we have absolutely no tempo to our game. We allow teams to walk through us and once we’ve decided the game is won we stop. I expected a drop off this season, not because we won everything last year, but because our recruitment looks bang average. I also don’t get why we’d spend so much on a young, promising centre half and then play him out of position. Even worse we persist with it when he clearly lols like he’s out of place.

I seem to remember, maybe I’m jaded, but Pep’s Barcelona, Bayern and us in previous years under him didn’t take their foot off the gas. In games like today his teams would have hit 5 or 6. If we’re trying to manage games out without expending energy that is on Pep. If the squad isn’t big enough we need to make it big enough. I know we have a couple of injuries to important players but fuck me..

It’s all a bit boring really. We’re beating ourselves.

 

[Gray]

Some questionable defending, but even more pitiful refereeing from Tierney. VAR takes an age to ratify or chalk off our goals (they can't abide us scoring!) and their 'pen' had nor more than a cursory glance devoted to it. Why didn't VAR see the two fuckin' fouls on our players in the two challenges seconds before Tierney magics up his Chrissty present to Woy! Every fucking touch by a City player is deemed a foul and fifty percent of the illegal challenges made by the opposition are just ignored. Rodri got barged in a similar manner to a Palace guy, both in the second half - Rodri's is waved away but there's is nailed on. Week after week and match after match we are stuffed by shitty reffing and over-zealous VARRING!

In a lot of games I would agree with you, but 2 goals in front and then fuck it up is nothing to do with the officials. We were bloody awful in those last 20 minutes.

 

[Coatigan]

was a foul all day long, i couldn't believe var never went back to it, i was confident they would

Var wouldn't check fouls if they aren't in the lead up to a goal. Not a penalty that leads to a goal.

 

[Stevieatlasblue]

Some questionable defending, but even more pitiful refereeing from Tierney. VAR takes an age to ratify or chalk off our goals (they can't abide us scoring!) and their 'pen' had nor more than a cursory glance devoted to it. Why didn't VAR see the two fuckin' fouls on our players in the two challenges seconds before Tierney magics up his Chrissty present to Woy! Every fucking touch by a City player is deemed a foul and fifty percent of the illegal challenges made by the opposition are just ignored. Rodri got barged in a similar manner to a Palace guy, both in the second half - Rodri's is waved away but theirs is nailed on. Week after week and match after match we are stuffed by shitty reffing and over-zealous VARRING!

Well said Dave, should have been a booking in the first minute when their player kept the ball then threw it back. Rodri complained but nothing. It was deliberate time wasting.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Pep fuming. Mainly, I think, with Foden.

 

[paulchapo]

Hodgson be gone in a month they'll be smashed next few games they are so so poor

They have loads of injuries and on their day are half decent. I've said this before but at the moment I'd take the Dog and Duck pub team to score against us. We wobble worse than a melting jelly under any sort of pressure.

 

[waspish]

We should be good enough like last season to go 1-0 up and hold that score for 90mins+ the problem is we are not good enough defensively

 

[paulchapo]

Some questionable defending, but even more pitiful refereeing from Tierney. VAR takes an age to ratify or chalk off our goals (they can't abide us scoring!) and their 'pen' had nor more than a cursory glance devoted to it. Why didn't VAR see the two fuckin' fouls on our players in the two challenges seconds before Tierney magics up his Chrissty present to Woy! Every fucking touch by a City player is deemed a foul and fifty percent of the illegal challenges made by the opposition are just ignored. Rodri got barged in a similar manner to a Palace guy, both in the second half - Rodri's is waved away but there's is nailed on. Week after week and match after match we are stuffed by shitty reffing and over-zealous VARRING!

Well said!

 

[Palerider]

Gutted. I like winning, it's addictive. We should have won and Pep needs to have a bit of a think on how we somehow blow these winning positions. Maybe, it's time to have two rock solid defensive full backs as back up and ready made subs for if/when we go 2-0 up. Call me old fashioned but at 2-0 up I want us to keep the opposition at nil more than score again.

 

[I'm Blue]

Or tiredness, and the stupidity of relying on a small squad given we're likely to play 55+ matches during the season and have a squad full of internationals so they'll be playing additional games.
This might be tolerable in some circumstances but 20-21 was extended due to Covid, 21-22 started slightly late due to Covid and finish slightly early due to the World Cup being held during the 22-23 season which itself ended late with both the FA Cup final and CL final being held in June.
The players are absolutely dead on their feet.

All the more baffling that we don’t make changes then, bringing fresh legs on.
I’m not sure I buy into them being tired, we start games lacking concentration.
We seem to be making idiotic decisions instead of keeping it simple when the time calls for it.
That includes Pep.
Players out of position, lack of subs.
It’s throughout the squad and management.
I hope it’s nothing to with the charges.
When we were charged it galvanised the whole club, really lit a fire under our arses.
Since all the Everton stuff and all the extra shit coming our way we’ve looked appalling.
Hopefully not, but something isn’t right this season and it ain’t just tiredness.

 

[marpleman]

No composure
Poor passing choices
Dias couldn’t trap a bag of cement this season
Walker lost the plot
Ederson…..after a brief resurgence as a goalkeeper as opposed to a sweeper, has resorted to type
Gvardiol……apparently according to UEFA is in the top dozen players in European football. I reckon most sides in the Prem, bar united have better left backs at the moment. If he can’t cut it in that position, then don’t play him there?

Build up slow and unimaginative

You could read what was going to happen the minute they scored their first goal, yet we couldn’t manage the game out (again)

A rush of blood to Phil’s head when he was beaten for pace cost us 2 points, but really what cost us 2 points was our inability to batter the opposition to death when on top

We strut around a lot like we have some devine right to win the game

How hopelessly deluded they’ve become

Can we claw our way back from this position? I hope so but not without a serious look in the mirror
Too much emphasis is being placed on Kev’s return. No one has a clue what he’ll be like, but we certainly can’t rush him back

I’m truly gutted after this and will probably regret what I’ve said, but it simply ain’t good enough at the moment

Keep the faith

 

[lazerblue]

Title Gone … Typical City never really went away did it?

you obviously wasn't around for typical City!

 

[johnevans]

Absolutely unforgivable last 15 minutes and loath as I am to criticise the lads/Pep, that was the worst performance this season. Every Blue I spoke with on the train home was tamping with that result and how we crumbled at the end.

2-0 up with 15 minutes to go against a team STILL playing with two banks of five in front of their own penalty area to avoid an even bigger defeat, for goodness' sake.

The game and the points were there for the taking.

All Guardiola had to do was make some substitutions to (a) re-energise the team and (b) give Palace something to think about and adjust to while protecting our lead.

For me, I'd have brought on Kovacic and Stones for Alvarez and Grealish, pushing Rodri slightly forward and playing Bernie 'false 9', with Foden out left.

No guarantees but that would probably have seen the game out because Palace wouldn't have had time to react.

Instead, no reaction at all from Guardiola despite Palace introducing five fresh players. In effect, as my sister was saying during the game, we were (once again) eleven tired bodies playing against sixteen.

Very, very poor Pep.

And don't get me ranting on again about some of our individual decision making, like the shambolic defending for the first Palace goal and the Foden inexplicably carrying the ball only to lose it cheaply, leading to the penalty.

Really, really bobbins all round.

 

[rumone]

does anyone think the loss of Enzo Maresca is not helping this season?

 

[Mcfc1.9.8.0]

Other than the Villa match where we were completely outplayed, what's frustrating to me is that form-wise we've been good enough to win every other Prem match we haven't -- at least that I recall. On balance, were this scored by boxing judges, we'd win on the balance of play -- true I think vs. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and clearly today. Are our defenders too far forward? Our MF too soft so easy to cut through at pace when we give away possession? Are our players like Walker and Dias and Rodri just too knackered to close out matches? I wish I could put my finger on it but I almost feel like it's the same pattern over and over so there must be a common cause -- I just don't know enough to know what it is. More confusing is that if the greatest manager on the planet can't figure it out then I surely can't.

I get the villa game they played well and we were bad I get the wolves defeat similar to villa they played well but we were awful. The others Chelsea Liverpool spurs and today all in winning positions and one of our strong points was to control games and see games out from winning positions that’s just gone completely

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

A lot of moaners in here. Personally I love the football we play and feel blessed watching this world class team. Win lose or draw this is the best time to be a City fan ever. Drink it in. Up the blues. I’m never and never will be self entitled ever.

I feel entitled! Not in winning a game of football but in having a fuckin' ref who applies the LotG in a clear even handed manner. As soon as yer know Tierney has the whistle yer heart sinks. I'm also entitled to more than the armchair Sky subscriber has in seeing what VAR is conjuring up. I am entitled to see on the big screen what the VAR shed shysters are seeing.

 

[zandvoort blue]

Might as well be Rangers

 

[Coatigan]

I wonder where’d we be in the league now if we’d somehow managed to persuade one of either Bellingham or Rice to play for us.

Should have strengthened from a position of strength, and you never get better than being current treble winners, with the world’s best manager.

Are these poor transfers all because of ffp? If so we need to fight that off in the courts asap, we can’t let some arbitrary rule created by the red shirts hold us back.

We certainly need to be more ruthless and ambitious in the transfer market, not complacent and arrogant.

We spent 145m on our midfield, and 80m on a defender. People talking about penny pinching and tight purses need to wise up.

 

[blue whippet]

wasn’t there today apparently BOO’s at the end is this true or media bullshit or was it directed at the ref

It was directed at the ref, even though the penalty decision was the right call. Probably born more out of frustration after the endless VAR reviews that took an age and our own inability to defend a lead but the ref was a useful target.

 

[lazerblue]

Hodgson be gone in a month they'll be smashed next few games they are so so poor

won't give us our two points back!