As things stand we've been on the worse run we've seen since we sacked our last manager, have a host of statistics to demonstrate how poor we are and despite having a very weak first XI + squad we are completely inactive in the transfer window, following a very poor performance in the summer.

We may well have 'investors/shareholders' however Parish is still very much seen as the captain of the proverbial ship. The football is awful, the results worse, players are publicly declaring their unhappiness and the fans are actively demonstrating the toxic, angry and desperate feeling around the club and demand for things to change.

Perhaps we are all undeserving of criticising Parish, perhaps he does have a plan up his sleeve, perhaps the hysteria is unjust (provided you subscribe to the idea everything will be fine regardless of how it looks now) but Parish is notable by his absence.

If there's one thing that can demonstrate the state of a football club it is the alignment between the ownership and it's fans. Think Chelsea/Man U and all that is going on there plus the likes of Cardiff/Reading which is even worse. We're not far off the aforementioned and the lack of action and communication from Parish is at the least not improving things but perhaps more so, making it all far worse.

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

I'd like to see some acknowledgement of the situation and something constituting or translating as hope that fans can cling to.

I'm not the Chairman of a football club or any sort of business so I can only speak as a fan, albeit one who does not participate in protests/banner productions.

I wouldn't ever expect Parish to come out and say 'This if f**king awful, I'll sack Roy if x, y or z', 'I've got x amount to spend and we desperately need new players' or 'This is my exact plan to rescue our perilously nosediving season'. That doesn't seem realistic nor even helpful in the least.

What I would like to see from Parish, again, is something that does at the very least acknowledge fan's fears/grievances and/or even just a mere suggestion that they may be addressing or looking to resolve the situation.

In lieu of this, I (and I'm guessing others) will immediately feel as though nothing is being done and that our worst fears, which we all entertain in our own minds frequently, are going to be realised.

That's where protests/banners/vocal complaints stem from. We need a voice to bring some leadership, the club and fans together, and outline a way out of this situation and forward for the future. Again, I'm not saying it's correct, but the emotional reaction from the fans will always be that the absence of an owner in times of crisis is akin to Nero fiddling.

Edited by Nicholas91 (23 Jan 2024 10.17am)

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

So I would consider this to be very much something I would like 'to see' and that which would address fan's grievances and fears.

I am bearing in mind here the last minute actions that usually play out in our transfers windows, especially the January ones, just to be clear.

Where I am calling for action/communication from Parish, it is not an immediate 'by midday, today' call, I am just outlining and addressing the OP in acknowledging both the awful situation and the apparent lack of communication/action from Parish which is building tension.

I understand the immediate calling for Roy's head and signing of players, but again would suggest this is an anxiety driven wish for immediate change. I am calling for such things but equally allowing for that to take place over a reasonable time span. Until such time it does happen, emotions will further rise and fingers will be on buttons.

Parish will have far better insight let alone experience in how best to play this. I'd love just to see a message from him to fans but that may not be the best play. The longer things go unchanged however, the more imaginations will run wild and translate into fan action.

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

Well said!

La la la your mum

Personally I’d like to hear the truth from Parish. If we have no money to spend then tell us that. If he is happy with how Roy is managing his resources then tell us that too. If we are struggling to fund the new stand, or we are not buying players because it has to be put towards the new stand, then tell us.

It’s damn frustrating being a Palace fan when we have to try and piece together the direction of the club from a whole host of media half truths, damn lies and conjecture.

We get the occasional snippet of information like ‘we will buy if the right player is available’, or ‘we are looking to get some loans in’ or ‘we are looking to push on for a top 10 finish’ (and I’m sure everyone has their own take on these). However in the last few weeks when the proverbial has started to hit the fan and poor performances are weekly rather than once in a while he has started hiding from the fans.

I think this is wrong. He is akin to the rich kid who owns the only ball running off with it to stop the other kids playing. Now is the time to do the opposite and prove he is the leader of our club. If he doesn’t do something positive, I think the toxic atmosphere will spread like wildfire. Well Steve, what’s it to be?

That’s a decent article that neatly summarises what we already know about the ownership but it only confirms that the price of the new stand has gone up and more importantly it doesn’t say whether the costs of infrastructure and players are ring fenced from one another. I think this is what the fans need to know.