It'sa huge credit to the progress that Palace have made since 2010 that we are in our fifth consecutive season in the Premier League. Our Prem status is our most important asset. We have come too close for comfort to losing it in the last two seasons.

I completely understand the reason for wanting to move towards a more possession based strategy. We have to improve our home form, which is awful. A solid home record is the foundation for staying in and consolidating in the Prem. It's just not feasible to lose game after game at Selhurst Park to bottom half of the table teams and expect to keep on making up the difference by unexpected (if exciting) wins against top 6 teams. Relying on conceding posession, defending deep and break-aways is surely not a sustainable long-term strategy. The fact that Iain Holloway and Alan Pardew both tried and failed to implement more posession based tactics doesn't make it the wrong thing to do.

In that context, the appointment of Frank de Boer always looked like a high risk/high reward appointment. The hope that a player and manager schooled in the Cruyff inspired technical skills and "total football" of Ajax would be able to get a Sam Allardyce team playing his way. What I've seen in the three home games this season is poor performances with players looking thoroughly ill at ease with the tactics they've been asked to implement. And performances only improved (but not enough to get points or goals in two Prem games) when tactics reverted to what players were obviously more comfortable with.

So, the tension that Steve Parish has to deal with is how long can the team play with tactics that are manifestly outside its comfort zone and/or how feasible is it for FdB to implement tactics that are outside his comfort zone and conflict with his own culture and approach.

And all with four day to go before the transfer widow closes with some critical gaps in the squad to be filled.

Only improved against Ipswich's kids on Tuesday when we went four at the back and brought on Townsend. 70 mins of slow and boring dross before that.

Of course there's a meeting! I'd be worried if there weren't. Parish, de Boer, Freedman need to get their strategy/priorities/targets sorted for what is going to be a pivotal few days till deadline.

This may be particularly important in view of start to season but would be absolutely necessary at this stage anyway. Nothing to do with FdeB's job security (at this early stage!)

Pffff, he so has not opened a can of worms, that's nonsense.

The money's mostly gone on salaries and a net transfer spend I would think. That should be no surprise to anyone. Can't be bothered to work it out, but I doubt that would leave us with more than 10 million or so.

Get David Wagner in. Pay what it takes the guy on an upward curve and deserves a chance at a bigger club than Huddersfield.

Another Damien Diagonal - Total Football

I would usually say more money to spend and bigger club, but I'm struggling

Another Damien Diagonal - Total Football