Sadly, we will never be a top 6 team, if you think we can then you will be disappointed. We haven’t got the infrastructure or money to achieve that. Winning a cup or Europa cup are no guarantees, look at many who have risen only to fall like a stone Leeds, Wigan, Blackburn and Fulham to name a few.
Parish knows our level and. Top 10 side is about it. Staying in the Premiership is very difficult and not guaranteed for basically 14 teams each season.
Parish gets criticised often, but overall has guided Palace in the right direction.

below the top 6, it's pretty much a crap shoot. Southampton, stoke, west ham, west Brom. you wouldn't expect them to be in the mire the way they are. a few bad managerial selections, a bit of infighting and bang, they're in trouble.

So much for Southampton's black box. in the end they went for Mark Hughes, who might give them something, or might not. but he is just a.n. other "safe pair of hands" on the managerial treadmill.

being a premier league chairman is harder than it looks.

If you want to live in a world full of kindness, respect and love, try to show these qualities.

Exactly. This is the 'next level' ... we're actually here now! A dog fight season after season to stay up. We are not a big club and people get carried away with our potential crowd pull because of demographic. In the same way, clubs like Arsenal expect to win the Champions League & League season on season because they now have a state of the art of stadium ... boring / dull / soulless that it is!

Of course we cannot be a top-six club. The argument is really is it possible for us to be a club that is normally mid-table with occasional bad years when we flirt with relegation, whilst remaining 'solvent'. Once our ground has been updated and by that I think we will have to to more than just replace the old stand, then I think it is achievable.

In previous years we have said we need to try to be like Stoke or Southampton. Very few people would have bet on both those clubs being in relegation danger this year. We have to accept that even when/if established, we will have occasional bad years.

You've said it. The Southampton and Stoke and West Brom experiences are occasional bad years. One or maybe 2 of those won't go down and will recover while one or 2 will go down and compete sooner than we probably could. That's because our infrastructure isn't up to scratch.

Those clubs are flirting with the occasional danger whereas we're in it every season because our preparation is poor. People are excusing our annual mess because of them having the occasional bad time they'll recover from. None of them have spent massively so let's not pretend they're screwed if they get relegated.

COYP

Hmmm. It's come at huge recruitment costs for known, or, to an extent, 'proven' prem players. Danger is the money runs out, the squad is too thin, starts to age etc. Therefore the stable has required spending loads of cash and the traps that holds we've experienced. We need to pull back from that a little and Parish and freedman know it but at the same time some not quite so costly players need hiring. Let's hope whoever is manager understands this but gets decent backing too.

COYP