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Looks like Vieira doesn't just see Lokonga as a DM

My theory is CG was extremely lucky with his goal scoring in his first couple months with us. Similar to how Mateta scored quickly for us, then almost never again.

Look at the stats...

CG scored 6 goals for us in just 17 games in 2021. Everything he kicked went in the net at first. When the calendar hit 2022, he scored just 2 goals for us in 1,367 minutes. He was still valuable, but again, he did not score goals in the second half of the season.

With Chelsea this season, he's scored 1 goal in 1,100 minutes. So combined Palace 2022, and Chelsea 22/23, he's scored only 3 goals in his last 2,500 minutes. So the concept that he's a "goal scorer", I'm still saying is vastly over-estimated.

2017 Feb. (Van Aanholt) Palace 1 - 0 Middlesboro
2018 Jan. (Sako) Palace 1 - 0 Burnley
2019 May (Batshuayi, Batshuayi, OG, Van Aanholt, Townsend) Palace 5 - 3 Bournemouth
2020 Feb. (Van Aanholt) Palace 1 - 0 Newcastle

Not to put him down in any way but is it possible Conor is a sort of Craig Johnston who sometimes stands out because of his hustling bustling style rather than what he's actually doing?

Reminds me of a somewhat overoptimistic song that kids at my primary school in the 1960 used to sing about Charlton Athletic's next match:

Aye, aye, aye, aye...
Charlie is better than Yashin!
Campbell is better than Georgie Best,
So Bolton are in for a thrashing.

Reader's notes:
Charlie = Charlie Wright, legendary Charlton custodian
Yashin = Lev Yashin, legendary Soviet custodian
Campbell = Alan Campbell, midfielder/inside forward who played 200 times for Charlton before moving up to Birmingham City in Div 1. Perhaps not so legendary.
Bolton = Bolton Wanderers, then of Div 2, as were Charlton.

Is it any wonder I chose Palace?!

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

Agree 2 different players.

It was never about the goals with CG for me - but it was him that often started the press, and his presence and energy that allowed us to win the ball high up the pitch, allowing our attackers to play more effectively, and with more space.

Lakonga is a player for the Build up play - helping us unlock defences when we are playing through midfield, or on the counter.

Would like to see more of Ahamada, but as he has only been in this country for a few weeks, then it'll take him a while to acclimatise. He's one for next season.

"It was a Team effort, I guess it took all players working together to lose this one"

I didn't see anything particularly noteworthy against Liverpool. The main point being that if any of the 22 on the pitch had been able to play football better than a nine year old then one side would have won. If Lokonga was better than Gallagher there was a hat trick available against a team that never got off the bus. Instead we saw our own maybe one percent better than theirs - but nowhere near adequate. Poor isn't even the standard we reached.

Red and Blue Army!