Joel hasn’t had much praise on this site over the last couple of seasons but back in the starting line up and has been exceptional ,always puts maximum effort in, been with us since we got promoted , back then I thought he could be picked for England still mr reliable in my view , should be in the premiere league of fame , outstanding contribution over the last ten years

Agree with above. Always gives 100% even if on occasions that leaves him short.
SP's ears in the dressing room I think. He's a fairly articulate guy and has management written all over him. Not that I'm necessarily advocating him for Palace.
? due a testimonial match this year. I know the money isn't needed but that tends to go to charity these days unless I'm mistaken. Not heard anything.
I'm doubting we'll see the likes again, unless Wilf re signs!

Good to read a positive thread about one of our most loyal and hard working players. I think he deserves a lot of credit for the job he does.

I thought he put in an excellent performance on Sunday and I'd love to see him get a well attended testimonial as an acknowledgement of his contribution over his years with us.

Dad and I watched games standing on the muddy slope of the Holmesdale Road end. He cheered and I rattled.

Wardy is:

- A t'riffic player for us
- A loyal servant yes
- A senior player who looks to have at least tried to live up to that mantle for the squad (where others have not)
- Would for all the world seem to be either a great trickster or indeed a very good bloke all round off the pitch too (I wouldn't know for sure).

What he is not however is a flying full back, as defensively dogged as he is capable of providing lightening pace down the wings with the technical ability to match.

Footballing opinions often do and certainly can swing from one extreme to the other. No he is not Cafu reincarnate so silly to paint that picture of him but that doesn't mean he's absolutely useless and worthy of criticism and ire either.

I, for one, think we have been extremely fortunate to have retained his services for so long, he is a stalwart of our current PL run and does/has given as much as he has/had for this club. I imagine he'll be remembered far more fondly than a lot of names in years to come and deservedly so. We will need to move on from him but history suggests we will do a lot worse and that may provide more adequate context for his appraisal. For the time being I think having him available is a huge '+' for us.

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

I looked it up on the clubs website,he joined us on the 29th May 2012, nearly 11years with us.

The Child Has Grown,
The Dream Is Gone, And,
I Have Become,
Comfortably Numb. . . .
[Link]

He’s 33 and teams will think he is a weak link, never been blessed with outstanding pace but in his last two starts he’s looked as solid as he was ten years ago , credit to him not many players of his age are still on top of their game at his age just look how liverpools ageing players are faring this season