His debut was a disaster.

I was at that game. It was awful. Swindlehurst was a gangly kid (yes, hard to believe) and hardly got a kick. He got bullied off the ball. Notts County were fired up by all the pizzazz surrounding Malcolm Allison, and Palace got beaten 4-1 at home in a game they'd been expecting to win.

When I got home my dad made a big meal of it too. "Ha ha, imagine losing four one at home!"

Oh god, this Sorloth story has made it all come flooding back.

Place got relegated that season.

All the players had tracksuits with nick names on the back. "The Dealer" was one. I think that was the name given to pint sized Derek Possee. He should really have been called "The Oompah Loompah"

At this stage, he could turn out to be great, but we just don't know.

Given the challenges of the January transfer window this getting this guy wasn't such a bad move for us. It seems a calculated risk.

The question is to what extent can he make the jump to the premier league. Dwight Gayle is really a great point in this regard. Bosses the championship but the gulf in the premier league is noticible.

That said, for every 10 Dwight Gayles, there may be one who does break through. Perhaps this guy could be in that categeory. Let's not lump too much expectation just yet.

I'm quietly confident on the basis that he will offer an alternative to Bentecke, whilst at least being as good, if not better.

Funnily enough, that was the time I was fanatical about following Palace. I'd even watch the reserves. And the youth team.

Mind you, there was always some loony in the pub who'd say, "Oh yeah! Call yourself a supporter? Where were you at Lincoln?"

Now I look back, I can't help thinking I've wasted large sections of my life....

Edited by OhthisbloodyPC (03 Feb 2018 9.25am)

I never get the whole PL experience thing for a side like us. It’s so hard to find in Jan, we have rivals everywhere who won’t sell and the better players aren’t interested in a relegation scrap (I mean on paper we could afford the £25m Spurs paid for Lucas Moura!) And any players that went down to the championship the year before will have been bought in the summer.

Sorloth comes from the Danish league but frankly these players have to come from somewhere! Take Rakip, he belongs to Benfica but hasn’t kicked a ball in Portugal. Is he more valid?

Either way, our starting XI is good enough to stay up, and I think it’s really positive we have three squad additions that might influence a few games at the death here and there.

In Roy we trust.

Listening to Roy's press conference it was good to hear that he sought out contacts who know the game in Norway to get their view and that they were very confident he would be successful. He seemed very positive about the signing, rather than just pretending he was happy with it.

If you haven't watched it it's worth doing so. It comes at the end of the press conference when he's interviewed by Norwegian TV. He was much more open than he often is, which is encouraging.

And me,I used to go to the Training Ground in Mitcham.
I started going home and away 68/69.
When we went up.

Palace 13th 2017/18.