October 21 2004

Crystal Palace

How the hell are Bolton in the top six? How can a team that we narrowly lost to on Saturday be sitting in a European qualification spot?

For all the talk of the widening gap between our old league and the top flight, we played a Bolton side that wouldn't look out of place in this season's Coca-Cola Championship.

Yes we lost, but yet again Palace weren't outplayed.

The Opta Preview of the fixture hinted as much, as on paper there wasn't much to choose between the two sides.

Only Chelsea have genuinely outplayed us this season. As will Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle.

A combination of bad luck and lapses in concentration will lose us matches against the rest of the league, rather than the lack of quality players.

Beyond the top five, the ability to grind out results is the real difference between the leagues, certainly not the gulf in class as there clearly isn't one.

Bolton, Everton, Manchester City and Middlesbrough have all given Palace harsh lessons in this unglamorous aspect of the Premiership.

With the myth exposed it hurts more to be bottom. Maintaining our current work rate, together with a dose of luck, glorious mid-table obscurity looms.

Live Croydon Guardian text commentary