December 24 2007

Selhurst Park

Up the football league we go. A 2-1 victory against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday puts CPFC nicely in 10th place, Jamesey is delighted to report.

Apart from "sick as a parrot" and "over the moon", one of the biggest clichés in football is "a game of two halves".

But that was certainly the case against the Pilgrims. In the first half, we bossed the game, scored twice and, to this writer's eyes, looked likely to bag another brace in the second half.

But, of course, at Selhurst nothing goes according to plan. After half-time, Argyle leapt off the starting blocks like panthers, scored and looked like overrunning a desperately defending home side.

But we hung on, with a little bit of luck and some excellent defending, and thus it was another happy ending in SE25.

There is still a faction of red-and-blue support that doesn't much like Neil Warnock.

As I have admitted previously in this column, I was extremely dubious at first, but you can't argue with results.

The way NW has rejuvenated the club and handled himself (No "Colin" jibes please) seems beyond reproach to me.

There is a tangible buzz at Selhurst now and you can sense it in the air.

Of course, shortly we will lose a game or two - quite possibly at Coventry and Sheff U.

But it shows how far we have come in such a short time that it was quite a shock to see us getting the run-around from Plymouth in the second period - after all, being outclassed by visitors hasn't been all that rare an experience in the past couple of years.

And, as one for whom "the sweet bird of youth" has flown several decades ago, it is an unexpected pleasure to witness the clutch of special kids emerging from our academy.

In the Players' Lounge, before kick-off, John Bostock, under the watchful gaze of his Dad, was posing for pictures with many adoring children.

He seemed a charming and well-balanced youngster with no visible "attitude".

What a great public relations exercise and what a clever way of attracting fans for the future.

Later, on the pitch, the arrival as a sub of Sean Scannell was greeted with hysterical applause by many young teenagers in my vicinity.

I hope expectations aren't too high and he doesn't get too much pressure on his youthful shoulders.

I am reliably informed that Sean's Irish father speaks with an impenetrable brogue, difficult to understand from a south London listening point.

So begorrah and bejasus, come on Sean...

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