September 23 2018

Luka tries yet another pot-shot while Wilf lurks on the left. But nothing worked on this day.

A cold and damp Jamesey sniffled his way to Selhurst but a 0-0 draw versus Newcastle United (Sept 22) was a tedious affair. Not much of an incentive for a sell-out crowd to return for more.

Many call me gloom-monger (OK, OK, don’t all shout at once) but when a side with no wins in the season so far comes to SE25, alarm bells usually ring instantly. The game wasn’t lost in the end but a tedious goalless draw was a trial to behold for this supporter.

Yes, I know, football is a sport and although it is a branch of the entertainment business, there is no guarantee that it will be pleasing to the eye or even the brain. This match didn’t much appeal to anything this long-suffering supporter can imagine.

My respect for a top-pedigree manager, Rafa Benitez, had already been dented after his sad attempt to muddy the waters by criticising Wilfried Zaha’s comments on persistent fouling and lack of protection from referees. Rafa’s intervention seemed unnecessary and irrelevant.

Maybe he hoped to influence match official Andre Marriner’s thinking on penalising any Magpie players and if that was the case for the visit of Newcastle United, a club with a proud tradition, it had little effect. Wilf had an unusually ineffective game but he wasn’t the only one.

Roy Hodgson, dignified as ever, refused to be drawn and rightly brushed the comments aside.

Despite many supporters’ belief that fervent crowd noise helps the home team it never seems to have much effect at Selhurst Park. The first period brought narrow squeaks in plenty, one in particular for the Geordies when early on sloppy defending from James Tomkins gave Ayoze Perez a gift one-on-one with Wayne Hennessey. Fortunately the shot went straight into the keeper’s hands.

Nevertheless, the Magpies, as their supporters were heard to chant, had come for a point and despite the Eagles undoubted superiority, the second half continued in much the same vein.

Palace increased the intensity as the game neared its conclusion but a goal just wouldn’t come.

In what is becoming almost a regular event, the best chance to win the match was squandered when Mamadou Sakho latched on to an Andros Townsend cross and missed an open goal at point blank range.

Roy must be wondering what on earth he must do to get highly paid and skilled footballers to simply shoot or head at the target.

Let’s face it, a draw isn’t that bad when one slip could have presented Newcastle with a winning goal and that would have been the ultimate nightmare!

A league cup trip West Bromwich Albion during the week will hopefully take minds away from the struggling Loadsadosh campaign. A good performance at the Hawthorns should cheer us up.

We all need it.

Email Jamesey with your comments to jevans3704@aol.com

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