The opposition view: Crystal Palace

  • by Staff Writer
  • Monday, 11th February 2019

There was a palpable sense of frustration emanating from the home stands following Saturday's 1-1 draw between West Ham and the Nigels.

Despite having enjoyed plenty of chances to win the game in the second half, Palace's profligacy resulted in both teams leaving Selhurst Park with a point apiece which, according to the home mob, was largely down to some dreadful officiating (now where have we heard that one before)...


"A good performance overall but a disappointing result yet again at Fortress Selhurst. Too many missed chances to score. Not half chances but nailed on 'he must score' chances. If the theme continues at home we will be relying on our away form to keep us out of trouble. I thought West Ham were poor, the referee was their best player. An inexcusably incompetent performance but unfortunately just one of many we've had to endure this season."
- desperado

"If you’re a ref you’ve not only got to be impartial, you’ve got to be seen to be impartial. The fact that the best part of 20,000 Palace were shouting ‘You’re not fit to referee’, suggests he wasn’t giving a very good impression of being unbiased. He gave us nine free kicks for their fouling. He gave them 12. I would dispute that we were worst than them with our challenges, but let’s put that to one side! Were our challenges that much worse/different than theirs? I would suggest not, but he was suckered in to their rolling around antics, that’s for sure. Their players got up pretty quickly afterwards too. We had three players booked, they had NONE! I’ll reiterate my point. You have to be seen to be impartial. He gave the impression of being anything but."
- jhc

"I thought AWB's booking was a very good tackle. I am not sure why the referee waited two minutes to stop play and give the free kick that led to the penalty. There were a number of fouls on Palace players that weren't given but West Ham got every decision including a couple of obvious dives. Moreover not a single Hamster was booked despite them pushing, diving into tackles and hacking just as much as Palace. Yes he got the major calls right and as you said could have sent Luka off, but he was wildly inconsistent throughout the game. Booking AWB for a great challenge and then letting West Ham make the exact same challenge two minutes later and not even calling a foul for example
- Anon

"Zaha shades MotM for the goal and the number of times he went past his man. Schlupp was good also. Thought Wan Bissaka for once needed to be nearer to Anderson, West Ham's best player but improved as the game went along. Scared we'd have either Luka or Jimmy getting reds but they both put in professional displays, second half. I think we have to give credit [where it's due]. The Hammers came perilously close to winning this by half time and we weren't getting close at times ALTHOUGH. we also had chances. Complete reverse in second half and goals apart, we were very entertaining. Soon we're due to give someone a proper pasting, arent we? ps. Ref Pawson. Had a shocker. Who knew there was a foul for the freekick leading to the penalty? And why was Noble calling out a fan at the front of the Arthur?"
- cranesparkeagle

"I know I will get stick for supporting the referee, but at half time people around me were slating him but I thought he got it right generally. Luka, Jimmy and WB all caught the opposition player and whilst the Hammers' rolling around the floor was overdone, they were bookable fouls. Likewise the penalty was correct. Not sure why he let Luka off the second very bookable foul, but very grateful he did and that positive counters any negatives for me."
- Eagle's Away




"The missed chances in this game defy belief. McArthur is now the not-so-proud owner of one of the most ridiculously comedic misses I have ever seen. Clean through, no defender within 10 yards of him, 'keeper doesn’t charge him, PVA and Benteke square for a tap in, and he somehow manages to f it up. It’s criminal really, a professional footballer has to score that 99 times out of 100, or square it for the tap in. It’s simply not good enough and somehow it has to improve."
- Maine Eagle

"In my opinion Palace are playing some of the best football I have seen for many years. There is not one team that I have seen outplay us this season. Of course it is a worry that we don’t take our chances and finish teams off but I am certain we are not far being a comfortable top 10 side. There are times when Roy can be a little frustrating with his substitutions but overall Roy is doing a really steady job and long may it continue."
- Curlyeagle 2

"Our league position says it all. A good or bad performance today is irrelevant, we are still hovering around the relegation zone just three points from being in bottom three. Our goal difference is worth an extra point but we still cannot afford to keep dropping points at home. There is something that is not quite right at the club and I think the blame is at the top, as we just do not improve year on year and a change in direction is needed. However let's get this season done and dusted first and hope we can scrape over the line!"
- Den1923

"A terrible first half. We dominated the second but our awful finishing cost us points again. We must improve or it will be a scary end to the season."
- Hrolf The Ganger




"The first half wasn't great, but I still think we played well. The second half we totally dominated, playing some great football, creating some good chances, and missing two absolute sitters. And for those complaining we had less possession against Fulham last week, we had more than a good West Ham team today. Even Schlupp played well today. The one dissapointment was Benteke, who just seems totally lost."
- spartakev2

"We have no one to blame but ourselves, two points dropped. Three gilt-edged chances missed, typical Palace. Great second half from us though. If Meyer wasn't our best player in the 15 minutes he played then tell me who was. He fed Wilf repeatedly with some deft touches and completely transformed our attacks, West Ham were on the back foot. I would love to see us play with two out-and-out strikers, we probably would have won today. But I know that will never happen under Roy."
- Texas Eagle

"I thought they were slightly better than us first half, with wingers that actually deliver a good cross, early. Second half , did they get in our half more than once? We missed five great chances during the game. You’d struggle to find a better 1-1. Definitely don’t want to sign Antonio, but Meyer and Batshuai need to start. Great game, deserved more."
- Casual

"Overall a good team performance full of character. We should've won it in the second half, but West Ham the better team in the first half so a point was probably fair. Antonio and Snodgrass were embarrassing how easily they were going to ground, so although Luka was probably lucky not to get a second yellow, their sportsmanship was questionable."
- taylors lovechild

"Why does it take us so long to get into games? At home for some reason we never seen to step up until 10 minutes into the second half. Our passing can be quite poor at times. When we’re about to break I can’t count the number of times someone has passed the ball behind their man, instead of putting it to run onto. And West Ham are a bunch of dirty cheating weasels. Masters of the dark arts, we could learn a bit from them."
- Stavros 69




"Something that made me uneasy today. First couple of minutes, WHU got a corner and there was one guy, on his own in block A and must have been maybe 50 years old, repeatedly screaming 'c***' (15 times or more) at the player taking the corner, with two stewards in close proximity doing absoluty nothing about it. what on Earth makes a person behave in that manner? I couldn't think how many games I've been to over the years but never, ever thought about doing that."
- braunstoneagle

"Alcohol and a Neolithic tribal instinct just possess some baffoons. A guy behind me isn't too great on that front, after calling Schlupp a 'useless donkey' for the umpteenth time (along with being homophobic) i confronted him. I ended up getting punched and so did my Mrs. Hoping the club do something about these idiots, they dont belong at football."
- rawpalace05

* Comments originally posted at holmesdale.net, cpfc.org and twitter

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