Crystal Palace vs. Larnac match thread

TBF, I‘ve seen much stronger sides than us exiting against much weaker sides than Larnaca more than often in European competitions. Not a provident excuse if we really get kicked out, but a humiliation seems a little bit exaggerated to me. Some of these so called minnows aren’t that bad and have some experience how to frustrate the bigger guns and take their chances.
It would be both an embarrassment and a humiliation to go out to Larnaca. A half decent Championship team would have hammered them.
 
I wonder what Glasner was trying to achieve by replacing JSL with Mateta? Mateta whose performance on and off the pitch this season is well documented, and who the club tried to sell? Is Glasner under instruction to reintegrate him into the side with view to selling him later. There's no stake in it for Glasner as he'll be gone in a few months. Or is Glasner trying to have the last laugh?
 
It would be both an embarrassment and a humiliation to go out to Larnaca. A half decent Championship team would have hammered them.
Rubbish. Thats a snobbish viewpoint. Looking down your nose at Larnaca because they are from little Cyprus. They have way more experience of European football than us and know how to stop better teams (like us) from playing. I might be wrong but I think it was Larnaca that drew with Chelsea in recent years. They have certainly picked up good results against respected teams.
To say a Championship team would hammer them shows zero knowledge of European football as well as an entitled attitude
 
I wonder what Glasner was trying to achieve by replacing JSL with Mateta? Mateta whose performance on and off the pitch this season is well documented, and who the club tried to sell? Is Glasner under instruction to reintegrate him into the side with view to selling him later. There's no stake in it for Glasner as he'll be gone in a few months. Or is Glasner trying to have the last laugh?
Pretty obvious; resting him for Leeds
 
I remember that goal very well, was there a rule change after?
Yes, it was banned. Something to do with maintaining contact with the ball rather than kicking it. I’m sure someone on here will know.

It was one of those moments in football though that just once have a wow factor. The Scorpion save and the Worthington goal two others. Probably worthy of a thread on its own.
 
The right tactics would easily beat Larnaca. What's saved them is everyone trying to short pass through. All they need to do is fill the gaps.
If we went 4-3-3 and had one holding midfielder and three forward players holding a high line, we could play over the top and expose their lack of pace. Yes, I know we won't change and I also know no one plays direct anymore. Why tactics can't be changed on a match by match basis, I'm not sure.
 
There is no question that our players are far better than Larnacas, and the manager too (before anyone jumps in), so in that sense it's a huge mismatch.

The key point is it's not just about the level of the opponent, but also the nature of the contest.

If any the sides we've played so far in Europe were put in the premier league for the season they'd finish bottom or close to it, because to stay up you have to win some games somewhere along the way, you can't set up for a nil nil all the time. Also, you play each game knowing that no one game in particular is crucial, so any given loss can be taken on the chin. Plus, fans, clubs, media, and the players themselves expect to compete to some extent, even if only in patches.

In Europe, all of that changes. Nil nil is a great result for the minnow. Get that twice and it's penalties. One two goal defeat and it's probably all over. Even if you're one nil down, take the one nil loss. It's all on this game right now. Your fans, club, media and teammates are all fully on board with parking the bus, and you can commit to it knowing it's your best and perhaps only chance, and you won't be doing it every week, just here and now. If you can frustrate your opponent into overcommitting and somehow nick a goal from one of only three or four forays forward, you then find a second bus to park if possible, usually in the form of time wasting etc. You have nothing to lose and will be a hero if it works. The opponents, meanwhile, are expected to win and get no credit even if they do. It all adds up.

The latter form of football is unique to one-off mismatched games, especially in Europe and at the knockout stage. It is a huge factor in the type of game we had on Thursday. It's not just about 'we should be beating them'. You can say that over the course of a league season we should be far higher in the table, but not so much on a game by game basis, given the nature of those games.

Also, it's s***, by the way. Next time we end up near to qualification for the conference League we should throw a few games and swerve the f***ing thing.
 
There is no question that our players are far better than Larnacas, and the manager too (before anyone jumps in), so in that sense it's a huge mismatch.

The key point is it's not just about the level of the opponent, but also the nature of the contest.

If any the sides we've played so far in Europe were put in the premier league for the season they'd finish bottom or close to it, because to stay up you have to win some games somewhere along the way, you can't set up for a nil nil all the time. Also, you play each game knowing that no one game in particular is crucial, so any given loss can be taken on the chin. Plus, fans, clubs, media, and the players themselves expect to compete to some extent, even if only in patches.

In Europe, all of that changes. Nil nil is a great result for the minnow. Get that twice and it's penalties. One two goal defeat and it's probably all over. Even if you're one nil down, take the one nil loss. It's all on this game right now. Your fans, club, media and teammates are all fully on board with parking the bus, and you can commit to it knowing it's your best and perhaps only chance, and you won't be doing it every week, just here and now. If you can frustrate your opponent into overcommitting and somehow nick a goal from one of only three or four forays forward, you then find a second bus to park if possible, usually in the form of time wasting etc. You have nothing to lose and will be a hero if it works. The opponents, meanwhile, are expected to win and get no credit even if they do. It all adds up.

The latter form of football is unique to one-off mismatched games, especially in Europe and at the knockout stage. It is a huge factor in the type of game we had on Thursday. It's not just about 'we should be beating them'. You can say that over the course of a league season we should be far higher in the table, but not so much on a game by game basis, given the nature of those games.

Also, it's s***, by the way. Next time we end up near to qualification for the conference League we should throw a few games and swerve the f***ing thing.
Only yesterday in private I made similar comments about the "Nature of the contest". They were met with approbation.
 
Only yesterday in private I made similar comments about the "Nature of the contest". They were met with approbation.
Being in the Euro Conf League is like a double edge sword, and unless we go far, it will be easy to turn round and say was it worth it? For what its worth I don't think we will win it this season. As it is we are only a win away from 9th place in the Prem so who knows where we could have finished this season without the additional matches and injuries? Of course we will never know the answer.
In addition, due to the size of the opposition clubs and mostly small stadiums circa 10k, we have received very small away allocations meaning the majority of Palace fans are not able to get a ticket to truly experience this European journey. If we get through this round and play Fiorentina more fans will get half a chance for a ticket.
 
The right tactics would easily beat Larnaca. What's saved them is everyone trying to short pass through. All they need to do is fill the gaps.
If we went 4-3-3 and had one holding midfielder and three forward players holding a high line, we could play over the top and expose their lack of pace. Yes, I know we won't change and I also know no one plays direct anymore. Why tactics can't be changed on a match by match basis, I'm not sure.

It's not easy to play 'over the top' against a team who is already deep... You'd end up just hoofing the ball out for a goal kick every time - which in fairness to Pino that's usually what he does, so maybe he's trying this approach.
 
TBF, I‘ve seen much stronger sides than us exiting against much weaker sides than Larnaca more than often in European competitions. Not a provident excuse if we really get kicked out, but a humiliation seems a little bit exaggerated to me. Some of these so called minnows aren’t that bad and have some experience how to frustrate the bigger guns and take their chances.

Yeah I've seen much more humiliating cup upsets in the past. For example, there was this one team who won the FA Cup and then got knocked out the following season by Macclesfield. Now that's embarrassment.
 
If we’re going for pens best get decent primed
If we are Devenny can expect to get on in the 89th minute.
Should we have had a penalty anyway? The defender did seem to lean into the ball before it hit him but the commentators didn't make much of the incident - although Savage probably wouldn't have noticed if he'd dribbled it around the area like Meadowlark Lemon.
 
If we are Devenny can expect to get on in the 89th minute.
Should we have had a penalty anyway? The defender did seem to lean into the ball before it hit him but the commentators didn't make much of the incident - although Savage probably wouldn't have noticed if he'd dribbled it around the area like Meadowlark Lemon.
Showing your age there Curly.
 

Holmesdale Online Shop

Back
Top