Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace match thread

[DenTyler]

Typical football fans really, Parish who runs our whole club is as good as our last few first team results on the pitch apparently, people sit in their seats or at home watching on TV all nice and cosy for 90 minutes doing fcuk all apart from paying for a game or a Sky subscription and they think they’ve got the right to demand the man who has the 24 hour 365 days a year stress of actually running the club leaves because of a bad run of results, unbelievable really

agreed... but lets at least acknowledge that Parish is paid a kings ransom for that stress and nobody puts a gun to his head to do it.

And just because some of us don't go to the games does not make us any less fans. I would love to go to more games but circumstances do not allow and it gets a bit f***ing much that fans who stand on the side getting cold are worth more than those that have been there, done it and now can't. I've been going palace since 1979 never missed a game for years but I've not been a regular for a good few years now. Does that mean I should f*** off and support Millwall or something?

 

[MarkA333]

Parish pays himself 2 million pounds a year. I could do his job better. Just would want Salako to sit next to me not Bright who can’t tie a tie.

 

[Den1923]

Everyone seems to think this squad is awful. I genuinely don’t think it’s that bad. There’s certainly a lot more depth to it now than we’ve had in previous years.

I’m unfortunately old enough to remember the 1990/91 season, when our back four consisted of John Humphrey, Andy Thorn, Eric Young and Richard Shaw, with Geoff Thomas and Andy Gray in midfield.

Everyone remembers Wright and Bright, but here’s the interesting thing. We scored just 50 league goals that season, conceded 41 and finished third in the First Division.

Why? Because we were an exceptionally well-drilled, organised outfit. Every player knew his job, understood the (simple) system and did what was expected of him.

Fast forward to Tony Pulis. Again, we weren’t blessed with an extraordinary squad, but we were organised, disciplined and bloody difficult to beat. The same with Roy.

That’s my fundamental problem with Sage. I actually think we’ve got a fairly decent squad, but I don’t think he’s capable of organising it. And increasingly, I think he’s been found out.

When opposition teams continually exploit the same weakness, particularly balls delivered to the back post, you do something about it. You change the marking, you adjust the defensive shape, you coach the players. That’s literally what a manager is paid to do.

Every opposition team seems to have worked out how to exploit us, yet somehow our own coaching staff haven’t worked out how to stop it.

And if the argument is that we’ve got a limited squad, then surely the manager’s job is to get the absolute maximum out of the players available, rather than persist with a system that clearly isn’t working.

Sean Dyche took Burnley to seventh in the Premier League with a squad that, man for man, I’d argue was considerably weaker than the one we’ve got now.

He did it through organisation, discipline and making the team greater than the sum of its parts.

That’s what good coaching looks like.

I don’t think our biggest problem is the quality of the players. I think it’s the inability of the manager to organise them into a functioning team.

Sorry but the squad is really awful, the statistics show it since the 7/12/25, we have lost 17 EPL games and have conceded 58 goals the worst of any current EPL Club. So the problems were around long before Sage arrived. Bringing in a new Manager can't make silk purse out of a sow's ear, the current squad depth and strength, if there is any, is down to Parish who has consistently failed to manage succession planning but instead he assets strips without any plan or strategy of how to replace our good players. His whole strategy is to rely on last minute ''Bargins'' which are either inexperienced loan players, players who are out of favour with their home club or players who are out of contract, because they are either sick or injury prone and no one else wants them. This pre-season was a good example, Sage arrived early after OG left, he did not have a proper pre-season as all the key players were away at the world cup and those he did have were never 1st team quality anyway and were either sold on or loaned out later in the window. Parish then tried unsuccessfully to fill the gaps in the squad in the last few hours of the window (as he usually does). I'm afraid the responsibility and any blame for where we are is down to the man at the top.

 

[MarkA333]

Correct
I would do better

 

[ASCPFC]

Parish pays himself 2 million pounds a year. I could do his job better. Just would want Salako to sit next to me not Bright who can’t tie a tie.

I would want someone from outside the club altogether.

 

[NEILLO]

Parish pays himself 2 million pounds a year. I could do his job better. Just would want Salako to sit next to me not Bright who can’t tie a tie.

I don't think he does.

The Club pay him £2m per year. His salary would be agreed with the other shareholders.

Out of interest, how could you do the job better than him ?

 

[MarkA333]

I don't think he does.

The Club pay him £2m per year. His salary would be agreed with the other shareholders.

Out of interest, how could you do the job better than him ?

I understand football, have been a season ticket fan for 52 years. And I am smarter than Parish. We are going down this season unless drastic action is taken now.

 

[NEILLO]

I understand football, have been a season ticket fan for 52 years. And I am smarter than Parish. We are going down this season unless drastic action is taken now.

Great - you've got my vote. Have you got £90m to buy him out ?

You're apparently smarter than him so I have to assume the money won't be an issue.

 

[Den1923]

I don't think he does.

The Club pay him £2m per year. His salary would be agreed with the other shareholders.

Out of interest, how could you do the job better than him ?

He is only in his role as the other stake holders are not really interested in the club or investing more even though they are amongst some of the EPL wealthiest. Parish on the other hand is egotistical, loves the notary the job brings to him is more interested in his Tintin haircut than in succession planning, and is certainly not worth 2mil a year!

 

[MarkA333]

I think he is just plain not very clever. Yes, I could buy the club and I have the time to do it. And I care about the club.

 

[Painter]

Correct
I would do better

What experience of management skills do you possess, what is your current role. How could you do better, in what respect would you implement change, how many contacts in football do you have and a spare £90m.
Playing Football Manager on a computer, will not be taken into consideration.

 

[NEILLO]

I think he is just plain not very clever. Yes, I could buy the club and I have the time to do it. And I care about the club.

Well, you're wrong about that. I speak from experience.

But I'm intrigued that you are in a financial position to buy Palace - wow !

I'll save you some time so that hopefully speeds the deal up a bit - get in touch with this guy ;

https://raine.com/team/jason-schretter/

I'll tell him to expect contact from you

 

[MarkA333]

I am not applying for the job. I am a heart surgeon. I could afford it and I would do a better job because I am intelligent like a number of people here. Parish did a very bad job in recruitment after selling Eze, Olise, Lacroix, Guehi and Munoz. Staring you in the face. We got JSL and Brennan.

 

[NEILLO]

He is only in his role as the other stake holders are not really interested in the club or investing more even though they are amongst some of the EPL wealthiest. Parish on the other hand is egotistical, loves the notary the job brings to him is more interested in his Tintin haircut than in succession planning, and is certainly not worth 2mil a year!

I won't dispute your take on his ego - but the other shareholders pay him to protect their investment so they most certainly do have an interest in the club.

Could they invest more ? Perhaps, certainly in the new stand development. Football wise there isn't the headroom - spending rules hold clubs like Palace back.

And I would again point out that having a large transfer budget is of little use if you have the wrong people spending it.

 

[NEILLO]

I am not applying for the job. I am a heart surgeon. I could afford it and I would do a better job because I am intelligent like a number of people here. Parish did a very bad job in recruitment after selling Eze, Olise, Lacroix, Guehi and Munoz. Staring you in the face. We got JSL and Brennan.

Oh what a shame.

I'm sure Jason will be disappointed when I tell him.

 

[mtp1958]

No you don’t understand. They are drilled to defend in a certain way on set pieces and every time they are not adapting to the circumstances. The players are doing what they being told and that is the issue. We set up to defend set pieces the same way every game. The defence coach comes out of the dug out and makes sure they are all in their positions- you don’t see that on TV.

Have you ever played the game . So footballers are not free thinkers there robots . You have a strange way of knowing right from wrong . So do you follow orders at work or at times go no this is a better way . We are not talking kids , we are talking professional adults they shouldn't need to be drilled . Football is a fluid game not number crunching. You access a situation if it goes out side borders you set up accordingly. So sir you really have no idea what you are talking about

 

[MarkA333]

I am sure he will. Tell him to get in touch if he cares about Palace. I won’t hold my breath.

 

[Den1923]

I won't dispute your take on his ego - but the other shareholders pay him to protect their investment so they most certainly do have an interest in the club.

Could they invest more ? Perhaps, certainly in the new stand development. Football wise there isn't the headroom - spending rules hold clubs like Palace back.

And I would again point out that having a large transfer budget is of little use if you have the wrong people spending it.

You are of course correct about how to spend and manage a transfer budget within the spending rules as Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford have proved. What Parish has done is proved that he can't spend a transfer budget wisely and he needs to step back act more like a shareholder and instead employ an experienced CEO who has a proven record in the business sector and is able to do all the things Parish can't. The lower leagues are littered with clubs who have won major trophy's but can't get back in the EPL and if we are relegated then Parish would have failed us all including the investors and if the latter are really interested as majority stakeholders they can tell Parish enough is enough!

 

[MarkA333]

I have run a very successful company in London for many years. Parish has been incompetent. We are going down without swift action.

 

[EagleEddie]

Have you ever played the game . So footballers are not free thinkers there robots . You have a strange way of knowing right from wrong . So do you follow orders at work or at times go no this is a better way . We are not talking kids , we are talking professional adults they shouldn't need to be drilled . Football is a fluid game not number crunching. You access a situation if it goes out side borders you set up accordingly. So sir you really have no idea what you are talking about

Obviously played and coached - I could go on but I won’t.. I know you like to say you were a defender and you study every game … guess what they do get drilled as professional players and do get coached/instructed from the sidelines.
Common sense would suggest what you’re saying about adapting to the circumstances but they are so rigid as to what they are being instructed to do! They look across for instructions more these days than ever, that’s been the same under our last few managers, it’s not new to professional football. Our defence have no confidence and appear to rely solely on what they are being told to do in set pieces. Next time you are at a game, watch the players, Sage walks back to the dug out and the defence coach comes out and starts organising them - without fail. If that’s not the case, then I happily admit I’m wrong.