Just as Palace were on the end of their heaviest loss of the season courtesy of the champions at The Etihad.
The question is can the Eagles turn things around as they do need to start picking up some victories if we are not to be right in the middle of the mire come January.
There has been a lot of talk and masses of accompanying hot air over the transfer window and about who we might be adding and who we might not, but there are three important matches before that which will determine how we start the new year. On current form we will be in the bottom three by January 1st but whatever our fate we need to start showing some of the resolve of last year and making ourselves difficult, thorny opponents again.
Most of the focus of the last few matches has been on the lack of firepower, with none of the forwards looking likely to add to their pitiful total and the reliance has shifted towards the midfield. But as fate would have it, both our leading scorer, Jedinak and our biggest attacking threat, Bolasie will be gone for most of January so there is even more of a need to take some points over Christmas.
Who will be stepping up to the plate is a matter of conjecture but we certainly need someone to do so and half-sharpish. There were high hopes that Zaha would be the catalyst as he returned home but he has been fitful at best and needs to start repaying some of the faith invested in him. Puncheon has not recaptured the form he showed at this time last season. With Chammers out for a further couple of matches we need a boost but just not sure where it is coming from.
If Southampton turn up and reproduce the form that saw them climb into the top two, then we will struggle to make any inroads and it will take a minor miracle to secure that much-needed victory. But considering the Holmesdale Fanatics have set up a meeting with Premier League supremo, Richard Scudamore to discuss ticket prices then maybe it is the time of year for the odd miracle. It is Christmas, after all.
Richard’s book The A-Z of Football Hates is available through bookshops and online.
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