Palace need to be more streetwise

As irony would have it, this match exposed Palace’s strengths and weaknesses as much as any other.

For the Eagles were up against a reflection of what they used to be in an effective Neil Warnock team containing two players (Clint Hill and Shaun Derry) who will forever be synonymous with the horrors and the glory of the 2009-2010 campaign.

Crystal Palace’s squad last season lacked skill and flair but more than made up for it in grit and experience, the team they have this year however simply is not streetwise enough just yet.

Saturday saw Palace compete admirably to equal the strength of QPR for near enough the whole game.

However the goals they conceded, as well as the one they scored, were typical of the season to date with a sense of brilliance as well as sheer naivety being put on display.

In the lead up to the first goal Kieron Cadogan somewhat inexplicably let the ball go off for a QPR throw in where he clearly had control only to see Edgar Davids sell Julian Speroni short with a back pass that a pub player would have been ashamed of, let alone a Champions League winner.

Rangers’ second goal then saw Palace simply undone by two players with ample Championship experience when Tommy Smith expertly crossed for Heidar Helguson to get in between two players and nod home with a perfectly-timed header.

The equaliser however was a picture of Palace at their best with two young and expressive footballers (Wilfried Zaha and Cadogan), brought through their now famed academy, linking together fearlessly to draw the home side level despite the stoicism of QPR’s backline.

Although teams are ultimately judged on results this cannot be a fair method of evaluation on the current Crystal Palace side, or the club as a whole.

They may have lost seven games out of 12 but a closer look at performances may make things clearer.

Palace have been awarded three red cards, have scored one own goal, have given four penalties away and have conceded three goals from reckless back passes all in the first 12 games of the season.

This effectively means that they have conceded eight goals from their own doing, and it is then impossible to say how games would have turned out had the red cards not occurred.

Would they have lost against Ipswich had Claude Davies not been sent off at such a critical moment? Would Palace have scored had James Vaughan played at Cardiff? Could they have been rewarded for their share of the possession against Reading and penetrated their backline had Zaha not been sent off at Fratton Park?

We will never know, but one thing is for sure and that is that life would have been a lot easier had these red cards not have happened and Palace would have almost certainly have gained more points.

What all this adds up to however is that Palace’s current slump cannot be explained through a simple lack of quality.

The first half against Leicester alone proved that and anyone who was at Fratton Park for the Carling Cup game would have witnessed the most breathtaking 45 minutes of football in the first half from Palace since Steve Bruce was in charge.

Alex Marrow was running the game, Zaha and Djilali were causing havoc and Palace proved that they had the quality to dismantle teams with consummate ease.

But as skilful and as aesthetically pleasing as this team can be they are still the same as every other Championship team in that they need confidence to overcome more experienced sides such as QPR.

Confidence comes from winning games and winning games comes from doing the basics well first and foremost therefore allowing your teams strengths to flourish.

How can a young team expect to play to its undoubted potential when it keeps giving ridiculous goals away and therefore letting the opponents get on top when they don’t deserve to be?

How can a young player keep faith with the passing game that they are taught from such a young age in the academy, when it fails to bring rewards due to stupid errors being made at the wrong time?

There is only one way of course to overcome these downfalls and that is through sheer experience which can only be gained through playing games and standing up to the likes of Derry, Hill and Adel Taarabt.

In a way the current team somewhat reflects the new owners of the club - young, refreshing and admittedly inexperienced with things to learn on the job.

However, in football, as the past decade at SE25 has proven, there is nothing more potentially destructive than rushing development and constantly changing direction.

Therefore there is no point in playing to other team’s strengths by using caveman tactics.

Youngsters from the academy need time and games under their belt to enable them to reproduce performances such as the one at Portsmouth more often.

George Burley needs support and the fans need to stay patient and keep the faith - much like they did during the summer.

Then, before you know it, the feeling will be somewhat different when five minutes of injury time goes up.

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