Suddenly, spring has sprung, there are daffodils and crocuses popping up in the Palace garden, birdies are tweeting and the Eagles are soaring (well, not exactly soaring, but we're tenth and we did somehow beat West Brom).
Three weeks ago, the season looked all over, but after Wednesday's excellent win, we're now only eight points off the play-offs and that eternal optimist within us is dreaming of sneaking up on the rails and catching the faltering top six off balance.
Can we do it? For the first time all season, the pulses quicken a little bit, we need another big win at Home Park tomorrow, we need to push ourselves up onto the shoulders of the chasing pack, we need to continue with the recent good form, it's almost very nearly exciting. Blimey, the match almost matters... the ghosts of 2004's miraculous run come floating before us. Could we? Will we?
You can see what's coming can't you? We're daring to dream here, we're thinking 'what if?' and 'maybe', some of us are even rummaging around for calculators. We're fools to ourselves aren't we... we'll lose 1-0.
Showing posts with label eagles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eagles. Show all posts
Friday, March 16, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Saddam in Palace jibe shocker?
Officials in Iraq have claimed that Saddam Hussein is still alive. Iraqi state tv broadcast a video showing the former leader giving an interview which was said to be 'live'...
‘To prove I am still alive, Palace were total sh**e on Saturday,' said Saddam.
The British Government said: ‘That could have been recorded any time in the last two and a half years.’
Submitted by Phil Huffer
‘To prove I am still alive, Palace were total sh**e on Saturday,' said Saddam.
The British Government said: ‘That could have been recorded any time in the last two and a half years.’
Submitted by Phil Huffer
Midlife Crisis – the Palace version
By Steve Crisp
Why did we give up doing Eagle Eye as a mag? The final editorial said something about not wanting to be 30-something fanzine writers. Well, here we all are now as nearly all 40-something blog writers. So how about a mid-life crisis top ten?
1. Depression, charactised by low moods and apparently unaccountable feelings of sadness and lethargy and a tendency to look fondly back at the past while thinking there’s no future… hang on, that’s just watching Palace generally isn’t it?
2. Paul If ill-advised affair
3. New Darren Wardrobe
4. Awareness of your own mortality while waiting for CPFC to wn the FA Cup
5. Itzak tight Zara jeans
6. TestosserRon Noades
7. Paul Barren bank account
8. Jim membership at Cannons
9. Terry Long hair
10. Eric Younger woman
Why did we give up doing Eagle Eye as a mag? The final editorial said something about not wanting to be 30-something fanzine writers. Well, here we all are now as nearly all 40-something blog writers. So how about a mid-life crisis top ten?
1. Depression, charactised by low moods and apparently unaccountable feelings of sadness and lethargy and a tendency to look fondly back at the past while thinking there’s no future… hang on, that’s just watching Palace generally isn’t it?
2. Paul If ill-advised affair
3. New Darren Wardrobe
4. Awareness of your own mortality while waiting for CPFC to wn the FA Cup
5. Itzak tight Zara jeans
6. TestosserRon Noades
7. Paul Barren bank account
8. Jim membership at Cannons
9. Terry Long hair
10. Eric Younger woman
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Small dreams of a Palace fan
Gorn and lost the f***ing Cup
We’re not even going up
We’re no good
In fact we’re bad
We are the Palace
We’re mad!
So much for the Football Association Challenge Cup then. Another sad exit this afternoon and, by all accounts, a second half performance as bad as any seen at Selhurst Park so far this season (and Gawd knows there have been a few).
Staying away from any Palace match can never be considered a good choice, but given the ticket prices and the seeming inevitability of the capitulation, the 50% of our core support who opted not to go for whatever reason probably made the right decision.
What makes it especially sad is that a group of fans, inspired by a chap called Away Day Eagle from the BBS, attempted to put some much needed life back into the competition with a finely executed tribute to Malcolm Allison. They even got themselves featured in the Sun with a classic picture harking back to the swashbuckling Palace cup run of 1976. In all, more than a hundred fans took the trouble to don fedoras, drag sheepskin coats out of wardrobes or pick them up from charity shops and, with champagne flowing in the pubs and inflatable cigars and bubbly bottles waving, they sought to lift the flagging spirits of the club.
I’m sure they had a brilliant time, but it’s a shame that the fun had to end so soon. Today could have been the start of something. Just think of it, we could have been drawn against someone like Spurs away in the next round. You could easily imagine the snowball effect as more and more fans picked up on it and a sea of south London charm swept over the soulless wasteland that is north London. Picture it now, after clinging on like grim death against arrogant Premiership opponents a rare sweeping Palace move ends with the only goal. Into the quarter finals then and, by now, the club have stepped up a gear. Given a reasonable draw against some beatable side or other, the fedora force enthuses players and fans. The self-belief and media frenzy carries us to a semi-final probably against someone like Bolton, Blackburn or another dour bunch of northern gits with no sense of humour. Palace start off as the usual shambles but somehow hang on, then late on there’s a scramble and out of nowhere a red and blue sock appears to poke home the winner. Bedlam! The whole place is an orgy of hats, kipper ties, Rubettes LP covers, platform shoes and inflatable champagne glasses. Big Mal, God bless him, smiles.
That’s what the FA Cup has needed pretty much since the last time we made it to Wembley. An end to soulless all-Premiership encounters, this would be a final to capture the hearts of the nation. With a 70s inspired Palace at Wembley, the entire David Bowie back catalogue would re-enter the charts, Man About the House would be given a prime time re-run on BBC One and the players get themselves fitted out in cup final suits resplendent with 36” bottom loon pants and oxblood Doctor Martens. Ford re-issues the Cortina MkIII as a special tribute edition… only available in white with a red and blue sash running diagonally across the bonnet.
All that could have been ours… but now the dream has been crushed by the ineptitude of a Palace team quite frankly not fit to lace the boots of its counterpart of 30 years ago. As one BBS poster grimly noted, Peter Taylor wouldn’t pick the 1976 version of himself to play in this current side. It’s enough to make you weep.
Now all we’re left with is the prospect of a season fizzling out before the last dregs of January and another feeble cup attempt to forget. Someone else on the BBS reckoned this was about the worst time to try something like a fedora revival because the team is incapable of raising itself beyond the distressingly ordinary. I reckon it was a noble attempt to lift a season that has been going nowhere pretty much since the first game of the season. It’s pretty hard at moments like these to say ‘we don’t care we’re Palace fans’.
Still the FA Cup still twinkles, so handshakes all round to Preston. This time next year, will be our year, eh?
We’re not even going up
We’re no good
In fact we’re bad
We are the Palace
We’re mad!
So much for the Football Association Challenge Cup then. Another sad exit this afternoon and, by all accounts, a second half performance as bad as any seen at Selhurst Park so far this season (and Gawd knows there have been a few).
Staying away from any Palace match can never be considered a good choice, but given the ticket prices and the seeming inevitability of the capitulation, the 50% of our core support who opted not to go for whatever reason probably made the right decision.
What makes it especially sad is that a group of fans, inspired by a chap called Away Day Eagle from the BBS, attempted to put some much needed life back into the competition with a finely executed tribute to Malcolm Allison. They even got themselves featured in the Sun with a classic picture harking back to the swashbuckling Palace cup run of 1976. In all, more than a hundred fans took the trouble to don fedoras, drag sheepskin coats out of wardrobes or pick them up from charity shops and, with champagne flowing in the pubs and inflatable cigars and bubbly bottles waving, they sought to lift the flagging spirits of the club.
I’m sure they had a brilliant time, but it’s a shame that the fun had to end so soon. Today could have been the start of something. Just think of it, we could have been drawn against someone like Spurs away in the next round. You could easily imagine the snowball effect as more and more fans picked up on it and a sea of south London charm swept over the soulless wasteland that is north London. Picture it now, after clinging on like grim death against arrogant Premiership opponents a rare sweeping Palace move ends with the only goal. Into the quarter finals then and, by now, the club have stepped up a gear. Given a reasonable draw against some beatable side or other, the fedora force enthuses players and fans. The self-belief and media frenzy carries us to a semi-final probably against someone like Bolton, Blackburn or another dour bunch of northern gits with no sense of humour. Palace start off as the usual shambles but somehow hang on, then late on there’s a scramble and out of nowhere a red and blue sock appears to poke home the winner. Bedlam! The whole place is an orgy of hats, kipper ties, Rubettes LP covers, platform shoes and inflatable champagne glasses. Big Mal, God bless him, smiles.
That’s what the FA Cup has needed pretty much since the last time we made it to Wembley. An end to soulless all-Premiership encounters, this would be a final to capture the hearts of the nation. With a 70s inspired Palace at Wembley, the entire David Bowie back catalogue would re-enter the charts, Man About the House would be given a prime time re-run on BBC One and the players get themselves fitted out in cup final suits resplendent with 36” bottom loon pants and oxblood Doctor Martens. Ford re-issues the Cortina MkIII as a special tribute edition… only available in white with a red and blue sash running diagonally across the bonnet.
All that could have been ours… but now the dream has been crushed by the ineptitude of a Palace team quite frankly not fit to lace the boots of its counterpart of 30 years ago. As one BBS poster grimly noted, Peter Taylor wouldn’t pick the 1976 version of himself to play in this current side. It’s enough to make you weep.
Now all we’re left with is the prospect of a season fizzling out before the last dregs of January and another feeble cup attempt to forget. Someone else on the BBS reckoned this was about the worst time to try something like a fedora revival because the team is incapable of raising itself beyond the distressingly ordinary. I reckon it was a noble attempt to lift a season that has been going nowhere pretty much since the first game of the season. It’s pretty hard at moments like these to say ‘we don’t care we’re Palace fans’.
Still the FA Cup still twinkles, so handshakes all round to Preston. This time next year, will be our year, eh?
The fifty quid question
The magic of the FA Cup. I’ve always loved cup days even though with Palace, a cup run is usually just that – a day.
But here we are through to the fourth round and with half a hope of making it into the hat for round five, athough I worry that Preston is yet another club that seems to have some kind of magic sign over us.
Sadly, it’s a quarter to one and while many fans will be starting to gather in the pubs around Selhurst Park, I won’t be there. I did take my son to the third round tie against Swindon but this time out financial reality bites. Even buying the tickets in advance, once I’ve included drinks and a programme it would cost me the best part of £50 to take both my children.
Perhaps I’m out of touch with reality, but I’ll repeat that… ‘fifty pounds’. It’s bloody expensive, and bear in mind that these are actually reduced prices, normal league games cost more. It grieves me to say that at that price they’ll have to do without me, it’s just too much, we’re still recovering from Christmas and I haven’t got it.
I don’t know what the attendance will be today, but it won’t be much to write home about and there won’t be a sudden rush given that Palace, in their infinite wisdom, raise ticket prices by a fiver on the day (what is the point of that?). Thousands of regulars including many season ticket holders will stay away, probably factoring into their decision the fact that Preston are hardly attractive opposition and Palace have been anything but inspiring to watch this season. I can’t take the chance that, come five o’clock, I’ll be left thinking that I’ve wasted £50.
It’s a tough one. Many fans would argue that you have to support the team through thick and thin and even those who are a bit more flush might feel that it’s a realistic price, but not for families it isn’t. I can’t justify the price the club wants for what will almost certainly be a second rate football experience.
My son, who is ten, has been quite good about it. He loves to go to games and has asked and I’ve just had to be honest: ‘Sorry mate, I’d love to take you, I wish I was there myself, but we just can’t afford it at the moment.’ So he’s watching Luton v Blackburn on the telly when really we should be on the train to Norwood Junction about now.
But here we are through to the fourth round and with half a hope of making it into the hat for round five, athough I worry that Preston is yet another club that seems to have some kind of magic sign over us.
Sadly, it’s a quarter to one and while many fans will be starting to gather in the pubs around Selhurst Park, I won’t be there. I did take my son to the third round tie against Swindon but this time out financial reality bites. Even buying the tickets in advance, once I’ve included drinks and a programme it would cost me the best part of £50 to take both my children.
Perhaps I’m out of touch with reality, but I’ll repeat that… ‘fifty pounds’. It’s bloody expensive, and bear in mind that these are actually reduced prices, normal league games cost more. It grieves me to say that at that price they’ll have to do without me, it’s just too much, we’re still recovering from Christmas and I haven’t got it.
I don’t know what the attendance will be today, but it won’t be much to write home about and there won’t be a sudden rush given that Palace, in their infinite wisdom, raise ticket prices by a fiver on the day (what is the point of that?). Thousands of regulars including many season ticket holders will stay away, probably factoring into their decision the fact that Preston are hardly attractive opposition and Palace have been anything but inspiring to watch this season. I can’t take the chance that, come five o’clock, I’ll be left thinking that I’ve wasted £50.
It’s a tough one. Many fans would argue that you have to support the team through thick and thin and even those who are a bit more flush might feel that it’s a realistic price, but not for families it isn’t. I can’t justify the price the club wants for what will almost certainly be a second rate football experience.
My son, who is ten, has been quite good about it. He loves to go to games and has asked and I’ve just had to be honest: ‘Sorry mate, I’d love to take you, I wish I was there myself, but we just can’t afford it at the moment.’ So he’s watching Luton v Blackburn on the telly when really we should be on the train to Norwood Junction about now.
Eagle Eye… the Palace fanzine… the blog
Oh, hello!
This seemed like a good idea when we were in the pub, which is where all of Eagle Eye's greatest ideas emerged.
It has been a long time since we ceased the old A4 photocopied and prittsticked fanzine, leaving the admirable Palace Echo to soldier on in our place, but blogs have tempted us back. The lure of talking pure rubbish about the famous Crystal Palace FC was too great. And, thank heavens for the internet because we don't have to get it printed, and we don't have to stand in the rain trying to flog it to the shivering band of devotees and the odd away fan who would then sheepishly return saying: 'Sorry, I thought it was the programme.'
For those of you who don't know what Eagle Eye is or was, we were among the first of that celebrated wave of football fanzines that shook the game up in the late 1980s by taking the piddle out of players, managers and chairmen (and just look at the sport now, eh, marvelous isn't it? Ummm). We did all that for a while, drank far too heavily, and then went off to have lives, kids and that kind of thing, but we never stopped loving Palace and now technology has caught up with us and, even though we're increasingly a bunch of out of touch old gits at a loss to understand how anyone could possibly like Snow Patrol, we can now witter on again about, oh I don't know... things.
We envisage this blog to be shambolic, we're not too fussed about making it look nice, but we do hope to enjoy ourselves. We used to pride ourselves that Eagle Eye had so many contributors and this hopefully will be no different. If you want to comment or add to the general silliness, feel free. If you want to submit articles there will be an email address somewhere and we'll happily consider posting it up for you.
It does seem a little strange, looking around, that football and CPFC in particular appears to have failed to colonise the 'blogosphere' (what a dreadful word). Perhaps that's because the CPFC BBS at www.cpfc.org and Holmesdale Online at www.holmesdale.net are so wonderful, and we're also well served by many other Palace sites, notably www.palace-echo.net. However we feel there's room for Eagle Eye's take on things too. We may well be the first dedicated Palace blog but it doesn't matter too much, hopefully we can complement what's already out there and add a little hilarity back into the lives of Palace supporters everywhere (and even the odd visiting fan, you're most welcome).
Look out for all manner of drivel over the coming days and weeks...
Anyway, Palace for the Cup! Good luck tomorrow you Eagles, although Peter Taylor hardly inspired confidence with his battle cry: 'I never seem to do very well in the cups.' Oh blimey.
This seemed like a good idea when we were in the pub, which is where all of Eagle Eye's greatest ideas emerged.
It has been a long time since we ceased the old A4 photocopied and prittsticked fanzine, leaving the admirable Palace Echo to soldier on in our place, but blogs have tempted us back. The lure of talking pure rubbish about the famous Crystal Palace FC was too great. And, thank heavens for the internet because we don't have to get it printed, and we don't have to stand in the rain trying to flog it to the shivering band of devotees and the odd away fan who would then sheepishly return saying: 'Sorry, I thought it was the programme.'
For those of you who don't know what Eagle Eye is or was, we were among the first of that celebrated wave of football fanzines that shook the game up in the late 1980s by taking the piddle out of players, managers and chairmen (and just look at the sport now, eh, marvelous isn't it? Ummm). We did all that for a while, drank far too heavily, and then went off to have lives, kids and that kind of thing, but we never stopped loving Palace and now technology has caught up with us and, even though we're increasingly a bunch of out of touch old gits at a loss to understand how anyone could possibly like Snow Patrol, we can now witter on again about, oh I don't know... things.
We envisage this blog to be shambolic, we're not too fussed about making it look nice, but we do hope to enjoy ourselves. We used to pride ourselves that Eagle Eye had so many contributors and this hopefully will be no different. If you want to comment or add to the general silliness, feel free. If you want to submit articles there will be an email address somewhere and we'll happily consider posting it up for you.
It does seem a little strange, looking around, that football and CPFC in particular appears to have failed to colonise the 'blogosphere' (what a dreadful word). Perhaps that's because the CPFC BBS at www.cpfc.org and Holmesdale Online at www.holmesdale.net are so wonderful, and we're also well served by many other Palace sites, notably www.palace-echo.net. However we feel there's room for Eagle Eye's take on things too. We may well be the first dedicated Palace blog but it doesn't matter too much, hopefully we can complement what's already out there and add a little hilarity back into the lives of Palace supporters everywhere (and even the odd visiting fan, you're most welcome).
Look out for all manner of drivel over the coming days and weeks...
Anyway, Palace for the Cup! Good luck tomorrow you Eagles, although Peter Taylor hardly inspired confidence with his battle cry: 'I never seem to do very well in the cups.' Oh blimey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
