From the UK to the USA and beyond - An Englishman's Journey

[Crayth]

Delighted with our position, six points clear of the relegation spots and looking up the table now. With 14 games left, we could look at getting into the top half which should help attract more talented players ready for next year.

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Fantastic first five games in the month. Did really well. Started to let it slip near the end of the month though, which was disappointing with the last three games after oing fantastic in the last five. Sobrino has done well to start paying back his fee. We are yet to see the best of Lamela and the other transfer signings and I can't wait to see how they settle in. We are now scoring freely and Jordan Ayew has been a stand out performer. The goalkeeper has also done extremely well.

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Watford away, ANOTHER game against West Ham, this time at home and a game away against Leicester to finish the month off. This is a great opportunity to get 7-9 points. Hoping our new signings can hit the ground running, they were purchased for this system and I hope they can help guide us through to a solid finish in the league and hopefully get win the Carabao Cup in March.

 

[Crayth]

Gonzalo Martinez makes a lovely zigzagging run across the pitch and plays in Zaha who is denied by the Watford keeper. We didn't have to wait long for the breakthrough at Vicarage Road though. Monchu converting after his first attempt was blocked. 1-0, 16 minutes played and a debut goal, fantastic stuff! A minute later, rock bottom Watford lost Byrne through a straight red card and we took less than 5 minutes to take advantage, Ruben Sobrino smashed home his second in a Palace shirt. Daryl Janmaat then scored a blockbuster from 40 yards to pull one back. Joel Ward added a third after 34 minutes and our 2 goal cushion was restored. We lost McArthur to injury 35 minutes in and replaced him with talented midfielder Milvojevic.

Watford were able to get another back through Janmaat again, Zaha and Milvojevic (penalty) tied the points up for us. A good three points but one I'd expected. Creating chances at will now, there is little you can do about thunderbolts from 40 yards. Lightning somehow struck twice today. Monchu was brilliant on his debut.

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It didn't take long for us to find our rhythym. 6 shots on their goal in the opening 15 minutes with Van Aanholt rattling the crossbar in the process. We play a superb flowing move all the way through from defence to attack but unfortunately Fofana is denied what possibly could have been goal of the season. It remains 0-0 despite our dominance. West Ham are making mistakes at the back but they are going unpunished at the moment which is frustrating to see but if we keep this up a goal will be sure to come sooner rather than later. Ayew skimmed the before just before the half time whistle.

Straight after half time we get the break through we needed! Gonzalo Martinez nets his first in Crystal Palace colours pouncing on a Sobrino rebound. Sakho thought he made it two from a Benteke flcik on but it wasn't to be as he was ruled offside. Despite dominating the second half entirely, we were unable to break West Ham. Martinez was fantastic and picked up Man of the Match deservedly. He is finally starting to hit full match sharpness and its we are reaping the rewards.

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Even after asking twice and having my backroom staff increased, I still only have 10 coaches which I've had to make do with. Our GK coaching is the best in the league (top right) and we are 2nd and 3rd best with every other coaching category which is a huge turn around in the dross we had before. It is still a small but very strong and talented group of players. STILL CANT GET RID OF DOUGIE FREEDMAN THE SH%&HOUSE!

We've had to be creative with our coaching staff and spread our assistant managers across a few training categories to ensure that the specialised coaches are able to just focus on their needed area. Possesion - Technical is obviously the main weakness and I'm going to address that as soon as possible.

Final game of the month came away at The King Power Stadium. 9 points out of 9 would be a perfect month and one which could even launch us into top half contention. I feel that with a victory here, we'll firmly put any relegation doubts behind us as we edge closer and closer towards the magic 40 point total.

Tried bringing Sorloth back from loan but was unable to do so which was frustrating. He's been on fire whilst on loan, can't wait for him to come back.
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We've dominated the first half creating three clear cut chances in the first half an four but we've been unable to capitalise and that comes to bite you against teams in and around the Champions League places. A thoroughly convincing performance from the boys though, just missing that final finish.

Wilf Zaha breaks the deadlock with a fantastic mazy run to beat left back Chilwell and then beats Schmeichel at his near post. Leicester always look dangerous on the counter and we'll need to be careful not to get caught. Martinez and Zaha are causing chaos on either wing. Totally against the run of play, Leicester equalise with a screamer from Llorente. Ayew is then denied by Schmeichel which keeps it at 1-1. Cahill also misses a header from the resulting corner. WHAT A COUNTER ATTACK! WELL DESERVED 2-1 LEAD! Fofana starts a counter attack and Milvojevic latches on in the box and lashes in the net. Vardy is then denied in the 88th minute by Guiata. We are then able to hold onto the ball for the +5 minutes added time to ensure we have a perfect month!

LEAGUE AND REVIEW TOMORROW MORNING...​

 

[Crayth]

A perfect month sees us climb the table to 11th! We are now 13 points clear of the relegation places and we are now surely out of that battle. e can now look upwards being just 7 points off 8th position. Its been a superb month and one I can't really complain about.Three wins, nine points, a perfect month for the lads.

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Three wins in three games, goals for Martinez and Monchu after their arrivals in January spells a brilliant month for us. We need to try and build on this next month now.

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PHAYEL CHARAF AGGREES TO JOIN FROM U.S. BOULOGNE AT THE END OF HIS CONTRACT ON A FREE TRANSFER

CAILLARD AGGREES TO JOIN FROM EA GUINGAMP AT THE END OF HIS CONTRACT ON A FREE TRANSFER

JORDAN IBE AGRESS TO JOIN CRYSTAL PALACE FOR £1.6 MILLION ON 9/6/2020

ANFANE AHMADA AGRESS TO JOIN CRYSTAL PALACE AT THE END OF HIS CONTRACT WITH PSG ON A FREE TRANSFER

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NEXT UP - CARABAO CUP FINAL VS. CHELSEA

I will lead Crystal Palace into their first ever Carabao Cup final, in their 115 year long history when we face Chelsea on Sunday 1st March 2020. I am both excited and nervous at the same time. Although, we are not expected to win against 5 time winners, Chelsea, I still feel the desperation to win as if I were a fan. I find it difficult to control my excitement and I have been buzzing about it all week, ever since the win against Leicester. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN FOOTBALL!

 

[Crayth]

2ND IN MANAGER OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY
Absolutely delighted to be announceed as runner up in the Manager of the Month competition for February.

Always nice to know the boards happy and they are delighted with me at the moment!

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[Crayth]

TEAM NEWS:
Annoyingly, Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Sakho are all SUSPENDED and will therefore not start today...

2 minutes in and Everton gives Chelsea a 1-0 lead and Tomori follows up with a second in quick succession. 2-0 in 5 minutes... not the start we wanted. Martinez goes close to getting one back by Caballero is equal to it. A mistake from Chelsea almost allowed us in again but we weren't able to convert the chance. In the 42nd minute, Andros Townsend went down injured and had to be replaced. Max Meyer was brought on at AMR. Really frustrating afternoon at Wembley. Half Time.

We start well in the second half. Benteke shot is saved by Caballero again. Azpilicueta gives away a penalty on the 75th minute! Milvojevic steps up and tucks it past Caballero confidently, GAME ON!

Unfortunately, despite banging on the door multiple times It wasn't to be! I am still immensely proud of the boys and I think if we'd had our first team, with Zaha, Sakho and Ayew available, we may have nicked this today. I am proud of the boys for getting here and we can look back with pride on todays performance.

 

[Crayth]

Zaha won a penalty and Milvojevic does what Milvojevic does and tucks the penalty away. Substitute Seko Fofana fires a thunderbolt from 30 yards after Zaha tees him up. He then latched onto a flick on from Tomkins and scores a fantastic second to treble our advantage, Burnley do manage to get one back in the 71st minute but we held on for a 3-1 win.

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We always knew it was going to be difficult against a side as good as Arsenal, especially away at the Emirates. We found ourselves behind despite being the much better side early on. Barkley opening the scoring for Arsenal. Jordan Ayew was then able to equalise on his return after a fantstic cross from Erik Lamela.

HALF TIME STATS

A mistake from Sakho allowed Arsenal back into the lead and Lacazette pounced. Seko Fofana tested Leno as did Cahill but they were unable to equalise. Despite a spirited second half performance in which we held our own, it looks as though Arsenal's queue has laid off. Benteke missed a 1-on-1 in the 94th minute....

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The final game of the month comes against a struggling Sheffield United side. A good chance to end the month on a high and bounce back after that frustrating loss at Arsenal. Bradaric gave us the lead after cutting in. I decided to give him a start as Van Aanholt hasn't been himself recently. Martinez was denied our second shortly after. Half Time. 1-0.

After the second half break, Berge was able to equalise for the visitors. Bradaric then sensationally beat his full back and teed up Ayew to give us the lead again. 2-1. After a few late scares, we were able to hold on for the 2-1 win. POTM for Domanoj Bradaric, terriffic performance from a very talented left back.

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11th place with the chance to leapfrop Wolves into 10th with our game in hand. A good month again, can't fault losing away at Arsenal, really and the Carabao Cup final would have been a different game had we of had all of our players, suspensions and injuries ravaged us this month. Keen to push on and finish the final 7 games of the season strongly now and get ourselves in as good a position as possible.

Jose Mourinho has been removed from his job as Tottenham manager so that could potentially start a domino effect of managers. Matty Taylor has taken over as caretaker manager for the time being. Hoping to make the most of our next game at home against strugglers Newcastle who've also recently changed manager.

 

[Crayth]

Good resultt, a good couple of goals from Mamadou Sakho and a superb finish from Sobrino to break his droubt saw us start the month in flying form.
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A game in which we should have done much better, Aston Villa simply scored everything they hit. El Ghazi was on fire and ripped us apart. We did manage to fashion our own chances but missed to many and condeded to many to ever really have a chance. Disappointing result.

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A great result. Man City took the lead against the run of play, we we were playing really well but failing to beat Ederson who had a brilliant game. Sane got the first goal for the visitors and we had to wait until after the break for a magnificent solo effort from Ayew for his 17th of the campaign. A very good point following a disappointing loss at Villa Park. We now have another difficult challenge as Chelsea look set to visit Selhurst Park.

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A fantastic three point at the end of the day. Schmitz scored a thunderbolt to equalise after a Tammy Abaham header and Milvojevic scored a fantastic solo effort to give us another good point at home to end the month.
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Another good month sees us take a respectable 5 from 12 considering the opponents. Would have preferred a win against Villa but we'll be happy with how we've done overall this month. We have Wolves next and can solidify our spot in the top half. Norwich may be reachable and finishing 8th would be a fantastic first year in charge.

 

[andy_14clark]

Loving the story mate, great turnaround. Looking forward to see what you do in the summer and next season.

 

[leckuno]

Just been catching up on everything. Been a fantastic resurgence at Palace with you in charge. Can see a European spot on the horizon in a season or two there.

 

[Crayth]

Seko Fofana smashed in his third in Crystal Palace colours into Wolves' net to give us a 1-0 lead going into half time. Other than that i was extremely quiet half. A great three points against a side we are directly competing with for higher positions. Very happy with the three points. Another good three points to progress us up the league.

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Another good three points at Selhurst Park. Another clean sheet. Martinez scored a neat goal after being teed up by Wilf Zaha and Ayew continued his goalscoring form by adding another to his total for the season.

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Delighted to have secured a top half finish THREE YEARS ahead of schedule!! The board are also pleased and I can't wait to see how high we can finish.

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Jordan Ayew thought he'd given us a deserved lead at Old Trafford but was fractionally ruled offside after VAR was consulting. Wilf Zaha was able to score against his old club to break the deadlock on 37 minutes. A wonderful run from Martinez gave Zaha space to find the far corner. With Bradaric denied just before the break, we went in 1-0 at Half Time and cruising. We limited United to half chances after the break and continued to create openings of our own, De Gea making some spectacular saves, including a fantastic Martinez freekick. As seemed as though Zaha was out to prove a point against his old club, creating chance after chance. Immobile was left stranded alone up front and left to pick at scraps. The problem is when you play well and don't double your advantage, in football, it comes back to bite you. A late header from a corner where our defence switched off and it was 1-1. Immobile then did what all great strikers do, get one chance and stick it in the back of the net. 90+2 minutes...... seriously?! Not often you come away from Old Trafford feeling robbed but that was certainly how I felt after dropping all three points in that manor.

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I am happy to say, we are one of only three teams to turn a profit in the Premier League via transfers and hopefully given investment next year, our squad will be in an even better position than the one we find ourselves in now..

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Well done to the U23 Lads for winning the U23 Division 3 title!

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Our final game of the season saw us take a trip to Norwich with a chance of leapfrogging them into 8th positon. A great opportunity. Sobrino gave us a fantastic 1-0 lead before Jordan Ayew latched onto a through ball and doubled our advantaged just before the break. 2-0 at Half Time at Carrow Road.
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LEAGUE AND END OF SEASON REVIEW ETC NEXT POST

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[Crayth]

Loving the story mate, great turnaround. Looking forward to see what you do in the summer and next season.

Thank you mate! Really means alot to know people are enjoying it! Hoping to put my own stamp on the team this season (and get rid of my AWFUL DOF, Dougie Freedman!)

 

[Crayth]

Just been catching up on everything. Been a fantastic resurgence at Palace with you in charge. Can see a European spot on the horizon in a season or two there.

Thanks mate! Really enjoyed takingg over Crystal Palace. Hoping to reduce the average squad age and bring in a few quality additions. I think Monchu from Barca B will start to get even better next year! League and end of season review / pre-season etc coming later on today mate!

 

[Crayth]

What a fantastic achievement to climb to a fantastic 8th position. Unstoppable at times, even when we came up against some very good opposition. I feel that we have somewhat overachieved, especially seeings as our expectation was simply to 'make a fight of not getting relegated.' We have managed to add some real quality to our side and they've drove us up the table. A very respectable finish and I aam hoping to build on this next year.

Eddie Howe was unable to save Newcastle but Gerrard led Bournemouth to a comfortable mid table finish. Liverpool successfully claimed their first ever Premier League win with City just two points behind. We'll certainly be looing at breaking the top six next year if possible.

We receive £25.1M for achieveing 8th position in the Premier League and I couldn't be more pleased. I am very proud with the position and I hope we can build on this next year.

We are constantly packing out Selhurst Park, this is something I will be speaking with the board about over the summer to see if we can increase the capacity at Selhurst Park to maximise revenue and get more of an atmosphere in the stadium on match day for the players.

Steve Parish and the board have given us a healthy 2M p/w wage budget and £50M transfer budget for new players next year which shows they trust my wholly. I'll be also looking at offloading some overpaid, under achieving players and signing some real first team quality into the side. I will also be hoping for another run at a cup, its been to long since this club won something and we want to change that for the fans, players and board.

 

[Crayth]

Happy to have all the arrows the correct colour. We have done really well commercially and some of our new signings managed to make their way onto our top selling shirt list. Very happy with all aspects of the summary this year.

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Ibe joins after agreeing a deal in February to join and we go back to an old friend in Dael Fry who was available for near enough the same price I bought him for originally. He will be a fantastic signing and will complement both the age and experience of Gary Cahill and Mamadou Sakho. Expecting big things from these two. Also helps that they are both homegrown and will add to that quota.

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Another huge announcement as we manage to secure Wilfried Zaha to a contract that will keep him at the club and fend off any interest from Arsenal. Zaha is Crystal Palace through and through and he is a team leader in the dressing room. It was vital to ensure he is still with us next year as we aim to go one better in the league.

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Victor Orta arrives to replace Dougie Freedman as Director Of Football. He stats and reputation are much better than Dougie and I expect him to start identifying players for the first team soon.

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[Crayth]

- Experienced 31-year-old James Tomkins leaves Crystal Palace for Swansea City for a fee of £5M
- Martin Kelly completes move to Sunderland for a possible £1.3M
- Henderson, Dann and Iniss' contracts expire.
- 7 U23 players and 3 U18 players contracts expire.
- 29-year-old midfielder James McCarthy has joined Stade de Reims for £2.5M
- Tyrick Mitchell joins Milwall on loan until the end ofthe season
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Due to our good form, we managed to enjoy a small reputation boost this year. Very happy with the way things are going. Its all good news at the moment.

Crystal Palace are set to earn £80.43M from Premier Division TV rights over the forthcoming year.
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20-year-old wonerkid Sandor Tonali joins from Brescia on a huge £33.5M fee. The midfielder sensationally rejected moves to Everton AND Manchester United to sign for Crystal Palace. A fantastic capture and one to surely be central in any future success we bring to the club. He is a central midfielder with immense quality.

PRE-SEASON / JULY TRANSFEER DEALINGS WILL BE INCLUDED ON NEXT UPDATE
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[Crayth]

19-year-old full back Josha Vagnoman has arrived from Hamburger SV. He can play left back and right back and will be a fantastic addition to our side this year.

German goalkeeper Christian Frutchl joins from Bayern Munchen for a snip at just 550k. He will provide competition for the much older Guiata as we raid Bundesliga.

David Okereke joins from Club Brugge. We said we wanted more firepower and thats exactly what this man provides.

Juan Hernandez joins from Watford, a brilliant signing and another option up front.

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Delighted to get Meyer off the wage-bill. 125k for a player I hardly use is unacceptable. I am glad to see the back of him and don't grudge paying 25k for one year. £12.5M was a fair fee for him in the end.

26-year-old Polish defender Jaroslaw Jach was never going to be good enough for us and we were happy to shift he on to Lugo.

Not Premier League quality and was keen to offload. Due to little interest, I was happy to negotiate a £6.5M fee for Schlupp who joins Nottingham Forest

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A good pre-season all round, was just good to get everyone back together and get the new lads integrated with the side. We have a really nice blend of youth and experience now and that should bode well for us moving forward.

 

[OutcastGaming]

Enjoy reading it inbetween doing my story and save!

 

[Crayth]

NEW SEASON - NEW TEMPLATE

STARTING XI FOR THE ARSENAL GAME - OKEREKE IS ON INTERNATIONAL DUTY

A good start for us. Vagnoman causing problems down the left wing with Martinez. Arsenal did create a few chances of their own but nothing clear-cut. GOAL! Zaha meets a fantastic freekick from Martinez and we are in the lead at the Emirates. A very good first half display. Shortly after the break, Depay equalised for the hosts. Arsenal then scored a second 10 minutes later. Martinelli doubled their lead to make it 3-1. Townsend won a penalty and Mllvijevic tucked away to make it 3-2. A fantastic game for the neutral but one we don't feel we should be losing. Martinez forcing another good save of Leno. Sergino Dest was able to secure the clincher as we pushed forward for the equaliser. By no means any easy game for this new look side but a professional attempt. Just unfortunate we didn't take our chances at the right time.


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Season ticket sales have grown this year upon last.

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Should've had the lead from a Martinez corner for Milvojevic couldn't put it past the keeper from 6-yards out. Jonathan Calleri kicks us in the teeth and buries his first chance in Southampton colours. 1-0 at Selhurst Park. Frustrating. Despite dominating the second hal, we found ourselves 2-0 down and then a man down. Dael Fry having a mare in his first ever half game getting sent off for a 2nd yellow.... Despite a spirited fight with 10 men, we left extremely annoyed with two losses from two..

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PART 1 of 2 FOR AUGUST ...​

 

[Michael Onwuegbu]

Unlucky with the results but loving the new template though!

 

[Crayth]

Juan Hernandez finally broke his duck for us scoring in the first ten minute. but our joy was short lived as we were pegged back straight from kick off. Literally enfuriating and Callum Wilson doubles his and his teams tally to make it 2-1. We are dominating possession but struggling to make any real chances today. The equaliser finally came through Gonzalo Martinez. Abother frustrating day at the office. Dominated possession but made stupid mistakes in defence.

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The second round of the Carabao Cup saw us come up against Ipswich at Portman Road. Cucho Hernandez was finally able to give us the lead after missing four clear cut chances. We need to start hitting the back of the net. Okereke has been injured since his debut and we are struggling to score. Ipswich were then able to scramble home an equaliser from a corner but finally we bit someone back immediately. Cucho Hernandez ensured our lead was restored. Zaha was particularly wasteful today. Just to show HOW wasteful we are currently being. Here are the stats at half time, where we go in at 2-1.

Cucho showed his quaity, scoring his ha trick before 50 minutes. Simpson then managed to give us a late scare but we managed to hold on.

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Geoffrey Kondogbia has arrived on loan until the end of the season, we will cover 40% of his wages but we have an option to purchase at any time for £18M.

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One minute in and we are 1-0 down..... Terrible way to end the month, away at Manchester City. Aguiero doubled the lead and it promised to be a long afternoon against the would be Champions. Sterling added the third on the 23rd minute mark but Sakho was able to grab one back to give us back some pride. A shocking defensive performance from the lads. We were starting to work our way back into the game until Sakho got caught napping on the ball and Aguero went through and made it 4-1.
Dael Fry started the second half well nodding home from a Townsend corner and also got another. 4-2 and Manchester City were reeling. Tonalli then rippled the side of the net.​