Crystal Palace Links – 31/10/2012

All the stories surrounding SE25 in the last 24 hours.

101 great goals have posted up the highlights of our academy’s 5 – 3 victory over Liverpool from the 27th October.

Peterson, Daniel Trickett-Smith and Jordan Lussey got on the score sheet for Liverpool, but Palace won the contest with goals from Sully Kai-Kai (2), Connor Dymond and Jake Gray (2).

Things have gone very quiet in Plymouth in relation to stories linking Carl Fletcher with the vacant post as Crystal Palace manager, with the ex-midfielder unavaible for comment yesterday afternoon.

The unattributed report also stated that Fletcher has been working “on a shoestring budget” at Argyle and has forged “a reputation as one of the best young managers around”.

Fletcher has compiled a record of 14 wins, 20 draws and 18 defeats in 52 npower League Two games since replacing Peter Reid, initially in a caretaker capacity, in September 2011. He signed as a player for the Pilgrims from Palace in February 2009, at first on loan before completing a full transfer that summer.

Sky Sports have now picked up on the fact that the club have refused to give Dougie Freedman and Bolton Wanderers permission to speak to Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming.

However, the Eagles have refused him permission to speak to the pair, who are currently acting as the caretakers managers as the search continues for a full-time boss to replace Freedman.

“Palace feel that right now it’s not the right time to let them talk to us,” Freedman is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“We’ve made the call and it’s been rejected. We’ll watch this space.”

Thanks to the start of Movember tomorrow, Five Year Plan have decided to search through our history to look at the “Top  Palace Moustaches”. Jim Cannon’s is a definite favourite for me.

As the world gets ready to put down their razors and grow tashes for Movemeber, FYP digs into the archives to find the best Palace soup strainers ever.

Mile Jedinak is ready to move on from the Dougie Freedman era, stating that no one person is bigger than Crystal Palace FC, which is good to hear from the skipper:

“On a personal note, it is always sad when someone leaves. But professionally speaking, a football club is a football club and it will remain that way whatever happens.

“I am sure Dougie never felt he was bigger than the club, because no one is. You never know what is going to happen in football, as players you just have to keep working hard.

“It can be difficult not knowing what is going to happen, but all the players are in the same boat, we all know as much as eachother, which is part of the reason we’re so strong.”

KG has given his reaction to Five Year Plan regarding Dougie Freedman’s departure, revealing that the squad as a whole were really down before the game at Oakwell but have stuck together and are still hopeful of maintaining a good position in the league as the season progresses.

It’s an attractive job for whoever comes in. I just hope that no players are going to leave in January. Everyone in the team believes we have the ability to go to the Premier League and if we can keep our players here then we have a really good chance. It’s not all about the money – it’s about the quality you have in your team. I believe we have good players in the starting line-up and on the bench and that can help us finish very high this season, whoever is the manager.

The campaign to get safe standing up and running in UK stadia is gathering pace all the time, with the Tottenham Hotspur blog  The Fighting Cock conducting a survey to get a feel for the amount of interest in its implementation, giving a mention to us as one of the clubs who are in favour of it.

The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) have launched a campaign to support the trials of standing areas for fans in top-flight and Championship grounds. Aston Villa have become the first Premier League club to publicly back the campaign, along with Peterborough, Crystal Palace & Bristol City, who have given their support to calls for the Government to allow ‘small-scale trials of safe standing areas’ and have volunteered to host a trial.

Jason Banton has been offered a contract with the club until the end of the season, having impressed the academy staff since the start of his trial, playing a key role in a number of the development squads matches.

At the start of 2011, he was offered a contract after a successful trial at Liverpool.

However, he was on the move again that summer when he signed a one-year deal with Leicester City. But he was soon sent out on loan to League Two side Burton Albion in September that year.

He then tried his luck in the United States with the Seattle Sounders before returning home to the United Kingdom.

There are also a new raft of articles linking Wilf with moves to Manchester United, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona and the moon. If you wish to cloud your brain with pointless speculation as to whether he’ll stay or go you can do so here, here or here. Personally, I wouldn’t pay attention to any of it, but I know some people enjoy a good worry.

Crystal Palace Links – 30/10/2012

Dougie Freedman has said that he won’t be looking to recruit any of his former players just yet:

Asked whether he would target Palace players he said: “Not as we speak right now. We have got a fantastic group of players at Bolton, strength in depth, and I don’t need to look anywhere other than my own training ground.

“I’ve left Palace with wonderful young players in the team. They’ve done very well and I believe they should stay at Crystal Palace right now and keep doing what they’re doing.

“I feel we’ve got the right squad of players, and once I go in and change the mentality of the group I believe we can climb the table. I don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed to say promotion’s something we’re looking to do this year.”

Steve Parish has told the local press that he was shocked to learn of Dougie Freedman’s desire to leave us for Bolton Wanderers:

STEVE PARISH says he honestly did not expect Dougie Freedman to leave the club.

The 38-year-old Scotsman left Crystal Palace last Tuesday, just hours before the Eagles’ npower Championship game against Barnsley at Oakwell.

And the Eagles co-chairman says he was surprised at Freedman’s decision to quit the club to take over at Bolton Wanderers, adding that he felt the club was in a good place.

“I thought we had something going, everything is positive around the place and I thought everyone was on the same page,” he said.

“I have really got to be honest, I didn’t expect him to go.”

Parish said Freedman was doing a great job, adding that he was a good manager and that discussions had been had over possible moves in the January transfer market, adding that a new contract offer was also discussed prior to his departure.

“We had discussions about a new contract and about what would be available in January if we were there or thereabouts,” he said.

“Obviously, there is something we weren’t doing and he feels it is better there.

The club have rejected an approach for the services of Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming:

CRYSTAL Palace have turned down an approach for caretaker bosses Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming from Bolton.

New Wanderers manager Dougie Freedman wants to take the pair to the Reebok Stadium after quitting the Eagles last week.

Former Palace midfielder Carl Fletcher is the latest name to be linked with the vacant managers job:

Palace are searching for a new manager following the departure of Dougie Freedman to Bolton earlier this month.

Eagles chairman Steve Parish has confirmed he is looking for a young, innovative new boss and former Eagles midfielder Fletcher would fit the bill.

32-year-old Fletcher is thought to figure highly on Palace’s wanted list after impressing in difficult circumstances at Plymouth.