Crystal Palace v Plymouth Preview
Posted on | September 19, 2008 | No Comments
After Neil Warnock revitalized Crystal Palace last season and managed to take them to the play offs, the Selhurst Park faithful had high expectations for this campaign. However, things haven’t worked exactly to plan and the same can be said of Saturday’s opponents Plymouth, who are another side who’ve endured a dreadful start to the new season.
Both sides are locked on five points and a goal difference of -3, so there’s absolutely nothing in them. For Palace it’s been a truly miserable start though, mainly due to the fact that they have been so poor in front of goal. One of the reasons for their slow start could be the huge amount of transfer activity at Selhurst Park, with umpteen players moving both in and out of the door. Big name players such as John Bostock, Clinton Morrison and Tom Soares have made the Palace exit and with all of the above providing a real spark in front of goal, that could be where their goal scoring problems have come from. However, Warnock did manage to sign the likes of Nick Carle, John Oster and Alan Lee so they haven’t lost that much quality and it’s a pure mystery to why they’ve started so badly.
Expectations were significantly lower for Plymouth, with Paul Sturrock losing plenty of his squad through the last few months. However, after pressure started to mount on “Luggy” following their bad start, they finally recorded their first win of the season on Tuesday night against Watford. That result was certainly one that nobody expected and Pilgrims fans will be hoping that their side can progress on from that. Towards the end of the January transfer window Sturrock brought a few new faces in and even though none of them started on Tuesday, their arrival looks to have sparked other players into pulling their finger out and starting to perform.
As for team news, Alan Lee is fighting to make his full debut by trying to shake off a thigh problem. The striker was signed from Ipswich on deadline day yet hasn’t yet started due to injury. Lee’s recovery really is essential for Neil Warnock, as other strikers James Scowcroft and Calvin Andrew are also both struggling with injuries. As for Plymouth, manager Paul Sturrock is hoping to stick with the same starting eleven that overcame Watford during the week. However, that will all depend on the fitness of full back Jim Patterson who’s struggling with a thigh strain.
Even though Plymouth got their first win of the season on Tuesday, Palace have a much superior squad on paper. With Warnock’s men also at home, we have to go for a win for The Eagles. 1-0 home win.
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- Plymouth v Crystal Palace Preview
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- Ipswich v Crystal Palace Preview
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