Opposition View: Crystal Palace

The latest installment of the Brighton and Hove Albion v Crystal Palace rivalry takes place in midweek with the Eagles visiting the Amex.

Both sides come into the game on the back of good wins at the weekend, the Albion triumphing away at Huddersfield Town and Palace beating Burnley at Selhurst. But as is always the case with derby games, form and league position tends to go out the window.

That makes predicting what is going to happen hard. Last season we had a mind numbing 0-0 draw which was livened up only by ticketless Palace supporters breaking into the away end and the ridiculous claims of knifes and knuckledusters being seized from away fans as Sussex Police tried to cover up their own ineptitude.

The away game at Selhurst was the polar opposite, a crazy 3-2 win for the hosts with all the goals coming in the first half. In truth, it could have finished 7-7 such was the level of entertainment on offer. There was also an FA Cup Third Round meeting, a rare Albion win decided by Glenn Murray doing what he does best and scoring against a former club.

How will it go this time? Our friend Jay from fellow Football Blogging Awards finalists The Eagles Beak managed to find the time between sharpening his blade and polishing his knuckle dusters to offer his thoughts on how things will go at the Amex, talk about Murray and Wilfried Zaha and answer why Palace have been struggling so far this season.

Palace have endured a bit of a difficult start to the season so far. What’s going on at Selhurst?
It started okay with an opening day win at Fulham and just went downhill from there. We all knew the tough run of fixtures we have just had to endure was coming so disappointing losses against the likes of Wolves, Bournemouth and Watford did not help matters one bit. Ultimately, goalscoring has been a problem and without Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham, we are struggling. Jordan Ayew and Alexander Sorloth have been disappointing and it says it all that Roy Hodgson is going with Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend up front. The way we play just works with Benteke playing the lone striker and leading the line, even if he is not weighing in with goals. He is that focal point and works the back line more than most can.

Do you think there is a chance you’ll repeat your party trick of sacking the manager, bringing in a fire fighter and then finishing well into mid table?
Well, it is a strategy that has seen us into our sixth successive season in the Premier League! In all seriousness, it would be nice to be able to secure the services of a manager that will last longer and given free reign to do what he wants, but we had that with Frank de Boer and look what happened there? Football is a fickle game and it is rare for managers to last, particularly for those clubs like us that have flirted with the lower part of the Premier League. It is seen all the time, just look at how the Fulham manager has lost his job after doing all the good work getting them back into the top division. There is no doubt Roy will be gone at some stage but he has bought himself some time with getting us an eleventh place finish last season after a horrendous start.

We probably don’t need to ask this given his record against us, but just how important is Wilfried Zaha? What would happen to Palace if you sold him?
He has missed a few games this season which gives us an insight into what life would be like without him. He is pivotal to this side and if he happens to have a poor game by his standards he still attracts the attention to free up space for others. His form over the last 18 months particularly has been quite sensational, the best of his life and it is an absolute privilege to witness him still playing for us. There is no doubt he deserves a bigger stage but credit to the guy for signing a new deal, even if that means that he will only be here for another season (which most fans have come to terms with). When he does go, he would be impossible to replace he is that good, so work would have to be done to change the way we play unless we can unearth another like him.

We all enjoyed the hissy fit the Holmesdale Fanatics threw over not being allowed to sit in the middle of the stand. Has the atmosphere at Selhurst really been that affected by their absence this season and what do Palace fans think about their return?
There have been a number of contributing factors, not least the change of mind by the Government to permit clubs to install safe standing. That has had a knock on effect which has upset a few groups of fans and to be quite frank, has not been handled well by any party. We are coming out the other side now but the whole sorry incident has cast a shadow over the season so far, particularly at Selhurst. It has been hard to imagine the ground without the Holmesdale Fanatics seeing as they have been part of the club for a while now but they have been missed this season, the players have said as much in interviews and while the atmosphere has improved over the last couple of home games, it is not to the same level. Not everyone is overly enamoured about them, but one thing all fans can agree on is that they create a real atmosphere which is something that is missing from the Premier League as a whole, not a patch on what we see across Europe week in week out.

Speaking of Selhurst, what is the latest on your new main stand? The design looks great – where did they come up with it from?!
Planning is a long arduous process as you will know only too well from experience. It will take time but you are right, it is a fantastic design and has pleased all fans. It is particularly pleasing as it pays homage to the old Crystal Palace and also is being created with the atmosphere in mind, the curved structure of the main stand is designed to throw the fan noise onto the field of play. A lot of what will be done has been taken from what Liverpool did with their new main stand which Steve Parish was an admirer of and watched with interest. If you have not seen the time lapse footage of that structure being done, it is well worth checking out. Many have asked what we will have to look back on from this stint in the Premier League, well this will be the legacy.

Glenn Murray is now the Albion’s record post war goalscorer. Still a legend at Palace?
Yes, no doubt about it. He was incredible for us and was instrumental in our promotion to the Premier League. Many said he would never score goals in the top flight but he returned from a horrible knee injury and proved a point. It is just a shame a certain manager got rid of him when he did as we could have done with him at the moment, but Glenn needed regular first team football which is hard to stand in the way of.

We know how it feels to have a certain manager getting rid of Glenn! Zaha apart, who should we be looking out for on Tuesday night?
There are a couple but you just have to watch and admire our young right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He is already a star and he has a big future in front of him. Drafted in last season during an injury crisis, he has not looked back since given that chance. An old head on young shoulders, it is just a joy to watch another academy product doing so well.

If you had to sign one player from the current Albion squad, who would you pick?
In our current lack of goalscoring predicament, it would have to be Glenn Murray.

Finally, how do you see Tuesday night going and a score prediction please?
The win over Burnley at the weekend leaves us in great spirits going into the game but I suspect it will be a score draw, probably 1-1 with another own goal by Sussex Police and Brighton still seeking their first Premier League win over Palace.

Thanks to Jay for answering our questions. If you want to read some brilliant articles about how horrible it is being a Palace fan, then head on over to The Eagles Beak. You can also follow then on Twitter.