Naveed Khan takes a look at why there's a sense of apathy about the club. 

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, when the year 2020 seemed so far away that things like flying to work rather than driving would be a real thing, the idea of mobile phones which allowed video transmission seemed farfetched, one thing which did not appear on the radar was that on 1 January 2020, Crystal Palace would be 9^th in the Premier League in their seventh successive season in the top flight and their greatest ever player would be approaching his tenth season with the club.

Yet, here we are. While small planes have not replaced cars as a regular choice for commuters, FaceTime is an oft use medium of communication and Palace are in their most successful period in the last 115 years. So, why does it not feel like it?

Throughout 2019, Palace picked up more points than Spurs and Arsenal. The end to last season saw the greatest points return for Palace since the Premier League began. Yet while there is a sense of appreciation of Roy Hodgson and the job that he is doing, there are also growing expressions of frustration as to how the points have been picked up.

The team has achieved 28 points from 21 games – and while the value of those points may not be the same as in previous seasons as the teams around the relegation zone have more points than typical for this time of the season, the indications are that Hodgson will see the team stay up again come the end of the season.

There is a growing sense of apathy around; few calls for change of manager but more calls for a change of approach from this manager. Following the 1-1 draw against Norwich, there was praise for the manager seeing his injury hit squad picking up five points from three games in seven days. There were critics who pointed out that the point was achieved essentially because Hodgson tried something different and gave a debut to Brandon Pierrick.

Some fans point to one defeat in seven games while others talk about three wins in 13. Even a section of those who strongly back the manager do so because of the fear of who follows him and what comes next. The impact of Frank de Boer’s tenure still felt by many.

No fan has the right to tell another fan how to feel – within this situation of people backing Hodgson, those wanting him to be a bit bolder and a tiny portion wanting a managerial change, each fan has the right to hold the opinion he or she holds. And each has merit. But what is undeniable is that the club’s position and on field progress over the last few years has not been met by the unanimous enthusiasm that would have been assumed before we embarked on this journey.

Part of that is perhaps down to the calm nature of the manager, the consistency he has in approach and tactics as well as the workmanlike player he seems to favour. While not for one second wanting a return to Alan Pardew, a bit of maverick behaviour and the ball being put at risk is craved by some.

Crystal Palace fans witnessed something extraordinary on Sunday, in the aftermath of another incident where Wilfried Zaha’s character was brought into question, but the outcome was very different.

Whenever Zaha is subjected to fouls, there’s a noise, a humming sound of those just itching to call him a cheat. An undercurrent of consternation just waiting to explode. And yet, at the Emirates stadium, for the first of many times, it was all sucked into the ether. It was a moment where reality and fantasy collided and the fallacy of Zaha being a diver suffered cataclysmic damage. Silence followed.

Those who were so ready to criticise Zaha at any given opportunity have had the air sucked out of their lungs and cramp stiffen their fingers. Their comments of the past weigh so heavily on their chests that they can’t mutter a word of defiance.

They are those who smeared Zaha as a diver. A cheat. A scoundrel. A fraud. They have accused him of feigning injury, all the while he’s fallen victim to heinous fouls. They watched as he was repeatedly targeted. They cheered as he bemoaned his treatment and the lack of protection.

They have seen replays, frame-by-frame dissections of the moments of contact, evidence that immediately contradicts their assertions, and they have become further entrenched. They claim he’s dived before, and that there is evidence, and that it happens all the time — and yet they can’t prove it.

It is their silence which is so deafening. Against Arsenal, when Callum Chambers planted his leg in Zaha’s path, the majority of the Emirates crowd jeered when referee Martin Atkinson determined he’d dived and flashed a yellow card. Zaha the diver had been found out. Zaha the diver had done what he’d done before. Zaha the diver got what he deserved.

READ MORE: Jordan Ayew is the striker Crystal Palace need and deserve

But Zaha didn’t dive. What Atkinson witnessed was a foul. An incident so obvious it could be determined not to have been a dive as soon as it happened. There were no theatrics, there was no acting. What replays show was contact. Not just slight, but impactful. Enough to make the most dynamic of players fall to the ground. And instead of judging the incident on his merit, Atkinson followed the crowd.

Replays prove this, but they won’t be analysed. They show the moment Atkinson had a choice between awarding what he saw or punishing what he didn’t. For a split second he goes to point at the spot - but then he dithers, and in that moment he decides to fall back on what he believed to be the truth. That Zaha was a diver and that he should be punished as such.

This moment won’t be reviewed, it won’t have column inches dedicated to it, it won’t be subject to the 24 hour news cycle. But it provided insight into the thought process of a Premier League referee. This wasn’t an incident open to interpretation. Atkinson’s sightlines weren’t hindered. He had a clear view of an obvious foul, and he opted to label Zaha a cheat rather than risk the ignominy of not doing so. Refereeing isn’t easy. This decision was.

Ultimately, this is where VAR really works, and what it primarily should be used to remedy. This was a moment of gross injustice. A moment that least season would have gone unchanged, where the ruling would have been lamented but the booking and the diver tag would have remained. It was an incident that reversed the momentum of the game. But for VAR, it might not have been.

But it is the silence of some of Zaha’s most vociferous detractors that is most telling. Those who have previously said Zaha goes down easily and willingly haven’t admitted their own fallibility. At a point where authority has admitted Zaha the diver didn’t dive, they have kept quiet.

They will continue to suggest that the label is fair because of previous infractions. Yet his only other booking for a dive, against Watford a couple of seasons ago, was also proven to be a foul. There was no VAR back then to reverse that yellow card though.

Had that decision at Arsenal on Sunday not been reversed, the Palace winger would have been subject to radio chatter and paragraphs filled with explanations absolving Atkinson of blame, that what he saw was subjective. That to some it might have been a dive, and to others it wasn’t.

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Leicester City are in many ways the envy of supporters of other clubs these days; winning a completely unexpected Premier League title in 2016 and followed up with the signing of promising young players from both England and abroad and then most recently appointing an innovative and forward thinking manager. Backed up wealthy owners who have looked to build a club, not only does their future look bright, their present does too.

There was no disgrace is losing to a team which is geared up to challenge for a Champions League spot in a season where regular challengers Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs seems to be floundering somewhat. But somehow, the defeat has stung many more than it was perhaps anticipated.

Maybe the backdrop plays a part – Palace were promoted to the top flight in a season where Leicester suffered injury time heartbreak in the play-offs. Leicester have gained huge momentum since then, led by a striker in Jamie Vardy who Palace were priced out of signing from Fleetwood.

Jamie Vardy doing the ‘prancing bird’ celebration in front of fans who support a team nicknamed ‘The Eagles’ is peak shithousery ??pic.twitter.com/sa6TXQhCSY

— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) November 3, 2019

Whatever the reason, there was a feeling post-match of wanting answers to questions that perhaps are not even being asked. Nothing about this season since the defeat to Sheffield United following which the team shape changed has meant questions are asked of Roy Hodgson. While the team sat in the top 6, it was likely that the run of games which followed would position the club in line with expectations. 

While Leicester’s quality was evident throughout the match, Roy Hodgson’s team was not at par owing to a number of players not performing at the levels needed. Much of this was to do with the set-up. The move following the loss at Bramall Lane from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 has seen the team pick up a good points return while seeing players like James McArthur and Jordan Ayew thrive.

Leicester were, however, able to cope with the threats Palace posed with relative ease. Ayew himself was ineffective which in turn meant Wilfried Zaha shouldered the burden alone to be impactful – but he was excellently dealt with by Leicester’s doubling up. While Hodgson has shown some flexibility in moving away from his favoured set-up, against Leicester he did not react to their threats nor how they neutralised his team. This was summed up by the injured McArthur being replaced by a similar midfielder in James McCarthy rather than the more creative option available to him in Victor Camarasa when chasing a goal.

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This encapsulates another source of the frustration felt with the loss – it was submissive in how the team was set-up in midfield. In addition, despite being ninth in the league, it has been so without the impact of Zaha for long stretches. Where previously despite being the team’s only outlet at times he was still able to carry the ball and thus the team up-field, that is not happening in the 4-3-3 being used. Rather than bringing the team around him up to his level, he has at times gone down to theirs and this is an issue for the manager to resolve.

A further ongoing issue further exposed on Sunday was the form of Patrick Van Aanholt. Some poor decision making in defence and further forward with the ball added to the frustrations of the afternoon. He was not helped by Jeffrey Schlupp who perhaps would be better suited to play at left-back for a while to help solve the issues with Van Aanholt’s form and also to limit the expression of his own shortcomings as a wide player.

Hodgson’s choice of a functional and reliable team has its merits and the results since he has been in charge vindicate his approach. When it clicks, such as away at West Ham, it is both effective and good to watch. When it does not click, there are no sparks to brighten up what becomes a performance void of any inspiration. While it is a downside to the manager’s steady hand, we know the upside of it could be around the corner. Here’s hoping.

Palace's good start doesn't feel that great, says Nav. Here he looks at why that might be the case. 

Saturday’s win over Norwich saw Crystal Palace earn their 11^th point of the season after just seven games and the reading of results over 2019 has been impressive. That is now six games unbeaten at home and only three teams have collected more than Roy Hodgson’s Palace this year.

Somehow, despite that record, there is some unrest among the fanbase and it has approached the stage where winning does not feel like winning anymore. While results are being achieved, are questions raised about the way Hodgson is managing this squad valid or without any merit?

It seems as though a comfortable 2-0 win over Norwich in 2019 feels like less of an achievement than a 2-0 win over Fulham last season or the 1-0 win over Burnley in 2017/18. Has the club become a victim of its success of staying in the Premier League for a seventh successive season or have expectations been raised? Either way, the sense is that despite the stellar record in 2019, the team is a defeat away from some fans questioning the manager’s position.

There is certainly frustration over the team selections, such as with functional players such as James McArthur and Jeffrey Schlupp being selected over the more creative midfielders in the squad. The results are therefore gained by the players all fulfilling their instructions and roles rather than by a moment of magic. The matches are won without genuinely memorable moments – there has not been a Mamadou Sakho injury time winner against Stoke, nor has there been a turnaround like Watford at home where late goals by Bakary Sako and McArthur saw Palace gain a vital three points.

We have also, with Hodgson’s steady stewardship following his first season with Palace, not had that desperate need for points; it is almost assumed that the manager will deliver what we need to stay up, so a slightly greater emphasis has been placed on how those points have been won. And it is not as if Hodgson has shown himself incapable of winning points while entertaining football has been played – it just happens that until we get to a position of relative safety, we will not see performances like the 5-0 win over Leicester or 5-3 over Bournemouth.

Luka’s penalties are a work of art. pic.twitter.com/H0VRLR3Jk1

— Five Year Plan ? (@FYPFanzine) September 29, 2019

This is not to say that when Palace have had a manager who wanted the ball “put at risk” more and wanted to “transition” to a front foot style that the fans were always content – while Alan Pardew had a first year points wise in line with the trajectory of 2019, the following year which saw 6 wins from 40 was enough for most fans to crave the mid-table mediocrity the club now seems to be on course for.

A managerial change is not on the cards and would largely be unjustified. Hodgson has achieved the results he has had to without any real additions in transfer windows. With current rumours around the ownership and future of Wilfried Zaha and others, maintaining Premier League status remains the manager’s remit and the club’s main priority. With results being achieved, the on pitch ambition fans want to see is unlikely and Hodgson is not for changing in approach. It’s where we find ourselves – the manager is doing more than enough to keep his job, yet the job he is doing is not satisfying a number of Palace fans.

Maybe with Hodgson managing a side of dependable players such as McAthur, Schlupp, Joel Ward, Martin Kelly and the like, survival in the Premier League through a series of professional but unremarkable results is what we should come to expect. With this set up, it is unlikely we will see more game changers in the side other than Zaha – Max Meyer and Victor Camarasa will both have to bide their time and wait for a chance no matter how much we think they may add to our side. Maybe, just maybe, this is the new “typical Palace”. A teacup and saucer ride rather than a roller-coaster.