Everyone knows that the Yankees are my #1 sports team. My #2 team is the mighty Crystal Palace FC. It works out quite well because the European football season (in general) runs from August to May… during the baseball off-season.
Before I get to today’s game, perhaps some background. Crystal Palace Football Club is based in South London, in the borough of Croydon. Growing up I never had a favorite football team. I became a Palace supporter in the fall of 2005 while I was studying abroad in London. I headed down to Selhurst Park and saw my first ever European football game in person when Palace lost to Sheffield United 3-2. Since then I’ve been a die-hard Eagles supporter. I listen to pretty much every game on online radio, and on the few (maybe 3-4) times a year they are on TV in the United States I head down to the pub in full regalia. Football in England is sort of like baseball in America in terms of structure. There are four “league” levels. The Premier League is the top (like the Majors), the Championship is next (like AAA), League 1 is next (like AA) and League 2 is the bottom (like A). The only difference is that every team is independent. Every year the three worst teams are relegated to the league below, and the three best are promoted to the league above. There are several more leagues below League 2, but they are not part of the official “Football League.” Teams can, however, be promoted from non-league leagues into the Football League. Crystal Palace currently plays in the Championship, the second division of football in England.
Palace got my Saturday off to a flying start by squeaking out a hard fought win against Doncaster today. We fell behind early, but quickly responded with a penalty when one of their players was sent off. The Fantastic Finn, Shefki Kuqi, put home the penalty. The conditions in London were terrible today, from what I saw on the TV later, and Palace just couldn’t break down 10-man Doncaster until the 89th minute, when Alan Lee finished slotted home the winning goal. Palace dominated the game though, we just couldn’t find the back of the net. Lee is just back from being injured, so it was great to have him get on the scoresheet. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that’s what Palace did today. The grit and determination they showed is a good sign moving forward. 17-year old Nathaniel Clyne got man of the match. He’s an exciting prospect and appears to have cemented a spot in the starting 11 despite his young age.
What wasn’t a good sign was the massive amount of injuries that happened today. Paddy McCarthy was stretchered off with what looked like a baddd injury, according to the announcers, Jose Fonte appeared to be limping, and 17-year old Sean Scannell limped off the field. Kuqi went off with an apparent hamstring injury. Ben Watson didn’t play with an injury… neither did Carl Fletcher or Victor Moses. Let’s hope these injuries aren’t too bad. We have a relatively light schedule until Christmas, and we’re currently riding a nice winning streak that has us up to 8th in the league. That is just 2 places (and one point!!!) off the promotion playoffs! Hoo hoo! Up the Palace!
The World of the Mess 