Twenty four hours is a long time in football. This time last night, Crystal Palace were embarking on a League Cup tie at Walsall, which with no disrespect to the Saddlers was a winnable game for the Eagles. Winning the game 3-0 with a stylish first half hat-trick from Dwight Gayle was just desserts for a classy, yet dominating performance.
Keith Millen, AKA ‘Mr Steady’, conducted his post match media duties in the same dignified and professional manner in which fans have become accustomed to from the ‘gentleman of the Palace’. Without him so far this season, Palace could even have been as bad as that spoilt rich lot from the Bush, AKA Queens Park Rangers, who really are becoming the financial black hole of English football.
I digress. Speed forward into real time and, yes, release your breath if you still can, Palace have finally made a managerial appointment. Not one that I think it’s fair to say anybody could have seen on the horizon either, but one certainly in keeping with the colourful image of life and drama Crystal Palace Football Club now publicly portray, even more than ever before.
Step back into the circus,Neil Warnock. A blunt Yorkshireman never shy of expressing his own opinion. A master of the ‘long ball’ game we are forever informed. Not new in SE25, and a ‘guilty pleasure’ that the media so cruelly tarnished his super successful predecessor Tony Pulis of on numerous occasions. But over and above, Neil Warnock is a personality. A clown prince of cliche – a lover of his own words, and one of the biggest self-promoting employees of Palace in the last twenty five years, without a shadow of a doubt. But the kind of guy you want with you in the tent, that’s for sure.
Neil Warnock more than won fans hearts in his last spell at Palace. His initial appointment in the Autumn of 2007 came on the back of the sacking of Palace legend Peter Taylor, who to put it bluntly, didn’t manage with any of the flair he played with. Rescuing a sinking ship whilst working under the erratic, yet fiercely loyal friend Simon Jordan, fans were all continually informed would be a recipe for disaster. Yet Warnock slipped very nicely into the ‘southern’ way of life, embraced his new surroundings and galvanised the club, from top to bottom.
With sheer grit, determination and the odd bit of flair, Palace would fly up the league, and eventually lose in the play-off semi finals to Bristol City, a minor Palace miracle had certainly been performed. Experienced pros such as the returning Shaun Derry bossed the midfield, and the marauding Clint Hill marshalled the back four, superbly. Every player had a job, and every player knew their job under Warnock.
Nearly two more Palace campaigns followed for Neil Warnock, before he would leave the financially stricken selves for the vulgar, affluent QPR. Depending on which rag you read at the time, it was either a cost cutting measure on Palace’s part, or a good, sound career move for Warnock. I cannot lie though – it left a sour taste in the mouth of most Palace fans. The club were fighting for its’ mere existence, such was the financial meltdown and the fall out of the Jordan era, and Warnock was seen by many as the man ‘who turned the lights out on his way through the door’.
Yet such is the charismatic nature of this man, it was and is very difficult to hold a grudge in his direction. Which will certainly now play into his charming hands – and smooth his path of re-entry into Selhurst Park. Very much out of character, and contrary to his own personal criticisms of the new Palace co-owners, Warnock’s old friend Jordan even recently praised Steve Parish in a move that Warnock would certainly have sat up and noticed.
Yet Parish and Neil Warnock have also been known to be associates, so one would hope that the battle lines have been drawn and it is crystal clear who the boss is going to be in this new regime.
Ex-Palace hero and long term Parish target Wilfried Zaha has been strongly rumoured to have re-signed for a Palace tonight, initially on loan for the season, but with a view to a permanent deal next year. If true, this is a genuine coup, and gets Warnock well onside with his new, but former fans.
Who else, if anybody else, will join Palace now before deadline day next Monday is set to be the main topic of conversation now, yet don’t be surprised to see ‘Warnock man’ Clint Hill, return to SE25. Out of favour at QPR, and a man who is capable of playing left back – a position Palace are in dire need of filling – Hill would represent a cheap, yet experienced stop gap until January.
When I think of Neil Warnock, I think of a certain Ian Holloway. Loveable, cheeky, opinionated, charismatic, funny, sensitive… Yet not a very good Premier League manager.
Mr Warnock – welcome back to Crystal Palace FC.
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