Freedman out!

[Prufrock]

Ha!

As long as no-one is still at 'he said he picks the team six weeks in advance' then I'm happy! No matter how many people want to say they *reckon* he picks the team six weeks in advance.

[Enoch]

Start smoking again Pru. Seriously.

It'd be far better gor our health.

Cruel! That's taking things too far!!

Stay strong Prufrock, stay away from the weed.

[gavlat2872]

has it literally just sunk in?......

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11672/9151711/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I cant even be ar5ed to give an opinion on this

[jaffka]

We did miss out, he is a good player with a lot of potential.

[jaffka]

It's ridiculous that he picks the team weeks in advance of the fixture.

[Prufrock]

He's a Championship player. Better than what we have fit now? Certainly. Premiership? Never in a billion years.

[jaffka]

He's a Championship player. Better than what we have fit now? Certainly. Premiership? Never in a billion years.

Nah your wrong there, Duggie said it

[SmokinFrazier]

Alonso is a good player and I think he'll have a good career if he continues to develop, which I suspect he will. It's a shame we couldn't keep hold of him.

[bedwetter2]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

[Hoboh]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

It's not
Under FFP Garty cannot afford the pies!

[bobo the clown]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

No-one would misuse Holland's Meat & Potato Pies like that.

[Prufrock]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

It's not
Under FFP Garty cannot afford the pies!

Nah, Eddie has bought Hollands but this is the only way he can transfer the legal ownership of the pies to BWFC. It was this, or shooting himself in the head.

[LeverEnd]

Don't pollute this thread WITH THAT BORING DEBT SHIIIIIIIITE!!!!!!!!
This is for twisting Dougie's words to make him seem worse than he is ok? And highlighting his obvious faults.

[bedwetter2]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

No-one would misuse Holland's Meat & Potato Pies like that.

Well your statement is open to debate as PG has made a pact with beelzebub to my knowledge and absolutely hates Hollands pies. ED is agnostic in this respect and can either take or leave the pies.

[bobo the clown]

I've just heard a dispiriting rumour that DF picks the team 6 weeks in advance and that anyone who scores a goal or puts in a MOM performance is immediately substituted, clapped in irons and cast into the Reebok dungeons (otherwise known as the Chairman's office) where he is taunted with extreme prejudice by Phil "those who know football" Gartside whilst simultaneously having his testicles assaulted with crushed Hollands meat and potato pies.

Please tell me it's not true!

No-one would misuse Holland's Meat & Potato Pies like that.

Well your statement is open to debate as PG has made a pact with beelzebub to my knowledge and absolutely hates Hollands pies. ED is agnostic in this respect and can either take or leave the pies.

Then they are fools and no good will befall them.

[Harry Genshaw]

All this talk re the debt and us not being able to afford Dawson et al until we get shot of more high earners is covering up the fact that Dougie aint up to the job. At this rate he could get sacked and still leave us with his reputation intact

[Enoch]

Nice to know you're keeping an open mind Harry!

[Eagle in peace]

Didn't Freedman do much better with us than Holloway with them in the 2nd half of the season? I bet there aren't many Palace fans who agree with you. Their view of Holloway seemed to be pretty dim, though I could be wrong. Where's that peaceful Eagle chap? I'm sure they wouldn't have him back now, don't get me wrong, but when they were limping to the playoffs under Holloway I bet they would have.
He'll get another job after we bin him as he's young and has his failure excuses lined up, but if he fails again he'll be in Coyle's boat.

The Freedman/Holloway debate is hotly contested still. As I have said, Freedman has split the opinion approximately 70/30 against him. Holloway, had the reverse I would say. Both had their failings.

Freedman was largely average to poor until the infamous 8 game run that prompted him being viewed as the next best thing by Gartside. Even our appearance as semi-finalists in the league cup was tainted by the most abject defensive and uninspiring display many Palace fans could remember, given the status of the occasion. Holloway started well but we fell away alarmingly in the run-in , having the worst form of any play-off contender since their inception.

Holloway then got us promoted despite losing the league's leading scorer in the first leg against our bitter rivals, executing a tactical and passionate master class in the second, whilst remaining composed in the final, all while essentially playing with no goal scoring threat (from a centre forward perspective). The cold facts are when it mattered, Holloway did it.

I agree with Smoking Frazier in the main re Freedman's assessment of his tenure as manager. It has been stated until we are red and blue in the face that any other manager would have been chopped well before Freedman left. It was his long-standing relationship with the club that ensured he survived. The 8 game unbeaten run was a volte face to the preceding 1 1/2 seasons under him, it appearing to be more akin to what you have experienced thus far.

Murray was left out of the side in favour of Jermaine Easter the season before last…

Freedman (for us) could pick a player though. Of that he did very well for us. Jedinak/Ward/Murray/Bolasie/Delaney etc have all been relatively cheap and have performed well beyond their fees paid.

It is not appropriate for Freedman to take the credit for Clyne and Zaha that he alludes to. Both were playing regularly under previous managers (Warnock/Burley) etc. Don't get me wrong, he carried on giving them their chance and helped their development, but his statements don't really tally with reality. But, I don't think it is entirely fair to blame him for not blooding your youngsters, as, and I may be wrong, I believe our set up is far more advanced than yours for producing end product. We have been producing talent for a long time - Salako, Southgate, Morrison, Watson, Routledge, Moses, Bostock (an example of how to feck your career up by jumping early), Williams to name our more well known guys. Re the comment on our having high profile competition for youngsters. We offer players a genuine chance to make a career out of the game, and many good players are prepared to take us up on our commitment to them. As an aside, I believe Fulham have the best academy in the south.

Would Palace fans have Freedman back? After all that Freedman stood for among Palace fans, and he still has some standing with a sizeable number, the large majority would say no IMHO. Even when we were doing poorly in the run in, Holloway still received a plus 70% approval rating.

The decision to go to you guys was the worst one you could have made, on both sides. I was not sure how it was going to pan out at the time though, despite myself and others counselling caution last year.

You need to replace him as his credibility has gone with you guys, and I would think the players too.

[jaffka]

That is a good post.

It is looking like Duggie was appointed on the strength of an 8 match winning run.

Last season was his high point and he fell short of the goal.

This year he needs to keep us up, hopefully he won't fail in this unexpected and unplanned goal.

[bobo the clown]

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Yeah ... "Freedman Out !!"