Sun shines on New Addington People's Carnival
Sanderstead garage blast prompts safety warning from councillor
Driver helped out by firefighters after car flips at Fiveways Corner
Council leader pledges more lollipop patrols for Croydon schools
Nearly 3,000 take part in Crystal Palace Race for Life
Gang jailed for Carphone Warehouse robberies
Woman cut free from car following crash in Brighton Road
Musicians defiant on future of Croydon's resident orchestra
Shed blaze damages house
Crystal Palace coach on Madrid scouting mission
CRYSTAL PALACE FAN VIEW: Why Marouane Chamakh is an expensive luxury we don't need
MAROUANE Chamakh, as well as being undoubtedly one of the more technically gifted players at the club last season, demonstrated a work ethic few could have foreseen following his nightmarishly nondescript spell at Arsenal. For these reasons his Player of the Year consideration was thoroughly deserved. Yet for all the fanfare surrounding the amiable Moroccan, some of his performances led me to question just how genuinely influential he has been. With this in mind and with rumours circulating of his imminent signing on an undoubtedly lucrative contract now seems the time to ponder whether we would be better advised to move on from the enigmatic frontman. An attribute frequently heralded by fans of the former Bordeaux man is his composure with the ball at his feet. Given our perennially paltry share of possession, a player upon whom the management can rely to keep the ball is unequivocally an asset. However, upon examining the statistics (taken from www.whoscored.com), it transpires that Chamakh's passing accuracy (71.2%) is in fact lower than that of Mile Jedinak (71.9%) and distinctly less impressive than that of the much-maligned Kagisho Dikgacoi. KG was deemed surplus to requirements by Tony Pulis, so given Chamakh's relatively disappointing passing statistics, one must assume that his influence in the eyes of the management is to be found elsewhere. Well it would be almost puerile to even consider goalscoring as Chamakh's five goals all season do not exactly inspire faith in his prowess in front of goal. Nor do his defensive contributions deserve any real consideration. Whilst it would be churlish to doubt his desire and effort, these typically manifested themselves in mindless ball chasing and poor positional sense. His defending of corners was invaluable at times but this is not a skill in short supply. For the money Chamakh would most likely command in wages (albeit as a free transfer) I believe we should be looking at a more dynamic playmaker. One with a little more pace to aid our counter-attacks. One with the instinct to play the ball quickly into the wide areas left empty by marauding opposition full backs trying to aid their attackers in breaking down our stubborn rearguard. It would be unjust not to mention the Moroccan's entertainment value as I do not intend on this article being a character assassination. As a supreme technician, some of his work with the ball was breathtaking at times last season. He did demonstrate an eye for a pass on a few notable occasions and it is clear that in terms of his raw talent, he was a big fish in a small pond with us. However, to my mind he would be better suited in a team that enjoys a healthy portion of possession; one in which his eccentricities and ambitious style can be better indulged. The grand irony being that he was part of such a team before joining us, and to no avail. For any Palace player losing the ball is criminal, so substance over style has to be the order of the day.
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Ashburton Library faces uncertain future after new council pulls out of sale deal
THE future of former Ashburton Library is once again in disarray after the new Labour council pulled out of a deal to sell it.
Thornton Heath-based church His Grace Community Outreach thought it had secured the purchase of the building in Ashburton Park and has even started work on bringing it back into use.
But Croydon Council's new administration has decided to pull out of the deal, which Pastor Bola Thomas, of His Grace, believes had already gone through.
Councillor Timothy Godfrey, cabinet member for culture, sport and leisure, said it was not in the best interests of the area for the building to be sold.
The council now wants to keep the building as part of Ashburton Park and Cllr Godfrey said the Conservative council had sold it for a cut-price sum as part of an election strategy.
He also said the money it would take to bring the building back into use would not be as much as the previous administration estimated.
"It is a core public building in the middle of a public park and the Conservatives were selling it for a very low price," he explained.
"For a 125-year lease we didn't feel the deal was good enough. There is a lot of work on the building which hasn't been assessed, the figures quoted to bring the building back into use was a highest level figure.
"No detail has been taken on a lot of the refurbishments, the last administration was basically guessing."
But Pastor Thomas has accused Labour of using the building as a "political ball" and "using any excuse" to stop the council honouring its deal.
She said: "We paid a fair price for a building which has been abandoned for eight years. The building has suffered enough already. It will cost £700,000 to bring it back into use rather than the £1million the Tories estimated.
"We have not just guesstimated those figures, we have had surveys carried out. This is very upsetting."
Councillor Tim Pollard, the shadow cabinet member with the remit for libraries, said it was a "great shame" Labour had "not honoured" the deal.
"I don't know where they think they are going to find this money, but this is an example of Labour's election promise coming home to roost," Cllr Pollard added.
Pastor Thomas also claims she has signed a legally binding contract and Labour had every chance to go back on the deal before it was signed.
She added: "It went through corporate services committee, which includes both parties, and no one said anything so how can they say about the Conservatives taking a cut-price?
"I have tried to speak to Cllr Godfrey but he has not replied to any of our emails or phone calls. No one can get hold of him. He is trying to avoid us and they are not being transparent at all.
"But I am talking to my barrister and we will fight this all the way."
His Grace wants to turn the building into a community centre, church and nursery while Cllr Godfrey said he wanted to talk to the local community to find out what they want done with the building.