CRYSTAL Palace fan and Advertiser columnist ALEX WHITE urges his fellow Eagles supporters to keep calm and trust Tony as the transfer madness intensifies...
SILLY season is well under way and we seem to be linked with almost every player under the sun.
The transfer activity has seemed to be focused on outgoings rather than incomings, and transfer frustration at Palace seems to be apparent once again.
Having in the past few weeks been linked to a notably higher calibre of player, we still seem to be missing out on our targets to teams in and around us.
By no stretch of the imagination should we start to either panic or doubt the board, Tony Pulis, and Iain Moody but, as a fan, it is hard to see us agree fees for players and then not close the deal out.
For example, we have all seen recent news of us missing out on Livermore, Caulker and Sigurdsson. These are the type of players we would never expect to sign say two or three years ago but the club is developing and it's at its most attractive in over 20 years.
It is never easy when trying to sign a player - that nobody can question - but we seem to show perhaps a naivety when it comes to making the player put pen to paper.
What is comforting is that Pulis is well known for his late wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, much like the last transfer window when we made the late signings of Scott Dann and Joe Ledley which arguably could've been the difference in keeping us up.
One player who looks set to leave the club is Stephen Dobbie. The Scotsman was left out of the squad that travelled to America, leaving every hint he is in no way part of Tony Pulis' plans. I am sure that a familiar face in Ian Holloway will be in the long queue that wants to acquire his services.
I feel for Stephen as he had a big influence at the back-end of our promotion season. He then left the club for a loan deal to Blackpool without ever getting a real shot to make things work at Palace.
Dobbie is clearly a gifted player with the ball at his feet and is certainly one of those players who is known to have a goal or two in him. I am unsure if he would've in fact made it at this level, I just feel he was perhaps never given a real chance to show his worth.
In football there is no time for sentiment and winning matches is the aim so we have to be brutal. In that sense it was hard to say goodbye to players such as Dean Moxey, Jonny Parr and Danny Gabbidon who were big influences in getting the club up and running after a torrid few years, and played their part in making it the success it is now.
So I'm sure you'd join me in thanking them and wishing them all the best in their future careers.
