ALEX White thinks the former Cardiff and QPR man fills a hole in the Crystal Palace squad...
MONDAY signalled the end of what appears to have been a largely successful window for Palace. We have come out of January with a stronger and more experienced squad.
One new arrival who has divided opinion is midfielder Jordon Mutch. He proved in his time at Cardiff that he is more than capable of playing at this level, yet I've heard many people question his signing.
I completely understand where Alan Pardew was coming from with this transfer. Mutch is a natural 'number 10' player who is best suited to play in the hole behind the striker and apart from Chamkah, we don't have anyone who can occupy that role.
Under Neil Warnock we saw James McArthur fill in that position. This is certainly no criticism of the Scot, but he just isn't attack minded enough to play there.
At times we were playing with all three - Ledley, Jedinak and McArthur - and I just feel that would be too negative not to have a player who will play tighter to the centre forward, especially at home.
It will be incredibly hard to drop one of those three, though, as they were the shining light of what was a terrible first 15 games of the season. I guess it is a nice headache for Alan Pardew to have.
The next two games could really signal what sort of season this is going to be for us. I wouldn't at this stage classify them as must-win but certainly they are six-pointers and will give us an idea of where we stand in this division.
The Leicester game speaks for itself. We face a very poor side that sit bottom of the league and a defeat against us on Saturday could signal the end for Nigel Pearson. Then, next Wednesday it's Alan Pardew vs Newcastle at Selhurst Park.
Much like the Leicester game, the Newcastle match is crucial. Our squad is stronger than both of these sides and with the confidence we have at the moment, we have enough to see off these two.
Having our captain, leader, and legend in Mile Jedinak back wont harm our chances either.
