COLUMNIST Alex White looks back at the defeat to Liverpool and post-match comments made by Eagles chairman Steve Parish...
Unfortunately, the FA Cup run we all dreamed came to a disappointing end last weekend.
When the draw was made, all we could see was Pardew thumping the ball in the Scousers' net at Villa Park and we hoped a re-enactment of sorts would be possible.
A large majority of Palace fans went into the game excited about the prospect of advancing through to the quarter finals of the competition. Even though we didn't finish the game with the result we all wanted, it does suggest how far this club has come in such a short space of time.
In fact, lots of Palace fans went into the game kind of expecting to get a result, maybe an element of complacency setting in but the bigger picture is we made an in-form Liverpool side really earn their win.
In reality, it wasn't the strongest Palace side we could've put out, largely down to injuries, but the very fact that Liverpool only just edged past us with what wasn't our strongest setup is a perfect measure of our progression.
Steve Parish hit the nail on the head with his Twitter comments - when CPFC2010 took over, the club was on the verge of the third tier of English football and now Liverpool had just beaten us at Selhurst and celebrated like they had won the league.
Of course with social media being social media, every Liverpool fan and journalist made a fuss of what Parish had said claiming he was having a dig and being bitter. What scares me is that no one saw the Tweet as an opportunity to praise Parish and CPFC2010 for how far they have taken Palace over the past four to five years. Rant over.
The team selection against Liverpool raised eyebrows and, for the first time, we saw Pardew's selection being questioned by many. The choice to play Ward in midfield over Guedioura was surprising to say the least. The way I saw that decision was that with Pape Souare coming in at left back, it gave Martin Kelly the perfect opportunity to stake his claim at right back with Joel Ward clearly being Pardew's number one choice in that position. Unfortunately for Kelly, he didn't have his best game and I wouldn't be surprised to see him dropped to the bench for the next.
And for that next game, it doesn't get any easier. Apart from losing in the North London derby Arsenal have been in great form, having only lost one in their last 14 outings.
I don't think many Palace fans will be expecting to walk away with any points but the game is achance to get back to winning ways at home. Our away form has been magnificent but regaining our home presence will be essential to us staying up with less stress than we have come to expect as Palace fans.
Mile Jedinak is aiming to be back to fitness for this game and his return could be a timely boost. Having a player of Jedinak's influence back will make a huge difference and I can't wait to see him put a huge tackle in bright and early; boy have we missed that hard hitting brutality in the side.
With Jedi's return I feel a whole lot more confident going into this one. At Selhurst under the winter lights, anything is possible.
