Not bitter

There’s nothing worse I have decided than supporting a team that I really have never cared for very much against a team that I loathe. My brother actually went today, wearing his Charlton shirt under his jacket, sat with some Watford friends. I couldn’t have faced that to be honest even before the game, and judging by his texts he won’t be doing it again in a hurry neither.

In my mind the power struggle in south-east London doesn’t really change much. Palace’s board will have to decide how much of their new found wealth they will gamble on a team now short of it’s only quality player, and whether they spend some money on trying to upgrade Selhurst Park during the campaign like Blackpool did, because it will easily be the worse ground to grace the Premier League since Fratton Park.

Probably for the first time in a generation Palace will pull in bigger home crowds than us, but that will be the floaters coming through the gate, not Charlton fans I’d hope, even if there are a number of lapsed season ticket holders out there. Millwall mind you could really have suffered if they’d dropped into League One.

Ian Holloway will give it a go, it’s in his nature and his record but Palace’s fans, once they awake from their stupor will be conscious that their last four visits to the Premier League have resulted in immediate relegation. As for us, well I am sure we will just carry on down our own path that we are nicely building.

I didn’t watch the game because I was at work, plus as I alluded to in my opening sentence I really couldn’t think of anything worse. But it sounded a god-awful match although Palace were deserving winners. Actually, don’t judge me, but I kind of feel pleased for Kevin Phillips, his first play-off final victory in four attempts.

As for Watford, I really didn’t care for how they assembled their team this season, and unless they now buy all of those loan players, 14 at the last count, then a change in the rule book this summer will have to have an effect on their chances next season. I can also see the appeal of Zola to bigger clubs than Watford.

Finally the real blow today is the ridiculous amount of money Palace are now guaranteed. I know we can cite Wolves and Blackburn and many, many others that have fallen foul to these riches, but even George Best would find it hard to squander £120m. I think when we beat Sunderland the Wembley game was touted as the £15m game.

Palace, if they finish bottom next season with record points (11 is the current record), the cheese rolls will still ‘win’ more money than Man Utd won this season by walking away with the title. It’s sick.

What is even more sick though is that 3 years ago Palace were in administration. Maybe with some of their £120m, before they start throwing it at overpaid footballers and crooked agents they might want to consider repaying the St Johns Ambulance back. They were owed £15,000 for example or the London Ambulance Service who were owed over £21,000, or even a local fishmonger who was one of 190 people or companies listed on the Palace’s creditors list, that if they were lucky got 1p on the £1. The players would’ve got paid though, so that’s alright.

Charlton have come very close to administration this last decade, but managed by hook or by crook to pay whoever, whenever needed it. Palace have twice been in administration in recent times. Southampton fans, you can stop looking down at your feet too. It makes the whole thing even more stupid than it is already.

Bitter, no, not at all….