Crystal Palace Fan View: Final day disappointment at Old Trafford

First half performance blew any chance we had of winning

A loss on the last day of the season is a sure fire method of hearing some age-old cliches. “The players were already on the beach” will be the go-to phrase for football journalists across the country to describe a sub-par performances that, for some reason, has some larger significance because they occurred on the last day of the season. In the first half our performance was certainly below-par, but was it a sign of a lack of commitment and wandering minds? I don’t think so.

United looked sharper from the word go, it was taken as given that a youthful Manchester United side meant a poor one and that proved to be far from the truth. These were players with a point to prove, an opportunity to seize. And it was one they collectively seized. The absence of Andros Townsend and Yohan Cabaye, while not the root cause, certainly didn’t help our chances – the energy and quality going forwards took a hit – but we were just second best in that first half. That’s what cost us the game on Sunday afternoon, but we move on.

Read More: Sakho loss bigger than dropping points against Tottenham

The Mercurial Zaha continues to be ‘just too good for you’

It’s been a recurring theme of the season, Wilfried Zaha being kicked off the park in an effort to contain his mercurial talent. The numbers back up the point, he is far and away the most fouled player in the Premier League in this entire season – above Eden Hazard, above Diego Costa, above Dele Alli. It will always be something of an occupational hazard for a player of Wilfried’s calibre and, more significantly, his confidence.

He’s targeted for two main reasons, the first of which is that he is a good player. He’s been Crystal Palace’s standout performer, delivering consistently in a season where the squad as a whole has blown hot and cold. The second reason is his exuberance and nonchalance when it comes to making players feel like they’d just had their shorts yanked down in the schoolyard with an outrageous piece of skill that leads to a nutmeg and then scrambling to hang onto his coattails. Nobody likes looking like a mug.

Above all though, it is the responsibility of the referee to protect the players on the pitch. Today, like so often this season, that didn’t happen. We want to see skill and talent flourish but maintain a carefully measured blind spot when it comes to the brute force approach taken with those that display these attributes best. I’d be the first one to dismiss any for advocation for removing the ‘dark arts’ from football altogether but I also want to see punishment for the repeated unlawful targeting of the best players on the pitch.

How would you do this? Not a clue. I just know I don’t want to see the kind of persecution of Wilfried continuing as a theme into next season.

Read More: Five talking points from Manchester City embarrassment

Read More: Three things we learned from Burnley

Large swing of finishing places never materialised

After all that I said about the potential swing in Crystal Palace’s finishing position and the subsequent implications that would have on our prize money, it all failed to materialise into anything much. We started the day in 13th and ended it just a place lower, in 14th, losing £1.9 million in prize money in the process.

Even though we failed to pick up anything, results around us meant there was far from as much to play far as was possible at the start of the game. A win would have seen us rise just one place from our position at the start of the day, with the coffers boosted to the tune of £3.8 million relative to how things did play out.

Read More: Eagles send Hull City down with barely a whimper

Read More: Anfield glory AGAIN for the Eagles