Townsend at the heart of everything good as Palace stick four past Stoke

Palace put their home demons firmly behind them this afternoon as they clinically dispatched a Stoke side that looked devoid of belief after their own slow start to the season. The win and three points that sees us rise to 8^th are obviously welcome, but even more welcome was the confidence and verve we displayed going forward and, to my mind, nobody displayed those traits more than summer signing Andros Townsend.

Townsend the star of the show…

It was Andros Townsend who whipped the ball in for Tomkins to prod home, it was Andros whose run created the space for McArthur to score the third and it was Andros who drove at the Stoke defence, pulling off a neat turn to beat a man before bending the ball into the bottom right corner.

I think you can see where I’m going.

There were a number of excellent performances today, Wilfried Zaha looked dangerous whenever he got on the ball, Jason Puncheon was both inventive and assured in equal measure and James McArthur put in the kind of dogged performance that we’ve come to expect from him, although that shouldn’t detract from the quality of it. All that being said it was Townsend who took the game by the scruff of the neck. His performances have been good in the opening few games of the season, he’s been solid if unspectacular, but today he really turned it on for Palace and played a key part in one of the biggest wins we’ve seen at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.

Set-pieces prove pivotal

I said in my preview that I thought Stoke would be a big threat from set pieces and while set-pieces went a long way to deciding this game it was Palace who came out on top in that battle. Too many of our goals in these opening few games have been as a result of lax defending from dead ball situations and those lapses have cost us points.

I also can’t help but feel that much of our success in this area today was down to Yohan Cabaye not being on the pitch. I’ll start this off by saying that I think Yohan is one of the best captures this club has ever made and at the time of his signature his addition signalled a real statement of intent from a club which had flirted with relegation during parts of each season since our promotion. As a fan, it was wonderful to see.

However, his addition to the team meant Jason Puncheon was demoted from free kick taker and it was Yohan Cabaye who was responsible for dead ball deliveries. Honestly, he hasn’t had much success. Whether it was a bid by Pardew to keep Cabaye ‘sweet’ or whether the coaching staff genuinely thought he was the best player for the job I don’t know but what I do know is that if it had been Yohan Cabaye standing over the free kicks this afternoon we wouldn’t have scored two.

Andros Townsend showed his quality with both his delivery for James Tomkins and his cheeky attempt to beat Given at his near post in the first half while it was Puncheon who both floated in the corner that Dann nodded in and the free kick which dropped at the feet of James McArthur. Cabaye is an excellent player but on today’s evidence his role as principle free kick taker surely has to be under threat.

This could be the beginning of the end for Damien Delaney and Wayne Hennessey…

I was surprised and pleased to see the name ‘James Tomkins’ in the line-up today, but it was a bittersweet feeling of happiness at best because it was Damien Delaney who he replaced, a man who has been a soldier for our club. Sure, he’s been a liability at times and technically he has his shortcomings but one thing you knew every time he stepped onto the pitch is that he’d run through brick walls and drag others along with him if that was what was required.

It was his technical shortcomings and dwindling pace that made me call for a centre back signing in the summer window and I was impressed with the capture of Tomkins. Nonetheless it was Damien Delaney that started the season in the heart of the defence with Scott Dann, perhaps due to an injury to Tomkins, perhaps not. However, the time was always going to come when he would be eased out and James Tomkins would be eased in, the time when Damien would go the same way as Speroni and gradually play less and less of a part. I think that time has come and this could be the beginning of the end for Damo.

While Hennessey hasn’t been at the club for anywhere near as long, it certainly appears as if there is a ‘changing of the guard’ in goal as well. Steve Mandanda started for the third Premier League game on the bounce and his continued inclusion indicated to me that it is now his spot to lose. Thankfully I don’t see that happening any time soon.

As a player, the importance of having complete faith in the man between the sticks cannot be overstated. Shot-stopping, anticipation and reflexes are of course important and while of course these attributes feed into the overall impression you get of a goalkeeper, that relationship of trust and understanding between the outfield players and goalkeeper is huge. Steve Mandanda has looked assured and composed – the epitome of calm – and for me you can ask for nothing more than that from a keeper. Long may it continue.