Palace need Band! | Oxford Match Update | Dyer back in business | Team talk latest
Before today's 'Monday News', I have a message from Palace Media Manager, Terry Byfield.. '....Crystal Palace are looking for supporters who want to make up a fans band in the crowd during home matches. The club are looking to create a carnival atmosphere throughout the season and the Brazilian/Dutch sound of the World Cup. PR and Media Manager Terry Byfield is waiting to hear from musicians who would like to make the 'Selhurst Sound' during matches. Please contact him on 0181 768 6020 if you can send the carnival sound over SE25. And now, AMEENA McCOLVILLE has kindly typed in a report from the Oxford match...(from the Sun) BRUCE GETS OUT OF DYER STRAITS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ He eyeballs the Bible ********************* CRYSTAL PALACE 2 OXFORD 0 -------------------------- BRUCE DYER has turned teetotal and is looking to God in a bid to force his way into boss Terry Venables' plans. The Crystal Palace striker is a born-again Christian and reckons the Good Book and kicking the booze have sharpened him up a bit. Last season, Dyer, 23 had too much time on his hands as he struggled with an ankle injury. He took comfort from a bottle and forgot his troubles by partying all night. But those days are gone and Dyer is drawing on his Christian background to keep him focussed. And he is now concerned only with raising hell among First Division defences. The new approach has paid quick dividends as Dyer pounced to put Palace on the way to victory with a goal after just five minutes. Dyer said: "Last season was a disaster. I didn't take care of myself after getting injured. I was going out drinking and night-clubbing with my friends. I've changed completely this season. I don't drink, I don't go out and I'm getting more into religion. My mum is a minister and its her I must thank for getting me into it. I am now 100 per cent focussed on my football. I know I've got to be this way to get the best out of myself. The only thing that matters to me now is playing the game. I'm working on my goalscoring with Terry and he has already added a few bits to my game". Dyer boasts the awesome physical presence and enough fire in his belly to act as a decent foil for tricky Matt Jansen. So while the Eagles whizkid, who signed a six year deal in midweek, missed several good chances, Dyer and Attilio Lombardo shot in. That meant Oxford were chewed up and spat out inside 15 minutes. Dyer will have a fight on his hands to keep his place when crocked striker Neil Shipperley recovers from a wrist injury. But Venables explained: "Bruce is a wholehearted player. He has things he needs to work on and how far he goes will be entirely up to him. But it won't be for the want of trying". The visitors were rocked by lively Dyer's opening salvo. A perfectly timed through ball from midfielder Sasa Curcic allowed him to spring United's wobbly offside trap and fire past keeper Phil Whitehead. Lombardo sealed victory with a real piece of magic. The crafty old Bald Eagle sprung another surprise on Oxford when he crashed home a curling free kick from 20 yards while United's defenders were still shuffling their wall. Martin Gray's furious protest earned him a booking. And just to rub it in, Lombardo sent in an identical free kick in the second half that Whitehead did well to tip over the bar. Shellshocked Oxford regrouped and on 63 minutes Dean Windass jumped on the set piece bandwagon. He followed Lombardo's lead and tested Fraser Digby with a free kick from 18 yards that whistled just past the post. Boss Malcolm Shotton insisted: "Palace will be up there with the promotion contenders this season. They have a great ground, fantastic support, money to spend and players with Premiership experience - they are all the things I don't have". SUN STAR MAN BRUCE DYER (Palace) He's 100 per cent pure beef in a Division where men are men. *PR* Thanks for that Ameena. And Neil Burling found this lurking on the FOOTBALL 365 web site.. Palace Back In Business *********************** BRUCE DYER has cut out the booze and turned to religion in a bid to prove himself to new Crystal Palace manager Terry Venables. The powerful centre forward had a long, hard look at his lifestyle in the summer after a miserable season where he managed just four league goals. Judging by his outstanding display against Oxford, Dyer is re-born on the football pitch as well as in his spiritual life as he helped Palace to their first win under Venables with a clinical finish in fifth minute. The forward said: "I spent too much time mucking about last season, going out drinking and nightclubbing with my friends. I have cut that out and also got more involved in religion because my mum is a minister." Attilio Lombardo sealed the victory with a quick-fire free kick that sailed into the corner with bemused Oxford goalkeeper Phil Whitehead still organising his defensive wall. United manager Malcolm Shotton criticised referee Andrew D'Urso after the game, claiming the set-piece should have been disallowed, but Palace simply outclassed his workmanlike team. Neil Burling. And now for the rest of today's news.. ...Some information which may not be generally known and may need to be circulated is as follows, from JOHN BUSTARD. 1) During the Palace Programme on Cable TV on Friday it was announced that the Reserves game shown in the Oxford programme as being scheduled for Wednesday evening 26th August has been put back one day to the THURSDAY, still at Crawley. 2) Also announced on this programme was the news that training at Streete Court on the day before a first team match will be 'behind closed doors'. *PR* Maybe there are a few 'new' corner routines that Terry wants to try out ;-) Anyone wishing to watch is advised to call the club before wasting a journey. Having gone along on Friday, I can vouch for the fact that the new policy is in existence. I was very politely turned away by a steward. John Bustard. On a different subject, MARC WEATHERHEAD sent this in.. '..Thought you might be interested in something I read in the Daily Yomiuri newspaper here in Japan. It seems that Sun Jihai one of our new Chinese signings was voted player of the month for July by the Asian Football Confederation which covers the regions of China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore etc. Bearing in mind that Japan's midfield general Hide Nakata (a player I recommended to Mark Goldberg, who is now with Perugia in Italy's Serie A) received this award earlier in the year we can assume that Sun Jihai is a very good acquisition indeed for us. A side point which may be of interest is that the July team award went to Japan's Shimizu S-Pulse managed by Ossie Ardilles...' Marc Weatherhead. On the same subject, a reliable source informs me of the following... '...just a couple of bits of information, which someone told me on Saturday, it's usually reliable information but you may want to get it confirmed!! He told me that the Chinese players arrived at 8.30am on Saturday waving their work permits under Steve Coppell's nose! The other thing was that apparently, we never wanted Pablo Rodrigues, it was supposed to be the Argentinian that has now arrived (sorry forgotten his name), and Boca Juniors were trying to palm us off with Rodrigues and his dodgy knees. *PR* The player in discussion is that who was reported in the CA article from yesterday, WALTER DELRIO. Here is ALAN JOHNSTON's Web round-up. Injury parade ************* Injured Palace stars Simon Rodger, Paul Warhurst and Kevin Miller are unlikely to play against Torquay United on Tuesday night. Rodger picked up a calf injury after Saturday's 2-0 win over Oxford whilst Warhurst also limped out of action. Miller missed the game after failing a fitness test on an calf injury picked up in training on Friday morning. Venables has resigned himself to being without the players for the tie which stands at 1-1 after the first leg but he hopes that all three will be available for Saturday's trip to Stockport county at Edgeley Park. Albion game postponed ********************* The trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday Sept 5th has been called off due to international call ups. The Eagles will be without Hreidarsson, Ansalem and Rizzo. It is the second time this season after the second leg of the Worthington Cup tie against Torquay had been postponed for the same reason. Meanwhile Wednesday's reserve game against Wimbledon has been switched to Thursday evening at Crawley Town's Broadfield Stadium. @ IMSPORT Alan Johnston. ..Dean Hutchinson also tells me this... '...Teletext (BBC Page 312) reports that the WBA away game on September 5th has been postponed due to international commitments. No indication yet of a rearranged date..' Dean Hutchinson. *PR* I have not heard any official news yet, but will keep you informed.
