Take A Bite

I don’t know who coined the phrase, but its fair to say that tomorrow night involves a large shit sandwich and we’re all going to have to take a bite. I was among those who sang long and hard, in the wake of Kitson’s finest moment, ‘we’ll never play you again’. Well, the usual motto is if you can’t take it don’t dish it out. With Palace selling out their allocation there must be one or two who remember the song and we’re going to get it back with interest. So be it. I hope collectively we take it with dignity. Look on the bright side. At least I don’t have to sit next to Jordan; and unlike a friend I don't have to sleep with a Palace fan.

Let’s just hope (of course) that we win the game. Then it can be choruses of ‘can we play you every week?’ If not, it’ll have to be the fall-back of ‘Charlton ‘til I die’ and ‘we’ll be back’. Either way for crying out loud let’s keep our dignity and remember our Kipling regarding triumph and adversity. Murray and Jordan have done enough to lower the temperature, hopefully drawing a line under their unpleasant spat. Palace as a club can’t be held responsible for the disgusting behaviour of a few of their followers a year ago; and I assume most if not all of the perpetrators are paying an appropriate price. We’re not Millwall.

On the subject of charmless nurds, what planet is that ‘Arry on? I realise we still have a desire to see Darren Bent do well wherever he is, but what sort of manager, let alone one that is supposed to be strong in the area of man management, comes out with the sort of comments he made after Bent’s miss? It was a bad one for sure. But all strikers miss chances and it was no worse than that by Adebayor for Arsenal on Sunday. You don’t hear Wenger suggesting that his missus could have scored it, or the Gallic equivalent (especially not if he was looking to sell the player and maximise the price).

Maybe Wenger did say something to that effect but it was all lost in translation. This seems to be a common problem, as I was reminded when checking on the fortunes of my adopted French team, Lyon Duchere, since the resumption after their highly civilised, extended Xmas break.

The final match before the break had seen La Duch obviously with other things on their minds, the team going down 3-1 away to Monaco B. The resumption saw the eagerly-anticipated clash with Lyon B, the reserves of Olympique Lyonnais. Here was the chance for Duchere to show their arrogant rivals the merits of team spirit, collective desire, and will to win. Unfortunately, like a recent trip to Sheffield, things did not quite pan out that way. Duchere went down 5-1 at home. It seems OL’s reserves had a point to prove and put out a very strong team.

I asked my partner Suzanne to provide some information on the game from local newspapers. This was the reply:

“Olympian reservists reinforced by Piquionne and Fabio Santos made one mouthful of Lyon la Duchère which cannot hope better than to be their own spectators. A long time ago that Lyon-Duchère ACE had not undergone such “déculotté” (means “without boxer" - a very bad defeat) in Balmont stadium… Beyond our memory in any case. But with good to look at there, the players of Karim Bounouara do not even regret to have so much they were dominated of the head and with the shoulders by an Olympian reserve it true is reinforced by Fabio Santos and Piquionne. Or perhaps if, that to have been spectators as of their adversaries, endorsing at no time the costume of revanchists which suits them so well in this type of confrontation.

The troop of Robert Valette did not require such an amount of it, which found the opening as of the ninth minute of play by Piquionne, with the reception of a long balloon of Abenzoar (0-1, 9th). Abused, strolled, Nanou and its partners passed very close to the correctional one when a little later omnipresent Piquionne butted against Jaccard after being played of two defenders in surface (12th). Dimensioned Lyon-Duchère ACE, it was necessary to wait half an hour of play to see the first alarm worthy of this name in front of the cage of Hartock, works of Chapdaniel of the head which obliged the Olympian gatekeeper with the parade (34ème).

Gonnalon which takes the top on Nanou and it is OL which s' fly away towards a clear victory… The seizure on the play remained however for the visitors, who almost logically rised the addition before the pause by Gonalon of the head on corner (0-2, 44ème). The buildings however seemed to want to revolt with the return of the cloakrooms with a head to end carrying of Brain which missed the framework (46ème). The second occasion was the good one for the attacker duchèrois which reduced the score after having distorted company with Fabio Santos on the left side (1-2, 53ème). The hope thus reappeared for Lyon-Duchère ACE… Not for a long time! Six minutes after the reduction of the score indeed, Court was given the responsibility to recall which were the owners on the ground by converting an offering into withdrawal of Foot (1-3, 59ème), before Piquionne does not mislead fourth Jaccard once after an air deviation of Foot (1-4, 64ème). The carrots were thus cooked for Duchèrois which, like a symbol of their passivity of the day, conceded a last goal gag in the stops of play: Dedola quickly played a frank blow for Pied which marked with an empty aim whereas everyone still discussed the fault (1-5, 94ème). There some days like that.”

There are indeed. We should bloody well know. I shouldn’t carp about the translation as the language barrier has served me well through the years. The good news is that an upcoming trip to Lyon will coincide with a home game for Duchere, against Saint-Etienne B. Before then of course there is the little matter of garnering a few points ourselves. Starting tomorrow night.