Pardew has big goal for Palace

Aston Villa 0 Crystal Palace 0

Twenty five years ago, Alan Pardew secured his place in Crystal Palace folklore with the winning goal at Villa Park in a 4-3 FA Cup semi-final victory at Liverpool. He was back at the ground where he made his name yesterday, smartly dressed, sporting black spectacles, but it was quite a different story.

This was a turgid game where Palace’s attacking weaknesses were laid bare for all to see. Pardew did not need the reporters’ notebook he had brought with him to record what the problem is, the statistics tell their own story: two goals in the last seven games.