Nevertheless, you don’t need to be a washed up hack to know that Victor Moses goal was a glorious strike and his good work for Darren Ambrose‘s record equaling goal (no Palace player has scored in six consecutive league matches since Ian Wright in 1989) demonstrates that Neil Warnock was right to start Moses instead of Freddie Sears.

“I asked Victor before the game to go out and win it for us – and that is the first one he’s won for us this season.” he said after the game. “I asked him to do his tricks like he does in training and he was positive.”

But Warnock’s next statement suggests that young Victor may not be with us for long:

“He should be in the Premier League and he’ll find it easier there because he’ll get more time and space and he has such ability over the first five yards. He’ll set it on fire when he gets there. He’s got a great future.”

Speculation abounds that Simon Jordan is planning a New Year sale and that our brightest youngsters may be on the way.  Warnock has denied this but by saying that Moses is ready for the step up could be interpreted as he’s on the market and interested buyers should contact the club via the usual numbers.

Or it may be a perfectly innocent remark. It’s just that whenever I hear a lower division manager suggesting that one of his players should be playing at a higher level, it’s often the equivalent of a for sale sign drooped around the lad’s shoulders.

Anyhoo, we’ll know more in the New Year. For the moment however, thoughts turn to the FA Cup Third Round Draw which is always a highlight of the season. It goes without saying that a home draw aganst one of the Big Four will not happen. It’ll be something like Macclesfield away. The sort of tie that neither side would want.

Although the first half was a poor performance going forward, the Sky Blues looked slightly more assured at the back than recent games, with new signing Wood looking good (and quick, at last a quick defender) at the back, and Barnett looking alright…nothing special, certainly not worth £2.5 million. Looked a better partnership than Turner and Ward, however. Van Aanholt was good all game in my opinion, but despite the defensive improvements, a need for Westwood to stay was shown when he pulled off a superb reaction save to push a header around the post. We didn’t offer too much in the first half, but we were still very much in it.

The half time pie was very much needed, man alive it was cold today, but I felt more upbeat than I have in recent matches. Probably ’cause some guy won £100 on the kick for cash (congratulations), scoring from further away than Eastwood can. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEfb4_FbxMU , Eastwood’s effort is awful) Anyway, that optimism was…rewarded? when Best nodded home superbly from some nice work by “Twinkle-toes” McIndoe, who was much improved in the second half, along with the rest of the side.

We really did dominate. We really, really did. Palace almost put the ball in their own net, had a couple of shots go just wide…no idea how Morrison’s deflected effort didn’t spin in, Bell (I think) completely mishit a volley, but then again, we had Westwood to thank for another absolutely fantastic save, low down to his right to keep us level.

Chris Coleman’s tactics must come under some scrutiny, after he made his first substitution with 15 seconds left. However, in his defence, Madine (who came on for Morrison) did win a header and Coventry should have had a corner, but the referee bizzarely blew for full time.

Ah well. Not a bad performance overall, excellent second half, disappointing first; but then what do you expect from the City?

Ratings

Westwood – Man of the Match – 8 – two superb saves.

Best – 7 – another good goal, looked busy all afternoon.

Wood – 7 – probably looked better than he is after the last few defensive performances from Turner.

Mcindoe + Bell – 6 – looked good second half.

Cork – 6 – decent performance.

Keep the faith.

Play up Sky Blues.

Tevez, who hit 34 goals in two seasons for Manchester United, found the net for the first time since swapping red for light blue as City saw off plucky Palace.

Mark Hughes

“That was important for him,” said Hughes. “I hoped he would get opportunities and he was able to get off the mark. His energy and enthusiasm for the game shone through.”

He added: “The more he plays for us, the better he will become. We’ve got Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos off the mark now so we are delighted.”

City were forced to weather a first-half storm from Palace, who came off at half-time on top having gone close through Freddie Sears and Darren Ambrose.

City’s all-star frontline of Adebayor, Tevez and Robinho did not look like they were relishing the experience as the Palace back four snapped and snarled at them at every opportunity.

At the other end, Joleon Lescott was handed a surprise debut alongside new captain Kolo Toure.

“He did fine,” added Hughes of his new £22million signing.

“He only had 24 hours and one training session with us. But we got clearance for him to play and it was important to get him in the team as soon as possible.”

Tevez, who hit 34 goals in two seasons for Manchester United, found the net for the first time since swapping red for light blue as City saw off plucky Palace.

‘That was important for him,’ said Hughes.

‘I hoped he would get opportunities tonight and he was able to get off the mark. His energy and enthusiasm for the game shone through.

‘The more he plays for us, the better he will become. We’ve got Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos off the mark now so we are delighted.’

City were forced to weather a first-half storm from Palace, who came off at half-time on top having gone close through Freddie Sears and Darren Ambrose.

City’s all-star frontline of Adebayor, Tevez and Robinho did not look like they were relishing the experience as the Palace back four snapped and snarled at them at every opportunity.

At the other end, Joleon Lescott was handed a surprise debut alongside new captain Kolo Toure.

‘He did fine,’ added Hughes of his new £22million signing.

‘He only had 24 hours and one training session with us. But we got clearance for him to play and it was important to get him in the team as soon as possible.’

It took until five minutes into the second half for City’s £200million line-up to show their quality – although the breakthrough came from two of their homegrown stars.

Stephen Ireland fed Shaun Wright-Phillips down the left and the England winger, who for once had shaken off Palace defender Clint Hill, rifled the ball past Julian Speroni.

Palace, whose summer signings consisted of loans and free transfers, nearly hit back through Victor Moses but the youngster skied his shot.

Tevez made the game safe when he met Wright-Phillips’ corner with a firm header in the 71st minute.

‘It was once bitten, twice shy for us,’ said Hughes. ‘Last season we went down to Brighton, made changes and got knocked out.

‘We are not in Europe this season, that is one less competition for us and we want to do as well as we can in the ones we are in.’

Palace boss Neil Warnock, who once almost signed Lescott for £3million while manager of Sheffield United, was delighted his side gave City a fright.

‘I thought we played as well as could be expected and I’m pleased to have given then a game,’ he said.

‘It was a great tribute to us the team Mark put out and I’m very proud of the way we played.

‘It was great for the fans. I brought my son tonight because he wanted to see Adebayor – I told him he wouldn’t get a kick and I was right!

‘The fans have enjoyed that tonight and that is how it should be, instead of talking about diving.

‘It wasn’t a great start for Lescott, Crystal Palace away on a Thursday night, but it will stand him in good stead. He won’t come under any more pressure in the Premier League.’

The former Sunderland striker gave the Bluebirds an early lead and scored again with 10 minutes left after rounding goalkeeper Romain Larrieu. He completed his hat-trick with a penalty five minutes from time after Marcel Seip fouled Chris Burke.

Michael Chopra

Burke’s former Rangers colleague Alan Gow reduced the deficit and Cardiff’s Tony Capaldi was sent off late on but it was the Bluebirds’ night.

They leapfrogged Coventry who could only draw 0-0 at Doncaster and the Sky Blues’ inability to win saw them also overtaken by Middlesbrough, who had a hard-fought 2-0 win at Scunthorpe with two goals from Adam Johnson.

West Brom won a five-goal thriller 3-2 at Peterborough to go fourth. Luke Moore scored twice and Chris Brunt added a third before Craig Mackail-Smith and Aaron McLean replied for Posh, who could not find a leveller. Graham Dorrans was sent off at the death for the Baggies for his second bookable offence.

Bristol City claimed a narrow 1-0 win against QPR thanks to Nicky Maynard’s drilled shot as the Robins went up to fifth.

Sheffield United, fifth at the start of play, had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Leicester at Bramall Lane, Keith Treacy netting a screamer to cancel-out Matty Fryatt’s flick.

Darren Ambrose scored twice and created another as he helped Crystal Palace to a 3-1 win at his old club Ipswich.

Watford had a 4-2 win at Nottingham Forest. Danny Graham, Tommy Smith, Mike Williamson and Tom Cleverley were on target for the Hornets, with Dexter Blackstock and Dele Adebola replying.

Paul Parry, Neil Mellor and Jon Parkin scored as Preston won 3-0 at Barnsley, while Swansea and Reading shared a 0-0 draw, as did Blackpool and Derby.

JJ Melligan gave Orient a shock lead from the spot after 38 minutes before United hit back through Greg Halford and Billy Sharp. Kyle Naughton’s second senior goal put the Blades 3-1 up before Halford sealed the win with a header 12 minutes from the end.

Greg Halford

United will face Charlton in the next round after Darren Ambrose’s goal helped them beat Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road to register their first win in 19 matches.

Swansea will play Portsmouth in the next round after they ran out 2-1 winners at Bridge Road despite a spirited effort from non-league Histon. The Swans broke the deadlock with a 25-yard screamer from Gorka Pintado before Guillem Bauza added a second.

The Blue Square Premier side sensed a way back in to the game when they pulled one back through Josh Simpson but could not find an equaliser.

Millwall set up a fourth-round tie with either Newcastle or Hull as they beat Crewe 3-2 at Gresty Road.

Crewe took the lead through Luke Murphy but were immediately pegged back by a Scott Barron strike before Neil Harris restored the visitors’ lead – and broke Teddy Sheringham’s club scoring record. Shaun Miller levelled with a right-foot strike shortly afterwards before Zak Whitbread’s header put the Dons through with four minutes left.

Cheltenham and Doncaster will replay after playing out a goalless draw at Whaddon Road.

Jay Rodriguez struck in the last minute of extra-time to give Burnley a 2-1 win over Championship counterparts QPR at Turf Moor.

The sides went into the additional period after Steven Thompson had cancelled out Samuel di Carmine’s opener for QPR 15 minutes into the second half. The match looked set for penalties before Damion Stewart’s mistake allowed Rodriguez to score the winner to set up a fourth-round tie with Premier League side West Brom.

Ambrose, der er fast mand hos Charlton, har i dag udtalt han er åben overfor et skifte tilbage til Portman Road, såfremt han ikke skulle nå til enighed med Charlton om en ny kontrakt. Charlton, der ikke ser ud til at kunne spille med i toppen, og desperat har brug for en oprykning, for ikke at hele klubben skal falde sammen økonomisk, er i store økonomiske vanskeligheder, hvilket åbner op for et skifte allerede i januar.

Darren Ambrose i den prægtige blå-trøje!

Jim Magilton, der selv nåede at spille sammen med Ambrose, har tidligere udtalt at Ambrose er en spiller han gerne ser i den den blå Ipswich-trøje. Det skal blive spændende at følge rygtet op imod januar.

They led twice at Anfield through Matt Holland and Darren Bent, and only a goal from Xabi Alonso and a late penalty from Harry Kewell denied them an unexpected chance of victory.

Robbie Fowler

For Fowler, taken off two minutes from time to allow him to have a standing ovation, the chance of that penalty – which he would have taken – fell to Kewell a minute later.

The match was preceded by a noisy protest outside the main stand by Liverpool fans over the club’s ticket allocation and distribution system for the European final and there were banners on the Kop making the same point.

But the chanting to honour Fowler soon took over, only to be silenced when Charlton took a shock lead as Zheng Zhi got the ball in from the right, and Holland saw a stabbed shot clip Javier Mascherano, with Daniele Padelli beaten.

Liverpool were dreadful, and Charlton got into a dangerous position again after 15 minutes, Darren Bent setting up Darren Ambrose, but the midfielder sliced wide.

It was Charlton a minute after the break who should have scored again, Zheng Zhi clean through but shooting hopelessly wide before Liverpool restored parity as Kewell crossed from the left, Dirk Kuyt headed down and Alonso lazily drove the ball home from 10 yards.

But Liverpool were soon behind again, this time when Ben Thatcher’s effort was half-stopped by Padelli and Bent crashed the ball home before Majid Bougherra handled in the box and the last-gasp penalty fell to Kewell to fire home off a post.

Ironically, it was former Charlton striker Jermain Defoe, jeered as he came off the bench, who sealed the win with an injury-time strike after Dimitar Berbatov had scored an early opener.

Killer goal: Defoe

It means Addicks boss Alan Pardew goes into Sunday’s clash at Liverpool without the chance of catching his former club West Ham, who are one place above the relegation zone.

Spurs scored their 100th goal of the season in the seventh minute when Berbatov was fed a ball from Ledley King out of defence and managed to trick Talal El Karkouri before outpacing the Charlton centre-back.

El Karkouri got within range of a tackle but Berbatov finished coolly, leaving the defender prostrate and needing treatment from the physio for his efforts.

Berbatov and Robbie Keane then showed glimpses of why they were named joint Premiership players of the month, but the hosts knew they needed two goals and were urged forward by their fans.

El Karkouri tried to flick home an equaliser from a free-kick but his effort was straight at Paul Robinson, while there were tame shouts from the crowd for a penalty on the half-hour mark when Michael Dawson used his body to clear the ball, while Alexandre Song headed wide from close range from Darren Bent’s cross.

Bent then crashed an effort wide after getting behind the Spurs defence just before the break, with chances even fewer and far between after the interval.

Darren Ambrose did have a sight of goal but mis-kicked, while Dawson just got something on the ball as Zheng raced through just before the hour mark.

As a last throw of the dice, Marcus Bent was replaced by Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Song came off for Lloyd Sam, but it was to no avail as Spurs held on, with Defoe racing through to double their lead on the counter-attack.

Their 1-0 victory against Mark Hughes’ inconsistent Blackburn side earned new manager Les Reed his first win in charge.

Les Reed

El Karkouri hammered a stunning 25-yard free kick past Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel to snatch all three points after Stephane Henchoz had been booked for holding back substitute Marcus Bent.

It looked like Charlton’s fierce endeavours would go unrewarded despite a plucky showing from a much-changed team following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United.

Reed dropped Dennis Rommedahl, Darren Ambrose and Matt Holland but found a new hero in striker Lloyd Sam. Sam looked impressive, although he also missed a sitter from close range, but was given a standing ovation when taken off.

Charlton were convinced he should have had a penalty when Lucas Neill’s clumsy-looking challenge from behind sent him tumbling in the 26th minute but referee Chris Foy waved away the home appeals.

Then, four minutes later, Sam moved in on Bent’s cross from the right – only to sky the chance over the bar from just eight yards under pressure from Neill.

Blackburn were busy early on, looking to follow up their first win in seven league games against Fulham on Saturday.

Blackburn finished the half with Benni McCarthy’s header ruled just offside as Scott Carson beat it out. Then Shabani Nonda forced the keeper into a close-range save in stoppage-time.

McCarthy missed a good opportunity for Rovers early in the second half after Friedel’s save from Bryan Hughes at the other end. But Charlton fought bravely to retain the initiative and Hreidarsson headed Andy Reid’s corner over the bar from six yards before the late drama.

As soon as Reid struck with an 18-yard rocket in the 68th minute, the Addicks were transformed and had chances to seal three points.

Andy Reid

Everton had taken the lead when Mikel Arteta floated in a free-kick which was touched on by James McFadden and went in off the right leg of Charlton defender Hermann Hreidarsson.

That was in the 52nd minute after a first half which had bored a packed Valley crowd. But when Darren Bent robbed a dawdling Nuno Valente to lay on Reid’s first goal for the club, the home side gave it all they had.

Darren Bent could not make contact with Dennis Rommedahl’s cross-shot and then Amady Faye’s header bounced over the bar from Darren Ambrose’s perfect cross.

Everton almost snatched victory when James Beattie and Simon Davies were both inches too high near the end, but they let their best chances slip.

In the first half Lee Carsley’s goalbound shot was deflected for a corner, before Beattie’s header from Arteta’s free-kick was hacked clear and McFadden had an effort blocked by Talal El Karkouri.

But Marcus Bent almost stole a goal when sliding in to meet Darren Ambrose’s header, only for Tim Howard to beat him to it, and then Rommedahl cut inside Valente’s challenge, only to scuff his shot wide.

Charlton looked dead and buried after Hreidarsson’s own goal and they could have trailed 2-0 when Osman went close six minutes later.

But Reid’s precise finish brought a whole new complexion to the game with Charlton dominating, although it was not enough to clinch all three points.