Redknapp's Premiership away record - played twenty-five, won two.
Velimir's Premiership away record - played four, won two.
Meanwhile, the remaining two we didn't win were draws at Liverpool and Newcastle! So what the hell was going on for all that time that we struggled so bloody much to win away from home? Was it a mental block? Was it all in the head of the players? Was it the fact that Redknapp's main tactical masterplan is to play attacking football and hope it comes off, whilst Zajec seems to tamper with his team in an attempt to get things right?
The perfect example of that came today at Palace. Ashdown was rested due to a slight knock, and Shaka thrown in again - and he clearly relished the chance to show he wasn't going to give up his number one shirt without a fight. Mezague appears from out of the cold to star in a tough tackling midfield comprising of himself, the returned Quashie and Faye. Only one striker for the opening of the game, but a daring double change of Fuller and Kamara swung the attacking drive our way, leading to our goal. There's a story that Zajec spent a few days at Arsenal last season, and Wenger was blown away by the knowledge and cunning possessed by the man who was to become our first ever overseas manager. We really do seem to be seeing the best of his abilities, not to mention the help no doubt provided by Joe Jordan and Andy Awford.
What really shows how far we've now come is that when the Palace fans started to sing "Harry Redknapp's red and white army" or "Harry and Jim" to those who had travelled, it barely ruffled a feather. Who cares anymore? He gave us two good years, but now he's gone we're carrying on without a care in the world; no more strife between manager and chairman, no more moaning to the media, no more "I built this whole club from scratch rubbish", and what's more fans are now travelling away from home realistically thinking of getting a result. And isn't that a nice change!
Another word for those aforementioned Palace fans - what a bunch of whingers. Every single free kick we got, they moaned. Every single time their player was on the receiving end of a tackle, they moaned. When our players had the ball and went anywhere near the edge of the pitch, they shouted it had gone out of play and moaned. Every offside decision, they moaned. The most fun was had after the final whistle; walking down past the home end I over-heard a woman whinging to her friend, "I can take losing, but only when it's fair." Er, right. On my way to the car park, a guy driving out shouted "I hope your car breaks down you (insert expletives here)". Good god - cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it!
The whole team deserves credit today. The defence was very solid. Matty Taylor is making me eat my words of late, as he put in a fine performance at left back. The midfield combo of Quashie, Faye and Mezague made sure Palace had no time on the ball and snapped at their heels every second. And of course, a special word for Linvoy - if I remember rightly his last goal came away at Bradford a good couple of years back, so it's nice to see him get back on the scoresheet again, especially since De Zeeuw started to make a habit of coming up for corners. Yes, that's right - we scored from a set piece again! Fan-bloody-tastic.
9th in the league. Winning away from home. Halfway through the season, twenty-six points. Someone pinch me!