This run of form has left everybody feeling frustrated, with some people calling for Pardew’s head whilst others see him as untouchable. I’ve personally been very much on the fence.

I got out of bed last Friday morning and was greeted by my mum with the shocking news that Alan Pardew had been sacked.

I was still half asleep and didn’t realise what date it was, so for the ten seconds or so that I believed her I was genuinely devastated.

It was the most heartbreak I’d felt since I found out Helen Mirren isn’t single and it was in that moment I realised that Pardew is the right man for the job.

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I understand that any other manager in this situation would be gone by now, but Pardew’s results in his first twelve months have earned him our trust and patience, and there’s no guarantee that his replacement would do any better.

For whatever reason, Pardew has been reluctant to use Dwight Gayle in recent weeks, but he swallowed his pride at West Ham and threw him on for the second half in an admittance that his initial tactics weren’t working, and it was a decision that ultimately earned us the point.

It was by no means our best performance of the season but the most important thing was that we didn’t lose and got a solid point against a good team who most expected to beat us.

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It would have been typical Palace to throw everyone forward in search for a winner and concede on the break, but we held on and gave ourselves something to build on this weekend, as we welcome back one of the greatest players in our history.

Since we were promoted, we’ve come up against some of the most talented players in the world and witnessed exceptional individual performances from the likes of Sergio Agüero, Alexis Sánchez and Juan Mata, but none of them compare to the undisputed best player to ever grace the Premier League.

Patrick Bamford.

Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly once said: “God sent me to earth to show people how to play football.”

Patrick Bamford almost choked on his Harvard scholarship, as he thought: “I don’t remember sending anybody.”

David Beckham has a Patrick Bamford tattoo on his lower back and Lionel Messi has Patrick Bamford as captain of his fantasy team.

I went to the barbers last week and when they asked me what I wanted I didn’t say a word. I simply pulled out the picture of Patrick Bamford I carry in my wallet and pointed.

He is an inspiration. Or so he thought, as he was convinced he was better than every Palace player put together and ran off back to Chelsea, crying about how hard done by he was.

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I’m sure he’ll show us all what an amazing footballer he is, if one day he ever manages to make it off Norwich’s bench.

To be fair to him he’s got tough competition, as well-known prolific goalscorer Cameron Jerome regularly keeps him out of the side.

In the two months since Bamford signed for Norwich, they’ve scored a grand total of seven goals, only one of which was with him on the pitch.

Turns out it wasn’t that him and Palace weren’t a good fit, it’s just that he’s not as good at football as he thinks he is.

What’s more worrying is the fact that if we succumb to our seventh consecutive home defeat on Saturday then Norwich will overtake us and see us drop down to 17th, when a matter of months ago they looked dead and buried and we were dreaming of a European adventure.

I’m confident we’ll get that elusive first win of the year and ease the growing worries of relegation, but just in case I’ve jinxed things it might not be a bad idea to put your mortgage on Bamford to score a hat-trick and Palace to go down.

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