GLENN Murray may be a Crystal Palace legend, but Eagles fan and Advertiser columnist Alisdair Kemp thinks its time Tony Pulis left him on the sidelines...
THE return of Glenn Murray energised everyone associated with the club as our talismanic striker was forecast to fire us comfortably clear of the relegation zone.
However, given the nature of Murray's injury and his lack of experience at this level, he needs time to settle – time that we, unfortunately, do not have the luxury of providing.
I have little doubt that, should we manage to stay up this season, Murray will be a real attacking force and a true asset next year.
His is a rare breed: a frontman whose technical ability can match his aerial dominance.
He lacks the acceleration that many pundits would argue is a pre-requisite for a Premier League striker but his reading of the game can make him a menace for top-level defenders.
Incidentally, I am yet to see significant evidence that defending is distinctly better at this level than in the Championship. Therefore I see no reason why Murray's sharp movement and intelligent positioning would not yield him a respectable goal tally.
Nevertheless, Tony Pulis needs to stop persisting with Murray as a starter in the faint hope that he may suddenly rediscover his prolific goal-scoring form.
It is both unfair and naïve to rely on a player trying to acclimatise to a higher level of football on the back of a career-threatening injury. Against Southampton the team carried Murray; and against Sunderland his inability to effectively hold the ball up placed the defence under seemingly constant pressure.
At the Stadium of Light, the first half in particular was one-way traffic. On the rare occasions we managed to clear the ball upfield, Murray was either poorly positioned or just not alert enough to receive it.
His struggles were somewhat accentuated by Cameron Jerome's instant impact as a second-half substitute.
Immediately, Jerome was a headache for the Sunderland defence. His determined runs in behind, when coupled with his composure in receiving the ball with his back to goal, made him a nightmare to mark. Indeed, he managed to fashion our best chance of the match right at the end, standing strong to shield the ball in the box before laying it off to Kagisho Dikgacoi to find row Z.
Murray was just more predictable than Jerome as he always played with his back to goal. Such an approach is easy to defend against. When match-fit and playing in a team capable of a possession percentage high enough to seemingly pique Tom Ince's interest, Murray's goalscoring threat would make him an automatic starter.
However, in matches in which we rely on swift counter-attacks and need forwards capable of both making runs in behind defenders to create space in front for the midfield as well as holding up the ball, surely the more athletic Jerome or Dwight Gayle would be safer options?
Much as I admire Murray, a tense relegation battle is neither the time nor place to indulge his acclimatisation to Premier League football.
