It’s never nice to lose, but I can always accept a defeat when it comes as a result of a goal as tremendous as Dele Alli’s.

I know he plays for Tottenham and I know I’m supposed to hate him for his naughty little kick out at Cabaye, but I can’t help but love him and I really wish we’d signed him.

He’s the sort of player that we’re missing – somebody that’s physical but can drive forward with the ball, create opportunities and isn’t afraid to attempt the spectacular.

If he can focus on football and doesn’t start to believe his own hype, he could be a really special player for England for years to come.

Palace transfer news: Deal done, West Ham rivalled - reports

We could have so easily won on Saturday in what was a much closer game than the result suggested, but in the end a tight contest was settled by an improvised moment of brilliance.

Despite the defeat and our worrying form, it was a really promising performance and we would have beaten the majority of teams in the league playing like that.

Hopefully we can take that confidence into the cup game this weekend, where there’ll be a little bit less pressure to perform.

They say the FA Cup is all about upsets, which is fair enough because I was pretty upset when I found out I’m going to have to sit through another ninety minutes watching Stoke.

It’s a tough game to call. We’re pretty evenly matched in terms of quality, whilst you can never predict how teams will line up in the cup – particularly with league games scheduled just three days after.

A month ago we were sitting comfortably in the top half of the league and the idea of a cup run was being encouraged, whereas now we might just be looking over our shoulder and thinking about prioritising the Bournemouth game on Tuesday.

A win at Wembley in May and a little European tour would be the icing on the wonderful cake that Alan Pardew has been baking for the last twelve months – he’s our very own slightly prettier, slightly greyer version of Mary Berry.

News Shopper:

Who cares if we do well or not?

I just want an excuse to go to weird countries and get stupidly drunk.

I love the idea of following Palace around Europe next season, waking up in polluted hostels in the backstreets of Bratislava and Dnipropetrovsk, with a puddle of sick and regret my only recollection of the match the night before.

I am pretty sure that’s EXACTLY what Pelé was alluding to when describing ‘The Beautiful Game’.

Four of the next five league games are against teams below us, with the other one against Watford who we’ll fancy our chances against at home.

We’re due an upturn in league form, which could begin next week against Bournemouth and with a bit of luck they might not notice when I kidnap Glenn Murray and force him to come home.

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