In the final reckoning, it wasn't anything to do with 'revenge' and showing the former Eagles that they had landed in the wrong place at Birmingham. Nor was it the desire of either Andrew Johnson or Michael Hughes to make Blues pay for jettisoning them both, albeit in different circumstances. Crystal Palace are fighting to hold on to their status as a Premiership club, and that underpinned the whole match at Selhurst Park. Steve Bruce was subjected to chants of 'Judas', Julian Gray was booed relentlessly, Clinton Morrison mocked by choruses of the Pigbag-pinched 'Andy Johnson' tune (although Nico Vaesen was cheered in gratitude for his First Division play-off heroics). But these were mere side issues to Palace, who did to Blues what Blues did to so many teams during their first campaign among the hoi polloi of the Premiership. They scrapped, harried, didn't mark but grappled, they got the ball forward without ceremony and looked at every opportunity to utilise the pace and direct running of their talisman, AJ. Yet what makes this defeat so unpalatable for Blues is the fact that Palace are not a very good side. Not very good at all. For goodness sake, they played with a centre-half, Mikele Leigertwood, who redefined the central midfielder's role to one of humping the ball indiscriminately in between, as the phrase goes, 'getting stuck in'. In fact, take Johnson out of the equation and Hughes - the game's shrewdest player - and you'd be better off spending the afternoon shopping in Sainsbury's that's part of the Whitehorse Lane stand. When Blues used to go at it like Palace, they did have a Monsieur Dugarry in their ranks and Robbie Savage could, at the very least, pass the ball in straight lines. What Palace do have is a manager who can get them punching above their weight, an indomitable spirit and Johnson who is, quite simply, electric. It appears that their style will prove a means to an end. So it reflects poorly on Blues that Palace have now beaten them both at home and away. They should be embarrassed. In the second half, Blues gave the impression that they weren't particularly fussed about what was happening to them. Palace, who had made the game safe through Johnson's second penalty in the 68th minute after he got on the wrong side of Matthew Upson and ' invited' contact, had effectively worn them down. But 12 minutes in, Morrison should have changed the whole complexion of the game instead of drilling wide when clean through. He and Jermaine Pennant squandered other opportunities to put Blues in command. Blues had dealt with what Palace had thrown at them for the most part in the opening period. They didn't buckle and appeared more likely to score. But once Upson committed the first of his rash challenges inside the area and Johnson despatched the resulting penalty in the 41st minute, Palace grew in stature and Blues simply faded away. Blues, the lowest Premiership scorers in the second period having netted just 10 goals, are stuck in that no man's land which contributes to teams finishing the season with a fizzleout, not a flourish. They know they are unlikely to be relegated and with no cup to aim for and a European place beyond them, they carry the 'oh well, never mind' air about them, as they ended up doing on Saturday. | 
