Dindane Dong – Could Aruna hold the key to the Palace!

The 2012/13 football season is reaching its climax and now it’s time for Crystal Palace Football Club to pull one final rabbit out of the hat!

Crystal Palace’s recent form has dipped with 'The Eagles' taking just 2 points from their last five Championship fixtures, conceding 10 goals and scoring just twice in the process. Palace and hitman Glenn Murray have not scored since our 2-2 draw with Leeds at Selhurst Park back on the 9th March.

A month on and this poor run of form threatens to destabilise Palace’s promotion push. It looks very much like Palace will have to settle for a play-off place at best, but I think the Club still need another seven points from their remaining five games to be sure.

So what can the boys from London SE25 do to make sure that this nine month long season ends with a bang and at least the opportunity to compete for a place in the financial promise land that is the Premier League!
A new TV deal coming into play next season will see the bottom placed top flight side still receive around £60million in TV cash.

Enter Mr Aruna Dindane.......!

Dindane is an experienced 32 year-old Ivory Coast international, who plyed his trade with RSC Anderlecht in the Belgium league between 2000 and 2005, helping the club win two league titles and winning the Belgium League Player of the Year award in 2003. He then joined French Ligue 1 club RC Lens in 2005, where he spent five years which also included a loan spell with then Premier League outfit Portsmouth during the 2009/10 season, where he scored 10 goals in 24 Premier League appearances and helped the Fratton Park club to the 2010 FA Cup Final. He left Pompey at the end of the 2010 season and spent two-and-a-half years in the Middle East, before being released by Qatari side Al-Sailiya Sport Club in December 2012.

Dindane has represented his country at the 2006 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt. He was also selected for the Ivorian squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations hosted by Ghana.
He currently has 67 international caps to his name and has scored 11 goals for his country, where he often partners Didier Drogba (right) in attack.
He also participated in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, in Germany and South Africa respectively.

On 23rd March 2013, Dindane signed for Crystal Palace until the end of this season, after eventually receiving international clearance from the Middle East. On joining he clearly lacked match fitness and only made his first outing in a Palace shirt as an over-age player in the Under-21 development match versus Stoke City at Tooting and Mitcham's Imperial Fields last night, but he did play 70 minutes and more importantly got on the score sheet!

Ipswich Town at Portman Road is our next league game on Tuesday 16th   April, so the Ivorian has another 10 days to improve on his fitness. The Crystal Palace gaffer Ian Holloway is a student of the game and a deep thinker, and although I do not claim for one moment to be his eyes or ears I expect Dindane to play a part in this crucial fixture. I think Holloway sees something in Dindane that is lacking in the side at the moment. Dindane boasts a wealth of experience but that is not an area where I feel the squad is lacking with the likes of Phillips, Murray, Ramage, Delaney, Jedinak, Wilbraham, Dobbie and Speroni on the books!

It may be just as a goal threat, but equally ‘Ollie’ may feel Dindane can provide us with some 'fresh guile' or possibly something different tactically.

Dindane was training with Palace before he was officially signed. Holloway has been trying hard to get his fitness levels up. He may have featured against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Easter Monday if it had not been for an issue with red tape. There are only five league games to go and I cannot see why the gaffer would exert the amount of time and energy into Dindane, if he did not have a game plan that involved the Ivorian striker!

Whether he starts in place of Glenn Murray who is struggling with a hip injury as I speak, plays him alongside Murray in a 4-4-2 formation or behind Murray in a 4-4-1-1 formation that we have used frequently and fruitfully this season remains to be seen. He may alternatively be used as an impact substitute, particularly if we need a goal with the clock ticking down.

So what can the Palace fans truly expect from Aruna Dindane?
Well realistically and honestly, absolutely nothing! He has only played 14 competitive games since January 2012, and none since December 2012, that was before last night.

However now and then when you least expect it you can be holding the key to the ignition! Palace need a spark from somewhere right now, and in Dindane perhaps this skillfull, powerful and experienced striker can be dusted off and a like sparkling gem and be subsequently restored to its former glory.

Dindane (right) has nothing to lose and everything to gain! At present he only has a two-month contract. Could he inject that flash of brilliance, a magical on-field moment or two that could ignite the tail end of what has so far been a wonderful season for a Club, that were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season.

If Dindane can prove himself and help guide the Londoner’s to the Premier League I am pretty sure he could secure himself a lucrative deal with Palace next season, and perhaps become a fans’ favourite.

'Roy of the Rovers' material it may sound, but that’s what football dreams are all about..........so let’s just wait and see!

As Oscar Hammerstein once famously said: “If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?”

The Latest World Cup News

After terrific results so far in this World Cup for most of Latin America's teams, Paraguay hope to keep the roll going against Slovakia in Sunday's first game in the quest for a second round place.
The South Americans have not passed the second stage in seven attempts but are buoyed with self-belief after wins over big guns Brazil and Argentina in the qualifiers, and a creditable 1-1 draw with world champions Italy in their opening game - Reuters

Just 15 days after undergoing surgery on a broken arm, Didier Drogba is set to start tonight for the Ivory Coast against Brazil, and that would be a huge boost for a side that has already taken a point off Portugal.
The Chelsea striker made a difference when he came on late in the 0-0 draw and Brazil, having been stretched by North Korea, will be aware of his threat in this most unpredictable of World Cups.
Brazil could keep faith with the side that won 2-1 against North Korea ahead of the final game, against Portugal - Telegraph.co.uk

Paul Le Guen insists he will not step down as Cameroon coach after they became the first nation to be knocked out of the World Cup.
The Indomitable Lions' hopes of reaching the second round are already over after suffering a 2-1 defeat by Denmark in Pretoria on Saturday - Skysports.com

The Netherlands and Denmark will both be missing key players when they face each other on Monday.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben will definitely miss out for the Netherlands with a hamstring injury, while Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is likely to be missing for Denmark with a groin problem - BBC Sport

Fabio Capello has warned his underperforming England side that he is prepared to get tough if necessary.The Italian has made it clear that he will make his selections based on form, meaning nobody is immune from the axe.
Two lacklustre showings in their opening Group C games at the 2010 World Cup have left Capello pondering sweeping changes.
Some difficult decisions may have to be made before the midweek encounter in Port Elizabeth, with the performances of too many players having fallen below the required standard.
Capello accepts as much and has informed those still feeding their feet that he is running out of patience.
The former AC Milan and Real Madrid is renowned for his no-nonsense approach to management and has revealed that he would not be afraid to drop any of his so-called stars against the Slovenians.
"No-one is untouchable, not in my mind," he said - Skysports.com

It is has been reported that France striker Nicolas Anelka has retired from international football.
Anelka was sent home from the World Cup squad on Saturday following a dressing-room bust-up with manager Raymond Domenech.
It is reported that the 31-year old directed a foul-mouthed tirade at Domenech during half-time of Thursday's 2-0 defeat to Mexico.
Anelka, capped 60 times accepted his exclusion and wished the team well, but it now appears he has called time on his international career.
A win over South Africa in their final group game may not be enough for France as they will still be eliminated if Mexico and Uruguay draw their match - Skysports.com

Honduras' three Palacios brothers are forever assured a place in the annals of the FIFA World Cup. They became the first ever trio of brothers to appear at the tournament after Jerry was given a late call-up by Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda, as a replacement for the injured Julio Cesar de Leon. Jerry thus joined his two younger brothers, Jhony and Wilson, who were named in the original squad for South Africa 2010 - Fifa.com

The thought of Chile against Switzerland as a top-of-the-table clash in the same group as World Cup favourites Spain would have been inconceivable only a few days ago.
But both teams are in the unlikely position of joint Group H leaders after the Swiss stunned the Spaniards 1-0 and Chile beat Honduras by the same scoreline, to seal their first win at a World Cup in 48 years.
Although far from a mouth-watering matchup, Monday's encounter has taken on added significance that might just be enough to wake sleepy Port Elizabeth from its World Cup snooze.
The defeats for Spain and Honduras, who meet later on Monday in Johannesburg, means a win for either Switzerland or Chile would give them one foot in the next round. The winning side may be able to advance with a defeat in their final game - Reuters

Coach Bob Bradley and the USA team are putting the controversy of the tie against Slovenia behind them, with the focus switching to Wednesday's key match against Algeria.
USA coach Bob Bradley firmly believes his team's apparent game-winning goal against Slovenia in the 85th minute should not have been disallowed by referee Koman Coulibaly, who overnight became one of most well-known figures of this World Cup back in America.
Bradley said he watched and rewatched footage of the controversial call on Maurice Edu's close-range shot and did not see anything out of the ordinary pushing and shoving that goes on in the penalty area during a free kick. Instead of a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory, the United States had to settle for a 2-2 draw - Miamiherald.com

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac declined to criticise his men for failing to kill off 10-man Australia in their 1-1 draw yesterday.
Harry Kewell was sent off for a first-half handball on the line, and although Ghana equalised from the spot, they could not find a winning goal.
But the result leaves the Black Stars needing only one point from their final Group D match to reach the last 16. Ghana, who play Germany on Wednesday, top the group with four points, one more than the Germans and Serbia.
Australia have one point and must beat Serbia to have any chance of progressing to the next phase - BBC Sport

Australia's Harry Kewell has been suspended for one match following his sending off for a deliberate handball during Friday's 1-1 draw against Ghana.
Kewell could have been handed a two-game ban, but Fifa's disciplinary committee opted not to impose a stiffer punishment on the ex-Liverpool player.
It means he will miss Wednesday's final Group D match against Serbia but will be available if Australia progress - BBC Sport