Bad Karma

Bad Karma - n. (Buddhism & Hinduism). sum of person's negative actions in one of his successive states of existence, viewed as deciding his fate for the the next destiny.

For me this best sums up the collective Palace view of Charlton Athletic and it's supporters following their unfortunate relegation from the Premier League on that magical Saturday at the Valley on 15th May 2005. Our braying that afternoon and demonic chanting to the tune of Amarillo was viewed in their mind as extremely bad karma and for that they promised us they would have the last laugh as fate took revenge on us. Simon Jordan summed it up with "what goes around comes around" as he left the Valley Boardroom red-faced with embarrassment and anger.

Absolute rubbish as far I am concerned. Simply a natural human fear about tempting fate. Life doesn't work like that or we would live in a world completely moderated by good and bad karma e.g. how could Joseph Stalin get away with killing 20m of his own people and why are we still stuck with Kelvin McKenzie as a "supporter?"

However, the Palace faithful were adamant; low and behold we were relegated two years later and not content with that, our bad karma in persisting with the Amarillo taunt has overseen the downward spiral into League One. So what was the reaction of Palace fans? Why they arrived at the Valley in January in fancy dress to celebrate our impending relegation and sang "who's laughing now?" They planned to fly an aeroplane over the Valley on the final day dragging a mocking banner. Some would say that this behaviour was itself likely to induce bad karma. Not me of course, because I don't believe in it.

Having said that, Eagles fans clearly do believe in bad karma and as a consequence they must now fear the gathering storm clouds knowing that their largest ego has had no option but to very grudgingly fork out £5m in order to pay the wage bill and keep the dreaded Administrator from the door. He had tried the British Airways cheap trick of trying to get key players to defer wage and bonus payments but was forced to shell out after they refused. Palace were a tip of mine for a relegation struggle this season and I see plenty more reasons to believe. Home defeats in pre-season to League One's Norwich and Gillingham was encouraging and knowing the players won't be enamoured about their payment prospects this year fill me with hope.

Palace have been losing money for several seasons since we sent them down and Jordan has been borrowing against the value of the club whilst trying to find another ego with more money than sense. His latest forced move would indicate the club is now worth nothing and is just building debt (even if it is "friendly" debt). By his own admission, he made the loan because the banks won't help them. My hunch would be that this might have been a final contribution from Simes, whose personal fortune has taken a pasting in the recession, and who is long-tired of his plaything. I would hazard a guess that £5m might shore Palace up until the New Year when he might need the real threat of the Administrator to force someone else out into the open to takeover the ongoing debt. At best he might flog a couple of their young prospects but the future looks grim for Jordan and Palace.

In the meantime, I shall wallow in their misfortune and celebrate every set-back safe in the knowledge that their fans fully expect it. If we can turn the corner this season there is every prospect of the natural order of things being restored, something I fully believe in.