Serioiusly, Crystal Palace is FOURTH

There's a long, long, repeat, LONG way to go in the Barclays Premier League season.





But at this remarkable point in time, Crystal Palace, which only came up two years ago, and which was barely staying out of relegation each of the past two seasons, is currently...

in FOURTH place (tied with Leicester City).   It'd be nice if the season could end now, and then they could play in the Champions League and all that good stuff (maybe - don't know how the tiebreakers work).   If they last that long in the top four, I'll be stunned.  But if they stay up high, they've got a chance to qualify for international club championships and all that.  It's really way too early to even think about that.

A top-five finish is still unlikely -- but they've already proven they can play.

Next up on the 17th: West Ham.  Then Leicester City, then Manchester United (a scary opponent on Halloween).

We should have a sense of how good they are (or aren't) after those next three games.

Barclays Premier League Table (i.e., standings)