Crystal Palace have had a really tough week, losing 3-2 away to Lyon after another poor first half display before being thumped by rivals Brighton at the Amex. 

The good thing about football is it moves fast, and already Palace have a chance to make things right as they face Beşiktaş in Istanbul on Thursday evening, and then again on Sunday against Newcastle. 

Following the defeat last weekend, Sky Sports’ Chris Reidy, who has been providing excellent coverage of the club so far this season, spoke to summer signing Quinten Timber. 

Here’s everything you might have missed from that interview, and a considered look at Timber’s responses. 

Timber also shed some light on how the manager reacted to defeats in both Lyon and Brighton. Sage is not much of a shouter by all accounts, but he still made it clear that he was not happy with the performance of his side, especially in the first halves of both games. 

“He was obviously not happy. The first half [in Lyon] was really bad for us as well, so at half time he was not happy with us. The same happened last Sunday, he was not screaming at us but in his way he was showing us that he wasn’t happy with the way that we played the game, and we have to get better at a lot of things.”

The frustration for Palace fans comes not only from the results, but also from the spells in games, consistently in the second half this season where Palace show that they can play in the way Sage wants them to. 

“We’ve shown in some games that we can play really good, we have a lot of quality in the team so it’s not like we can’t do it. We have to look back at the clips, be honest with each other and learn from it because it’s October now, there’s still a lot of games to be played and I just hope we can do much better as a team, it’s time to improve.”

That has been the main bug bear for fans. Strong spells in games, but the side are yet to produce a full performance aside from the 0-0 draw at Elland Road before the international break. 

“We showed in other games that we can start well, or come back as a team, for example against Nottingham [Forest], we started well, there was a period of twenty minutes they played better but after that we played so well, so the mentality is there in the team, we just have to find a way to show that every game, every minute, not just for thirty or forty five minutes, especially in the Premier League. It’s intense, it’s tough and every week it’s going to be tough, so there’s no time to be off in the game.”

Palace are currently on track to concede 91 goals in the Premier League this season, which would be the worst return since Sheffield United shipped 104 goals in the 2023/24 season, where they finished rock bottom. 

“We start with the defence and we have conceded too many chances, too many goals. We know that, we’re watching clips, we’re training on it, but it’s tough, it’s not easy. Sometimes you need time but in the Premier League there’s no time. We know we have to get better, and I hope this was a wake up call for all of us.”

The manner of the defeat at the Amex was bad enough, but to concede three goals in ten minutes was borderline disgraceful, especially the manner of the first and third goal. 

“In this game [Brighton], you don’t want to concede three goals in fifteen minutes, that’s not good enough and we know that.” 

Whilst it may feel necessary to simply move on from that defeat as quickly as possible, Timber highlighted the importance of reflection, especially when the side are in a bad run of form. 

“It’s hard sometimes to watch it back but we have to learn, we have to be honest with ourselves and look each other in the eye. The club and the fans don’t deserve this and we have to be much better, we will show it, I have full confidence in the coach and the players that we will show that, but we have to do this every weekend.”

Timber signed for the club on deadline day, yet has started almost every game since his arrival. Whilst his influence has been a positive one on the side, there’s certainly an element of his arrival which summed up the summer for Palace. 

Much has been said regarding the incomings over the summer, and the disruption that the World Cup caused, and Timber reflected on what he described as an intense summer. 

“I played a game on Sunday with Marseille, and I just thought I was not focused because there was so much going on and I think the day after everything happened. I put my faith in God and also my agents who work really hard and its football, at the end of the day, you go to London, you sign everything and then a few days later you play against Fulham.”

“Everything goes so quick but it’s special to be here. There’s amazing people at the club, the fans have been really welcoming to me. I’m really happy to be here and hopefully I can show that on the pitch every time.”

Palace travel to Beşiktaş on Thursday for their third Europa League game as they look to find a second win in the league phase after their 3-2 defeat away to Lyon last week.