Crystal Palace fans try to blame poor form on new cheerleaders

Crystal Palace introduced American football style cheerleaders -- The Crystal Girls -- last December and in the time since, Palace have won just three of 18 matches and dropped to just outside the relegation zone in the Championship. So as frustrations rise and irrational thoughts take old, some fans have decided that the Crystal Girls are to blame for this.

From Metro:

'They are just pole dancers on grass and they should be stopped they are not doing the team any favours,' said one internet blogger.

Gareth Pollock, 24, said: 'When they come out waving their pom-poms I just hang my head.'

He added: 'They put everyone off the game you see the players eyeing them up when they should be focusing on the game. The sooner they go the better.'

Captain of the unpaid Crystal Girls, Charlotte Duffy, points out how stupid that is (via the News Shopper):

"I think people need to look at the facts, because the team are doing well at home and have not lost a game since we have been there."

The 25-year-old from Essex added: "We are nowhere near the team during the games.

"We go on before the game and then make a V formation as the players come onto the pitch, but there isn't even any eye contact."

I don't think it's eye contact these disgruntled fans are worried about. Still, blaming these women for the team's troubles on the pitch is almost as ridicul! ous as h aving scantily-clad cheerleaders at a football match in the first place. As a compromise, the team should trade kits with the Crystal Girls. That way, the women can't blamed for dressing too sexy and the players will try even harder to focus on the game rather than embarrassment of what they're wearing. Done and done.