'Excellent' business but Palace must shed 'stepping stone' tag - fan views

[BBC] [Getty Images] We asked for your views on how Crystal Palace can continue to progress when key assets are swiped away. The Eagles go into the new season off the back of a historic European success but despite such momentum look set to lose influential defender Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea . Here are some of your comments: Boab: We've always been a selling club. We find them, give them first team football and then they move on to a bigger club. Sad to see them go but that's the way we manage to stay in business. We've already agreed terms for a youngster as a potential replacement so the circle continues. David: Been a Palace fan all my life and now I'm 70. It's been the best period in the clubs history and I've loved it all. With success comes expectation fortunately. For a club our size selling top players is inevitable and we need to find new ones and have a clear transfer strategy. I'm not clear on ours! We have lost two centre-backs and as yet no new ones have come in. Waiting until the end of the window is not, in my opinion, a good strategy and seems more like retail shopping. Chris: What other option do CPFC have? The nature of modern football is that realistically you'll only ever sign top players/prospects if they can see a pathway to the really big clubs. The key thing for Palace is to get a good two-to-three years out of these players and sell them at the right time for a solid profit. Andrew: No, it's an excellent piece of business and fits exactly with Palace's business model. In addition to that they are making some very encouraging signings. Steve: As a supporter, and follower, since 1958, I believe chairman, Steve Parish, has done a terrific job keeping Palace solvent after almost going out of business in 2010. The past year has been a thoroughly deserved reward with three excellent trophies. However, the time has come to move to the next level. Palace need to shed the image of a 'stepping stone' club. The new stand needs to be built. Players of genuine quality, who want to be at the club, added to the squad.