It's not often Palace fans know more about on the pitch matters than the club's management but they might be right about one thing.
All summer, supporters implored the club to buy a new striker, yet the only forwards who came in were Connor Wickham from Sunderland for £9 million and Patrick Bamford on loan from Chelsea. Now, nine weeks into the season, injuries and suspensions mean the Eagles go into this weekend's clash with Leicester with just Bamford and Frazier Campbell available as traditional centre-forwards.
It's a sorry state of affairs for a club who spent most of the transfer window flexing their wealth in the market, trying to make a statement about how they are ready to break into that next level of Premier League clubs.
They did to an extent; the signing of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain was a coup and the Frenchman has been brilliant so far, probably the team's best player. Bakary Sako came in on a free and looks superb business while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has been a solid acquisition, even though he's since lost his place to Wayne Hennessey.
There was one crucial departure in the striker department; Glenn Murray went to Bournemouth for £4m and it's proving to be a terrible decision by Palace. Steve Parish has admitted he accepted the striker's transfer request reluctantly and, in hindsight, Murray should have stayed.
He would surely have started in the five league games Palace have had since he left, due to Wickham and Marouane Chamakh's injuries. Three of those five games have ended in defeat but might not have done with someone like Murray up front.
Dwight Gayle will also be absent for the trip to Leicester after getting sent off against West Ham although, even if he was available he hasn't done much in the last few weeks to merit another start.
The rash challenges for which he received two yellow cards last week, not to mention encroaching on Cabaye's penalty causing a retake, suggested Gayle's thinking is askew at present and, while he has been scoring for fun in the League Cup against lower league teams like Shrewsbury and Charlton, he has yet to net in the league this season.
All of which leaves Bamford and Campbell as possible starters, although both could be overlooked if Pardew's previous team selections are anything to go by. He seems to prefer playing a bulky winger in the lone role up front instead when options are limited; both Sako and Yannick Bolasie have been tried there this season, and neither have really worked.
Bolasie seems more at home on the wing and, while Sako is good at shielding the ball, his link-up play isn't the strongest. He may well be the best option though, which says a lot about how little Pardew and Palace fans rate Campbell and Bamford.
The only other options would be youth players but though the likes of Sullay Kaikai and Keshi Anderson have been impressing on loan at Shrewsbury and Doncaster respectively, bringing them back now would be way too big an ask for two players who are not ready yet.
Wickham is back in training but isn't ready to play and Chamakh is probably still searching on eBay for some new hamstrings. Everyone at Palace loves the Moroccan forward; he is superbly talented and uses the ball brilliantly but has been struggling for so long with injuries -- he has yet tpo play this season -- that a lot of Eagles fans are secretly worried they'll never see him in a red and blue shirt again.
But despite all this, the game at Leicester is still very much one Palace can win, especially as goals have been coming from all over the pitch. Cabaye has four from midfield, while Sako has two. Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha have both netted, as have defenders Scott Dann, Joel Ward (twice) and Damien Delaney. Losing a man up top is frustrating but there is more than enough quality elsewhere to cope.
Also, the Foxes can't keep clean sheets so there will be plenty of chances for whoever does get the nod up front. Leicester do, though, have forwards in rich veins of form, not least Jamie Vardy who has nine goals in nine league games so far this season. He'll be confident of netting again against an Eagles defence that has only kept two clean sheets.
But that Palace backline did keep out Manchester City until the 90th minute and also frustrated Tottenham until late. Last week, they limited West Ham to pot shots from distance last week until the 87th minute.
They can be resolute and solid and if they can keep Vardy quiet -- yes, that is a big ask -- there's no reason why they can't come back home with a result. Even without any proper strikers.