Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one. And for the question -- "How do they turn this horrible run of form around?" -- currently surrounding Palace fans, the answer appears to be "Yannick Bolasie."
It seemed too easy to blame the run of nine league games without a win on the Congo winger's absence but his introduction at West Brom at half-time on Saturday evening showcased just how much the Eagles have missed him.
It didn't matter that the game had pretty much already been lost in the first half, with Alan Pardew's men 3-0 down at the break -- Bolasie's introduction injected some much needed invigoration into the Palace side.
It nearly worked, too; Connor Wickham scored twice as the Eagles almost completed one of the season's best comebacks. As simplistic as it sounds, just having a player running directly at the opposition with the drive and energy of Bolasie makes all the difference.
Palace are currently undergoing the very definition of a "season of two halves" having been absolutely superb up until Christmas. They secured their last league win on Dec. 19th, the day Bolasie got injured. They haven't won since and have slipped right down the table from fifth to 14th, one more defeat away from a relegation fight.
Saturday's 3-2 loss at West Brom was also a "game of two halves" for the Eagles: all over the place for the first half; much, much better in the second period. That lack of consistency has been hugely frustrating for fans and players alike. It's obvious this isn't a bad side but it appears at times like things just aren't working and there doesn't seem to be a backup plan.
The defence, so fantastic for the latter part of the 2013-14 season under Tony Pulis and the back-end of last season under Pardew, is a mess. Against West Brom it was the same back four -- Joel Ward, Damien Delaney, Scott Dann, Martin Kelly -- who played most games together in those previous two seasons but they looked like four footballers who had never played alongside each other before.
Quite how they've managed to go from a solid back four to a defence that conceded three goals in 19 minutes to West Brom -- a team who had scored the second lowest amount of goals of any team in the Premier League this season prior to Saturday -- is quite astonishing. And yet, these aren't bad players.
Then there's Connor Wickham, completely transparent in the first half but a different player after the break. He scored two nicely taken goals, the second a contender for goal of the season. He's clearly a talented player but something hasn't been right, whether it's his positionining or simply his confidence. He certainly appeared more comfortable once Emmanuel Adebayor went off and he was the lone man up top.
It could have been a different story for Palace had referee Jon Moss awarded the visitors two stonewall penalties for fouls on Dann and Bolasie. Poor officiating has been a perceived theme of the Eagles' season so far but there are still no excuses for that disastrous first half performance.
As such, Pardew will need to take whatever happened in that second half -- be it Bolasie's return, Wickham as the lone man or just a good old fashioned dose of self-belief -- and apply it to Tuesday night's trip to Sunderland. Last season they went there and got a superb 4-1 victory, with Bolasie scoring a hat-trick. They could do with something similar this time around -- not just for the points, but to raise spirits in the squad and the terraces.
There is more than enough ability in that squad and yes, injuries haven't helped, but the likes of Yohan Cabaye should be doing more. The Frenchman, like the team in general, was brilliant over the first few months but is struggling in 2016. His teammates look to him for inspiration when things aren't going well and he's not delivering at the moment.
It's now 10 games without a win in the league and anything other than a victory at the Stadium of Light will confirm the Eagles are in a relegation race, something that would have seemed ridiculous at Christmas.