With a near fully fit squad to choose from Iain Dowie could finally give his side a much needed shake-up following an indifferent few weeks.

The dismal display at Luton was the final straw for a few of this season's first team regulars and the Palace boss was right to wield the axe before Saturday's clash with Millwall.

Dowie has always indicated that Andrew Johnson would be included when fit, but the return of Mikele Leigertwood, Tony Popovic and Julian Speroni were changes Dowie had to make.

Gabor Kiraly's erratic performance at Kenilworth Road, where he let the home crowd unsettle him to the detriment of the team, would have increased Dowie's temptation to include an in-form Julian Speroni 10-fold, after the Argentine's solid performances in the Carling Cup.

The Eagles lack of leadership was something I touched on last week and the return of club captain Tony Popovic, at the expense of the recently out of sorts Darren Ward, did much to counter that problem.

Leigertwood is the best holding midfielder at the club and therefore can act as perfect foil for either Ben Watson or Tom Soares in the centre of the park. Watson got the nod over Soares this time, which paid off with his last-gasp equaliser.

Hopefully the changes will act as an incentive both for the players who came in to prove their worth and for the players left out to prove their point, which can only benefit the Eagles as players now know their is a full-on, realistic, battle for places.