Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace FC is a football club from South East London were formed in 1905 by builders of the Crystal Palace, which was a huge exhibition building moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill around the turn of the century.

The club initially played at the Cup Final Ground in Crystal Palace Park and entered the Southern League, winning Division Two of the competition in their debut season under first manager Jack Robson. The team ended as Southern League runners-up in 1913-14.

The outbreak of World War One led to the Admiralty requisitioning the Crystal Palace and the club was forced to move to the home of West Norwood FC at Herne Hill. Three years later Palace were on the move again as they occupied The Nest which was the former home of Croydon Common FC.

The ground was adjacent to Selhurst railway station and is now home to the Southern Railway depot. It was said that many fans paid for platform tickets and watched the game from the station as it was cheaper than the admission fee.

In 1920-21 'The Glaziers' to give them their old nickname were admitted into the Football League as founder members of Division Three South, where they went on to win the title at the first attempt under long standing manager Edmund Goodman.

The 1924-25 season saw the opening of Selhurst Park, which had been purpose built and designed by Archibald Leitch. Unfortunately, the team were relegated in their first season there, as the ground staged its only international as England entertained Wales.

The team finished as Division Three South runners-up in 1928-29, 1930-31 and again in 1938-39 in the days when only the champions were promoted. When the League was re-organised in 1958-59, Palace were placed in Division Four.

Arthur Rowe led the side to promotion in 1960-61 as runners-up as Johnny Byrne played a starring role. Another second place under manager Dick Graham came in 1963-64 with the Glaziers climbing to the second tier.

At the end of the 1968-69 season Palace were promoted to Division One for the first time in their history with Bert Head as manager of a side including Steve Kember, John Jackson and Mel Blyth. 

To see Selhurst Park in 1970, click here to see this superb nostalgic action:

Palace's spell in the top flight lasted until 1972-73 when they suffered a relegation. The team went down again for a second successive season with the mercurial Malcolm Allison in charge of team affairs. He gave the club their new nickname of 'The Eagles', introduced youth to the team and changed the club colours to blue and red from claret and blue.

Allison led the team while wearing his lucky fedora to the FA Cup Semi Final in 1975-76, where they went down to Southampton at Stamford Bridge after a fine run which saw Palace defeat Scarborough, Leeds United and Chelsea along the way. Stars of the show were Peter Taylor and Ian Evans.

To see the classic victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, look here.

Allison departed soon after to be replaced by Terry Venables, who took the team to promotion  at the end of his debut season in May 1977.  Youth with some astute experienced signings was the key under Venables, and The Eagles won promotion back to the top flight in May 1979 in front of a record Selhurst park crowd of 51,801.

The side were dubbed 'The Team of the Eighties' as it was presumed that the youth of the side would stick together for the following decade. Palace had a season of consolidation after sitting top of the table for a week before Venables left to join Queens Park Rangers in October 1980 in a controversial move with Palace being relegated at the end of the season.

Palace were relegated at the end of the 1980-81 season as players moved on under new owner Ron Noades. Dario Gradi, former player Kember and then Alan Mullery all had spels as manager. In 1984 Noades appointed the recently retired winger, twenty eight year old, Steve Coppell as team manager.

He made signings of players unwanted at other top-flight clubs as well as bringing in Ian Wright from Dulwich Hamlet. Mark Bright was signed from Port Vale a couple of years later to form a prolific forward partnership with Wright.

Coppell gradually built his side before they reached the play-offs in 1988-89, defeating Swindon Town and then Blackburn Rovers with Alan Pardew, John Pemberton, and Gareth Southgate all playing their part.

The signing of goalkeeper Nigel Martyn strengthened the team further as Palace reached the 1989-90 FA Cup Final after an incredible 4-3 extra time semi-final win against Liverpool, after losing 9-0 in the league at Anfield.

The first game at Wembley against Manchester United ended 3-3 as Gary O’Reilly scored before Wright, recovering from a broken leg, came off the bench to net twice. United went on to win the replay 1-0.

The following year saw the club finish third in the top-flight and lift the Zenith Data Systems Cup at Wembley, while Noades, never far from controversy, upset the black players at the club with some disparaging comments.

Palace were founder members of the Premier League in 1992-93, finishing in the relegation places at the end of the first season without Wright who was sold to Arsenal. The Eagles regained their status as second tier champions in 1993-94.

The team were knocked out in the semi-finals of the FA Cup by Manchester United in 1994-95 as well reaching the last four of the League Cup. Despite this, Palace were also relegated prior to reaching the final of the play-offs in 1995-96 after defeating Charlton Athletic.

Leicester City proved too strong in the Wembley final, but it would be a different story in 1996-97 once Coppell returned after the managerial spell of Alan Smith. Wolverhampton Wanderers were defeated before a last gasp goal from David Hopkins beat Sheffield United 1-0 to herald a return to the Premier League.

However, their spell would last just one season after lifelong fan Mark Goldberg purchased the club, but not Selhurst Park from Noades in February 1988. Goldberg made some strange decisions including handing the non-English speaking Italian Attilio Lombardo the manager’s role which didn’t help in their survival bid.

Venables returned for a short spell, before being replaced by Coppell. Goldberg couldn't sustain the financial demands as the club entered administration with £22 million of debt, before being sold to Simon Jordan.

Following a second spell under former boss Smith, Steve Bruce and then Trevor Francis were appointed as manager. Iain Dowie took over the reins in November 2003, leading his side to the 2003-04 play-offs. Sunderland were defeated in the semi-finals before a goal from Neil Shipperley was enough to defeat West Ham United.

Once again Palace were relegated from the Premier League after just one season. Ex star player Peter Taylor arrived as manager, taking his team to the play-offs in 2005-06, where they lost to Watford in the semi-finals before Neil Warnock was appointed as team boss in October 2006.

Bristol City ended any hope of promotion in the 2007-08 play-off semi-final before a transfer embargo was placed on Palace in 2009 before they entered administration and were deducted ten points leading to the popular Warnock.

Jordan claimed he had bought the freehold of the stadium as he tried to sell the club when in fact it was owned by a company called Selhurst Park Limited. Part of the ownership of that company went into administration so a buyer was sought for the stadium.

Paul Hart had taken charge of the side before George Burley was given the job in June 2010. The club was saved by a consortium of fans and businessmen called CPFC 2010 as it looked likely to end in liquidation. 

Selhurst Park in the 70's; image taken from the internet

They bought and took the stadium company out of administration so that the football club and the stadium were a united company for the first time since 1998. In January 2011, the new owners stated their intention to move to a new stadium at their original base in Crystal Palace Park.

The news was met with general enthusiasm from Eagles supporters. On the pitch, Dougie Freedman arrived in January 2011 to do well with limited resources, taking the team to the League Cup semi-final in 2011-12 as the performances of Wilfred Saha began to catch the eye.

Freedman was tempted away to take the Bolton Wanderers managers job in October 2012 to be replaced by Ian Holloway, who soon became a hero with the Eagles regulars. The atmosphere at Selhurst Park was given a boost as 'Ultras' organised themselves to offer increased vocal support.

Palace marched into the play-offs in 2012-13, defeating rivals Brighton & Hove Albion before defeating Watford 1-0 with a goal from veteran Kevin Philips in the final. However, Holloway departed by mutual consent in October 2013 after Palace had made a poor start in the Premier League comeback. 

He was eventually replaced by former Stoke City boss Tony Pulis, who oversaw a remarkable transformation as he led the side to an eleventh place finish with the help of the likes of Mile Jedinak, Dwight Gale and Julian Speroni.

However, Pulis didn't always see eye to eye with the owners which led to his departure prior to the 2014-15 season. His replacement was Neil Warnock who arrived for a second spell in the hot seat.

Warnock's reign only lasted a few months, as he struggled to win over the partisan Palace following. Former FA Cup semi-final hero Alan Pardew was lured back from Newcastle to take over in December 2014. Pardew built on a good end to the 2014-15 season with new signings in the close season.

The 2015-16 campaign was a mixed bag for Palace. An alarmingly poor run in the league towards the back end of the season was tempered by a fine run in the FA Cup, which saw the Eagles overcome Watford in the semi-final before taking the lead against Manchester United in the final; only to eventually lose 2-1 in extra time.

Despite the club spending a lot of money in the summer of 2016, including the signing of Christian Benteke. However, results were poor on the pitch, which led to the sacking of Pardew in December 2016. He was replaced as manager by Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce steadied the ship after an inauspicious start and steered the side away from the relegation places, before surprising the club by resigning at the end of the season. Palace appointed Frank De Boer as the new manager in June 2017.

Palace lost their first four league games under the Dutchman leading to the board dismissing him and bringing in local boy Roy Hodgson as the new manager in September 2017. The former England boss led the team to eleventh place as Wilfred Zaha continued to star.

Further mid table finishes ensued for the team skippered by Luka Milivojević, including 2019-20 when the season was disrupted by the outbreak of Coronavirus. Ebe Eze added quality to the squad for the 2020-21 campaign where another midtable position was achieved.

Hodgson was replaced by Patrick Vieira who took the team to twelfth place and an FA Cup semifinal in his first season before the veteran boss returned in March 2023 as Palace hovered above the drop zone. Safety was met before Hodgson’s contract was extended.

The veteran boss finally resigned and retired in February 2024 to be replaced by former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner who oversaw a revival on the pitch when the side at one time looked threatened with the drop.

Crystal Palace FC will play in the Premier League in the 2023-24 season.

My visits

Charlton Athletic 1 Hull City 2 (Saturday 16th November 1985) Division Two (att:4,140)

Click here for details of my first time at Selhurst Park to watch Charlton Athletic play a home game, who were tenants between 1985 and 1991 while the future of The Valley was in limbo. I went on a Christmas shopping bus from Scarborough to London with some other Hull City fans to watch 'The Tigers' in action.

Thursday 22nd November 2007

One bright day in 2007 I again popped down to the ground to take some photos while wandering around some grounds and taking plenty of exercise. After walking around the ground someone suggested I asked in the reception which I did. The kind ladies pointed me in the direction of an open gate by the players entrance and I was pitch side

Since my previous call the ground had changed immensely, not least in the fact that it was now all seater. I entered down the players tunnel area which was now in the corner between the Main Stand and the new Holmesdale Stand. This was a massive new two tiered structure cleverly built into the profile of the hill.

The Arthur Waite Stand was structurally the same apart from the removal of the paddock wall. The Whitehorse Lane Stand was the converted terrace with the addition of corporate boxes, a high roof and a scoreboard. I left the ground an walked past the very inviting Clifton Arms and down to Selhurst station ready for a train to my next ground, that of Whyteleafe FC.

Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle United 3 – after extra time (Wednesday 24th September 2014) League Cup Round Three (att: 13,773)

It had been far too long since I’d been to a match at Selhurst Park. Indeed, I’d never seen Palace in action there. I was on early shift and ready to treat myself after a testing eight hours at work. I perused the fixture list and saw that tickets were only £15. My mind was made up.

The train from Victoria down to Selhurst was very busy most of the way, so I was glad to get into the fresh air. It wasn’t a bad night weather wise and I’d gone over the top by giving my winter coat its first outing of the season.

The bouncer on the door grudgingly let me inside The Clifton. It was far too busy and the Greene King ales hardly inspired me. I took a punt and went over the road and into the stadium. My seat for the evening was for upstairs in the Holmesdale Stand. It transpired that it had some of the best facilities I’d experienced for the home fans.

Initially I thought it moderate on the concourse with the usual food and drink concessions, but I followed signs to go up another tier. Behind the top seats the Red & Blue Bars had plentiful seating, lots of TV's and some cracking prints of fans and days gone by.

Best of all there was a specially crafted Palace Ale by the bottle as well another special brew called Cronx straight from the barrel. The pies were excellent and served with a plastic plate, fork and napkin. The staff were very courteous. I had a nice chat with the rarest of breeds. An older lad who watched both Palace and Brighton!

It turned out I’d purchased a superb seat upstairs in the Holmesdale. There wasn’t a big crowd in attendance so I had plenty of choice of where to plonk myself down. Even with the small gate it was a decent enough atmosphere and a reasonable enough game.

Palace went ahead from the penalty spot through Dwight Gayle before Emmanuel Riviere's leveller sent Alan Pardew’s under fire side in level at the break.

After the interval and another fine pint of Cronx the Toon Army edged ahead with a very similar penalty award to the earlier one. Former Monaco star Riviere slotted home from eighteen yards.

The fourth referee lifted his board to indicate a further four minutes would be played but I decided to make a move  to catch a fast train back from Selhurst as I was up at 5.40 on Thursday. I should have guessed that a Neil Warnock led side were far from finished. I was half way back to the station when a huge roar went up.

Sullay Kaikai had scored to take the game into extra time. During the additional thirty minutes Newcastle were reduced to ten men when Mehdi Abeid was given his marching orders before they progressed to the next round by courtesy of a Paul Dummett diving header.

Despite missing the climax, I considered it a good night out.

Crystal Palace 0 Hull City 2 (Saturday 25^th April 2015) FA Premier League (att: 23,876)

It was an emotional time for the whole family. Dad had recently passed and it was the Saturday after his funeral and several frantic days of clearing his flat. Nick and I had arranged and bought tickets for the vital City match weeks earlier, so we decided to carry on.

After spending the night with Nick and the family in York, the pair of us took a train packed full of Middlesbrough fans on their way to their big game at Fulham down to the capital. After dropping off my sizeable luggage it was time to meet with the other lads for some pre match beers.

Plenty of old school City fans were already at the St. George’s Tavern when we arrived. Before long Frazer and John turned up after a long bus ride. We took on further liquid in The Shakespeare before taking the train to Thornton Heath station before a fifteen minute walk to the stadium.

It was soon apparent inside that the feeling against City owner Dr Allam was growing. We observed a minute’s silence for those who perished in the Bradford Fire Disaster before finding our seats. The four of us were about ten rows from the front and had a decent view on a lovely afternoon. The ticket cost £32 in the deep low roofed Arthur Waite Stand.

Palace started well with veteran keeper Steve Harper pulling off a great save from Glenn Murray. City defended heroically with Paul McShane having areal storming game as did Stephen Quinn in midfield. Dame N’Doye was a real handful up front while also doing lots of graft for the team.

The city fans protests against Allam were loud. Some modern Premier fans in the away section weren’t impressed but there were sure signs that the worm was turning. During the interval following a scoreless half time we were treated to a close up of the Crystals; the Palace cheerleaders. They certainly cheered me up and were a perfect accompaniment to my fine chicken balti pie.!

Our mood was brightened even further on fifty one minutes when N’Doye put away Robbie Brady’s square ball from close range. The away end went berserk. City were putting in a superb display and one unrecognisable from many weeks of the season.

However, the tension built as City defended a bit too deep for comfort. The relief was palpable when Yaya Sinogo had a goal disallowed for The Eagles for a push. Referee Mark Clattenberg had a superb game, but replays later suggested he may have got that call wrong.

In the first of four stoppage minutes Gaston Ramirez set N’Doye away. He shimmied before smashing an unstoppable shot across Julian Speroni into the far corner.

A few minutes later we were all celebrating before meeting up outside and heading to Selhurst station with a celebratory can to head back into London. It turned into a magnificent evening in Camden after a brief stop at The Ship & Shovell under Charing Cross station. 

Most of the night was spent in The Elephant’s Head laughing and chatting to lots of good people while listening to some cracking tunes served up by the mature DJ’s.

If only all away days were as good as that one. It was as though someone was looking down upon us. Thanks Dad!

To see the City fans celebrating, click here.

Crystal Palace 0 Charlton Athletic 1 (Monday 28th November 2016) U23 Professional Development League (Att: around 120)

It was a lovely bright day, and definitely not one to stay indoors. I took the tube and then Overground from Canada Water to Norwood Junction before walking to Selhurst Park. After a bit of a palaver at the ticket office (I booked my £5 ticket online) I ventured under the old Main Stand for the first time where I was given a free teamsheet.

Naturally enough a few headed to the centre section with the best view and padded seats, only to be moved by a steward as we didn't have director's tickets. Surely the Jobsworth of the Month Award had no rivals to that?

It was a very cold wind that blew through the stand. Charlton were the better side in a relatively uninspiring match, full of lots of passes going nowhere in a fine display of safety first football. The Valiants won the game when a rare forward passing move tore holes in the Palace rearguard.

Half time refreshments under the stand came by way of a welcome cup of Bovril and a small meat pie which was a reasonable £3.

I departed just before full time to take a bus to Crystal Palace Park to enjoy a lovely walk and taking in the history in a place that has been on my tick list for several years, before heading back over the water to visit my friends and Godson at Hampstead CC, and then meeting my pal Steve Barnes as we set off towards our evening's entertainment.

Tuesday 1st December 2020

Click here to read about a further visit as part of my 100 mile Sawasdee Cup Charity Walk late in 2020 as I called in on all the clubs in the top five tiers within Greater London to raise money for Junior Cricket Development in Thailand.

Crystal Palace u23s 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers u23s 2 after extra time (Monday 17th May 2021) Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off semi-final (att: c2,000)

After five games at unenclosed grounds over the last few weeks I jumped at the opportunity to visit a proper stadium. I was alerted to tickets on the excellent Non-League Matter forum in the morning, so I registered and grabbed a ticket for £5. The game sold out by lunchtime.

I headed down to South London by train from Victoria, with crowds noticeably bigger around the station on the first day back in semi-normality. I alighted at Thornton Heath and wandered to the ground passing people inside pubs as the storm clouds gathered.

Some fans were outside trying to get a spare ticket. The stewards did a sterling job with everything well organised. All spectators gathered in the lower tier of the Holmesdale Road stand, where refreshments minus alcohol were available.

We were treated an excellent game. Home striker Rob Street saw his effort cleared the post by Pascal Estrada after dinking over Wolves keeper Jackson Smith on five minutes. From the resulting corner he latched onto a Jay Rich-Baghuelou header from a corner to score.

Luke Cundle had a free kick for the visitors well saved by Eagles goalie Ollie Webber after he made another quality stop from a Jack Scott header. Despite Wanderers having plenty of the game they were to go two behind.

Keeper Smith had previously denied James Taylor and then Jesurun Rak-Sakyi with a double save before Rich-Baghuelou doubled the lead when he collected a cleared header from a corner to fire home low.

Theo Corbeanu, on his nineteenth birthday, scored with a brilliant shot from outside the box to reduce the arrears soon after the restart as Wolves dominated possession. The Canadian had made his Premier League debut a few days earlier and looked a class act.

Corbeanu equalised with fifteen minutes remaining when he shot first time after the ball dropped to him with another excellent first time curling finish. Sadly he had to go off injured shortly after as the game went to extra time.

Substitute David Omilabu played a one two with Street in the box before slotting home the winner ten minutes into extra time by which time several players from both sides had gone down with cramp. Palace held out and will host Sunderland in the play-off final.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plenty of good football, goals and endeavour. The experience was also enhanced by the home ultras creating a good atmosphere. What a difference fans make to a football match.

I wasn’t not sure how many will reach their respective first teams but there were several who definitely won’t at their present clubs. Step forward Wolves sub, Cyriaque Mayounga, a proper big immobile lump. With that in mind I fully expect him to be sold for £50M within a couple of years.