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Crystal Palace Football Club are an English professional football team based in SE25, South East London and currently play in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second level of English football. The clubs current manager is Peter Taylor, who also had a brief spell as a player in the 1970s. The club currently play at Selhurst Park, where they have been since 1924
Club HistoryPre-1980s PalaceImage:Original badge.gif The original Palace crest Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905, with its home ground at the Crystal Palace stadium, in Sydenham, on the site of The Crystal Palace. The team played in the Southern League until 1920, when they were promoted to Division Three of The Football League.
The club was forced to relocate from their original base camp in 1915, and after a brief move to Herne Hill Athletics Stadium (1915-1918) and The Nest (1918-1924), they eventually settled at their present home, Selhurst Park, in 1924. Their first match at the new ground was against Sheffield Wednesday on 30 August. Nicknamed "The Glaziers" - a reference to their original home in the shadow of Joseph Paxton's enormous glass exhibition hall - Palace remained in the lower divisions of the Football League until the 1960s, the time period up until which players such as Peter Simpson established records that will probably never be bettered (such as Simpson's 165 goals, which he gained in just 195 appearances). One of the most loved players of 1960s was Johnny Byrne, who had the distinction of being the first player from the old Division Four to play for England. Byrne joined West Ham United for a then British transfer record, and would go on to net a hat trick for the English national side. The club was finally able to make it to the First Division in 1969. Image:Palace1970sbadge.jpg Allison's rebranded Palace crest Unfortunately, the only constant in the life of a Palace fan is change, and "The Glaziers" – or "The Eagles" as they became known – plummeted back to the Third Division in the early 1970s, following successive relegations. It was during the Malcolm Allison managerial stint that the club decided it should be rebranded, changing its colours away from the original claret and sky blue. The Eagle was also introduced as the club mascot at this time. It is thought that the colours and mascot were chosen to copy those of the big teams, the colours coming from FC Barcelona and the mascot from Benfica.
The Ron Noades Takeover (1981)Ron Noades, formerly chairman of Wimbledon, who is connected to Kentish school The King's School Canterbury bought out the club and sacked Allison immediately. The new manager was Dario Gradi, who had established Wimbledon in the league and lead them to promotion in their second season. They had been immediately relegated, but were in good position for regaining their place in the Third Division when Gradi left. The First Division situation was already beyond Gradi's ability to salvage, but things didn't improve in the Second Division in 1981-82, giving the impression that Gradi was out of his depth. Gradi was sacked and Steve Kember appointed caretaker-manager. Palace's form didn't greatly improve, and the side only saved themselves from another relegation in the second-last match of the season when they beat Wrexham, simultaneously relegating the Welsh club. At the end of the season Kember was sacked and replaced by Alan Mullery. Given his connections with bitter rivals Brighton, Mullery never proved a popular appointment and it showed, with the side finishing closer to relegation in 1982-83 than they had the previous year and doing even worse in 1983-84, with attendances rapidly decreasing, due to the lack of support for the manager from the fans. Mullery left the club at the end of the season – ironically to replace Terry Venables at QPR – and was replaced by Dario Gradi's successor at Wimbledon, Dave Bassett. Bassett then stunned the club four days after his appointment by resigning and returning to Wimbledon. The Steve Coppell era (1984-1993)29-year-old Steve Coppell became the new manager of Crystal Palace after his playing career with Manchester United had been cut short by a knee injury. He co-operated with Noades in rebuilding Crystal Palace and by 1989 they were back in the First Division. Part of this rebuilding included Palace taking part the first official ground-share in The Football League, when rivals Charlton Athletic came to Selhurst Park, after The Valley had been closed, following its deterioration. But it had not been all plain sailing for Coppell. Many Eagles fans were unhappy at his decision not to re-sign Scottish club legend Jim Cannon, following the Eagles missing out on promotion in the 1987-88 season. Cannon left the club in the summer, after 16 years with Palace. Palace finished 15th in their first season back in the top flight (1989-90), but reached the FA Cup final for the first time. After an amazing 4-3 win over Liverpool (who had beaten them 9-0 earlier in the season), which included Palace going 1-0 down, 2-1 up, 3-2 down, and finally 4-3 up, they drew 3-3 with Manchester United thanks to the commendable efforts of players like Andy Gray, John Salako, substitute Ian Wright, Nigel Martyn (who earlier that season had become Britain's first £1 million goalkeeper) and Richard Shaw. In the replay Palace lost 1-0, and lost their chance of a first-ever major trophy. This replay was remarkable as Manchester United were permitted to play loan goalkeeper Les Sealey despite having signed him after the transfer deadline, for seemingly no reason other than their regular custodian Jim Leighton was suffering from a dip in form. Before the final the Palace squad recorded two songs in celebration. One was called "Where Eagles Fly", which was written to commemorate the fans' support in the win over Liverpool, while the other was a cover of Palace's 'anthem' '"Glad All Over", by The Dave Clark Five. They progressed in 1990-91 by finishing a club-best third in the league. mMre success was achieved that season when Palace beat Everton 4-1 in the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup to collect their only cup trophy to date. Palace then resumed ground sharing, this time with neighbouring Wimbledon, after the Dons' Plough Lane ground was closed for safety reasons. Palace were founder members of the FA Premier League, but a loss of key players through sales and long-term injuries resulted in Palace's form slumping. They were relegated on goal difference in 1992-93 at the end of the first season of the Premier League, after Oldham Athletic's 4-3 victory over Southampton. The Alan Smith era (1993-1995)Image:Eric Cantona kung-fu kick.jpg Ex-Manchester United player Eric Cantona kicks spectator Matthew Simmons Steve Coppell resigned as manager following Palace's relegation, and handed over the reins to his assistant Alan Smith, who guided Palace to promotion as runaway champions of Division One, with Chris Armstrong top-scoring with 23 league goals. During this period the badge was changed with the phoenix looking bird being replaced with one more closely resembling an eagle. In 1994-95 they reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups, but a shortage of Premier League goals (only top-scorer Chris Armstrong, with 16 goals, ever really made a big impact on scoring) counted against them (as did the introduction of a fourth relegation place for the 1994-95 season, as the Premiership was being cut from 22 to 20 clubs) and they were relegated on the last day of the season. On 25 January 1995 Palace played Manchester United at Selhurst Park. Following a bad tackle on Richard Shaw, United midfielder Eric Cantona was sent off. As he walked towards the tunnel he was taunted by Palace fan Matthew Simmons. This angered Cantona, who launched a kick at him. There were serious repercussions for Cantona as a result of the incident, which was given the cult name 'The Cantona Kung-Fu Kick'. The second coming of Coppell (1995-1996):Smith was sacked within days of relegation, and Steve Coppell returned to the manager's seat. Relegation also resulted in an exodus of players. The likes of Chris Coleman, Eric Young, Richard Shaw, Gareth Southgate, Iain Dowie, John Salako and Chris Armstrong were all sold to other clubs and Palace's line-up in the first game of the 1995-96 Division One campaign was barely recognisable. The campaign went poorly, and Coppell's second spell was brought to an end after only seven months, with relegation looking increasingly possible. Dave Bassett then joined the club for a second spell, which proved to be far more productive than his first as the club embarked on a stunning run of form which took them to the play-off final, in which they narrowly lost to Leicester City. The following season also went well; unfortunately Bassett soon threw away the goodwill he had earned from the fans when he decided to abruptly walk out on the club again. The Coppell era III (1996-1998)Bassett moved to Nottingham Forest in March 1997, but Steve Coppell returned as manager to secure a playoff final victory over Sheffield United and gain promotion to the Premiership, after David Hopkin scored a long-range goal in the 90th minute of the game. When asked what promotion meant to him, Coppell replied "nine months of hell". On 4 August 1997 Palace signed Italian midfiedler Attilio Lombardo, who amazed supporters with his pace and skill and, even today, many fans still regard him as the best player ever to turn out for Palace. In early 1998, with Palace bottom of the Premiership, Lombardo, along with Tomas Brolin, assumed the manager's job, for the remainder of the season, in the hope that the club's fortunes might be turned around. This, however, was not the case, and their stay lasted just one season before they were relegated back to Division One, having won just two home games and finishing bottom of the table, with just 33 points. At the end of that season Palace got their first, and to date only, experience of European football. The Eagles were entered into the Third Round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, against Samsunspor, of Turkey. Palace lost by two goals to nil at both Selhurst Park and the Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadyumu, and their European experience quickly ended. The Mark Goldberg takeover (1998-1999)In March 1998, just before relegation from the Premiership, Ron Noades sold his controlling interest in Crystal Palace to computer tycoon Mark Goldberg, who was hoping to transform the club into a European force within five years. Steve Coppell was named Director of Football and, after the end of the Lombardo/Brolin tenure, Terry Venables was appointed head coach, but the dream of success for the 1998-99 season quickly turned into a nightmare. Goldberg was unable to sustain his financial backing of the club and they went into administration. Coppell again (1999-2000)His bank balance now significantly swollen, Terry Venables quit as manager soon afterwards, and Steve Coppell returned to the job once again, while, after the approval of the administrators, Peter Morley was installed as chairman. Coppell was able to guide Palace to a mid-table finish in 1998-99. In the 1999-00 season it seemed certain that Palace would be relegated. However, Coppell and his players defied the odds to achieve a 15th place finish. The Simon Jordan takeover (2000-01)Singapore financer Jerry Lim purchased an almost bankrupt Crystal Palace in July 2000, and immediately sold the club to mobile phone tycoon and life-long fan Simon Jordan who, following defeats to non-league sides in pre-season, replaced Coppell with Alan Smith – who had previously been manager from 1993 to 1995. The takeover solved Palace's financial problems, but their on-the-field form slumped and despite reaching the League Cup semi finals Smith was sacked in April 2001 with relegation to Division Two looking imminent. Long-serving coach Steve Kember was put in temporary charge of the first team for the final two games of the season, alongside Terry Bullivant, and – after making changes to the playing side – defied all the odds by securing good enough results to save the club from relegation at the expense of Huddersfield Town. Many fans will always remember the deciding goal. Dougie Freedman, in his second spell at the club, burst into the Stockport County penalty area, in the 87th minute of the last game of the season. The score was tied at 0-0, a result that would have resulted in Palace's relegation, but Freedman was on hand to lash a shot past Stockport 'keeper Lee Jones and into the back of the net, triggering the relegation, instead, of Huddersfield Town. The goal was controversial, as there had been a clear handball by Palace midfielder David Hopkin just moments before, which the referee had ignored. Still, the Palace fans didn't care, and many of the 3,000 who had travelled poured on to Stockport's Edgeley Park pitch, celebrating with the players. Steve Bruce and Trevor Francis (2001-2003)Palace turned to Steve Bruce for the 2001-02 season, and he came to Selhurst Park after vacating the manager's seat at Wigan Athletic which he had occupied for just seven weeks. A good start to the season gave Palace hope for a promotion challenge, but Bruce attempted to walk out on the club after just four months at the helm to take charge of Birmingham City, a decision that has made Bruce hugely unpopular at Selhurst Park (indeed, he is affectionately nicknamed Judas by Palace fans, as they felt he betrayed the club, having promised chairman Simon Jordan he would stay at Selhurst Park). After a short spell on 'gardening leave', Bruce was allowed to join Birmingham. He was succeeded by Trevor Francis, who had ironically been his predecessor at City. Under Francis, Palace were unable to mount a serious promotion challenge and they finished mid-table in Division One. He resigned the following March after another difficult season, and was replaced by long-serving coach Steve Kember. Kember guided Palace to victories in their opening three games of the 2003-04 Division One campaign, which put Palace at the top of the table, but he was sacked in November after a terrible loss of form saw them slip towards the relegation zone. Caretaker player-manager Kit Symons, who was put in charge of first-team duties for a month, oversaw an improvement in form before the appointment of Iain Dowie, a former Palace player who had previously been in charge of Oldham Athletic. Shortly before Dowie's appointment Palace finally had Selhurst Park to themselves, after Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes. The Iain Dowie era (2003-2006)Iain Dowie transformed Crystal Palace from relegation candidates at Christmas into play-off contenders in April. The highlight of this run was arguably a superb 3-0 away win at Sheffield United. On the final day of the season, Sunday 9 May, Palace only needed to draw at Coventry to ensure their play-off place, but they were beaten 2-1 and looked to be heading out of the Play-offs until a 90th-minute equaliser by West Ham against Wigan deprived the Lancashire club of two points and secured sixth place for Palace. Palace achieved a somewhat fortunate 3-2 victory against Sunderland in the first leg of the Play-off Semi-final at Selhurst Park on Friday 14 May, with a late goal from league topscorer Andrew Johnson (32 goals). In the second leg at the Stadium of Light, Palace had achieved the very rare feat for a southern club of almost completely silencing north-east supporters. However, two goals for Sunderland at the end of the first half looked to have taken them through until Palace, who had squandered many chances during the second half as well as the first, equalised through defender Darren Powell's header in the final minute. The aggregate score was now 4-4 - under the away goals rule Sunderland would still have won, but that rule does not operate in the play-offs so after a goalless period of extra time, when a demoralised Sunderland did not have a single shot on goal and Palace to a lesser extent were also playing for penalties, it went to a shoot-out. The lead and the impetus in the shoot-out changed hands several times, with a succession of penalty saves after it had gone to sudden death - after Sunderland goalkeeper Mart Poom had saved two penalties which would have won it for Palace, Sunderland's Jeff Whitley took one of the weakest and least powerful penalties ever seen in such an important match, and Michael Hughes then scored the winning penalty for Palace. Image:Palace060805.jpg Award-Winning Palace programme from the first day of the 2005-06 season, against Luton Town, featuring the Centenary Crest Crystal Palace played West Ham United in the Play-off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 29 May 2004 and won the game 1-0, with a goal from captain Neil Shipperley that was enough for them to claim the match, and with it a place in the Premiership. Despite the valiant efforts of manager Iain Dowie, and the 21 Premiership goals of Andrew Johnson (the second highest goalscorer in the division, and the highest English goalscorer that season), Crystal Palace were relegated on 15 May 2005 after a 2-2 draw at Charlton Athletic. Despite entering the final seven minutes of play ahead by 2-1, Crystal Palace were unable to maintain their fragile lead and Charlton defender Jonathan Fortune managed to score an equaliser in the remaining time. Had Crystal Palace managed to defeat Charlton, they would have avoided relegation from the Premiership. Palace now hold the distinction of being the only team to have been relegated from the Premiership four times. However Palace still went down with pride, and several weeks before the end of the season Palace recorded one of the shocks of the season, beating future European Champions Liverpool, by a goal to nil. Johnson's first-half header secured the win. In the 2005-06 season Palace pulled off another major coup by beating Liverpool again, this time in the Carling Cup, by a scoreline of 2-1. On April 15 2006 Crystal Palace secured a Play-off place in their first season back in the Championship. Finishing sixth in the table, Palace played third-place Watford in the Semi-final leg of the Play-offs. Palace would go on to lose 0-3 to Watford on aggregate, the result of Palace conceding three goals in the second-half of their playoff leg at home. On May 22 it was announced that Iain Dowie had left Crystal Palace by mutual consent, with Simon Jordan citing that he wanted to be closer to his family in the North-East of England. Jordan had accepted Dowie's reasons and waived a £1 million compensation fee. Just days later, bids of £8.5m from Lancashire clubs Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers came in for Johnson, and were accepted by Simon Jordan; but they were upstaged by Everton, who bid £8.6m. On May 30 Johnson signed for Everton, much to the dismay of the Palace fans. However that was not the main event of the day for Palace. Iain Dowie had been appointed as manager of Charlton Athletic. In dramatic style, an unknown representative of Simon Jordan, tried walking up to Dowie during the Charlton press conference and served him with a writ. Jordan is said to be annoyed that Dowie had claimed he wanted to be nearer his family, but had moved just four miles nearer to the town of Bolton (where his family currently reside). During his managerial stay at Crystal Palace Dowie coined the word 'bouncebackability' to describe Palace's ability to come back from the brink of victory. The word is now often used by sports fans across the globe. Press speculation had well-travelled Graeme Souness, former manager of Galatasaray and Newcastle United among others, Hull City (and former England) coach Peter Taylor (who had a three-year spell at Palace during the 1970s and was even picked for England, despite playing in the Third Division), Mike Newell of Luton Town, and even former Inter and A.C. Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni appeared as front runners for the vacant managerial position at Selhurst Park.[1] Time for Taylor (2006-Present)In the end it was Taylor who got the job, with Hull City being paid a compensation package of £300,000 by Simon Jordan. For this he received praise from Hull chairman Adam Pearson for his conduct in the process of appointing Taylor. Most Palace fans were very pleased with this appointment, and are looking forward to an exciting 2006-07 season. Since joining, Taylor has signed Leon Cort from former club Hull City, Republic of Ireland winger Mark Kennedy from Wolverhampton Wanderers, England U-20 goalkeeper Scott Flinders, from Barnsley, forward James Scowcroft from Coventry City, midfielder Carl Fletcher from West Ham United, ex-Millwall defender Matthew Lawrence, who will reignite his old defensive partnership with Darren Ward in SE25, another signing from Hull in Stuart Green and finally Shefki Kuqi signed for a near club-record £2.5 million pounds from Blackburn Rovers, whilst Everton goalkeeper Iain Turner joined on a one-month emergency loan spell in mid-November. In January Taylor made his first signing Paul Ifill (former teammate to Ward and Lawrence), previously of Sheffield United, for a fee believed to be £750,000, and Dave Martin joined from non-league side Dartford. Despite a superb start which saw Palace at the top of the table after three games, a terrible run of form saw the Eagles slip down the order to 20th at one stage. Despite this, Jordan appears to be content to leave Taylor in charge of first-team affairs and his faith may have been rewarded as Palace picked up their form in the post-Christmas period. After being unbeaten in eight games, the Eagles finally disappointingly lost to Dennis Wise's struggling Leeds and controversy followed the game as Wise revealed an unnamed Leeds player had shared information about the Leeds teamsheet to Taylor's side before the game. Many Palace and Leeds fans believed that Shaun Derry might have been the player who shared the information but Derry's agent played down these reports. Club Records
Club Honours
Current squadAs of 06 April 2007:
Out on loan
Transfers
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