History of Crystal Palace F.C.

The Crystal Palace squad of 1905–06.

Crystal Palace Football Club is an English professional football club who play in the highest level of English football, the Premier League. Since 1964, the club has mostly played in the top two leagues of English football.

The club was founded in 1905 at the famous Crystal Palace Exhibition building by the owners of the FA Cup Final stadium, who wanted their own team to play at the historic venue.

Palace applied to gain election to The Football League but missed out by one vote. The club instead joined the Southern Football League Second Division, playing home games at The Crystal Palace, their home for the first ten years and inspiration for the club's initial nickname, "The Glaziers". Palace were champions in their first season, and played in the Southern League First Division for the next fifteen years.

The Football League was re-organized in 1920 which saw the majority of the Southern League Division One forming a new Division Three. At the end of the season Palace were crowned champions and gained promotion to the Second Division.

Palace spent four seasons in the Second Division before suffering relegation to what was then the Third Division South. Here they remained until a re-organisation of the Football League structure saw Palace become founder members of Division Four in 1958. Over the next eleven years, the club progressed to the highest level of English football, the First Division in 1969, and stayed in the top division for four seasons, before suffering successive relegations. It was during this period that the club nickname was changed from The Glaziers to "The Eagles" and the 68-year association with claret and blue was ended by introducing the red-and-blue vertical stripes now associated with the club.

The club enjoyed a run to the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1976 and reached the top flight again after promotions in 1977 and 1979, the latter saw the club crowned as Division Two champions. During the period between 1989-91, the club reached the FA Cup final in 1990, won the Full Members Cup the following year and finished in third place in the top flight at the end of the 1990-91 season, their highest league position to date. The club were denied entry into Europe after that season. The UEFA ban on English clubs playing in Europe after the Heysel disaster had been partially lifted, but there would only be one place for English clubs in the UEFA Cup which went to the runners up in the top flight, so Palace missed out.

Palace became founder members of the Premier League in 1992, but were relegated the same season, despite achieving 49 points which is still a Premier League record for a relegated club. The club bounced between the top two divisions over the course of the nineties, and enjoyed runs to the semi-finals of both the League and FA Cups in 1995, before suffering administration in 1999. The club recovered, but spent most of its time in the Championship over the next 10 years with a brief spell in the Premier League during 2004–05. Another administration in 2010 saw the club emerge owned by a consortium consisting of four wealthy fans. The club then achieved promotion back to the Premier League in the Football League play-offs of 2013, and have since retained their place in the top league of English football.

The club initially played their home games at the FA Cup Final stadium which was situated inside the grounds of The Crystal Palace, but the First World War saw them forced to move out, and they enjoyed a number of seasons at both the Herne Hill Velodrome and The Nest. Since 1924, Palace have played their home games at Selhurst Park. The club's longest serving manager is Edmund Goodman and Jim Cannon has made the most appearances for the club. Peter Simpson is the club's top scorer for both one season and overall, netting 54 and 165 respectively. The highest transfer fee paid by the club to date was for Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain in July 2015.

Background and formation

As early as 1861, workers from the famous glass exhibition building formed the initial Crystal Palace team as an amateur club. They were one of the 12 founder members of the Football Association and competed in the first FA Cup reaching the semi-finals where they were eliminated by the Royal Engineers in a replay after the first game ended goalless. The team also played in the FA Cup in the next four seasons, disappearing from historical records after a 3–0 defeat to eventual winners Wanderers in the second round of the 1875–76 FA Cup. However, this was not the end of the association between Crystal Palace and the FA Cup. In 1895, the FA adopted a new permanent home for the Cup Final which was to be played at The Crystal Palace. With the owners of the attraction reliant on tourist activity for their income, they sought fresh attractions for the venue, attracting the London County Cricket Club of W. G. Grace before turning their attention to football.^[1]

The idea of a new club playing at the Crystal Palace stadium was proposed in 1904 by the Crystal Palace Company. The proposal was rejected by the Football Association, who disliked the idea of the owners of the Cup Final venue also possessing a football club. However a separate company was formed the following year to establish the club under the chairmanship of Sydney Bourne, chosen due to his propensity in buying tickets to the Cup Final.^[2]

Southern League (1905–20)

The 1905 Cup Final at the Crystal Palace Stadium

Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905^[3] playing in the Aston Villa colours of claret and blue.^[4] The choice of colours was a result of the important role in the club's formation played by Edmund Goodman, an Aston Villa employee who was recommended to the fledgling club by the Villa chairman, William McGregor. Goodman organised the business side of the club and managed the team from 1907 to 1925.^[5] A former amateur player with Villa, Goodman had lost his right leg after an injury led to amputation.^[6] Goodman hired John Robson from Middlesbrough to be the team's manager. Robson had transformed his previous club from an amateur side to an established Football League First Division side.^[7]

Along with two other newly formed London clubs, Chelsea and Clapton Orient, Palace applied to join the Second Division of the Football League. Chelsea and Clapton Orient were accepted, but Crystal Palace were not. Unfortunately Palace were too late to be considered for the First Division of the Southern League and were forced to settle for a place in the Second Division.^[5] To increase the number of club fixtures, they also joined the United Counties League.^[5] Robson established a team of 16 professionals, mainly drawn from Middlesbrough. The club's inaugural campaign in Division Two of the Southern League, which consisted mainly of other clubs' reserve sides alongside Southall, Southern United, St. Leonards United and Grays United^[5] was a successful one. Their opening match was against Southampton Reserves, and approximately 3,000 people paid 6d to stand or a shilling to sit. Palace led 3–0 after 30 minutes, before fading and losing 3–4. However, that was the club's only defeat in the League all season, and Crystal Palace won the championship and were promoted to the Southern League First Division. The season included a run of 17 straight victories, and a 9–1 win over Grays United at Crystal Palace. Attendances for the season were regularly between 2,000 and 3,000 although 4,000 attended the 4–0 defeat of Watford Reserves in March.^[8]

Following their championship win, Palace started their second season as a club in the Southern League First Division, placing 19th at the end of the season but enjoying better form in the FA Cup. Beating Rotherham County in a qualifying tie, Palace were then drawn away to Newcastle United in the First Round proper. Newcastle had played in the previous two FA Cup Finals, were league champions in 1905 and were on their way to another championship. In what still stands as one of the club's greatest ever wins, Crystal Palace scored through Horace Astley against the run of play and then held off Newcastle to come away with a shock 1–0 win. The second and third rounds saw Palace dispose of Fulham and Brentford respectively, the latter after a replay, and the quarter-finals saw Palace drawn at home to First Division Everton, currently flying high in second place. In front of a record crowd of 35,000, Palace took the lead, but their opponents equalised taking the tie to a replay, where Everton proved too strong, running out 4–0 winners.^[9]

A headed goal scored by Edwin Smith from a Billy Davies cross against Reading F.C., c. 1914

John Robson left Palace to manage neighbours Croydon Common for the 1907–08 season, and Edmund Goodman took over as manager and club secretary. The club had a good season, finishing fourth. Bill Davies became the first player from the club to win an international honour when he was called up for Wales. The club could not sustain their league form the following season, finishing the league in a disappointing sixteenth place. In the FA Cup they fell to their heaviest defeat, a second round replay to Burnley which finished 0–9, a record defeat for Palace and a record victory for Burnley. Palace managed to finish fourth again in the following season, losing just one game in the first twelve, and repeated their fourth-place finish again the following season, with league attendances as high as 12,000. The club won the London Challenge Cup in 1913, overcoming West Ham United 1–0. After seventh and fifth-place finishes, Palace enjoyed good form in the 1913–14 season, the club putting together some long unbeaten runs and finishing the season runners-up to Swindon Town on goal average. They also retained the London Challenge Cup, defeating Spurs 2–1 at Highbury, and provided their first England representative in Horace Colclough, who played in the team that beat Wales in Cardiff on 16 March.^[10]

Following the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, Palace had three players called up as Reservists before the season started. Former Palace players Ginger Williams and Joe Bulcock were amongst those killed in the conflict. In March 1915, The Admiralty, who had taken over the ground at the start of the war, ordered the club to leave. Palace chose to move to Herne Hill Stadium, but the 1918–19 season found Palace at a new ground. Croydon Common failed to return to business after the war, and it was to their ground, The Nest opposite Selhurst Station, that Crystal Palace now moved. Palace finished the season without a win in the last nine games, ending in seventh place, building on that position to finish third the following year.^[11]

Lower divisions (1920–58)

Crystal Palace became a league club in 1920 when the Football League accepted the entire Southern League en bloc as associate members in a new Division Three. In their first season as a league club, Palace lost their opening game at Merthyr Town 1–2 with A.G. Milligan scoring Palace's first-ever Football League goal. Milligan's Palace career was short-lived however, and he made just one more appearance for the club. Palace's first-ever home Football League match was a disappointing 0–0 draw against Plymouth Argyle but Palace then went on a run of six consecutive wins. Goalkeeper Jack Alderson, who had been signed in 1919, kept a clean sheet in six consecutive games. Palace lost just six more games all season, were unbeaten in the final sixteen games of the season which included an eight-game winning streak and went on to win the championship by five points from Southampton. The feat earned them promotion to the Second Division. The club conceded just 34 goals over the season, a record that stood until 1978–79,^[12] and they joined Preston North End, Small Heath, Liverpool and Bury as the only clubs to have won a championship in their first season as a League club. Palace also won the London Challenge Cup, beating Clapton Orient at White Hart Lane 1–0 through a goal from forward John Conner.^[13]

Goalkeeper Jack Alderson, caricatured in the Football Special in 1922. In 2005 Alderson was voted Palace's third best goalkeeper of all time by fans.^[14]

The following season, 1921–22, saw the formation of a Northern section of the Third Division and the Third Division became Division Three South. This arrangement would continue until 1958 when the Third and Fourth Divisions were formed, but for the moment, Crystal Palace were above all that, and in 1921 they opened their second season in the Football League as a Second Division club, finishing in fourteenth place. The highest attendance of the season was 20,000 for the Fulham game. Palace remained in the lower reaches of the table in the following season, 1922–23, finishing fifteenth. The club also made a significant purchase that season.^[15]

Back in 1919, the Palace minute book contained an entry instructing the Secretary to investigate the possibility of obtaining a lease on the 'ground at Selhurst'. Calling it a 'ground' was a little misleading since at the time it was a piece of wasteland valuable only to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. At one time it had been a brickfield, and two chimney stacks still remained. On 3 January 1922 the club purchased the ground at a cost of £2,750, and renowned football ground architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to design Selhurst Park. Leitch had designed stands at Craven Cottage, Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane and Leeds Road, but the design for Palace was unusual in that it had no roof gable. The other three sides of the ground remained open banking with just the lower parts being terraced. Construction work was delayed by industrial disputes, and when the ground was opened by the Lord Mayor of London on the first day of the 1924–25 season, 30 August, the stand was not finished. It did however boast many luxuries, including "offices, tea rooms, training quarters, plunge, slipper shower and needle baths". The opening fixture was against The Wednesday, and in front of a crowd of 25,000, Palace lost 0–1, with the first goal at Selhurst Park being scored by Billy Marsden. That defeat set the tone for the season, and the club finished in twenty-first place – relegated along with Coventry City. A win in the last game at home to Oldham Athletic would have secured survival, but Palace went down 0–1 and it would be almost 40 years before Palace would again grace the second level of English football. One small consolation was the decision by the FA to stage the England versus Wales international at Selhurst Park on 1 March 1925. It remains the only full international staged at the ground, and Wales won the game 3–1.^[16]

After one season in the Third Division South and eighteen in total, Edmund Goodman stepped down as manager and returned to administrative duties, and a succession of managers attempted to plot Palace's climb back up the table. However, Palace's stay in the division was to last as long as the Third Division South itself. With only the champions gaining promotion, it was a hard division to escape from, although Palace came close on more than one occasion. In the fourteen Division Three South seasons pre-Second World War, Palace finished in the top seven ten times, and never lower than fourteenth. Palace finished runners-up no less than three times, and when the 1939–40 season ended, Palace were sitting fourth. Unfortunately the season was only four matches old, cancelled with the onset of the Second World War.^[17]

The war years of 1939–45 saw football enter a period of disarray with the creation of Wartime Leagues. Palace joined the South League "A" Division in 1939, but also joined the South League "D" in 1940, winning the latter competition, and then promptly winning an improvised South Regional League the following season on goal average. Palace then joined the London League for 1941–42, the sides in London refusing to accept the ad-hoc competitions the Football League were organising. This division lasted one season before the London clubs were back in the Football League fold, Palace joining the Football League South for the next four seasons.^[18] Crystal Palace fielded 186 different players during the seven wartime seasons.^[19]

Kit changes had been introduced in the late 1930s. The 1937 season saw Palace field a shirt of claret and blue stripes, before adopting white shirts and black shorts for the following eleven seasons. The club reverted to claret and blue in 1948, but any attempt at changing the kit to change their luck backfired as the club had their worst season to date, finishing bottom and celebrating twenty-five years in League Football by applying for re-election for the first time. Palace kept their place, changed the kit back to white shirts and black shorts, and finished seventh the following season. They followed this up with another bottom place and re-election in 1951, with the unwanted record of scoring the lowest number of goals in a Division Three South season. Palace would remain in the bottom half of the table until the League was restructured in 1958, requiring re-election a third and final time in 1956, with only Swindon keeping them from bottom spot that season.^[18]

Arthur Wait years (1958–74)

1958 was a period of change, with Arthur Wait taking control of the club as chairman and Division Four football being enjoyed by the club. Palace had failed to qualify for Division Three, falling outside the top eleven finish required by three places. The 1958–59 season saw the club finish seventh, with the team going slightly worse the following season with an eighth-place finish. The club then enjoyed a successful 1960–61 season, finishing second behind league newcomers Peterborough United, who thus matched Palace's 1921 achievement of winning a championship in their inaugural league season. Palace themselves set the Fourth Division records for highest average attendance of 19,092, and the highest attendance at an individual match; 37,774 for the Good Friday game at Selhurst Park between Palace and Millwall.^[20] Surrey born Johnny Byrne scored 31 of Palace's 110 goals, and his strike partner Roy Summersby netted 25 as Palace moved up to Division Three.^[21]

Palace finished fifteenth in the 1961–62 season. In November, Byrne was called up to the England team, despite playing outside the top two divisions at the time, one of only five people ever to achieve this. He played the whole of the 1–1 draw against Northern Ireland, part of the 1962 British Home Championship, at Wembley Stadium. After international recognition, Ron Greenwood paid a British record transfer fee of £65,000 and ex-Palace striker Ron Brett in exchange to take "Budgie" to West Ham United in March 1962. This was a record fee between two British clubs at the time. Byrne left having scored 96 goals for Palace, then a post-war record.^[22]

Alfredo Di Stéfano, who played for Real Madrid against Palace in 1962. The Croydon Advertiser reported that his "move that led to Madrid's fourth goal was conducted with effortless ease at walking pace."^[23]

On Wednesday 18 April 1962, Real Madrid made their first appearance in London to celebrate the opening of Palace's new floodlights, with Byrne returning to the Palace line-up as a guest player. Real Madrid ran out 4–3 winners. The 1962–63 season saw Palace finish 11th, before the following season saw the team finish second behind Coventry City on goal average and gain promotion to the Second Division.^[24] The Dave Clark Five's chart-hit "Glad All Over" became a crowd favourite at Selhurst, with fans banging on advertising hoardings in time with the drum beat in the chorus of the song.^[25] The club began to play the song regularly, and it remains the club's anthem today.^[26]

For the following four seasons Palace achieved respectable top half finishes, and poached the Bury manager Bert Head after persistence from chairman Arthur Wait in early 1966. Head had been with Bury less than a season. The new manager promoted from the youth team and transferred in players new and old, delighting fans by re-signing Johnny Byrne. His work paid dividends in the 1968–69 season when Palace, not fancied as promotion candidates at the beginning of the season, finished second behind Brian Clough's Derby County. The club had achieved a place in the First Division for the first time in their history, clinching promotion with a 16-game unbeaten run to end the season.^[27]

Palace's life in the top division of English football in the 1969–70 season began with a home game against Manchester United. Scoring the first Division One goal for the club was Mel Blyth after 6 minutes, and a second goal from new signing Gerry Queen saw Palace hold Manchester United to a 2–2 draw with goalkeeper John Jackson denying George Best and Brian Kidd. The next match was another home game versus Sunderland which Palace won 2–0. After a season long struggle against relegation, Palace were eventually able to secure safety, finishing in twentieth place above demoted Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. Palace managed to gain three new records for the First Division at the end of this season: the fewest goals scored; the fewest wins recorded by a non-relegated team; and the tally of 27 points was the smallest number with which a team has avoided relegation from the top flight.^[28] Palace staved off the drop for two more seasons,^[29] and followed the trend of many other top flight clubs by introducing a new "Player of the Year" award which has been presented at the end of every season since the 1971–72 campaign. The first recipient was John McCormick.^[30]

Despite some good performances in the 1972–73 season, notably a 5–0 home win against Manchester United in December, Palace succumbed to the drop in their fourth season in the top division. Arthur Wait, having overseen the rise of the club from Fourth to First, was replaced as Chairman by Raymond Bloye in November 1972 and the club appointed Malcolm Allison in March the following year, replacing Bert Head. Although the club saw a record average attendance over the season, neither the crowd nor the managerial change were able to keep the club at the top level. Allison's first game in charge did see some changes, however. He gave young Scottish defender Jim Cannon his debut in the home game against Chelsea. Palace had never won a London derby in the top flight to this point, but Jim Cannon, who had risen through the youth ranks at Palace, marked Blues striker Peter Osgood out of the game and then scored the second goal in a 2–0 win to begin a long career in SE25.^[31]

The coming of The Eagles (1974–80)

Despite relegation, the 1973–74 season started with much optimism among supporters. Malcolm Allison had a strong recent record as a coach, having won trophies with Manchester City as an assistant to Joe Mercer. Allison, or 'Big Mal' as he was nicknamed in the press, also had a flamboyant personality which was something of a change for the club. Palace had previously enjoyed something of a conservative image. "The Glaziers" became "The Eagles" and the club changed its colours from the original claret and sky blue to a red and dark blue scheme inspired by Barcelona. The Eagle was also introduced as the club mascot at this time, an idea borrowed from Benfica, and the club badge was redesigned. The new season saw the introduction of a three-up, three-down promotion and relegation system, and Palace struggled to find their feet in the Second Division, failing to win any of their first 15 league games. In bottom place for most of the season, the club, aided by the signing from Southend United of pacey winger Peter Taylor climbed to seventeenth place with a 3–1 win at Fulham on Good Friday. The club then turned in three consecutive losses which saw them needing to win the last game of the season at Cardiff City to remain in the second tier of English football. They could only draw 1–1, and were demoted for a second successive season.^[32]

Allison's rebranded Palace crest

The 1974–75 season was the club's first season in Division Three since 1963–64, and although the team had a good season, and attendances were the highest in the division, they missed out on promotion, finishing in fifth place. Allison acquired Terry Venables and Ian Evans from QPR in exchange for Don Rogers, a trade that was to be significant to Palace's, and indeed England's, football future. It was also around this time that Allison persuaded the club to put more resources into developing a strong youth team, a decision that would lead to both success at youth level, and the emergence of a number of promising players. The following season Palace again failed to gain promotion, distracted in part by their best effort in the FA Cup to date. Palace enjoyed a run to the semi-finals, beating Leeds United and Chelsea along the way, before losing 2–0 to Southampton at Stamford Bridge on 2 April. Allison was sacked at the end of the season, in part because of his off the field antics, famously getting himself photographed in the team bath with porn star Fiona Richmond.^[32][33]

Allison was replaced as manager by Terry Venables, who had been his assistant the previous season, and he guided Palace to promotion at the first attempt. The Palace youngsters also won the FA Youth Cup with a side including Kenny Sansom, Vince Hilaire and Billy Gilbert. The following season, 1977–78 saw the youth team became the first team to win the FA Youth Cup in successive seasons since Chelsea in 1960 and 1961. The 1978–79 season saw Palace vying not only for promotion but also the Second Division Championship. The final game of the season was a Friday night match at home to Burnley. In front of the club's record home crowd of 51,801, there was all to play for: a Palace win, and the club would be champions; a draw, and Palace would be promoted, but hand the championship to fierce rivals Brighton; a loss and Palace would stay down, with Sunderland clinching the final promotion place. At half-time the deadlock had not been broken despite Palace's dominance, but a second-half cross from Vince Hilaire allowed Ian Walsh to head the opener, before a great run by Dave Swindlehurst was completed by a finish from outside the penalty area to give the Eagles a 2–0 win. Palace were champions, and the club also gained a new record after being drawn away for the tenth successive tie in the FA Cup.^[34]

As an increasing number of players from the FA Youth Cup winning team began to establish themselves in the first team, the press gave Palace the title of the "Team of the Eighties". The Eagles began the 1979–80 season well and stayed unbeaten longer than any other club in the top flight. They also occupied first place in the top flight for the first and to date only time in the club's history after beating Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town side by four goals to one at Selhurst Park. Sadly however the young starlets could not keep this form up, and a slide down the table resulted in the Eagles finishing thirteenth, which at that point was the club's highest ever finish.^[35]

Top tier football (1981–98)

The slide continued into the 1980–81 season, with nine defeats in the first ten games, and Venables quit Selhurst Park for QPR. The side were virtually relegated by the start of February when another, even bigger change occurred. Ron Noades, formerly chairman of Wimbledon, took financial control of the club, purchasing it from Raymond Bloye's consortium. After a couple of seasons flirting with the drop and numerous managerial changes, Noades appointed 29-year-old former Manchester United and England midfielder Steve Coppell as manager for the 1984–85 season. Coppell's playing career had been cut short by a knee injury, and, assisted by Ian Evans, he worked on rebuilding Palace, eventually signing Ian Wright from non-league Greenwich Borough and Mark Bright, the pair forming the "Wrighty & Brighty" strike partnership. Coppell stabilised the club in his first season, and after two seasons of narrowly missing out on the play-offs, followed up by narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by a single point. The club instead entered the 1989 Football League Championship play-offs, beating Swindon in the semi-finals to set up a two legged final against Blackburn Rovers. The first leg at Ewood Park saw the Lancashire club defeat the Eagles 3–1, but a 30,000 full house at Selhurst Park saw the Eagles triumph 3–0 in extra time in the second leg to end their eight-year exile from the top flight. Ian Wright, who scored 24 league goals, and 33 in all competitions in the promotion campaign, was voted player of the year by the club's supporters.^[37][38][39]

Crystal Palace began their first top flight campaign in nearly a decade by re-signing Andy Gray from QPR for £500,000. In November, Palace hit the headlines when they signed Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Nigel Martyn for £1million – a record for a goalkeeper in Britain. Mixed form meant that the Eagles ended the season fifteenth after spending most of the first half in the top ten. However it was in the FA Cup that Palace really shone. After a succession of ties against lower division teams (Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Rochdale and Cambridge United), Palace reached the semi-finals, drawing the same Liverpool side that had beaten them 9–0 earlier in the season. The tie was played at Villa Park, and saw Liverpool score first and hold a seemingly comfortable 1–0 lead at half-time. However, Palace emerged from the half-time interval with a sense of purpose, and within a minute of the restart were level with Bright equalising. After going 2–1 up, they found themselves 3–2 down late in the match and were seemingly out. A late equaliser took the game into extra-time, with the winner scored by Alan Pardew. The team secured a thrilling 4–3 victory and for the first time in their history, Palace were in the FA Cup Final.^[40]

Their first-ever appearance at Wembley Stadium saw the Eagles facing Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. Gary O'Reilly opened the scoring and substitute Wright an equalised immediately after coming onto the pitch to take the tie to extra time, before scoring again early in the extra period. Mark Hughes scored a third for United to leave the game drawn 3–3 and requiring a replay. In the second tie the Eagles wore a new yellow and black striped shirt^[41] because the club did not have time to find their away strip.^[42] This second final saw United left-back Lee Martin cap a 40-yard run by slotting past Martyn to win the Cup for the Red Devils.^[43]

The club built on the success of the previous season and for a while challenged for the league title. However Palace fell just short of champions Arsenal and runners-up Liverpool, finishing a club-best third in the league. Although the ban on English clubs in European competitions following the Heysel disaster of 1985 had now been lifted, there would only be one place for English clubs in the 1991–92 edition of the UEFA Cup, and this went to Liverpool rather than the Eagles. Success was achieved that season however when Palace made their third trip to Wembley in twelve months, beating Everton 4–1 in the final of the Full Members Cup.

The following season was to become one marked by controversy in another way. Critical Eye – Great Britain United, a Channel 4 documentary of 12 September featured interviews with a number of club personnel. Amongst them was chairman Ron Noades, who commented "when you're getting into mid-winter in England, you need a few hard white men to carry the artistic black players through". Noades claimed he was reported out of context, an allegation rejected by the programmes makers,^[44] and his comments stunned Palace's many black players. Ian Wright left the club soon after, transferring to Arsenal for £2.5million. Palace finished tenth in the First Division, losing rising England star John Salako to a cruciate ligament injury. A breakaway by the top 22 clubs saw Palace become founder members of the new FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season. However, they would be without the services of another key player – Mark Bright – who was sold to Sheffield Wednesday and the Eagles struggled to score goals without him. They were demoted on goal difference, after Oldham Athletic's 4–3 victory over Southampton. Palace's 49 points from 42 games that season became the joint-highest total of any club ever to have been relegated from the top flight of English football, and remains a Premier League record. Palace's drop prompted the resignation of manager Steve Coppell after nine years at the helm, and he was succeeded by his assistant Alan Smith.^[45]

Steve Coppell, who led Palace to the Full Members Cup, an FA Cup Final and third place in the First Division. Coppell has managed the club for four separate spells.

Smith immediately guided Palace back to the Premier League as runaway champions of the second tier,^[46] Chris Armstrong top-scoring with 23 league goals.^[47] During this period the badge was changed with the bird being replaced by one which Ron Noades felt more closely resembled an eagle.^[48] 1995 again saw the club making news for off the field reasons. 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.^[49] This angered Cantona, who launched a flying kick at him with both feet.^[50] Manchester United suspended Cantona for the remainder of the season,^[51] while the French Football Federation dropped Cantona from the France national football team,^[52] and stripped Cantona of the captaincy of Les Bleus.^[53] Cantona was sentenced to two weeks in jail;^[54] this was reduced to 120 hours community service on appeal. Simmons was immediately banned from Selhurst Park,^[52] and in 1996 was found guilty of two charges of using threatening words and behaviour towards Cantona.^[55] More was to follow at Selhurst in March, when Chris Armstrong was suspended by the FA for failing a drugs test.^[56] In 1995 Palace reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups, but a shortage of Premier League goals counted against them^[57] alongside the introduction of a fourth relegation place. The Premiership was being cut from 22 to 20 clubs at the end of the 1994–95 season, and Palace found themselves demoted on the last day of the season once again.^[3]

Smith left by "mutual agreement" within days of failing to secure a place in the Premier League,^[58] and Steve Coppell returned as technical director, with Ray Lewington and Peter Nicholas handling first team affairs.^[59] This set-up was augmented after only seven months with Dave Bassett joining as manager,^[60] overseeing a run of form which took them to the play-offs, losing the final against Leicester City at Wembley after a long range Steve Claridge goal in the final minute of extra time.^[61] Bassett moved to Nottingham Forest in March 1997,^[62] but Steve Coppell returned as manager to secure a play-off spot.^[63][64] Palace beat Sheffield United at Wembley, with David Hopkin scoring a long-range goal in the 90th minute.^[65] When asked what promotion meant to him, Coppell famously replied "ten months of misery".^[66]

The 1997–98 season saw a new board member and new arrivals on the pitch. Mark Goldberg was the new board member who had aspirations to take over the club and spent the season negotiating with Ron Noades.^[67] Goldberg's initial plans involved the club becoming part owned by Juventus,^[68] and it was from this source that the club gained two Italian players: Attilio Lombardo and Michele Padovano. Goldberg agreed a deal to gain control of the club in February 1998, with Palace bottom of the Premiership,^[69] and moved Coppell to Director of Football. The club appointed Lombardo as player-manager, with former Swedish striker Tomas Brolin as assistant.^[70] The two failed to achieve a turn-around and Palace fell through the trap door back to the second tier, having won just two home games and finishing bottom of the table with 33 points.^[71] Lombardo and Brolin were replaced as the management team by out-going Chairman Noades and Ray Lewington for the last three games of the season.^[72] Despite finish bottom, the beginning of the next season saw Palace get their first experience of European football in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.^[73] Goldberg's takeover of the club finally went through in early June,^[74] although Noades maintained ownership of the ground, leasing it back to the club, and granting them an option to buy.^[75]

Two administrations (1998–2010)

Palace's European venture was brief, entering the Intertoto Cup in the Third Round with a tie against Samsunspor, of Turkey. Palace lost by two goals to nil at both Selhurst Park^[76] and the Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadyumu.^[77] Terry Venables had returned to the club for a second spell after being appointed head coach, but the dream of success for the 1998–99 season quickly soured as Goldberg was unable to sustain his financial backing of the club and they were placed into administration.^[78] Venables left and Steve Coppell returned to manage the club once again,^[79] while, with the approval of the administrators Peter Morley was installed as chairman.^[80] Coppell guided Palace to two mid-table finishes, and in July 2000 Singapore financier Jerry Lim purchased an almost bankrupt Crystal Palace, immediately selling the club to mobile phone tycoon and lifelong fan Simon Jordan.^[81] Jordan replaced Coppell with Alan Smith after taking control,^[82] but despite reaching the League Cup semi-finals, Smith was sacked in April 2001 with demotion to the third tier looking imminent.^[83] Long serving coach Steve Kember was put in temporary charge of the first team alongside Terry Bullivant,^[84] and demotion was staved off on the last day of the season with an 87th-minute Dougie Freedman goal away to Stockport County.^[85]

Palace turned to Steve Bruce as manager for the 2001–02 season.^[86] A good start gave the club 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.^[87][88] After a short spell on 'gardening leave',^[89] Bruce was eventually allowed to join Birmingham City,^[90] succeeded by Trevor Francis, who had, ironically, been his predecessor at Birmingham.^[91] Under Francis, Palace finished mid-table for two successive seasons, and Francis left^[92] to be replaced by long-serving coach Steve Kember.^[93] 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 bottom three.^[94] Caretaker player-manager Kit Symons, was put in charge of first-team duties for a month and oversaw an improvement in form before the appointment of Iain Dowie as manager was made.^[95] Dowie, a former Palace player, transformed the club from relegation candidates at Christmas into play-off contenders in April, where they overcame West Ham United in the Play-off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 29 May 2004. A goal from captain Neil Shipperley was enough for them to win the match 1–0, and with it a return to the Premiership.^[96] Palace once again could not maintain their seat at the top table, however, and again dropped down a division in spite of the 21 Premiership goals struck by Andrew Johnson, the second highest goalscorer in the division.^[97] Palace now held the distinction of being the only team to have been relegated from the Premier League four times.^[98]

Palace huddle before a match at Selhurst Park in 2007

The following season saw Palace make the play offs for the third time in four seasons but they failed to progress to the final, losing to Watford.^[99] Palace also lost another manager, as Dowie left the club stating that he wanted to be closer to his family in Bolton.^[100] Jordan had accepted Dowie's reasons and waived a £1million compensation fee in the manager's contract. However, when Dowie was appointed as manager of Charlton Athletic Jordan pursued him through the courts,^[101] eventually settling the affair in April 2008.^[102] Peter Taylor succeeded Dowie as manager for the 2006–07 season.^[103] Taylor was unsuccessful in getting Palace promoted, and was replaced by Neil Warnock two months into the 2007–08 season.^[104][105] Warnock guided the team to the 2008 Football League Championship play-offs where they lost in the semi-finals to Bristol City.^[106] Palace followed this with a fifteenth-place finish the next season.^[107]

The 2009–10 season started poorly, with the club failing to pay bonuses to former players,^[108] as well as £250k owed to Bristol City for the transfer of Australian international Nick Carle twelve months before.^[109] The Football League placed a transfer embargo on the Eagles in early August,^[108] which was lifted near the end of that month.^[110] However, it was only another three weeks before a second embargo was put into effect, this time due to an unpaid portion of a transfer fee owed to Ipswich Town for Alan Lee.^[110] The financial problems came to a head at the end of January when the club was placed into administration by creditor Agilo Finance, and Brendan Guilfoyle took over the running of the club.^[111] Victor Moses departed for Wigan Athletic days later,^[112] and Neil Warnock left one month later to take over at Queens Park Rangers.^[113] Paul Hart was brought in to keep the Eagles up, with Dougie Freedman and John Pemberton both returning to the club they played for as assistant and coach respectively.^[114] Before administration, the Eagles appeared to be building towards a run for the play-offs, but the ten-point deduction for going into administration turned the season into a battle against relegation.^[115] Survival was achieved on the final day, with a memorable 2–2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, who went down to League One instead of Palace.^[116] Following the end of the season, Freedman took over as caretaker manager and the club emerged from administration owned by a consortium of wealthy fans, CPFC 2010.^[117]

New era (2010 onwards)

The CPFC 2010 consortium, consisting of businessmen Steve Parish, Martin Long, Stephen Browett and Jeremy Hosking,^[118] appointed former Scotland boss George Burley as the club's new manager for the 2010–11 season, with Freedman remaining at the club as his assistant.^[119] The club was short on players, with several members of the squad from the previous season having departed.^[120] One of Burley's first signings to bridge this gap was former Netherlands midfielder Edgar Davids.^[121] Palace started poorly in the League, however, and by November sat bottom,^[122] with Davids departing after less than impressive performances for the club.^[123] The club's away form in the first half of the season was poor and a heavy South London derby defeat to Millwall on New Year's Day saw Burley sacked, with Palace second-from-bottom in the Championship table.^[124] Dougie Freedman was appointed manager,^[125] Lennie Lawrence was brought in as his assistant to provide some much-needed experience,^[126] and the duo successfully guided Palace to safety with a game to spare.^[127]

Wilfried Zaha, scorer of Palace's two goals against Brighton in the semi-final of the 2013 play-offs. Palace had sold Zaha to Manchester United earlier in the season but then immediately loaned him back.^[128]

In the midst of the managerial change from Burley to Freedman, the club announced plans to relocate the club back to the site of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, built on the club's original home, redeveloping it into a 25,000-seater, purpose-built football stadium.^[129] The following season started well, with a League Cup run that saw Palace beat Crawley Town, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough,^[130] and by late October the club were third in the league.^[131] A League Cup victory over Southampton set up a quarter final tie away at Manchester United.^[130] League form began to slip though and Palace went six games without scoring immediately prior to the match at Old Trafford. Entering the tie as the underdogs, a 35-yard free-kick from Darren Ambrose and an extra time header from Glenn Murray saw Palace win at Old Trafford for the first time in 22 years.^[132] The club then announced potential plans to update the image of the club through a new badge.^[133] On the pitch, league form remained patchy, and the semi-final of the League Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Cardiff.^[134] Palace finished the season in seventeenth place, an improvement on the previous season.^[135]

The 2012–13 season saw Freedman take charge for a third season – the club's eighth consecutive in the Championship – before departing to manage Bolton on 23 October.^[136] Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming acted in caretaker roles, with Lawrence managing for the away games against Barnsley and Leicester which saw Palace take four points.^[137] Although Ian Holloway was appointed manager on 3 November, Fleming took charge for that day's home win against Blackburn.^[138] Holloway's first game in charge was the 5–0 home win against Ipswich which saw the club climb to the top of the table.^[139] A poor end of the season saw them scrape into the play-offs by finishing 5th.^[140] They played Brighton in the semi-finals, achieving a scintillating 2–0 win away from home after a 0–0 draw at Selhurst in the first leg. Both goals were scored by Wilfried Zaha, appearing in his penultimate game for Palace.^[141] Palace met Watford at Wembley in the Final. It was Palace who won 1–0 courtesy of a Kevin Phillips penalty given for a foul on Zaha, holding on in the face of Watford pressure with the help of a goal line clearance from Joel Ward in the final minute, resulting in promotion back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, Palace had secured eleventh place in the Premier League. Although they had previously enjoyed four-year spells in the top flight under Bert Head (1969–1973) and Steve Coppell (1989–1993) and a two-year spell (1979–1981), this was the first time since the top division had been rebranded as the Premier League that Palace had survived beyond one season. Ian Holloway had quit as manager in October, with the club having only taken three points from the first eight games of the season. He was replaced by former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, who led the team to a remarkable run of results and subsequent safety achieved with three weeks of the season still remaining. Pulis then resigned just two days before the start of the 2014–15 season. Neil Warnock returned to the club for a second spell as manager on 27 August, after Palace had lost their first two league games under caretaker manager Keith Millen. However, Warnock was sacked by the club at Christmas after a poor run of results. In January 2015, former Palace player Alan Pardew was confirmed as the new manager, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club after a compensation package of £3.5 million was agreed with Newcastle United. Under Pardew the club won eight games out of twelve in the new year, eventually securing mid-table safety and a third season in a row in the Premier League.

References

• Matthews, Tony (editor). We All Follow The Palace. Juma, 1998. ISBN 1-872204-55-4

Notes