Crystal Palace F.C.
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Template:Football club infobox Crystal Palace Football Club is a football club based in London and playing in the Coca-Cola Football League Championship, the second level of English football.
History
Pre-1980's Palace
Crystal Palace was formed in 1905, with its headquarters at The Crystal Palace in Sydenham. The team played in the Southern League until 1920, when they were promoted to Division Three of the Football League.
The original club's colours were claret and blue, chosen as Aston Villa lent them their original kit's.
The club was forced to relocate from their original headquarters in 1915, and after a brief move to The Nest in Selhurst, they eventually settled at their present home, Selhurst Park, in 1924. Their first match at the new ground was against Sheffield Wednesday on 30th 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. One of the most loved players of those days was Johnny Byrne (deceased) who had the distinction of being the first player from the old division four to play for England. By 1969, the club was a member of the First Division.
Unfortunately, the only constant in the life of a Palace fan is change, and "The Eagles" - as they became known - plummetted back to the Third Division in the early 1970s. Though FA Cup glory beckoned for a while, it wasn't until the arrival of former Chelsea star Terry Venables as manager that Palace's fortunes took a change for the better. Venables took the team back up to Division One for two seasons from 1979 to 1981, before leaving for QPR early in the 1980-81 season. Coach Ernie Walley was placed in temporary charge, and after two months of indifferent results was offered the job permanently on one condition - that he accept joint managership with returning former manager Malcolm Allison. Walley refused and resigned from the club, leaving Allison in sole charge. Unfortunately the decision seemed to have backfired, as the club's form turned out worse under Allison than it did Walley, and the side were virtually relegated by the start of February when another, even bigger change occurred.
The Ron Noades Takeover: 1981
Ron Noades, formerly chairman of Wimbledon bought out the club and sacked Allison, much to the relief of the fans. 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 player-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 demoted to coach, 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. 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. But Bassett 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.
Palace finished 15th in their first season back in the top flight (1989-90), but reached the F.A. Cup final for the first time. They drew 3-3 with Manchester United thanks to the commendable efforts of players like Andy Gray, John Salako, Ian Wright, Nigel Martyn (who later became Britain's first £1 million goalkeeper) and Richard Shaw. In the replay, Palace lost 1-0 so their chance of a first-ever major trophy was gone. They progressed in 1990-91 by finishing a club-best third in the league, and achieving UEFA Cup qualification for the first time. But a loss of key players through sales and long-term injuries resulted in Palace's form slumping, and they were relegated on goal difference in 1992-93 at the end of the first season of the Premier League.
The Alan Smith Era (1993-1995)
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. In 1994-95 they reached the semi finals of both domestic cups, but a shortage of Premiership goals counted against them (as did the introduction of a fourth relegation place for the 1994-95 season, as the Premiership was being cut to 20 clubs) and they were relegated on the last day of the season. Smith was sacked within days, 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 Dave Bassett Era (1996-1997)
Steve Coppell became Crystal Palace's Director of Football in February 1996, and first-team duties were now the responsibility of new manager Dave Bassett, who transformed the club's fortunes as they stormed from 16th place to finish third in the final table. They reached the Division One playoff final but lost 2-1 to Leicester City at Wembley. 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. Their stay lasted just one season before they were relegated back to Division One.
The Mark Goldberg Crisis (1998-2000)
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 Terry Venables was appointed head coach, but the dream of success for the 1998-99 season quickly turned into a nightmare. Mark Goldberg withdrew his financial backing of the club and they went into receivership. Terry Venables quit as manager soon afterwards, and Steve Coppell returned to the job once again. He was able to guide Palace to a mid-table finish in 1998-99, and kept up this performance for the following season despite having to sell most of the club's best players due to the financial crisis.
The Return of Alan Smith (2000-01)
Mobile phone tycoon Simon Jordan purchased an almost bankrupt Crystal Palace in July 2000, and replaced Coppell with Alan Smith - who had previous been manager from 1993 to 1995. Despite the takeover solving Palace's financial problems, 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, and defied all the odds by securing good enough results to save the club from relegation at the expense of Huddersfield Town.
The Bruce, Francis and Kember eras (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 walked out on the club after just four months at the helm to take charge of Birmingham City. Bruce was succeeded by Trevor Francis, who had ironically been his predecessor at Birmingham 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.
Steve Kember guided Palace to victories in their opening three games of the 2003-04 Division One campaign, but he was sacked in November after a terrible loss of form saw them slip towards the relegation zone. Caretaker Kit Symons was put in charge of first-team duties for a month before the appointment of Iain Dowie, a former Palace player who had previously been in charge of Oldham Athletic.
The Iain Dowie Era (2003-)
Iain Dowie transformed Crystal Palace from relegation candidates at Christmas, Palace soared into the play-off positions 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 9th 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 3-2 victory against Sunderland in the first leg of the play-off semi-final at Selhurst Park on Friday 14th May. In the second leg at the Stadium of Light, Palace dominated most of the first half and 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, much against the run of play, 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 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 "shot" 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.
Crystal Palace played West Ham United in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 29th 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.
Due to a production error at Diadora's factory in Romania, Crystal Palace's Replica Kit for 2004 was misprinted with "Chrystal Palace" on the Quality Control label.
Despite the valiant efforts of manager Iain Dowie, and the 21 Premiership goals of Andy Johnson (the second highest goalscorer in the division), Crystal Palace were relegated on 15th 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 managed to score again in the remaining time. Had Crystal Palace managed to defeat Charlton, they would have avoided relegation from the Premiership.
Crystal Palace now hold the distinction of being the only team to have been relegated from the Premiership four times.
Famous fans include the musician Captain Sensible, the comedian Eddie Izzard, the comedian Sean Hughes and Mark Holland of Shadyside FC fame.
Squad list
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Staff
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Managers
Honours
- Division 1
- Winners: 1993-94
- Play-Off Winners: 1996-97, 2003-04
- Division 2
- Winners: 1978-79
- Runners-Up: 1968-69
- Play-Off Winners: 1988-89
- Division 3 South
- Winners: 1920-21
- Zenith Data Systems Cup
- Winners: 1991
Records
- Record League Victory: 9-0 v Barrow, Division 4, 10 October, 1959
- Record Cup Victory: 8-0 v Southend United, League Cup Second Round, 25 September 1989
- Record Defeat: 0-9 v Liverpool, Division 1, 12 September 1990
- Record Cup Defeat: 0-9 v Burnley, FA Cup Round 2 Replay, 10 February 1909
- Highest League Scorer in Season: Peter Simpson, 46, Division Three South, 1930/31
- Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: Peter Simpson, 153, 1930 - 1936
- Most Capped Player: Aki Riihilahti, 31 (58), Finland
- Most League Appearances: Jim Cannon, 571, 1973-1988
- Youngest League Player: Phil Hoadley, 16 years 112 days v Bolton Wanderers, 27 April 1968
- Record Transfer Fee Received: £4,500,000 from Tottenham for Chris Armstrong, June 1995
- Record Transfer Fee Paid: £2,750,000 to Strasbourg for Valerien Ismael, January 1998
External links
- Official site (http://www.cpfc.premiumtv.co.uk)
- Crystal Palace news (http://www.epitch.co.uk/fa-premier/crystal-palace/)
- 4thegame.com's Crystal Palace page (http://www.4thegame.com/club/cpfc)
- Unofficial Crystal Palace site (http://www.cpfc.org/)
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League competitions |
Cup competitions | |
| FA Premier League | FA Cup | |
| The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) | England (men) | League Cup |
| Football Conference (Nat, N, S) | FA Community Shield | |
| Northern Premier League (Prem, 1) | (women) | Football League Trophy |
| Southern League (Prem, 1W, 1E) | List of clubs | FA Trophy |
| Isthmian League (Prem, 1, 2) | FA Vase | |
| English football league system | Records | FA NLS Cup |
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fr:Crystal Palace Football Club ja:クリスタル・パレスFC pl:Crystal Palace simple:Crystal Palace F.C.