History of Crystal Palace F.C.

The Crystal Palace Exhibition building

Between 1852 and 1854, the glass exhibition building known as The Crystal Palace was relocated from Hyde Park and rebuilt in an area of South London next to Sydenham Hill. This area was renamed Crystal Palace – including the Crystal Palace Park surrounding the site where various sports facilities were built. The Crystal Palace Company who owned the exhibition building founded the Crystal Palace Club in 1857 to play cricket before turning their attention to football. It had been lobbied by existing members of the cricket club to provide a continuation of sporting activities during the winter months. The company formed an amateur Crystal Palace football club in 1861. All of the football club’s management-committee and most of its original players were previously members of the cricket club,[2] and they shared the same pitch within the Crystal Palace Park.[3]

The amateur club became one of the original founder members[4] of the Football Association in 1863 and competed in the first ever FA Cup competition in 1871–72, reaching the semi-finals where they were eliminated by the Royal Engineers in a replay after the first game ended goalless.[5] They also played in the FA Cup in the next four seasons before disappearing from historical records after a 0–3 defeat to eventual winners Wanderers in the second round of the 1875–76 FA Cup. In 1895, the Football Association found a new permanent venue for the FA Cup Final at the sports stadium situated inside the Palace grounds. With the Crystal Palace Company also reliant on tourist activity for their income, they sought fresh attractions for the venue, and founded the London County Cricket Club of W. G. Grace before deciding to form a new professional football club to play at the stadium.[6] The club was set up under the chairmanship of Sydney Bourne, who was chosen due to his propensity in buying tickets to the Cup Final.[7]

The 1905 FA Cup Final at the Crystal Palace Stadium

The professional Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905,[8] playing in the Aston Villa colours of claret and blue.[9] 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 Palace by the Villa chairman, William McGregor. Goodman organised the business side of the club and managed the team from 1907 to 1925.[10] A former amateur player with Villa, Goodman's playing career had been cut short by an injury which led to the amputation of his right leg.[11] Goodman hired John Robson from Middlesbrough to be the team's manager. Robson had transformed his previous club from an amateur outfit to an established Football League First Division team.[12]

The Crystal Palace squad of 1905–06.

The newly-formed professional club applied to join the Second Division of the Football League, but were rejected and forced to settle for a place in the Southern League Second Division.[10] To increase the number of club fixtures, Palace also joined the mid-week United Counties League.[10] The club's manager John Robson established a team of sixteen professionals, mainly drawn from his previous club Middlesbrough. Palace's inaugural campaign, which consisted mainly of matches against other clubs' reserve sides, alongside Southall, Southern United, St. Leonards United and Grays United,[10] was a successful one. Their opening match was against Southampton Reserves, and approximately 3,000 people paid 6d to stand or a shilling to be seated. 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 Palace won the championship and were promoted to the Southern League First Division. The season included a run of seventeen straight victories, one of them being a 9–1 win over Grays United. The crowd 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.[13]

Following their championship win, Palace started their second season as a club in the Southern League First Division, placing nineteenth 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 title. In what still stands as one of the club's greatest ever wins, 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 club Everton, who were 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.[14]

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 F.C. 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 be capped at international level when he was called up for Wales. The club could not sustain their league form the following season, finishing in a disappointing sixteenth place. In the FA Cup, Palace lost 0–9 to Burnley in a second round replay, which was a record defeat for the club. Palace managed to finish fourth again in the league the following season, losing just one game in the first twelve, and repeated their fourth-place finish the season after, 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, with 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 Tottenham Hotspur 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.[15]

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 Palace and its grounds at the start of the war, ordered the club to leave and Palace chose to move to Herne Hill Velodrome. When Croydon Common F.C. failed to return to business after the war, Palace moved to their ground known as The Nest which was opposite Selhurst railway station. In the first full season after the war, Palace finished in third place in 1919–20.[16]

Crystal Palace became a Football League club in 1920 when the Southern League First Division clubs were admitted en bloc as founder members of a newly formed Football League Third Division. In their first season as a Football League club, Palace lost their opening game at Merthyr Town 1–2 with A.G. Milligan scoring the club's first ever 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 the club then went on a run of six consecutive wins. Goalkeeper Jack Alderson, who had been signed in 1919, kept a clean sheet in all of those wins and Palace lost just six more games all season. They 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 thirty four goals over the season, a record that stood until 1978–79,[17] and Palace 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 their third London Challenge Cup, beating Clapton Orient 1–0 at White Hart Lane with a goal from forward John Conner.[18]

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.[19]

The following season saw the formation of a Northern section of the Third Division which meant the southern clubs were now part of a new division called the Third Division South. This arrangement would continue until 1958 when the Third and Fourth Division were formed, but for now Palace were above all of 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 match against Fulham. Palace remained in the lower reaches of the table during the following season, 1922–23, eventually finishing fifteenth. The club also made a significant purchase that season with regards to a new permanent home.[20]

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', although 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 Selhurst Park 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 30 August 1924, the stand had not been completed. 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, with the club eventually finishing in twenty-first place – and were 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 1926. It remains the only full international match to be staged at the ground.[21]

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, their stay in the division was to last as long as the Third Division South itself. With only the champions gaining promotion, it was a difficult division to get out of, although Palace came close on more than one occasion. In the fourteen Third Division South seasons pre-Second World War, Palace finished in the top seven ten times, and never lower than fourteenth and also finished runners-up no less than three times. At the start of the 1939–40 season, Palace were sitting second in the table, but the season was cancelled after just three matches with the onset of the Second World War.[22]

The war years of 1939–45 saw football enter a period of disarray with the creation of Wartime Leagues. Palace joined the South "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 joined the London League for the 1941–42 season, with the clubs in London refusing to accept the ad-hoc competitions the Football League were organising. This division only lasted that season before the London clubs were back in the Football League fold, with Palace joining the Football League South for the next four seasons.[23] The club fielded 186 different players during the seven wartime seasons.[24]

Kit changes had been introduced in the late 1930s. The 1937–38 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 1948–49, but any attempt at changing the kit to change their luck backfired as the club had their worst season to date, finishing bottom and 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 1950–51, 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 1958–59, requiring re-election for a third and final time in 1955–56, with only Swindon keeping them from bottom spot that season.[23]

The 1958–59 season began a period of change, with Arthur Wait taking control of the club as chairman and the league was restructured with Palace playing in the new Fourth Division. This new division had been formed with the merging of the clubs in the bottom half of Third Division South with those in the bottom half of Third Division North. Palace had failed to qualify for the new Third Division, falling outside the top twelve finish required by two places. Their first season in the Fourth Division saw Palace finish seventh, with the club faring slightly worse the following season with an eighth place finish. Wait appointed the ex-Tottenham manager Arthur Rowe in April 1960 and the club then enjoyed a successful 1960–61 season, finishing second behind league newcomers Peterborough United, who thus matched Palace's 1920–21 achievement of winning a championship in their inaugural league season. Palace also set Fourth Division records for the highest average attendance of 19,092, and the highest attendance at an individual match; 37,774 for the Good Friday game at Selhurst Park against Millwall.[25] 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.[26]

Palace finished fifteenth in Division Three at the end of the 1961–62 season. In November, Johnny Byrne was called up to the England team, despite playing outside the top two divisions at the time, one of only five players 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, the West Ham manager Ron Greenwood paid a British record transfer fee of £65,000 and ex-Palace striker Ron Brett in exchange to take "Budgie" to the Hammers in March 1962. This was a record fee between two British clubs at the time. Byrne left having scored ninety-six goals for Palace, then a post-war record.[27]

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."[28]

On Wednesday 18 April 1962, Palace achieved distinction when the great Real Madrid team of that era made their first ever appearance in London in a friendly match at Selhurst Park to celebrate the opening of the club's new floodlights. Johnny Byrne returned to the Palace line-up as a guest player. Madrid ended up 4–3 winners. Arthur Rowe resigned due to health reasons in December 1962 and the club appointed former player Dick Graham as manager. The 1962–63 season saw Palace finish eleventh, before gaining promotion to the Second Division the following season after finishing second behind Coventry City on goal average.[29]

For the following four seasons Palace achieved respectable top half finishes in the Second Division, during which they appointed Bert Head as their new manager in April 1966. Head promoted from the youth team and transferred in players both new and old, delighting the fans by re-signing old favourite 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 Derby County who were managed by Brian Clough. Palace had achieved a place in the top flight for the first time in their history, clinching promotion with a 16-game unbeaten run to end the season.[30]

The Dave Clark Five's chart-hit "Glad All Over" became a huge crowd favourite at this time with the Palace fans banging on advertising hoardings in time with the drum beat in the chorus of the song.[31] The club began to play the song regularly before the start of home games, and it remains the club's anthem today.[32]

Palace's life in the top division of English football began with a home game against Manchester United. Scoring the first Division One goal for the club was Mel Blyth after six minutes, and a second goal from new signing Gerry Queen saw Palace hold 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. The club 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 twenty-seven points was the smallest number with which a team has avoided relegation from the top flight.[33] Palace avoided the drop for two more seasons,[34] 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.[35]

Despite some good performances in the 1972–73 season, notably a 5–0 home win against Manchester United in December, Palace eventually succumbed to the drop in their fourth season in the top flight. Arthur Wait, having overseen the rise of the club from the Fourth to the First Division, was replaced as chairman by Raymond Bloye in November 1972, and the club also appointed Malcolm Allison as the new manager 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 them at the top level. Allison's first game in charge at home against Chelsea did see some changes, however, including the debut of young Scottish defender Jim Cannon. Palace had never won a London derby in the top flight up to this point, but Cannon, who had come through the youth ranks, marked the Chelsea striker Peter Osgood out of the game and then scored the second goal in a 2–0 win to begin a long career with the club.[36]

Despite relegation, the 1973–74 season started with much optimism among the Palace 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, had a flamboyant personality which was something of a change for the club, who previously had a rather conservative image. Palace's nickname was changed from "The Glaziers" to "The Eagles" and the club also changed its colours from the original claret and sky blue to a red and dark blue scheme inspired by Barcelona. The Eagle was 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 suffered relegation for a second successive season.[37]

Allison's rebranded Palace crest

In 1974–75, Palace's first season back in Division Three since 1963–64, saw the club miss 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 young players in the first team. Palace again failed to gain promotion the following season, distracted in part by their best run in the FA Cup up to that point. The club reached the semi-finals, beating Leeds United and Chelsea along the way, before losing 0–2 to Southampton at Stamford Bridge on 3 April 1976. Allison resigned at the end of the season, partly because of the failure to get Palace promoted, but also he had felt pressure due to some of his off the field antics, infamously getting himself photographed in the team bath with porn star Fiona Richmond.[37][38]

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 become the first to win the FA Youth Cup in successive seasons since Chelsea did in 1960 and 1961. These talented young players had become regulars in the first team by the 1978–79 season, which saw Palace vying not only for promotion, but also the Second Division title. 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 51,482, 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 title 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 David Swindlehurst was completed by a finish from outside the penalty area to give the Eagles a 2–0 win. Palace were crowned champions, and had reached the top flight again.

As an increasing number of players from the FA Youth Cup winning team had established themselves in the first team, the press gave Palace the title of the "Team of the Eighties". They began the 1979–80 season well and stayed unbeaten longer than any other club in the top flight and also went top of the table for the first and to date only time in the club's history when they beat Ipswich Town 4–1 at Selhurst Park in late September. Unfortunately 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 league finish.[39]

The slide continued into the 1980–81 season, with nine defeats in the first ten games, and Venables quit Palace to join QPR. The club were suffering financial problems as well, and were virtually relegated by the start of February when another, even bigger change occurred. Ron Noades, previously the chairman of Wimbledon, took financial control of the club, purchasing it from Raymond Bloye's consortium. Palace spent the next couple of seasons flirting with relegation from the second tier and there were numerous managerial changes including the unpopular appointment of ex-Brighton manager Alan Mullery.

Steve Coppell, who led Palace to the FA Cup Final and a third place finish in the top flight. Coppell has managed the club over four separate spells.

The former Manchester United and England winger Steve Coppell was appointed as Palace's new manager for the 1984–85 season. Coppell's playing career had been cut short by a knee injury, and, assisted by former Palace player Ian Evans, he worked on rebuilding the club, signing the then unknown Ian Wright from non-league Greenwich Borough and Mark Bright from Leicester City, and the pair formed 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, they followed this up by only just missing out on automatic promotion by a single point. The club instead entered the 1989 Second Division play-offs, beating Swindon in the semi-finals to set up a two legged final against Blackburn Rovers. In the first leg at Ewood Park the Lancashire club won 3–1, but a 30,000 full house at Selhurst Park saw the Eagles triumph 3–0 after 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.[40][41][42]

Palace began their first top flight campaign in almost a decade by re-signing Andy Gray from QPR for £500,000. In November, the club hit the headlines when they signed Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Nigel Martyn for £1 million – a record fee for a goalkeeper in Britain. However, mixed form meant that the Eagles ended the season fifteenth after spending most of the first half in the top ten. But 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 team that had beaten them 9–0 in the league earlier in the season. The tie was played at Villa Park, and saw Liverpool score first to lead 1–0 at half-time. Palace emerged from the interval with a sense of purpose, and within a minute of the restart equalised through Mark Bright. After going 2–1 up, Palace then found themselves 2–3 down late in the match and were seemingly beaten. However an equaliser by Andy Gray with just two minutes remaining took the tie into extra-time, with the winner scored by Alan Pardew in a thrilling 4–3 victory and for the first time in their history, Palace were in the FA Cup Final.[43]

Their first ever appearance at Wembley Stadium saw Palace facing Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. Gary O'Reilly opened the scoring for Palace, but Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes put United 2–1 up. Ian Wright then equalised immediately after coming onto the pitch as a substitute to take the final into extra-time, before scoring again early in the added period to put Palace back in the lead. Hughes scored his second late on for United to leave the game drawn 3–3 and requiring a replay. In the replay Palace chose to wear a new one-off change strip of yellow and black striped shirts[44][45] The replay saw United left-back Lee Martin cap a 40-yard run by slotting past Nigel Martyn to win the Cup for the Red Devils.[46]

The club built on the success of the previous season and even challenged for the English league title for most of the next season, but fell just short of eventual champions Arsenal and runners-up Liverpool, finishing a club-best third in the top flight. Palace were unfortunate to miss out on a place in Europe because 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 available in the 1991–92 edition of the UEFA Cup, and this went to Liverpool rather than Palace. 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 for the club. In September, Channel 4 showed a documentary called Critical Eye – Great Britain United, which featured interviews with a number of club personnel. Among 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 programme makers,[47] and his comments stunned Palace's many black players. Ian Wright left the club soon after, transferring to Arsenal for £2.5 million and Palace finished tenth in the First Division at the end of the 1991–92 season. A breakaway by the top 22 clubs saw Palace become founder members of the new FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season. Mark Bright was sold to Sheffield Wednesday in September and the Eagles struggled to score goals without him. They were relegated on goal difference, after Oldham Athletic's 4–3 victory over Southampton on the last day of the season. 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. The club's relegation prompted the resignation of Coppell after nine years at the helm, and he was succeeded by his assistant Alan Smith.[48]

Alan Smith immediately guided Palace back to the Premier League as runaway champions of the second tier,[49] with Chris Armstrong top-scoring with 23 league goals.[50] During this period the badge was changed with the bird being replaced by one which Ron Noades felt more closely resembled an eagle.[51] In 1995 the club were again making news for off the field reasons. On 25 January 1995, Palace played Manchester United at Selhurst Park. Following a bad tackle on Palace defender Richard Shaw, United's maverick French forward Eric Cantona was sent off. As Cantona walked towards the tunnel he was taunted by Palace fan Matthew Simmons.[52] This angered Cantona, who launched a flying kick at him with both feet.[53] Manchester United suspended Cantona for the remainder of the season,[54] while the French Football Federation dropped Cantona from the France national football team,[55] and stripped him of the captaincy of Les Bleus.[56] Cantona was sentenced to two weeks in jail;[57] this was reduced to 120 hours community service on appeal. Simmons was immediately banned from Selhurst Park,[55] and later found guilty of two charges of using threatening words and behaviour towards Cantona.[58] More was to follow in March, when Chris Armstrong was suspended by the FA for failing a drugs test.[59] Palace reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups, but a shortage of Premier League goals counted against them,[60] alongside the introduction of a fourth relegation place. The Premier League 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.[8]

Smith left by "mutual agreement" within days of failing to keep Palace in the Premier League,[61] and Steve Coppell returned as technical director, with Ray Lewington and Peter Nicholas handling first team affairs. This set-up was augmented after only seven months with Dave Bassett joining as manager,[62] overseeing a run of form which took them to the 1996 play-off final, losing 1–2 against Leicester City at Wembley after a long range Steve Claridge goal in the final minute of extra-time.[63] Bassett moved to Nottingham Forest in March 1997,[64] but Coppell took over as manager again and the club reached the play-off final for the second year running.[65][66] Palace defeated Sheffield United 1–0 with David Hopkin scoring the winner in the 90th minute.[67] When asked what promotion meant to him, Coppell famously replied "ten months of misery".[68]

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.[69] Goldberg's initial plans involved the club becoming part owned by Juventus,[70] 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,[71] and moved Steve Coppell to Director of Football. The club appointed Lombardo as player-manager, with former Swedish striker Tomas Brolin as assistant.[72] 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.[73] 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.[74] Despite finishing bottom, the beginning of the next season saw Palace get their first experience of European football in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.[75] Goldberg's takeover of the club finally went through in early June,[76] although Noades maintained ownership of the ground, leasing it back to the club, and granting them an option to buy.[77]

The club's European venture was brief, entering the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the Third Round with a tie against Samsunspor of Turkey, Palace lost 0–4 on aggregate.[78] 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 Mark Goldberg was unable to sustain his financial backing of the club and they were placed into administration.[79] Venables left and Steve Coppell returned to manage the club once again,[80] while, with the approval of the administrators, Peter Morley was installed as chairman.[81] Coppell guided the club 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.[82] Jordan replaced Coppell with Alan Smith soon after taking control,[83] but despite reaching the League Cup semi-finals, Smith was sacked in April 2001 with demotion to the third tier looking imminent.[84] Long-serving coach Steve Kember was put in temporary charge of the first team alongside Terry Bullivant,[85] and demotion was staved off on the last day of the season with an 87th-minute Dougie Freedman goal away to Stockport County.[86]

Palace turned to former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce as their manager for the 2001–02 season.[87] After a good start to the season, Bruce attempted to walk out on the club after only four months in charge after being approached by Birmingham City to become their new manager.[88][89] Palace put Bruce on gardening leave while they searched for a new manager.[90] The club eventually allowed Bruce to join Birmingham,[91] and he was replaced by Trevor Francis, who ironically was his predecessor at the Midlands club.[92] After just two seasons, Francis left[93] to be replaced by Steve Kember on a permanent basis.[94] Kember guided Palace to victories in their opening three games of the 2003–04 Division One campaign, which put the club at the top of the table, but he was sacked in November after a horrific spell of form which saw them drop near to the relegation zone.[95] Kit Symons was appointed caretaker player-manager and put in charge of first-team duties for a month and he oversaw an improvement in form before the appointment of Iain Dowie as manager was made.[96] Dowie, a former Palace player, transformed the club from relegation candidates at Christmas into play-off contenders in April, and they reached the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium against West Ham United winning 1–0 with a goal from captain Neil Shipperley to return to the Premiership.[97] The club once again could not keep their seat at the top table despite the 21 goals struck by Andrew Johnson, the second highest goalscorer in the division.[98] Palace now held the unwanted distinction of being the only club to have been relegated from the Premier League four times.[99]

Palace players huddle before a match at Selhurst Park in 2007

The following season saw the club make the play-offs for the third time in four seasons but they failed to progress to the final, losing to Watford.[100] Palace also lost another manager with Iain Dowie leaving the club after stating that he wanted to be closer to his family in Bolton.[101] Simon 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,[102] eventually settling the affair in April 2008.[103] Former fans favourite Peter Taylor succeeded Dowie as manager for the 2006–07 season.[104] Taylor was unsuccessful in getting Palace promoted, and was replaced by Neil Warnock two months into the 2007–08 season.[105][106] Warnock guided the team to the 2008 Championship play-offs where they lost in the semi-finals to Bristol City.[107] Palace followed this with a fifteenth-place finish the next season.[108]

The 2009–10 season started with the club in financial uncertainty after failing to pay bonuses to former players,[109] as well as £250k owed to Bristol City for the transfer of Australian international Nick Carle twelve months before.[110] The Football League placed a transfer embargo on Palace in early August,[109] which was lifted near the end of that month. 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.[111] 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 of the P&A Partnership was appointed administrator to take over the running of the club.[112] Star players were sold including Victor Moses who departed for Wigan Athletic,[113] and manager Neil Warnock also left one month later to take over at QPR.[114] Paul Hart was brought in as manager on a temporary basis along with former Palace players Dougie Freedman and John Pemberton returning to the club as assistant and coach respectively.[115] 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. Survival was only 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 called CPFC 2010.[117]

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 Dougie Freedman remaining as his assistant.[119] Palace were 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] The club started poorly in the league however, and by November sat bottom,[122] with Davids departing after some less than impressive performances.[123] Palace's away form in the first half of the season was poor and a 0–3 South London derby defeat at Millwall on New Year's Day saw Burley sacked, with the club 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]

In the midst of the managerial change from Burley to Freedman, the club announced plans to relocate 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.[128] The following season started well, with a League Cup run that saw Palace beat Crawley Town, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough, and by late October the club were third in the league.[129] A League Cup victory over Southampton set up a quarter final tie away at Manchester United. However league form began to slip and Palace went six games without scoring immediately prior to the match against United. Entering the tie as obvious underdogs, a 35-yard strike from Darren Ambrose and an extra-time header from Glenn Murray saw Palace win at Old Trafford for the first time in 22 years.[130] The club then announced potential plans to update their image through a new badge.[131] On the pitch, league form remained patchy, and the semi-final of the League Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Cardiff City.[132] Palace finished the season in seventeenth place, an improvement on the previous season.[133]

Under the management of Alan Pardew, Crystal Palace reached the 2016 FA Cup Final

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 Wanderers on 23 October.[134] After the brief caretaker tenures of Lennie Lawrence and Curtis Fleming,[135] Ian Holloway was appointed on 3 November,[136] and his first game in charge was a 5–0 home win against Ipswich Town which put the club at the top of the table.[137] However a poor run of results towards the end of the season saw Palace only scrape into the play-offs by finishing fifth.[138] They played Brighton in the semi-final, achieving a 2–0 aggregate win after a 0–0 draw at Selhurst Park in the first leg; both goals in the second leg were scored by Wilfried Zaha.[139] Palace met Watford at Wembley in the final, winning 1–0 courtesy of a Kevin Phillips penalty in extra-time which ensured the Eagles' promotion back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.[140]

In October of the 2013–14 season, Holloway quit as manager, with the club having only taken three points from the first eight games of the season.[141] He was replaced by former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, who led the team to safety.[142] Pulis then resigned just two days before the start of the 2014–15 season. Neil Warnock returned to Palace for a second spell as manager, but was sacked on 27 December with the club in the relegation zone.[143] 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 consecutive season in the Premier League.[144]

The following season saw the club reach their first FA Cup Final for 26 years. Manchester United would again be the opposition, who Palace lost to in the 1990 final. Palace would suffer disappointment again losing 1–2 after extra-time. Pardew was sacked on 22 December 2016 after a poor run of results and the following day Sam Allardyce was appointed as the new manager of the club signing a 2½-year contract. Allardyce left the club two days after the end of the 2016–17 season due to personal reasons. On 26 June 2017, former Dutch international Frank de Boer signed a three-year deal to become the club's first permanent foreign manager,[145] but was sacked after losing all of his first four games.[146]He was replaced by former England manager Roy Hodgson, who at the age of 70 became the oldest appointee in Premier League history.[147] Poor results continued however for a few more games, and Palace achieved the unenviable record of the worst start to a season in English football history with seven successive defeats and no goals scored.[148][149] Despite their nightmare start the club eventually finished in a respectable eleventh place in the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season. This was followed by a twelfth place finish in the 2018–19 season.

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