Crystal Palace V Aston Villa

INSIDE ISSUE 18: Danny Butterfield | Neil Warnock | Shaun Derry | Mark Bright

PALACE

Official Matchday Programme

v Aston Villa, Sunday 14th February, Kick-Off 3:45pm, ÂŁ3

Main Club Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

GAC extends partnership with ESPN STAR Sports to bring FA Cup matches to millions of fans in Asia PLAYER FEATURE

The GAC Group (GAC), a leading global shipping and logistics provider, has inked a new agreement with ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) to extend its broadcast sponsorship of the world’s most popular domestic Cup competition, the FA Cup, for the next two seasons until 2011.

Commanding a viewership of some 47 million across Asia, the FA Cup is one of ESS’ premier football properties which is also delivered to audiences exclusively across ESS’ digital media platforms.

GAC Group Corporate Communications Director, Esther Oon-Bybjerg, said that this contract renewal for another two seasons was primarily due to the successes that GAC gained from its earlier partnership with ESS. “GAC is an ardent supporter of sports sponsorship and the English FA Cup is an excellent t with GAC’s brand values. The soccer teams exude the qualities of teamwork, dexterity and professionalism, the same qualities that our GAC team gives to its customers across the range of services that we provide,” she added.

“We intend to maximize this new tie-up with ESS on the FA Cup broadcasts to further reinforce the GAC brand visibility and recognition across the Asian markets,” she said.

Charles Less, Senior Vice-President Advertising Sales at ESS said “GAC recognizes how being associated with football’s oldest and most prestigious cup competition can help them strengthen their brand visibility across Asia. As Asia’s top sports content provider, we not only look at creating better experiences for our viewers but also for our clients. This partnership with GAC is another example of our ability to develop customized media solutions that help meet our client’s brand objectives and create a deeper connection between the brands and viewers. “ The Football Association (FA) is the governing body of football in England, responsible for the world’s oldest and most prestigious domestic cup competition. The FA Cup was established in 1871 where the crème de la crème of English cup football is competed every year by hundreds of afliated clubs throughout England and Wales.

2 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

CONTENTS

CRYSTAL PALACE FOOTBALL CLUB Selhurst Park Stadium, London SE25 6PU

CONTENTS 36|43

CHAIRMAN: Simon Jordan VICE CHAIRMAN: Dominic Jordan CLUB PRESIDENT: Peter Morley CBE CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Phil Alexander HR & COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Kevin Watts ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS: Simon Craig, Stevie Craig, David Groves, Fergus McGovern, Andrew Hall MANAGER: Neil Warnock COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: Terry Byfield

CONTACT DIRECTORY

Main Switchboard: 020 8768 6000 Ambassadors: 020 8768 6042 Box Office: 08712 000 071 Corporate Sales: 020 8768 6049 Communications: 020 8768 6020 Catering: 020 8771 5553 Club Shop: 020 8768 6100 F.C.T: 020 8768 6063 Study Centre: 020 8768 6066 Tickets: boxoffice@cpfc.co.uk Merchandise: clubshop@cpfc.co.uk General Enquiries: info@cpfc.co.uk PROGRAMME EDITORIAL: Terry Byfield, Thomas Coupland, Chris Poynton DESIGN: Nathan Simpson, Robert Deacon PHOTOGRAPHY: Neil Everitt, Action Images, Nick Olive, Graham Lambourne PRINTER: Bishops Printers

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK CLUB HONOURS

Division One: 1993/94 Division One play-off: 1996/97, 2003/04 Division Two: 1978/79 Division Two play-off: 1988/89 Division Three South: 1920/21 Zenith Data Systems Cup: 1991 FA Youth Cup: 1977, 1978

4|5 NEIL WARNOCK The boss looks ahead to this afternoon’s FA Cup action.

36|43 INTERVIEW Defender Danny Butterfield looks back on that record breaking night.

13|19 OPPOSITION A complete guide to our Premiership opponents.

49 THE MAN WITH THE MIKE ITV’s man on the gantry Clive Tyldesley.

22|23 FA CUP REPLAYED A look back at past FA Cup encounters against Aston Villa.

50|51 SELHURST SNAPSHOT We pick out a memorable frame from Palace’s win over Wolves.

28|29 KIDS CORNER More brain teasers for the younger ones.

68|69 ROCK AND GOAL YEARS Leigh Edwards looks back in time at the headlines from this week.

32|33 ACTION REPLAY Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Swansea.

76|77 FIXTURES AND RESULTS All the stats that matter from 09/10.

INSIDE ISSUE 18: Danny Butterfield | Neil Warnock | Shaun Derry | Mark Bright

PALACE PALACE PLAYER: Watch Neil Warnock’s post match press conference on Palace Player www.cpfc.co.uk

Official Matchday Programme

v Aston Villa, Sunday 14th February, Kick-Off 3:45pm, £3

Main Club Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

COVER SHOT: Danny in action during the 3-1 F.A. Cup victory over Wolves.

[02.02.10]

*Brendan Ambrose Guilfoyle, John Russell & Christopher Michael White appointed as Joint Administrators of Crystal Palace F.C (2000) Limited on the 26 January 2010. The Joint Administrators act as Agents of the Company without Personal Liability.

71 WORLD SOCCER: Gavin Hamilton reports on all the football news from around the globe.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 3

MANAGER’S COMMENTS

NEIL WARNOCK THE EXCLUSIVE VIEWS OF THE BOSS DIRECT FROM THE HOME DRESSING ROOM. Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to Selhurst Park for this FA Cup fifth round tie against Aston Villa.

Welcome also to Martin O’ Neill, his players and everyone who has travelled down from the midlands for the game.

Martin has been bravely battling this season against the dominance of the top four, and it has been great to see him do it with a good bunch of English players.

4 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

I have been really impressed with how Martin has brought on the young English talent at Villa Park and many of these will surely be involved this afternoon.

But today is not going to be a foregone conclusion. We have earned our place in this fifth round and all that goes with it, including another live game on television, and we are determined to take full advantage of this opportunity.

I am so proud of this current

group of players that continue to work hard day in, day out for the club.

Even the other night when we lost two centre halves before the match against Swansea we still managed to almost pull the result off against a very good team.

The following day we received a boost concerning one of our current crop of injuries. Paddy McCarthy saw his specialist this week and he has been told he can step up training, and there is a possibility that he will be able to start training with the first team squad before the end of the month.

Well done to Paddy over what would have been a frustrating time for him, but at least Wednesday’s appointment gave us all some positive news.

I am sure the side will give their best this afternoon, and with your backing we can make it a really good FA cup tie.

Whatever the result I am sure we can whet the appetite of those of you who have not been at Selhurst for a while, and hopefully see you return for other matches in the future having seen today what this squad are all about.

Martin O’Neill has shown in the earlier rounds how important the competition is to him, and his club do have ambitions of going all the way to the final in May. He was down here for our victory in the last round and I am not sure

MANAGER’S COMMENTS

THERE HAS BEEN A MAGNIFICENT RESPONSE FROM YOU ALL SINCE THAT DREADFUL DAY WHEN THE CLUB WERE PUT IN ADMINISTRATION JUST OVER A FORTNIGHT AGO.

which team he would have been hoping to draw, either ourselves at Selhurst or a local derby against Wolves.

This year it finally appears that we have a competition on our hands that is willing to produce proper cup shocks.

From the list of remaining teams still in the cup you would have to say that this afternoon’s opponents are one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

It has been a difficult period for me of late during administration, and I have to say I have missed my day-today relationship with the chairman.

Everyone is certainly pulling their weight during these troubled times and that is certainly no more than I would expect.

As always things have been made easier by the continued support that you have all shown up and down the country.

There has been a magnificent response from you all since that dreadful day when the club were put in administration just over a fortnight ago.

I would like to think this is your reward for the support you have shown and I am sure you are all

excited today going into such a prestigious occasion.

If you can all recall the noise that a crowd of just over 10,000 made against Wolves then let us make sure we raise the roof today with the numbers we have inside the stadium.

Enjoy the game, Neil

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 5

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CAPTAIN’S COMMENT

SHAUN DERRY SHAUN DERRY GIVES HIS LATEST COMMENTS DIRECT FROM THE DRESSING ROOM FOR THE MATCHDAY PROGRAMME.

We are now right in the middle of this very tight run of games and it is proving just a tough as we all had expected.

On Tuesday night I think you could see a number of tired legs early on and unfortunately that is when Swansea took advantage.

But we managed to turn our performance round and I thought there was only one team in it in the second half, and in the end we were unlucky not have got something out of the game.

Although we didn’t manage to get the equaliser we can take a great deal of encouragement that we we created a series of good chances against the best defence in the division.

You could see why Swansea are where they are though. Everything is built on that back four and when they got that opening goal they were able to shut up shop and frustrate us.

But from two very difficult games we have got three vital points that will be a major boost towards our objective of getting further away from the bottom teams, so that is very pleasing.

Today though we can look forward to forgetting about our league troubles for 90 minutes and face up against one of the best teams in the country.

These sort of games don’t come around very often, even though we

“I AM NOT PROMISING A CUP UPSET, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK WE WILL GIVE YOU A PERFORMANCE TO BE PROUD OF.”

would like them to, so we will be savouring every moment.

Villa have some of the best players in the country and some of the best young English talent around, so I know all the boys are looking forward to pitting themselves against these top players.

And we will not be intimidated by the occasion. We showed earlier this season when Manchester City came here that status, big names and big reputations do not faze us. They may have come here as easy favourites but we made sure they left Selhurst knowing they had been in a proper game of football.

We will be looking to do the same today. The cameras are here, we have a sell-out crowd, we have excellent opposition and this, after all, is the FA Cup; if you are not able to enjoy occasions like this then you are in the wrong job.

This is what the FA Cup is all about. David vs Goliath on paper but all even on the field, and after 90 minutes it will be down to who has the biggest heart for it.

I am not promising a cup upset, but I would like to think we will give you a performance to be proud of.

Enjoy the game today, Shaun

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 7

NEWS AROUND SE25

Turning everyday shopping into

Eagles Rewards

SELHURST NEWS . . . n o o S g n Comi

p e t s r o o D r u o Y o T ...

Look out for your Eagles Rewards vouchers in the post. You can spend your vouchers in full or part-payment at the Club Shop at Selhurst Park.

SELHURST SUPER DRAW Julie Bush took the £500 prize at Tuesday’s game with winning number 1912 in the half time Selhurst Super Draw.

Don’t forget to purchase your ticket before the game this afternoon and listen out for the winning number at half time.

Find out more at

eaglesrewards.co.uk

8 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

NEWS AROUND SE25

SELHURST NEWS WIN FUEL VOUCHERS

MICK’S BLOG IS NOMINATED FOR AWARD The Football League has announced the full shortlists for 12 awards at the 2010 Football League Awards incorporating FourFourTwo’s Top 50 Football League Players, with the winners set to be announced at a gala ceremony at Grosvenor House on Park Lane on Sunday 14th March 2010.

Crystal Palace’s The Mick Jones Blog has been shortlisted in the following category: Fleishman-Hillard Best Digital Content.

Speaking to www.cpfc.co.uk when the news broke on Thursday, Mick Jones told us of his delight at being nominated for the award: “When I started out doing this blog it was something for Crystal Palace supporters. I wanted to give a real insight into what goes on behind the scenes at the club and highlight the hard work that is put in by our coaches, players and management.

“I also wanted to make it as honest as possible and not be concerned about discussing delicate issues because so much in football is

hidden behind politics that a lot of the time fans don’t get to see or hear the real side of things.

“The fact that is has proven to be so popular among Crystal Palace fans has made it so worthwhile, and for it to now be recognised by the Football League is just fantastic.”

Expert judging panels were assembled for each category including representatives of the media, the sports industry and The Football League with the process of evaluating each entry taking place at Football League headquarters on 27th and 28th January.

The full list of shortlists for the twelve award categories are: Fleishman-Hillard Best Digital Content Cardiff City Crystal Palace Derby County Nottingham Forest Preston North End Queens Park Rangers

Texaco will be giving all Group Loyalty members the chance to win £20 worth of fuel vouchers during half time at forthcoming home matches, and we want YOU to be in with a chance of winning At half time we’re offering Texaco Star Rewards Crystal Palace Group Loyalty members the chance to win Texaco fuel vouchers. There will be three prizes of £20 worth of Texaco fuel vouchers to be won so get your card ready. All you need to do is wave your Star Rewards card in the air when you hear the announcement and get spotted by the roaming camera**. If you are selected by the camera your face will appear on the big screen in the stadium and you will be a winner.

Also did you know about the great prizes that you can win from just swiping your Texaco Star Rewards Crystal Palace Group Loyalty Scheme card when you make a purchase or fill up at a Texaco forecourt**?

1. Win one of 500 signed Mitre mini footballs by swiping your card a minimum of three times in a month between 1st February 2010 and 31st May 2010** 2. Fantastic prizes for the fan that collects the most Stars each month** 3. Quarterly money can’t buy prize draw for anybody that’s swiped their card during that period** So get swiping for your chance to win. Scheme Terms and conditions apply and can be found at: http://www. starrewardsgrouployalty.co.uk/ crystalpalace/conditions.asp **Prize Terms and conditions apply and can be found at: http:// www.starrewardsgrouployalty. co.uk/crystalpalace/prizeterms. asp

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 9

PLAYER FEATURE

For up to date coverage of Crystal Palace F.C.

visit our website

making local matter more

In print, online, all the time

10 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PHYSIO

THE CLUb’S PHYSIOTHERAPIST NIGEL COX ROUNDS UP ALL THE NEWS FROM WITHIN THE TREATMENT ROOM. Welcome to the game.

These are the sort of days we would all like to see as the ‘norm’ here at Selhurst with Premiership opposition providing today’s entertainment. It will give all of us a lift in these troubled times to welcome a team of their stature today. I’m looking forward to welcoming my colleague Alan Smith whom I haven’t seen since my last visit to Villa Park on the end of a 3-1 defeat !!.....here’s hoping the lads at this club can fare better and make home advantage count for us this time.

I guess the midweek game looked a ‘bridge too far’ for some of the boys, where fatigue, recent travels, forced team changes and the club situation all seemed to take their toll. It was a great effort in the second half, but we just couldn’t convert one of the chances that would have got us right back in the game. The Gaffer since has rested the lads well, and the medical team have been busy dealing with knocks and niggles over the past few days. Beyond that we know that the boys will be fired up for this occasion and the chance to show what they can do against quality opposition.

It was a blow on Tuesday to lose both of Saturday’s starting centre-halves. We knew Matt was out of it following his problem in the game against

BELOW: Matt Lawrence who was injuired in the Scunthorpe game and did not feature in the mid-week fixture against Swansea City.

Scunthorpe, so it was doubly frustrating when Claude Davis failed a fitness test on the morning of the game. He’d also picked up a slight strain in the game that failed to improve sufficiently in the days following. With a game every three or four days currently, it’s a constant race against time to overcome slight problems, and sometimes it’s a race you just can’t win.

Both lads have responded well since though, and hopefully both may come into contention for today’s game. It was great to see Jonny Ertl come through 90 minutes against Swansea unscathed.

Another victim of the two game a week cycle, as we found ourselves unable to ease him back in with the benefit of a run-out in the Reserves. An immediate and early return to first team action is never ideal in the eyes of the medical team, but sometimes ‘needs must’ and I think you’ll agree that Johnny coped really well on the night. Of the other injuries....Alassane N’Diaye has returned to training and is once again pushing for a place in the side. Paddy McCarthy and I travelled once again to Sheffield for a consultation with his shoulder specialist on Wednesday, and I’m pleased to say that the news was good, and he was given the green light to step up his training now in his bid for a return to the squad hopefully in early March.

Enjoy the game.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 11

....STILL no sign of the seagulls or the PLAYER FEATURE

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PLAYER FEATURE

IN SE25 TODAY ASTON VILLA WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 13

TODAY’S VISITORS

ASTON VILLA FC

TODAY IS THE SECOND TIME IN UNDER A WEEk THAT PALACE WILL FACE UP AGAINST A SIDE WITH THE bEST DEFENCE IN THE DIVISION.

14 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

On Tuesday night Swansea travelled to Selhurst with the second best back four in the Championship and left with the top spot best following Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat to Derby While our visitor’s today boast the best defensive record in the Premiership. They have conceded just 20 goals this season, two goals less than second-placed Manchester United.

But, like Swansea, Villa also boast one of the poorest scoring records in the top half of the table.

At home they have scored 18 goals, which is ten less than the

closest team above them, Tottenham; and that gap does not get smaller as you look at the teams that make up the rest of the top places.

Away from Villa Park they have been marginally more productive and have the second worst goalscoring record in the top seven, but it is still a modest 12 goals less than United’s 26.

But without wanting to tempt fate it is useful to put these records into the context. The Premier League is of course regarded as the toughest division in the world and Villa are holding their own in seventh place and are just two points off the top four.

TODAY’S VISITORS

LAST FIVE VS PALACE 03/01/05 Premier League Crystal Palace 1 Aston Villa 0

03/12/03 League Cup Aston Villa 3 Crystal Palace 0

08/11/97 Premier League Crystal Palace 1 Aston Villa 1

25/09/04 Premier League Aston Villa 1 Crystal Palace 1

14/03/98 Premier League Aston Villa 3 Crystal Palace 1

HEAD TO HEAD: Palace W8 D12 L15 Villa W15 D12 L8

ABOVE: The Villa team celebrate their third goal in in the Carling Cup semi-final 6-4 win over Blackburn Rovers last month.

Their draw against United in midweek proved that they are a match for the very best, and were indeed unlucky to not walk away with all three points but for an unfortunate deflection off James Collins’ legs.

And that draw meant that Martin O’Neill’s side come into today’s game on the back of a nine game unbeaten run.

You have to go back to the 29th December for their last defeat when Liverpool snatched a 1-0 win at Villa Park.

THE MANAGER: MARTIN O’NEILL

Martin O’Neill is now in his fourth season as Aston Villa manager. Appointed in August 2006 the former Northern Ireland international has engineered massive strides for his team.

Villa had finished 16th immediately prior to his arrival but in his first campaign in charge they climbed to 11th - and the season after they moved into the top six, a position which would normally have ensured automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup. As it was, Villa had to settle for a passage via the Intertoto Cup, but sixth place was, nevertheless, a commendable achievement.

The following season saw them again finish sixth, although this time around they flirted in the top four for several months.

As a player O’Neill’s career took off with Nottingham Forest in 1975. Within five years, Forest had won the League Cup twice, the League Championship and the European Cup twice - with the Northern Ireland international playing an integral role in midfield.

His break into football management came with Grantham Town in 1987, followed by two other non-League clubs, Shepshed Charterhouse and Wycombe Wanderers, who he led to an FA Trophy triumph and promotion to the Football League.

After a brief period as manager of Norwich City, he was appointed by Leicester City in 199596 where he twice won the League Cup, gained promotion to the Premiership and qualified for the UEFA Cup before he then moved to Celtic in 2000.

In his first season at Parkhead, the Glasgow giants celebrated a Scottish treble and they went on to lift seven trophies in the space of five years before he stood down after the 2005 Scottish Cup final victory over Dundee United

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 15

PLAYER PROFILE

[1] Brad Friedel Position: Goalkeeper Nationality: American Brad Friedel looked set for a “job for life” with Blackburn Rovers having been there since 2000, but he made a career move he considered too good to miss in July 2008.

The experienced American goalkeeper, regarded as a true master of his trade, signed a threeyear contract which brought him to Villa Park in a £2.5m deal.

He had his first taste of English football when he was taken to Newcastle United by Kevin Keegan, although he never played for the Magpies because of work permit problems. After loan spells at Danish club Brondby and Turkish giants Galatasaray he returned to America to join Columbus Crew. He was finally granted a work permit in late 1997 when he joined Liverpool.

[4] Steve Sidwell Position: Midfielder Nationality: English Signed from Chelsea in the summer of 2008, Sidwell had already given Villa fans a glimpse of his abilities with both goals which capped a powerful performance when Reading beat Martin O’Neill’s men 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium in February 2007.

His form for the Berkshire club that season was so impressive that it earned him a move to Chelsea when his contract with the Berkshire club

16 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

expired. But he had few opportunities to shine at Stamford Bridge, and he welcomed the opportunity to get his career back on track at Villa Park.

[5] Richard Dunne Position: Defender Nationality: Irish Richard Dunne signed on the dotted line for Martin O’Neill in the August 2009 transfer window.

Dunne was a real favourite at City having signed for the club in a £3m deal in October 2000. Not only did Dunne clock up 290 league appearances and 55 more outings in the cup but he wrote his name in the history books by being voted Fans Player of the Year on four successive occasions.

Mark Hughes was the fifth different City manager under whom Dunne played. It was the third of them Stuart Pearce - after Joe Royle and Kevin Keegan - who handed him the captain’s armband at the start of the 2006-07 season.

[6] Stewart Downing Position: Midfielder Nationality: English Gifted left-sided star Stewart Downing joined Villa from Middlesbrough in July 2009.

He made his long-awaited debut in the 1-0 Premier League defeat at Ipswich in April 2002 and almost crowned a man-of-the-match display

with a late equaliser. Three days later he was handed his Riverside debut replacing Benito Carbone at half-time in a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea.

His first-team chances at Middlesbrough were limited originally due to the form of Bolo Zenden in the left midfield slot. But his career began to take-off when he was recalled from his loan at Sunderland during an injury crisis.

By the time he left the Riverside he had made over 180 appearances and scored 17 goals in eight years at the club.

[7] Ashley Young Position: Midfielder Nationality: English The player that Martin O’Neill has described as ‘world-class’ and a ‘genius’ has fast become one of the Premier League’s brightest young stars.

Villa paid an initial £8m to Watford for Ashley Young - and eyebrows were certainly raised about the size of the transfer fee. But the pacy winger is proving to be excellent value for money.

In just over 100 appearances he has scored 20 goals for Villa and last season was named the PFA Young Player of the Year.

[10] John Carew Position: Striker Nationality: Norwegian John Carew missed a huge chunk of 2008-09 through injury but still finished as the club’s leading scorer for the second consecutive campaign.

Despite his two-month absence, the Norwegian marksman hit a total of 15 league and cup goals - two more than his haul for the previous season.

Even when he wasn’t scoring, the tall, powerful striker posed a constant threat to opposition defences, holding the ball up well and creating space for the likes of Gabby Agbonlaghor and Ashley Young.

Having played initially in his home country, Carew’s career has taken him to Spain, Italy, Turkey and France but he has found Premier League football

PLAYER PROFILES

very much to his liking since his arrival from Lyon in a deal which saw Czech international Milan Baros move in the opposite direction.

[11] Gabriel Agbonlahor Position: Striker Nationality: English Brought up through the Villa Academy, Agbonlahor has established himself as one of the most potent young strikers in the Premier League since making his debut against Everton in 2006.

His considerable pace makes him a handful for defenders, while his natural goal scoring instinct makes him a threat in and around the box.

In his 144 appearances for Villa he has scored 42 goals.

[18] Emile Heskey Position: Striker Nationality: English England international Emile Heskey could hardly have had a better start to life in claret and blue.

Signed from Wigan Athletic in the January 2009 transfer window, he made his debut against Portsmouth at Fratton Park a few nights later - and hit the only goal of the game.

O’Neill had first worked with him when they were at Leicester City together where Heskey helped the Foxes to League Cup glory in 1997 and 2000 before making an £11m move to Liverpool.

He scored 23 goals in his first full season at Anfield, helping the Reds to a league, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble.

He then spent two seasons with Birmingham City before joining Wigan in 2006.

[19] Stiliyan Petrov Position: Midfielder Nationality: Bulgarian After two seasons in which Petrov had largely struggled to live up to the reputation which accompanied him from Celtic, things started to change for him when he was propelled into Villa folklore with his goal from the centre-circle against Derby County at Pride Park.

That audacious piece not only won a hat-trick of awards - BBC Match of the Day’s and Match magazine’s Goal of the Month, plus Villa’s Goal of the Season - it was also one of the longest goals ever scored by a Villa player.

He is now an established first team starter and was given the captain’s armband earlier this season.

[24] Carlos Cuellar Position: Defender Nationality: Spanish A rugged, uncompromising central defender, Carlos Cuellar also played a number of games at right-back following his arrival from Glasgow Rangers during the 2008 summer transfer window.

His time in Scotland although relatively short was a huge success.

He was an integral member of a team who won the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, and also reached the UEFA Cup final before losing to Russians Zenit St. Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium.

[25] Stephen Warnock Position: Defender Nationality: English Stephen Warnock graduated from the Liverpool Academy and was given his long-awaited debut by manager Rafa Benitez in the Champions League

qualifier against Graz in August 2004.

The Ormskirk star started out in central midfield but matured into a good left sided player, either at left back or left midfield in the following years.

Mark Hughes then swooped to sign the defender for Blackburn from the Reds during the January 2007 transfer window. He quickly established himself as a firm favourite among the fans but moved on to Villa in the summer of 2009 after 88 appearances and five goals for Rovers.

[29] James Collins Position: Defender Nationality: Welsh James Collins completed his move from West Ham to Villa on transfer deadline day and along with Richard Dunne was part of a double defensive swoop from Martin O’Neill.

Tipped to reach the highest level from an early age, Collins made his first-team debut for first club Cardiff City at the age of 17 in an FA Cup first-round tie against Bristol Rovers in November 2000.

He impressed alongside Danny Gabbidon in central defence and this led to West Ham securing a joint deal for the pair in July 2005.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 17

STARMAN

STARMAN: JAMES MILNER James Milner became a Villa player just before the summer 2008 transfer window closed when he signed for £12 millionbut the deal should really have happened two years earlier.

After an impressive season on loan under former boss David O’Leary, the England international held talks with Martin O’Neill shortly after the new manager’s appointment, only for Newcastle United to decide they were not willing to sell.

That was a blow to both Villa and Milner, but when he finally became a full-fledged Villan, he helped the team to a top six finish and the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in a season in which Newcastle were relegated.

Milner’s career began at Leeds United, for whom he became the second youngest player to appear in the Premier League when he made his debut as a substitute against West Ham in 2002 at the age of 16 years and 309 days.

In 2004 he joined Newcastle and 12 months later he made his loan move to Villa Park at the same time that Nobby Solano returned to St. James’ Park.

At international level Milner is also the most capped England U21 international with 46 appearances to his name.

He is now on the fringe of Fabio Capello’s side after making his debut in August of last year when he came on as a substitute against Holland for the final 23 minutes.

Since then he has gone on to make six appearances for the senior set up.

18 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

LAST TIME OUT

LAST TIME OUT: ASTON VILLA 1 CUELLAR 19

mAN uTd 1 COLLINS 23 (Og)

10/02/2010 PREMIER LEAGUE VILLA PARK ATTENDANCE: 42,788 REFEREE: MR P WALTON Friedel 1

Collins

Dunne

29

5

24

2

Cuellar

L Young

Petrov 19

Milner

Delph

8

16

7

6

A Young

Downing 11

Agbonlahor

Villa Subs: Guzan, Davies, Beye, Sidwell, Salifou, Carew, Delfouneso Man Utd: Van der Sar, Evra, Brown, Evans, Rafael Da Silva, Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs (Berbatov 74), Scholes (Valencia 45), Nani, Rooney Unused Subs: Park, Owen, Neville, Gibson, Foster

ASTON VILLA

mATCH STATS

44% POSSESSION

1

CORNERS

6

ON TARGET

9

FOULS

0

YELLOW CARDS

4

OFF TARGET

“I THOUGHT WE COULD MAYBE TAKE ADVANTAGE BUT WE WERE A BIT TIRED IN THE SECOND HALF AND WE DIDN’T CREATE ENOUGH TO CAUSE THEM UNDUE WORRY.” MARTIN O’NEILL Villa produced a solid and determined display to clock up a 1-1 draw with Manchester United - ensuring an unbeaten league campaign against the champions and an unbeaten run that now covers nine games in both the league and the cup.

The hosts were the better team before the break while the Red Devils were on top in the second half and a share of the spoils was probably the fairest result overall in this engaging contest.

Carlos Cuellar opened the scoring for the home side with a brilliantly-flighted header in the 20th

minute but that joy was short-lived as James Collins was in the right place at the wrong time, turning in Ryan Giggs’s centre from the left.

United’s evening took an unsavoury turn when Nani - involved in the equalising goal - was dismissed for a dangerous two-footed lunge on skipper Stilyan Petrov just before the half hour mark.

The winger was chasing after a hospital pass and preposterously lunged in with two feet and both studs raised to leave the Villa defender in a heap and the referee with no option but to show a straight red.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 19

PLAYER FEATURE

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BBC TV COVERAGE

Vote for the League’s Top 50 players Who will follow in the footsteps of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Matty Fryatt, Grant Holt and Fabian Delph?

All were winners from last years Football League Awards and FourFourTwo once again want to hear from you to help influence the winners for the 2010 FourFourTwo Player of the Year. Vote for the best player in the Championship, League One, League Two and also the Young Player of the Year.

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WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 21

FA CUP REPLAY

FEBRUARY 1913

This afternoon’s Fifth Round tie is the third time that the clubs have been paired together in the F.A. Cup, the first occasion being almost a hundred years ago when Palace were in the Southern League Division One and Villa were high up in the Football League First Division.

Palace were already gaining a reputation for ‘giant killing’ in the seven seasons since the club’s founding but in those days there were only two divisions of the Football League and so there was more opportunity for a League club to fall at the hand of a so called lesser outfit.

Palace had already seen off two Second Division clubs of the League in the shape of Glossop and Bury in home ties at The Crystal Palace in the two previous rounds. They were handed a daunting trip to face Aston Villa at their headquarters for a Third Round (these days Fifth Round) tie that took place on Saturday 22nd February. Villa had reached this stage by defeating Derby County away and then Palace’s fellow Southern League club West Ham United were beaten 5-0 at Villa Park, so the warning signs were there.

No doubt there were reunions at the game as it was the first time that our Secretary-Manager Edmund Goodman would be taking his team to the place where he was once a player and a secretary. It was to Aston Villa that the owners of The Crystal Palace park and grounds turned to for help in setting up the current Crystal Palace Football Club. There were to be no heroics this time by the Palace team as they too succumbed 5-0 to the Villa side, their goals being scored by Joe Bache, and two each for Harold Halse and Clem Stephenson.

Villa went on to win the trophy by defeating Sunderland 1-0 in the Final and in more connections with Palace, the final in those days played at The Crystal Palace and their goalscorer was Tom Barber who would play for Palace in our last season in the Southern League, 1919-20. Sadly Tom died at an early age in December 1924 from tuberculosis, his health having deteriorated during the First World War. In that same F.A. Cup final former Palace player Charlie Wallace missed a penalty kick, the first to do so in a Final.

LEFT: Aston Villa’s 1912/13 winning FA Cup squad.

The fifth title in the club’s history.

The Villa team that beat Palace in the 3rd round.

‘Picture Courtesy Aston Villa FC’

22 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

FA CUP REPLAY BELOW: The Palace team that played Aston Villa in the 60’s. BACK ROW, left to right: Terry Long, Roy Summersby, George Petchey, Vic Rouse, Brian Wood, Johnny McNichol. FRONT ROW: Ronnie Allen, Johnny Byrne, Dennis Uphill, John Cartwright, Ron Heckman

ASTON VILLA VS CRYSTAL PALACE 6th January 1962 FA Cup 3rd Round Villa Park Almost fifty years later and the clubs were drawn together in the Third Round and again it’s at Villa Park.

Palace were back in Division Three, having gained promotion from Division Four the previous April, and had already had to get through the first two rounds. Round One gave us home advantage over fellow Division Three club Portsmouth on November 4th 1961 who were easily beaten 3-0 and, although the Second round offered a potential banana skin at Bridgewater Town of the Western League, this particular hurdle was also cleared by the same 3-0 margin to bring the team up against Division One opposition for the first time since 1946.

There were up to four thousand Palace fans among the 39,011 throng at Villa Park to see their team come out onto the pitch and take up a formation embracing the 4-2-4 system that manager Arthur Rowe had planned against the Villans forward line. However it was the Midlands club who took the lead, somewhat fortuitously, after only ten minutes when a pass by Ronnie Allen hit referee Leo Callaghan and set up a counter attack that ended with Peter McParland hammering the ball past Vic Rouse. However Palace struck

back six minutes later as Johnny Byrne moved past two defenders to hit a curling shot with the outside of his foot from twenty yards that beat Nigel Sims in the Villa goal and then almost immediately took the lead as John Cartwright slipped a ball through the Villa defence, Sims failed to make contact with a dive near the edge of his penalty area and Denis Uphill ran on to prod the ball into an empty net. The reply from Villa came in the twenty-third minute when McParland dived full length to head home Alan Deakin’s cross for 2-2.

The second half started with end-to-end stuff and Derek Dougan headed the wrong side of the post only for Palace to sweep upfield again in the forty-ninth minute and Ron Heckman cut to the bye-line before firing in a bullet-like centre that Johnny Byrne headed into the roof of the net to put Palace ahead again.

Villa then piled the pressure on the Palace goal with Vic Rouse pulling off one stupendous save from Bobby Thomson only for Derek Dougan to scramble home an equaliser seven minutes after the break but any thoughts that Palace would now fall apart were soon dismissed as they regrouped, attacked when possible and defended when they had to. Two

minutes from time Rouse again pulled off a magnificent save from Deakin and as the clocked ticked on a replay seemed inevitable but in the time being added by the referee, Harry Burrows had the ball some thirty yards from goal and, with forwards Dougan and McParland screaming for a cross, Burrows obliged. Vic Rouse, no doubt aware of the two big forwards, seemed to take his eye off the ball as it sailed into the net at the far post for the winning goal. A desperate end to a gallant performance from the Palace team as they dejectedly played out the last few seconds of this enthralling match. Ronnie Allen had the key role in the Palace side harrying the opposition while finding time to set up his own attacks and it was his raking passes, promptings and intelligent ball distribution that had helped to hamper Villa and only in the last fifteen minutes did he become fallible.

For Johnny Byrne this was yet another performance to show that he could easily play at this level of football for it was only two months later that he left Selhurst Park for a record £65,000 and crossed over London to West Ham United.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 3

PLAYER FEATURE

PICTURE: 29/09/1979 This strike helped take us to the top of the first division with a 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town 30 years ago today.

SELHURST SNA 24 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PLAA YE WRA YF ET AR TAUV R EE L

SAT 27TH FEBRUARY 2010 COCA-COLA CHAMPIONSHIP DONCASTER ROVERS (A)

Four home games in a row in just twelve days. You don’t get that coming along very often! Yet the glorious success in the FA Cup has thrown up these anomalies in the fixture computer, meaning the next away match up at Doncaster seems a long time away.

Sean O’Driscoll has done a marvellous job since he took the

STADIUM: The Keepmoat Stadium ADDRESS: Keepmoat Stadium, Stadium Way, Lakeside, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4 5JW

from the M1, join the M18 Eastbound at Jct 32.

Once on the M18, leave at Junction 3 and take the A6182 towards Doncaster (the stadium is well signposted from Jct 3). You will pass a retail park on your left and then at the next island (which has the Lakeside Pub visible behind it), turn left onto White Rose Way. The shopping centre will now be on your right. At the next island turn right onto the industrial estate

reins at Rovers in September 2006.

After impressing in a six year stint on the south coast at Bournemouth O’Driscoll moved north to see his new club relocate to an impressive new stadium just four months later.

Things got even better at the Keepmoat Stadium as Rovers were promoted to the Championship the following season, and they have comfortably held their position ever since. The team has become synonymous with good flowing football, a fact recognised by the Burnley board as they interviewed O’Driscoll for the recent managerial vacancy at Turf Moor.

Billy Sharp has been the main man for Doncaster this season.

On loan from Sheffield United, the diminutive striker, who turned 24 last

and, after passing the Tesco distribution centre on your right, turn right at the bottom of the road and the stadium is further down on your left.

APSHOT TEL: 01302 764 664 EMAIL: info@ doncasterroversfc. co.uk

GETTING THERE

BY ROAD: From the A1(M) join the M18 Eastbound at Jct 35 (signposted Hull) or

PARKING: The stadium benefits from a 1,000 space car park, but these do fill up quickly.

To comply with the Green Travel Plan national environmental initiative, the Keepmoat Stadium will encourage the allocation of all parking spaces to multi-occupancy

vehicles carrying three or more people.

TRAIN: There are regular trains from Kings Cross Station to Doncaster station leaving on the hour every hour, ten minutes past and 40 minutes past the hour.

week, has notched up ten goals at the time of writing though has found the net hard to come by in the past couple of months.

Palace and Rovers have only met a grand total of eleven times in their history, seven of which have been in the league. In the last campaign the Eagles were victorious at Selhurst Park, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Shefki Kuqi and a late winner from Alan Lee. The return fixture up the M1 ended in a 2-0 defeat, and of course few will forget the 3-0 setback at home just two months ago.

The players will be champing at the bit to put that defeat to bed and look to continue the side’s superb run of form and climb the table.

By Chris Waters

distance. If you decide to walk, turn right out of the station and continue on the A6182 Trafford Way, which will lead you straight to the ground.

There is an enhanced bus service provided by First Bus (Services 72 & 75).

These routes start and terminate at the Frenchgate Bus Interchange, which is adjacent to the train station.

is on the outskirts of Doncaster city centre so there is not much choice for pubs close to the ground.

However, there is the Lakeside, a Beefeater outlet near Stadium Way which is en-route to the stadium from the M18.

EACH WEEk WE TAkE A LOOk INSIDE NEIL AWAY TRAVEL: EVERITT’S CATALOGUE OF PICTURES FROM Departs 8.45am OVER THE YEARS AND PICk OUT A £36.00 FRAME Guests Season Ticket Holders IN PALACE’S HISTORY. / Members £33.50

FROM THE STATION: Doncaster station is approximately two miles from the stadium so, if you plan on walking the distance, leave enough time to accommodate the

BEFORE KICK OFF: The Keepmoat Stadium

Eagle Gold Holders £30.00

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 25

PLAYER FEATURE

PICTURE: Hat-trick hero Danny Butterfield celebrates at the end of the match with goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

26 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

BBC COVERAGE

WITH ROY kEANE AS THE MANAGER OF THEIR LOCAL CLUb bbC RADIO SUFFOLk HAVE NOT bEEN THE ONLY ONES AFTER A WORD OF TWO WITH THE FORMER INTERNATIONAL bUT TODAY WE TALk TO ONE WHOSE FOOTbALL FREQUENCY HAS FOLLOWED EVERY kICk SINCE HIS ARRIVAL. Brenner Woolley will be in the press box this afternoon as one of the visiting local station’s reporters as Town’s fortunes are covered in the regular sporting programme. “ Like many of the BBC local stations we base our sports coverage around a four hour programme on a Saturday afternoon, which includes a preview, the commentary- home and away matches- and a reaction hour after the game including a phone in and interviews from those involved in the action”.

Brenner is the regular voice behind the mike on all the games but that level of broadcasting did not come about without the normal grounding. “ I went to university in Liverpool and got my degree and this was followed by a post graduation before a freelance role for a year. After that I was fortunate to land a job in commercial radio for a year in the north. Nine years ago I moved to Suffolk and I am now covering Town games alongside a summariser at games who is normally a former Ipswich player.

“My weekdays see me cover a variety of sports including the breakfast bulletins on the stations from 6am each morning.”

Brenner has been one of many journalists eager to see how the next chapter of Keane’s management career progresses and his arrival meant the expectancy level went up a notch around suffolk.

“Roy Keane came in towards the end of last season and the summer was one of planning towards a season with high expectations. Back to back wins started his management with the club and spent heavily in the summer.

The bookmakers made Town the fourth favourites behind the three relegated clubs to get promotion.

Sadly the eighth attempt by the club to get back amongst the top flight didn’t get off to the best of starts but the recent run is hopefully an indication that the second half of the season will see fortunes improve”.

“Roy has been excellent to work with from a journalist’s point of view and I have found him very honest and open with all forms of the media. He has been self critical having been the first to admit that the start to his time here has not gone as well as expected so far because he is results driven as much as anyone. He firmly believes he has the right coaching staff, a good squad of players in position to make Ipswich Town a successful force once again. He is desperate to prove himself as a manager and he believes

he will do that at Portman Road.”

Brenner is looking forward to this Boxing Day encounter but is finding it difficult to separate the two sides.

“Ipswich are on a ten match unbeaten run and this has been mainly down to them having a settled back five and that has really paid dividends in recent weeks. The side have looked a lot tighter defensively at the back and probably more than any Town side have for a long time.

“Looking at both teams record I could see this being another draw for each side. My concern for Town though is someone who has done some damage to them already this season. Darren Ambrose is a player that I think a lot of, I was disappointed that last season, under Jim Magilton, we didn’t keep hold of him and he has had a great start to this season with 13 goals. He is a match winner and proved that earlier this season in Palace’s victory in the middle of August at Portman Road.

“This will be a difficult game today for Ipswich as visitors and they will need to be on their guard, but are missing a couple of players through suspension Jon Walters and Grant Lidbetter. They have been outstanding this season so will be a big miss for Keane.

“Both teams this season have been prone to getting the 1-1 scoreline and I can see that happening again this afternoon.”

YOU CAN WATCH ALL THE CHAMPIONSHIP ACTION TONIGHT ON BBC 1 AT 11.50PM WITH MANISH AND HIS TEAM.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 27

KIDS CORNER

KIDS CORNER Guess who?

CAN YOU NAME THE TWO PALACE PLAYERS MERGED TOGETHER INTO ONE?

true Or FAlSe?

PALACE MATHS!

Q1.Martin O’Neill won back to back European Cups with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980.

The number of goals Danny Butterfield scored in the last round of the Cup:

Q2. Emile Heskey started his professional career with Birmingham City.

The number you get when you add Clint Hill’s and Nathanial Pinney’s squad number together:

Q3. The Eagles next away game is against Doncaster on the 28th February.

Q4. Italy pick their national captain on the basis of who has the most caps in the playing squad Q5. Peter Ndlovu was the first African player to play in the Premier League.

Q6. Crystal Palace will play Newcastle United in their final game of the Championship 09/10 season.

28 | PALACE vs PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

The number of goals scored in total in the1990 FA Cup Final between Palace & Manchester United:

x

÷ -

Nick Carle’s squad number:

=?

KIDS CORNER

QUiZ QUESTions Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6

Who is the current manager of Aston Villa?

How many European Cup’s have Aston Villa won?

When did Aston Villa last win the FA Cup? Where do Aston Villa play their home games?

Who scored the Eagles winning goal at Scunthorpe last Saturday?

Which Palace player started his career with Aston Villa?

MASCOTS 1. Sean O’Sullivan - Aged 8 (HOME) Sean attends Atwood School in Sanderstead. He is a capable footballer and plays Midfield for Shelton Athletic.

His favourite Palace players are Sean Scannell and Shaun Derry (there is a theme here!) although, he is still coming to terms with Andy Johnson’s departure! He also plays violin and is a keen runner and golfer. He dreamt that Danny Butterfield scored a hat trick in the last round of the Cup (Mmmm...) and is dreaming of a trip to Wembley!....

2. Reece Williams - Aged 9 (HOME) Reece’s hobbies are Football, Drama and collecting Match Attack Cards and his favourite players are Julian Speroni and Neil Danns. Reece has already met some of the team when we were staying at the Marriot in Peterborough in 2009 and as Reece had broken his arm whilst at the Hotel, the Manager arranged for Reece to get some autographs of the team which made his weekend!

2

3. Eddie Flynn - Aged 8 (HOME) Eddie is also today’s mascot! He is 8 years old and goes to Tillingbourne School. His hobbies are Football and playing the drums and his favourite player is Lee Hills.

4. Tom Coome - Aged 11 (HOME) Tom is 11 years old and likes playing and watching any sport, particularly Football and Cricket. Tom plays Striker for Under 11 team, Warren Mead FC. He also enjoys going for walks with his dog Dougal.

5. Freddie Falkner - Aged 8 (HOME) Freddie is 8 years old and goes to Northchapel Primary School. His hobbies are playing Football, Cubs, Swimming and being outdoors.

Freddie’s favourite player is Shaun Derry after meeting him last year. Have fun Freddie, with lots of love Mum, Dad, Jade and Yasmin.

3

1

4

5

BOOK A MASCOT PACKAGE FOR A PERFECT PRESENT!

THE MASCOT PACKAGE IS AN IDEAL GIFT FOR ANY YOUNGSTER AGED 5-14. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT CHERYL WISEMAN ON 020 8768 6049 OR EMAIL CHERYL.WISEMAN@CPFC.CO.UK

GUESS WHO?: Matt Lawrence & Alan Lee TRUE OR FALSE ?: Q1: TRUE. Q2: FALSE - Leicester City Q3: FALSE Q4: TRUE Q5: TRUE Q6: FALSE Sheffield Wednesday PALACE MATHS: 3 x (3 + 37 = 40) ÷ (3 + 3 = 6) - 10 = 10 QUIZ QUESTIONS?: Q1:Martin O’Neill Q2: One Q3: 1957 Q4: Villa Park Q5: Neil Danns Q6: Alan Lee WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 29

PLAYER FEATURE

ACTION REPLAY 30 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

ACTION REPLAY

SCUNTHORPE 1 MIRFIN 84

PALACE 2

AMBROSE 63, DANNS 90+3 06/02/10 COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP GLANFORD PARK REFEREE: MR P TIERNEY ATTENDANCE: 5, 698 Speroni 1

Davis

Lawrence

24

17

2

3

Clyne

Hill Derry

Carle

4

10 8

Danns

20

7

Butterfield

Ambrose 19

Lee

Palace Subs Hills (Lawrence 90+1), Djilali (Butterfield 64), Comley, N’Diaye, John, Scannell, Andrew (Lee 74) Scunthorpe: Murphy, Byrne, Mirfin, Williams, Jones, Togwell (O’Connor 82), Thompson (Forte 70), McCann, McDermott (Moloney 78), Hayes, Hooper Unused Subs: Lillis, Raynes, Woolford, J Wright

CRYSTAL PALACE After the drama and excitement of the FA Cup attention turned back to the league with a visit to Scunthorpe United.

It took until the second half for the deadlock to be broken and it was Palace who took the lead.

Just past the hour mark Darren Ambrose struck his 15th goal of the season when he received the ball out wide and as no one closed him down he fired across firing past Joe Murphy from just inside the box.

The Iron were reduced in numbers when Marcus Williams brought down substitute Kieran Djilali when he was clear through.

Despite the defecit in personnel

Scunthorpe drew level with six minutes remaining as a corner was swung over by sub Jonathan Forte and a header at the near post by Mirfin went over the last defender on the line.

But in added time there was late drama for the 500 visiting fans behind the goal Palace were attacking.

Neil Danns grabbed a 93rd minute winner after Clyne collected a pass from Derry on the right side of the box.

With men in the box Danns elected to cut inside and hit a curling shot into the bottom left corner, leaving the Irons keeper with no chance and Palace taking the points.

MATCH STATS

45% POSSESSION

3

CORNERS

4

ON TARGET

15 FOULS

5

YELLOW CARDS

7

OFF TARGET

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 31

PLAYER FEATURE

ACTION REPLAY 32 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

ACTION REPLAY

PALACE 0 SwANSEA 1 KUqI 14

09/02/10 COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP SELHURST PARK REFEREE: MR G SCOTT ATTENDANCE: 12,328 Speroni 1

Ertl

Hill

22

3

2

15

Clyne

Hills Derry

Carle

4

10 8

Danns

20

7

Butterfield

Ambrose 19

Lee

Palace Subs: Wynter, Djilali (Butterfield 57), Comley, N’Diaye, John, Scannell (Carle 81), Andrew (Lee 57)

A solitary first half strike by former Palace front man Shefki Kuqi proved enough to give Swansea a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park.

Palace struggled to get a foothold in the opening stages and it allowed Swansea to control the tempo of the game and apply the pressure, which paid off for them on 14 minutes.

Nathan Dyer managed to get the wrong side of Lee Hills on the right and play in a speculative lobbed ball to the edge of the box where Orlandi was able to head it back into the six yard box. Kuqi then managed to shrug off Ertl and slip the ball underneath Speroni from four yards out.

Swansea though should have extended their lead early on in the second half when Orlandi and Adam Tate combined neatly on the edge of the box. The former received the ball just outside the six yard box and flicked a shot towards goal but Speroni managed to get a hand to it to deflect it past the post.

Neil Warnock then made a double substitution replacing Lee and Danny Butterfield with Calvin Andrew and Kieran Djilali, and the two substitutes almost combined straight away when Djilali was inches away from converting Andrew’s teasing cross.

From there it was all Palace and they should have got their equaliser on 74 minutes when a cross field free kick from Johnny Ertl was met by Hill with a header to the back post. Both Ambrose and Djilali were following it up, but it was the former who met it with a first time volley that flashed right across goal.

Sean Scannell was brought on to replace Nick Carle late on and almost squeezed through the Swansea defence to meet a neat Djilali through ball, but it was an epitomy of Palace’s evening: so close but not close enough as Swansea managed to see out the late Palace charge.

Swansea: De Vries, Tate, Williams, Monk, Bessone, Britton (Pintado 89), Pratley, Gower (Cotterill 67), Orlandi, Dyer (Allen 83), Kuqi Unused Subs: Butler, Cornell, Richards,Trundle

CRYSTAL PALACE

MATCH STATS

50% POSSESSION

5

CORNERS

2

ON TARGET

9

FOULS

0

YELLOW CARDS

4

OFF TARGET

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 33

PLAYER FEATURE

THINK PALACE THINK PLAYER You can ďŹ nd all of the latest news, watch exclusive interviews, match highlights and behind the scenes footage from inside your club on the brand new Palace Player.

Check out www.cpfc.co.uk for more details.

www.cpfc.co.uk

34 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PALACE PLAYER

PALACE PLAYER HAS ARRIVED AT:

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK

Everyone likes to keep up to date with their football club and on Palace Player you can do that for just £3.99 a month.

You will be entitled to a whole host of benefits not available to non Palace Player subscribers.

Before every weekend’s game you can tune into our Friday Preview Programme which brings you exclusive interviews from the Beckenham training ground. On Friday we caught up with Mick Jones as he talked about the Eagles playing three games in the space of seven days and how the club’s squad will be stretched during that period.

Mick also touched on the FA Cup and how the team are embracing the

prospect of hosting another Premier League club at Selhurst Park and how you the fans can play a major role in today’s game against Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa side.

We also brought you coverage of Neil Warnock’s post match press conference following our mid-week game against Swansea City, coverage that is EXCLUSIVE to Palace Player subscribers.

With live-commentary also included in this package for each of the Eagles home and away games it really is an offer that cannot be missed for any Palace fanatic.

Remember, think Palace, think Player.

LATEST VIDEOS

ExTENDED hIGhLIGhTS Full highlights of the game against Peterborough United.

WARNOCK ON SWANSEA CITY Watch exclusive footage as Neil Warnock answers questions from the media.

hIGhLIGhTS: PALACE V SWANSEA CITY Highlights of Palace’s Tuesday home match against Swansea City.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 35

PLAYER FEATURE

MAIN INTERVIEW

WORDS: THOMAS COUPLAND

36 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PLAYER FEATURE

DANNY BUTTERFIELD SECURED PALACE’S PLACE IN THE FIFTH ROUND OF THE FA CUP WITH THE CLUB’S FASTEST EVER HATTRICK. WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM THIS WEEK TO LOOK BACK AT THAT FANTASTIC MOMENT AND LOOK AHEAD TO TODAY’S MOUTH WATERING TIE AGAINST ASTON VILLA.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 37

PLAYER FEATURE

“I JUST REMEMBER RACING THROUGH AND THINKING ‘RIGHT TRY TO HIT THE TARGET’, AND I PUT AS MUCH THROUGH THE BALL AS POSSIBLE...I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT HAS HAPPENED AND I JUST LOOKED ROUND TO SEE THE BOYS RUNNING TOWARDS ME AND LAUGHING” The FA Cup: The greatest domestic cup competition in the world.

Down the years it has been the source of some of the most memorable football upsets, most dramatic dramas, fiercest talking points and controversies that have lasted long into the rest of the football calendar.

But over the past few seasons it has been in danger of succumbing to the same inevitability of the Premier League, with the big four, five and six dominating the later stages and ultimately the final honours.

In the last 14 seasons there has been just one team outside the top four clubs in the Premier League – Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal – who has managed to break this seemingly air tight strangle hold on the competition; and that was Portsmouth in 2008.

But this year is proving that maybe, just maybe there is a chance of the FA Cup reclaiming its famous tradition of being the every-club competition.

As it stands there is only one of the top four still in the running and they are looking weakened by recent turmoils, so you wouldn’t put it past Cardiff to give Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea a run for their bottomless pits of money.

38 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

Furthermore, along with it being more open this year, the competition has also hosted some brilliant success stories.

Manchester United’s shock defeat to a courageous Leeds United at Old Trafford probably stands out as the greatest club achievement.

But Danny Butterfield’s super hat-trick against Wolves in the fourth round must be the best individual effort.

“It will still be one of those moments where I look back at the end of my career and realise what I achieved on that night.” he says when I ask him whether it has sunk in yet.

“But I think with there being a game so soon after it was sort of swept under the carpet and it was time to move on as quick as possible because we had a big game at Scunthorpe.”

His answer is indicative of the focus around the Crystal Palace camp at the moment.

The ten point deduction has turned the season on its head and every ounce of preparation, both physically and mentally, has now been switched to Championship survival.

“I don’t think it [relegation] is a concern, but I think that obviously having a ten point deduction switches your attention from looking at the teams in the top six and chasing them

PLAYER FEATURE

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PLAYER FEATURE

40 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

THIS PAGE IS KINDLY SPONSORED BY:

DANNY BUTTERFIELD PLAYER FEATURE

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PLAYER FEATURE

down to now looking at the teams in mid-table and trying to chase them down.

“So relegation is not a worry, it is just a fact that when you look at the table we are now in a different position.

“We are confident that if we can perform as we have done as late then we won’t be dragged into a relegation battle, but obviously the performances need to continue.”

When we speak to Danny it is the first time since the Wolves game that any player had spoken about the victory.

All interviews up to that point were, under strict request from the management team, to focus on Championship issues, which was again evidence of this team’s unerring dedication not to be distracted from the cause.

But the memories of that night are too important to be kept quiet for any longer.

This is, after all, the FA Cup and an occasion when league concerns can be put aside for, hopefully, 90 minutes and we can look forward to an afternoon of passionate, competitive and exhilarating football between two sides eager to progress further.

So going back to that night and the exact moment when Danny had fired past Wayne Hennessey for the third time of the evening I was keen to find out what was going through his head.

“The fact that I had scored two meant that I was in shock, and then I just remember a long ball being humped down the middle to Alan Lee, who was causing them all sorts of problems all night with his aerial ability and physical presence and I thought I would take another gamble.

“He got a good connection and I just remember racing through and thinking ‘right try to hit the target’, and I put as much through the ball as possible.

“It obviously has gone through the keeper’s legs and gone in. I still can’t believe it has happened and I just looked round to see the boys running towards me and laughing really.”

42 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

THE FAsTEsT CRYsTAL PALACE HAT-TRiCKs

Danny’s hat-trick in the last round of the FA Cup became the quickest in the club’s history when he converted three goals in 6mins 48 secs. Below we take a look at the best of the rest.

6 mins

DANNY BUTTERFIELD V WOLVES FA CUP 4TH ROUND REPLAY 2.2.2010

11 mins

12 mins*

DOUGIE FREEDMAN V GRIMSBY DIVISION ONE 5.3.1996

ALBERT ROBSON V MANSFIELD DIVISION 3 (SOUTH) 17.12.1938

All three finishes were finely taken in a manner befitting a seasoned striker rather than an experienced right back, which made the event even more surprising.

So, next question: Which one was his favourite?

“The middle one was probably the harder finish of the lot because I was waiting for the ball and trying to hold the defender off before putting the ball goalwards.

“But I think the first one will always be my favourite because I don’t score very many and that was the initial buzz of scoring for the club against a Premiership club.”

What was remarkable about Danny’s performance that night was not so much the hat trick, although it was pretty remarkable, but it was his all-round performance.

Hassling, chasing down every

TOP LEFT: Danny celebrates his first goal against Wolves.

TOP RIGHT: Danny in action at St. James Park in the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle last month.

LEFT: Danny battles with Newcastle’s Jonas Gutierrez.

13 mins

MIKE DEAKIN V MARGATE FA CUP 1ST ROUND 16.11.1957

PLAYER FEATURE

*These are approximate timings that were recorded without the benefit of television timekeeping.

15 mins + 17-20 MINS* ERNIE WALDRON V READING DIVISION 3 (SOUTH) 11.9.1937 18 MINS PETER SIMPSON V ALDERSHOT DIVISION 3 (SOUTH) 8.11.1933 20 MINS HARRY HAVELOCK V LUTON TOWN FA CUP 3RD ROUND REPLAY 16.1.1929

3

Although playing out of position on this occasion Danny became the third defender in the club’s history to score a hat-trick. Ian Evans was the first when he scored three against Colchester in 1975, while the second was Dean Gordon who put three past West Brom in 1995 including two penalties.

Both of these players scored whilst occupying defensive roles.

ball, tackling and generally making a nuisance of himself up front, it was not something we were used to seeing from a player that has needed to be so disciplined in the right back slot for much of his career.

But Danny seems to remember it a little differently: “I remember going in at half time thinking I hadn’t really contributed a lot to be honest. I thought I had gambled on one or two flick-ons of Al’s and a couple of time I thought I should have had a shot instead of passing it but I didn’t really feel I was contributing that much to be honest.

“In the second half things changed and things seemed to be falling to me, which sometimes happens in football.”

Today though Palace face the formidable prospect of lining up against not only an established Premier League side, but one that has the best defensive record in the whole division.

Even though the ingredients are there for another cup upset, Danny is not looking past the experience of playing in front of a bumper crowd, the TV cameras and pitting himself against some of the best players in the country.

“It is a great chance for the team to pit ourselves against a Premiership team who are obviously trying to break into the top four, but we know they are an exceptional team at Premier League level so it will be a tough game.

“It will be a great day for the lads to play against such talented players and it is going to be a great chance for the fans to see Premiership football at the stadium.

“The lads will be determined to put right the defeat on Tuesday with a good performance. The boys have had a good couple of days off and will be raring to get back into it and the gaffer will put us through our paces and get us prepared for it.

“Let’s hope we put on a performance like the Wolves one where we gave a good account of ourselves. And obviously you don’t know what might happen with the score on the day.”

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 43

ACADEMY

DAVID MOSS Academy Manager

Academy Sponsors:

Choose the winning team.

CPFC ACADEMY New and Approved Used Cars from Mercedes-Benz Kent.

Having travelled north on Tuesday and staying overnight in Doncaster in preparation for our 5th round FA Youth game against Hull City the following day, the game was unfortunately cancelled due to a GARY ISSOTT LOOKS BACK ON THE FRUSTRATION OF A frozen pitch.

POSTPONED GAME AND A WIN OVER AT FULHAM. Our preparation for the game FULHAM was excellent having trained Receive a complimentary Crystal Palace 2010 1 - 2 PALACE. at Leicester City on the way season ticket* when you purchase a New or breaking the journey, and the staff planning the following his foot injury sustained Approved Usedmeticulously Mercedes-Benz from 06/02/10 any of eating, sleeping, training, rest and Motspur Park back in December. ourrecovery retailers betweenThe 1stplayers/ October and excellently.

FA Premier Academy On Saturday we played Fulham staff also spent 2009. more time together away and it was a very pleasing result 31st December away from the training ground and FULHAM 1 with Wilfred Zaha giving us the lead therefore got to know each other after linking well with Ibra Sekajja.

CRYSTAL PALACE 2 better. With the first team game Sekajja also hit the post before the against Wolves being televised in Zaha, Wynter referee blew the half-time whistle. the evening and being so exciting Ten minutes into the second half it was certainly a night not to Fulham came out looking a different forget. We now have to repeat In last Tuesday’s home programme side and scored an equaliser and put our preparations next week as I spoke ahead of our proposed Fifth us under a big spell of pressure. The the game has been rescheduled Round FA Youth Cup fixture against lads though held out and managed for Thursday 11th February.

Premiership outfit Hull City. to get back into the game, and after West Ham and Newcastle played All of our preparations ahead of creating two or three chances we on Wednesday with Newcastle the game went according to plan. We managed to grab a winner when Alex winning 3-0 so we face another travelled up to Doncaster on Tuesday Wynter scored with 15 minutes to go trip north in the quarter finals if and halfway through the journey we from a corner. successful against Hull City. stopped at Leicester City’s training Considering the week we had it Congratulations to first year ground for a quick workout before was a good performance and Jack goalkeeper Charlie Mann and going onto the hotel in Doncaster.

Holland and Matt Parsons had really U16 Alex Wynter who were both In the evening all of the players good games against a good Fulham again named as substitutes for the and staff sat down to watch the first side. On Wednesday we will travel up Wolves game. team in action in the FA Cup and to Hull again for the FA Youth Cup tie The 9-15 games recommence it was a great game for everyone and hopefully the game will go ahead on Sunday with games against involved, it is suffice to say that we this time.

Arsenal both home and away, and were just as shocked as Danny when I am certainly looking forward to he hit three goals in six or so minutes.

Palace: Mann, Kenlock, Parsons, Nnamani, see if we continue our excellent After a good night’s sleep we Mercedes-Benz Kent Holland, Goldsmith, Wynter, Williams, Randall, progress as an Academy in the found out late that afternoon that the Zaha, Sekajia.

Mercedes-Benz of Ashford Monument Way, Orbital Park, Ashford, Kent TN24 0HB second half of the season. game was off due to a frozen pitch. www.mercedes-benzofashford.co.uk Subs: Roberts, Pringle, Knight, Williamson (for I am looking forward to this Whilst everyone was Zaha), Fitzsimons. evening’s game of versus Swansea as the postponement Mercedes-Benz Canterbury Broaddisappointed Oak Road, with Canterbury, Kent CT2 7PX I had four good years at the club I believe these things happen for a www.mercedes-benzofcanterbury.co.uk both as a player and Head of Youth reason and it was just not meant to IF YOUR Mercedes-Benz ofhoping Maidstone Parkwood, 9YN COMPANY WOULD Football and I am some ofBircholt be.Road, The only thing it hasMaidstone, done is help Kent ME15 LIKE TO SPONSOR THE the players who were in the youth Charlie Holness who if we were to www.mercedes-benzofmaidstone.co.uk CRYSTAL PALACE F.C. team: Joe Allen, Jazz Richards and proceed in the competition could Mercedes-Benz ofinvolved Tonbridge Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1TB ACADEMY CONTACT DAVID David Cornell are in theVale Rise, be available to play some part in MOSS ON 020 8650 9840 www.mercedes-benzoftonbridge.co.uk game. the latter rounds of the competition

0844 659 9760 44 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA *Does not include access to director’s box.

PALACE LADIES

FA TESCO WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE SOUTHERN DIVISION 2009/10 DATE

OPPOSITION

RES

Sun Aug 16th

Colchester

L 0-3

Sun Aug 23rd

Reading

L 1-0

Sun Aug 30th

Fulham

L 0-1

Sun Aug 6th

West Ham

L 5-1

Wed Sept 9th

Charlton Athletic

L 0-3

Sun Sept 20th

Barnet

L 1-2

Sun Sept 27th

Cardiff City

L 2-0

Wed Sept 30th

Charlton Athletic

P-P

Sun Oct 4th

Brighton & Hove

L 2-0

Sun Oct 11th

Portsmouth

L 0-1

Sun Oct 25th

Keynsham Town

L 2-0

Sun Nov 8th

QPR

L 1-4

Sun Dec 6th

Cardiff City

Sun Dec 20th

Portsmouth

Sun Jan 24th

Brighton & Hove

Sun Jan 31st

Colchester

P-P

Sun Feb 7th

Keynsham

L 1-3

Sun Feb 14th

Barnet

Sun Feb 28th

West Ham United

Sun Mar 7th

QPR

Sun Mar 14th

Reading

TBC

Fulham

PALACE LADIES AFTER ANOTHER WEEK OFF DUE TO POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS THE LADIES SIDE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK TO LEAGUE ACTION. CRYSTAL PALACE LADIES 1 - 3 KEYNSHAM LADIES.

P-P P-P D 1-1

KEY: bold = home fixtures, away fixtures, cup fixtures

TEAM

P

W

D

L

GD PTS

Barnet

12

9

2

1

19

29

Reading

12

8

2

2

4

26

West Ham

14

6

7

1

13

25

Portsmouth

12

7

3

2

6

24

Keynsham Town

13

5

4

4

5

19

Cardiff City

12

5

4

3

5

19

Colchester

16

5

4

7

-8

19

Brighton

12

4

5

3

6

17

QPR

14

4

4

6

10

16

Charlton

11

4

0

7

-3

12

Fulham

13

2

0

11

-32

6

Crystal Palace 13

0

1

12

-25

1

NEXT HOME:

NEXT AWAY:

SUN FEB 28TH PALACE v WEST HAM

SUN MAR 7TH QPR v PALACE

Home matches are played at Whyteleafe Football Club

The rain had held off long enough during the week for the pitch to be playable and the ladies were looking to improve on their draw against Brighton by picking up three valuable league points.

The game started off brightly in favour of the home team and they could have scored almost from kick off when Ellie Bracey intercepted a pass and forced the Keynsham keeper to make a good save.

The Eagles were encouraged by this and played some very fluid football. The Eagles were piling on the pressure by a series of corners and free kicks that had the Keynsham defence shaken. As the half progressed it started to even out and by half time the deadlock could still not be broken.

The second half started with Keynsham putting pressure on the Palace defence and a number of good saves from Sam Sharp and last ditch tackles from Captain Sian

Cheedy and Kirsty Lomas kept the scores level.

In a break of play Sherelle Walters laid off the ball to Bracey who ran through the Keynsham defence and slotted the ball coolly past the opposition keeper.

This should have spurred the Eagles onto victory, but an injury to Cheedy meant a re-shuffle of the defence and showing a lack of concentration Palace allowed Keynsham to equalise.

The travelling side then scored a quick second to take control of the game for the first time. The game became very even then and it was crucial in which way the next goal would fall. Unfortunately as the home side searched for the equaliser, Keynsham scored their third and finished the game off.

The ladies look to bounce back this week with an away trip to top of the league Barnet at Hanwell Town FC. WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 45

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS…

years on

Memories RONNIE JEPSON Development Coach

Last week we played our first competitive Reserve game for some time and it proved to be a stern test for our players.

Aldershot were a very physical side and in the first half, in terms of effort and commitment they were stronger than us, which was a challenge for our very young back four.

We played Kieron Kenlock, Matt Parsons, Jerry Nnamani and Alex Wynter, so there was not a lot of experience there but overall I thought they did very well.

They had to stand up to the task of competing against their physical front line and, although we did concede on two occasions they handled themselves well.

When we conceded the second goal we decided to change this a little bit and from there we looked a much better outfit and created a series of good chances.

The three goals were pleasing because the boys didn’t panic when going 2-0 down. They stuck toThis their tasks, their20heads and May willkept see the year anniversary of our 1990 they got their reward. Manchester United and the club FA Cup final against must remember thatthat we will be paying areWe delighted to announce Reserve aren’t and all about tribute togames the players management that took part the results.

They historic are about offering in that season’s cup run by honouring them at these boys the chance to develop the end of season Player Of The Year awards evening as pitting against onplayers, Saturday May them 15th 2010. goodThe players a competitive eventinwill be held in the magnificent environment marquee on to theshow pitchthem and exactly the club is hoping that the what is squad, expected them. entire whoofwill be the guests of the club, will Soattendance to come back fromevening.

2-0 be in on the downAs and win pleasing part of3-2 theisawards ceremony there will a from that pointmade of view because it players in honour of presentation to each of the displayed level of effort and this great the achievement in the history of Crystal Palace commitment that we expect of Football Club. them.Mark Bright is delighted to see that all the squad are being given this opportunity to meet up once again.”It is amazing to think it is 20 years ago since PALACE TEAM v ALDERSHOT the club’s first and only appearance in an FA Cup Palace: Anderson, Kenlock, Parsons, Wynter, final.

Nnamani, Comley, Ledgister, McCoy, Wright, “The 3-3Subs: draw was Goldsmith, such a special occasion and Cadogan, Djilali.

Randall, Zaha, Sekajja, it still hurtsAbnett. to think how close we came to winning

46 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

the game in the first match. It will be good to get all the lads back together at the Player of the Year event and I am sure we will all have so many memories to discuss about that special season.”

There will also be opportunity for supporters who attend on the night to meet our current players and management squad as we share in the excitement of this year’s awards ceremony including the announcement of the 2009/10 Player Of The Year.

Tables of ten for the Player of The Year Awards dinner on 15th May are priced at £599.00 including VAT and individual places at £67.50 including VAT. This includes an excellent three course meal, entertainment and of course the excitement of the awards.

To make sure you are there to be amongst the nostalgia and celebrations contact the Player Of The Year sales team on 020 8768 6049. Bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis so please do not delay.

PICTURE: Goalscorer Mark Bright is congratulated by team mates.

F.A. CUP 2009/10

FA CUP 2009/2010 Geoff Thomas and Stephanie Moore MBE made the draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup, sponsored by E.ON at Wembley Stadium recently and the following fixtures made up this weekend’s round of games.

FIFTH ROUND PROPER

SIXTH ROUND PROPER

By the team you read this the drama will have all unfolded on ITV as to who has made it into tonight’s sixth draw.

Saturday 6 March 2010

[1] Crystal Palace v Aston Villa [2] Manchester City v Stoke City [3] Derby County v Birmingham City [4] Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham [5] Chelsea v Cardiff City [6] Fulham v Notts County [7] Reading v West Bromwich Albion [8] Southampton v Portsmouth

Saturday 10 April & Sunday 11 April 2010

SEMI FINAL

Saturday 15 May 2010

Winning clubs that progress through the 5th round will receive £180,000 from The FA prize fund.

Each club that has been chosen for live tv transmission in this round will receive £247,500 from The FA Cup broadcast fund.

Please be advised that if today’s match against Aston Villa should end in a draw the replay date has been set for Wednesday 24th February 2010, 7.45pm kick-off at Villa Park. Ticket prices will be £15 for Adults and £5 for Juniors.

Sixth Round Draw The winners of today’s tie will be number one in the draw for the next round which will take place at 5.45pm this afternoon at Wembley Stadium.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 47

PLAYER FEATURE

To enter, visit eongreatsaves.com

48 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

Terms and conditions apply. Go to eongreatsaves.com

COMMENTATOR INTERVIEW

CLIVE TYLDESLEY MAY WELL HAVE COVERED THE BEST MATCHES IN COMPETITIONS ACROSS THE WORLD’S FOOTBALL CALENDAR, BUT HE IS IN NO DOUBT THAT ITV’S COVERAGE OF THE GREATEST CUP COMPETITION HAS LEFT CLUBS GOING INTO THIS FIFTH ROUND EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF AN APPEARANCE AT WEMBLEY. “Just about everyone going into the fifth round this weekend will be of the belief that they have an an opportunity of progressing in the competition this season. When you are at this stage it is a case of win two or three games and you are there.

“Championship teams have made it to the final from here in the not too distant past – however good a side Aston Villa, Man City or Spurs are, other clubs will see them not as quite a daunting prospect as some of the other Premiership sides who have been knocked out of the competition.

The viewing public will have enjoyed seeing the ups and downs of the competition so far but clubs still in will know the prize is in sight whoever they are.”

The competition has certainly seen upsets this season and everyone loves an underdog. This fourth live tv clash is another is another example of where ITV have chosen a top flight side facing one from a lower league away from home.

Tyldesley’s weekend sees him covering two of the teams who are making the headlines off the field at the moment with the financial issues.

“I am covering Southampton v Portsmouth on Saturday lunchtime before the trip to Selhurst on Sunday so I am covering two of the clubs who have had their financial problems well publicised over recent weeks.

When you see a famous club like Portsmouth in the high court and Palace docked ten points against their wishes it is sad. Supporters of many other clubs will have a great deal of sympathy and identify that they could be in a similar position themselves.

This tie is a great one for the competition and sees a manager like Neil Warnock with a team who are in an underdog situation. The viewers around the country always give the lower league team their support watching from home and I am sure this afternoon will be no different.”

When the presenter hands over to the matchday commentator, the man with the mic keeps you informed for the following 90 minutes but Clive’s preparation starts long before that.

“I do quite a bit of work on past meetings and cup history for the players involved once I know I have been chosen for the game. As the game gets nearer I work on individual details about the players that are involved. You end up getting many notes together for a specific game but end up only using about 10% of it.

“If someone was to score the

quickest hat-trick in the club’s history I will be aware of what they need to beat. Danny Butterfield’s feat against Wolves is a good example because he would not have been one you would have expected to have scored, but the fastest hat-trick was the story and I can be there with the details as it happens. An example of this is that over my time covering FA Cup finals I have always had down on my notes the time of the fastest cup final goal and then last May it was needed and it became relevant.

“You prepare various items of information based on the two opponents that you are covering and be ready to relay to the audience the relevant stats and background to any incidents which unfold in front of us as we watch the game.”

The men who provide the teams, the managers, are a useful guide to what needs to be worked on so an informal chat just a couple of days before the game with both men is always a benefit to any commentator.

“Martin O’Neill was probably my first good friend in football. I started local radio in Nottingham in the 70s covering Forest and he was the first footballer that I struck up good a professional relationship with and has become a good friend.

“Neil is someone who I have come across many times in his career and I know he will be looking forward to this match with a real chance to give the Premiership side a good match.

“I try and get as much from both managers as they will tell you. Any information is confidential but it is a useful tool as I do my final notes.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 49

CHAMPIONSHIP CHATTER

TODAY WE TAKE A LOOK AT ANOTHER MEMORABLE PICTURE FROM THE CRYSTAL PALACE ARCHIVE. PICTURE: Dejected Wolves players look on as Danny Butterfield celebrates with Shaun Derry after scoring Crystal Palace’s third goal to complete his hat-trick.

BARNSLEY Mark Robins has played down talk of promotion. The Tykes lie in ninth place in the Championship – just three points off the top six – ahead of tonight’s trip to Middlesbrough. He said: “We have to maintain our focus. Our priority this season is trying to get the right result tonight.”

BLACKPOOL Seasiders boss Ian Holloway insists Blackpool aren’t going to ditch their gung-ho approach at Bloomfield Road. The Lancashire side were unbeaten at home until December but have slipped to three defeats in their last four in front of their own fans. He said: “I like the brand of football we are playing and we are going out to win games not draw them or nick them.”

BRISTOL CITY Robins boss Gary Johnson has urged his side to be more clinical in-front of goal if they are to stand any chance of making the play-offs. Eleventh-placed City have netted just once in their last four outings.

He said: “We need to find that final pass or that decisive shot which creates an opportunity and it is not happening for us at the moment.”

CARDIFF Dave Jones has warned Bluebirds supporters they will be on the wrong end of a few heavy defeats before the end of the season. The promotion-chasers were hammered 5-1 on Friday night at Newcastle. He said: “We will win games, but now and then we will come up against a team who will turn us over. Our fans must accept that unless we can bring in players during the emergency loan window.”

COVENTRY The Sky Blues have ruled out a move for Everton striker James Vaughan. City were linked with a loan move for the 21-year-old until the end of the season. But boss Chris Coleman insists the England U-21 star won’t be moving to the Ricoh Arena.

DERBY Robbie Savage was in no mood to celebrate his 25-yard wonder strike against Sheffield United. The Rams skipper

50 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

BY IAN WINROW

smashed home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area on Saturday, only for Lee Williamson to bag a 91st minute equaliser. He said: “It isn’t about Robbie Savage, it is about Derby County and I’m just disappointed that we didn’t win the match.”

DONCASTER Rovers number two Richard O’Kelly has urged his side to keep the belief after slipping to a 2-1 defeat against fellow strugglers Reading – which left them just four points clear of the drop zone. He said: “We’ve just got to keep working at it with the group of players we’ve got this season; they are a good bunch.”

IPSWICH Roy Keane has blasted new signing Daryl Murphy for claiming Ipswich can still make the play-offs. The Republic of Ireland striker said in the club’s programme notes before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough that they still had a shout of making the topsix. Keane said: “We’re fourth from bottom.

We can’t at this moment in time be thinking of the play-offs.”

LEICESTER Foxes defender Jack Hobbs admits they were fortunate to get away with a last minute penalty claim in Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Blackpool. City defender Danny Guessan appeared to clip the heels of Charlie Adam, but the referee booked the Pool midfielder for diving. Hobbs said: “It was a tight call and some go for you and some don’t but we are due that one.”

MIDDLESBROUGH Stephen McManus reckons the Celtic contingent can spearhead Boro’s promotion push. The defender joins former Parkhead teammates Scott McDonald, Barry Robson, Willo Flood and Chris Killen on Teeside.

He said: “When you win things, you want to win more and it gives you the winning mentality. That’s what you get from playing in Old Firm games and in the Champions League.”

NEWCASTLE Peter Lovenkrands has thanked the Toon fans for supporting him through the trauma

CHAMPIONSHIP CHATTER

of losing his father. The Danish forward netted twice in United’s 5-1 thrashing over Cardiff. He said: “I really appreciate the support the fans have given me and I can’t thank them enough. When I get on, the backing means so much.”

NOTTINGHAM FOREST Dexter Blackstock insists Forest have the squad to sustain a promotion push – despite a lack of transfer activity. The Reds forward said: “We will keep plugging away.

“It would have been nice for the manager to bring in the players he wanted to freshen things up, maybe. But it wasn’t to be and we will keep moving forwards now.”

PETERBOROUGH Aaron Mclean has been brought in from the cold by new Posh boss Jim Gannon.

The powerful striker had been frozen out by former manager Mark Cooper after handing in a transfer request in December, but netted the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 win over QPR. Gannon said: “I came into the club last week and gave everyone a clean slate and he took his chance well.”

PLYMOUTH Head coach Paul Mariner is still convinced Argyle can beat the drop – despite lying six points adrift of safety. He said: “We are just on the wrong end of some results at the moment and I’m sure it’s going to change.

The players are totally committed to the cause and if we continue to show the same fight, I’m convinced we’ll be okay.”

PRESTON North End manager Darren Ferguson has netted his second signing from dad Sir Alex. Manchester United midfielder Matthew James joins striker Danny Welbeck at Deepdale until the end of the season. The Lilywhites boss had previously ruled out the possibility of adding another Reds player to his play-off chasing squad.

QPR Lifelong Rangers fan Marcus Bent is hoping to follow in the footsteps of boy-hood hero Les Ferdinand and star in the Premier League. The Birmingham striker sealed a deadline day loan move to Loftus Road. He said: “I was brought up in Shepherd’s Bush and I used to go and watch the likes of Les Ferdinand and Andy Impey with my dad and my uncle.”

READING Andy Griffin insists he feels ten years younger since arriving at the Madejski Stadium. The 30-year-old joined Reading from Stoke City on loan until the end of the season. He said: “It’s a great feeling, I’ve

gone too long with not playing and all of a sudden I’ve got games coming thick and fast.”

SCUNTHORPE David Mirfin is determined to bounce-back from Saturday’s last gasp defeat against Crystal Palace - by shocking high-flying West Brom tonight. Eagles midfielder Neil Danns netted a 93rd minute winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory. Mirfin said: “The lads are so disappointed with the Palace result so we just want to get out there against West Brom and try to put it right.”

SHEFFIELD UNITED Blades boss Kevin Blackwell has appealed to the Bramall Lane boo-boys to be patient after being hit with a crippling injury list.

He said: “All I’d ask those giving them stick though is to ask whether, if when they went to work and had someone stood over their shoulder all day castigating them, whether they’d perform at their best? The lads might be well rewarded but they’re not robots. They’re human beings.”

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY Owls forward Luke Varney insists they fear nobody. The on-loan Derby man has netted three times in his last two games and Wednesday host promotion-chasing Blackpool tonight. He said: “With the mentality that the gaffer had instilled in us, we believe we can get a result anywhere.”

SWANSEA Swans boss Paulo Sousa believes Crystal Palace should be relegated after slipping into administration. He said: “In other countries – and it is my opinion also – I would like to see not to take 10 points off, but to automatically relegate because it’s unfair on the other clubs.”

WATFORD Martin Taylor is hoping to return to the Premier League sooner rather than later.

The defender joined the Hornets from Birmingham on a free transfer. He said: “There are still a lot of clubs which have a sniff of the play-offs and whilst you are around there there is still a chance of you getting in there.”

WBA New West Brom signing Giles Barnes broke Baggies hearts three years ago – but is now aiming to fire them back to the Premier League. The highly-rated midfielder helped Derby beat Albion 1-0 in the play-off final in 2007. He said: “Hopefully I can show them exactly what I showed the Derby fans that year and carry on to produce some more.”

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 51

AWAY TRAVEL

it is guaranteed discounts for Palace fans

SATURDAY 26TH SEPT 2009 COCA-COLA CHAMPIONSHIP WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Palace’s next match is against one of the relagated sides as they take the trip up the M40 to face Championship favourites West Brom.

The Baggies gained many admirers in the Premiership for sticking to their passing game even though it brought them few points and saw them finish rock bottom and three points adrift of safety.

Boss Tony Mowbray was drawn away to the bright lights of Glasgow Celtic, providing Roberto Di Matteo the opportunity to gain promotion from the Championship at the first attempt after narrowly losing promotion to the second tier with MK Dons the previous campaign.

The close season signalled the Baggies’ intentions as they spent over £4m on prolific Swindon striker Simon

Cox, Colo Colo forward Gonzalo Jara, and defender Joe Mattock from Leicester. The side remain undefeated and are looking certain to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

The Eagles have a poor recent record at the Hawthorns with just one win in the last nine games: a 3-2 victory in March 2007 when Lewis Grabban snatched a last minute winner. The previous match in the Black Country was a Premiership humdinger as Palace conceded in the last minute to go 2-1 down only to go straight up the other end and score an equaliser thanks to Aki Riihilahti.

By Chris Waters

Don’t just book it. Thomas Cook it.

STADIUM: The Hawthorns ADDRESS: Halfords Lane, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B71 4LF TELEPNONE: 0871 271 1100 E-MAIL: enquiries@wbafc.co.uk

BY COACH - Coach departs 9:45am.

Eagles Gold £19.00, Season Ticket holders / Members £21.00, Guests £23.00.

immediately after the motorway island is cleared and stands about 600 metres to the Birmingham side of junction 1.

GETTING THERE:

BY ROAD - From the M5 junction 1 take the A41 east, sign posted Birmingham City Centre. The stadium is visable

PARKING: For a full run down of all the parking at and around the Hawthorns stadium check out the parking page at www.wba.co.uk

BY TRAIN - The stadium is accessible from the Hawthorns train and Metro station only.

walk from the main station.

There are regular trains from London Euston into Birmingham New Street station.

0870 751 9954

Take the national train line into New Street, Birmingham, and change for a local train or Metro to the Hawthorns from Snow Hill, Birmingham, which is a five minute

stores nationwide

www.thomascooksport.com/crystalpalaceholidays

No membership or proof of being a supporter required. Supporters receive a guaranteed discount on package holidays operated by a Thomas Cook tour operator and on holidays operated by selected non-Thomas Cook tour operators. Applies to summer and winter package holidays, city breaks, cruises, worldwide travel and UK weekend breaks/hotel-only. All holidays are subject to availability and relevant tour operator’s booking conditions. Terms and conditions apply to all bookings – see www.thomascooksport.com for details. Discount can vary - please ask for details at time of booking. Discount cannot be combined with any other discount or offer. Bookings 52 | PALACE VILLA must be made vs at ASTON a Thomas Cook or Going Places store, by calling 0870 751 9954 or online at thomascooksport.com. Calls are charged at local rate plus network extras.

Thomas Cook Sport is a trading name of Thomas Cook Retail Ltd, ABTA J8601, acting as an agent for Thomas Cook Tour Operations Ltd, ATOL Protected 0020.

BOX OFFICE

BOX OFFICE

Further ticket information is available from the ticket section on the official WEBSITE: www.cpfc.co.uk, BOX OFFICE 08712 000 071, or E MAIL: boxoffice@cpfc.co.uk

Crystal Palace v Reading Wednesday Feb 17th 2010 Kick-off 8.00pm Coca-Cola Championship Lower Holmesdale / Croydon Advertiser / Family J: Adult £27.50, Concession £17.50, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*.

Age 16 - 18 Years £10. Arthur Wait Stand: Adult £27.50, Concessions £17.50, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*. Age 16 -18 Years £10. Croydon Advertiser Family Stand: Adult £22.50, Concessions £12.50, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*. Age 16 - 18 Years £10. Main Stand: Adult £37.50, Concession £20.00. Upper Holmesdale: Adult £32.50, Concession £17.50. Gallery (No Under 16s tickets available in this area). *Must be accompanied by an adult.

Crystal Palace v Coventry City Saturday February 20th 2010 Kick-off 3.00pm Coca-Cola Championship Lower Holmesdale / Croydon Advertiser / Family J: Adult £25.00, Concession £15.00, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*.

Age 16 -18 Years £10. Arthur Wait Stand: Adult £25.00, Concessions £15, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*. Age 16 - 18 Years

£10. Croydon Advertiser Family Stand: Adult £20.00, Concessions £15.00, Age 2 - 6 Years FREE*. Age 7 - 15 Years £5*. Age 16 - 18 Years £10. Main Stand: Adult £35.00, Concession £20.00. Upper Holmesdale: Adult £30.00, Concession £15.00. Gallery (No Under 16s tickets available in this area). *Must be accompanied by an adult.

Doncaster v Crystal Palace Saturday February 27th 2010 Kick-off 3.00pm Coca-Cola Championship Ticket Prices: Adult £23.00, Concessions (Over 60s & Students with valid NUS card) £17.00, Juniors (12 - 16 Years) £17.00, Under 11s £10.00.

DETAILS OF ALL OUR FORTHCOMING FIXTURES WILL BE AVAILABE SOON BOTH HERE AND ON-LINE AT WWW.CPFC.CO.UK

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 53

PLAYER FEATURE

54 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

MATCHDAY MESSAGEBOARD

MATCHDAY MESSAGEBOARD YOUR PAGE

[1]

[1] Congratulations to John O’Rourke who celebrates his 70th birthday tomorrow.

John has supported the club for 44 years and he is a season ticket holder in the Holmesdale Road stand. Best wishes from all your family and friends and everyone at Crystal Palace FC. To Heather, wishing you a happy 12th birthday, hope you have a wonderful day, lots of love Mum, Dad, Nick, Daniel, Jeff & Elle.

[2]

To my future wife Kellie, Happy Valentine’s Day. Lots of love Stuart x [2] Happy Valentine’s Day to John Brunton, the best Boyfriend in the World, Love you more than words can say. Alison XXXX Happy 25th Birthday for today to John Greenash.

He is attending the match in Block F with his wife.

Birthday wishes are from his Mum, Andy and the boys. Darling Louise, what

[3]

a special Valentine’s Day we’re having together at Selhurst Park!! I love you so much… 2010 is going to be a very special year. All my love, Neil Kerly (Lower Holmesdale).

[3] To my Darling Wilma, Happy Valentine’s Day baby. Love always (like your love for Palace) X x x Danielle x x X Happy Birthday to Charlotte and Luke Dunne who have both celebrated

[4]

birthdays this week. Many happy returns from Mum, Dad, Kieran and all the family.

[4] WELCOME MAVIS! A warm to Mavis Maidment who is visiting Selhurst for the first time this afternoon and it is her birthday present. She is pictured with her grandson Tom Brooker who has bought her the present. Hope both enjoy there day here at Selhurst Park.

SELHURST SUPERDRAW:

Julie Bush took the £500 prize at Tuesday’s game with winning number 1912 in the half time Selhurst Super Draw.

Don’t forget to purchase your ticket before the game this afternoon and listen out for the winning number at half time.

FEEDBACK:

The club would like to remind supporters that at all times here at Selhurst Park Stadium there is an opportunity to give the club feedback on your matchday experience by entering any comments in the message book which is available at the Main Entrance.

Please note these comments can be entered Monday to Friday 9am until 6pm or on a home matchday from 9am.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 55

PLAYER FEATURE

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56 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

HOME • HARDWARE • MULTIMEDIA • ELECTRICAL • LEISURE terms & conditions apply. see in store for details

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COMMERCIAL CHAT

COMMERCIAL CHAT

This page is sponsored by:

WITH CHRIS POWLSON

Good Afternoon and welcome to Selhurst Park for the FA Cup 5th Round tie versus Aston Villa.

We thank as always Main Club Sponsors GAC Logistics and our Platinum Sponsors Farnrise Construction for their continued support this season.

THEY THINK IT’S ALL OVER...

At the end of every season a magnificent marquee is erected on the pitch at Selhurst Park where a series of very special Crystal Palace events take place. The 2010 line up promises to be bigger and better than ever with an event to suit all.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY CPFC RACE DAY, 10th March 2010 at Lingfield Park: Entertain your top clients, family and friends whilst mingling with the CPFC first team squad and management team at this picturesque Surrey Race Course. Choose from three fantastic hospitality packages, all for ten guests, priced from £695+vat and join Neil Warnock and the team for a day’s top quality racing. Please book early to avoid missing out!

GAME OF TWO HALVES, March 16th 2010: A great way to entertain your best customers, suppliers, staff, family and friends at this double header duo of Golf and Football. Your guests will enjoy 18 holes of golf competition at Bletchingley Golf Club followed by full hospitality, an award ceremony and Directors Box seats at CPFC v Leicester City back at Selhurst Park. Book now to guarantee your places! Teams of four just £699+vat

THURSDAY 20th MAY 2010 - END OF SEASON SPORTING DINNER: The World Cup is just around the corner and Crystal Palace are delighted to be joined by ‘66’ Legend Gordon Banks. The World Cup winner will take you back and relive that golden moment in English Football. Supported

by Comedian / Impressionist Kevin Connelly star of BBC’s ‘Deadringers’. Tables for Ten are just £750 +vat... Call Now to secure your table[s] 020 8768 6049 or SWANSEA_DMC_commercialchat.pdf email: chris.powlson@cpfc.co.uk C

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For all Matchday Hospitality, Events bookings and enquiries please call the team on 020 8768 6049 or email chris.powlson@cpfc.co.uk.

to support your business and reduce your Printing and Photocopying costs.

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February 25th 2010 sponsored by Boyden Tiles and Mapei Adhesives with Special Guest Barry Fry and top sports impressionist and comedian Leslie Gibson at the Hilton, Croydon. Our host Terry Byfield will steer your guests through a night of controversial football chat and top notch sporting impressions and comedy. A table of 10 guests is just £750+vat.

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DMC are one of the UK’s leading providers of document solutions and Canon office equipment. With nationwide coverage, if your business is right here in SE25 or even in Swansea, DMC are the right team to support you.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 57

COMMUNITY CHAT

COMMUNITY CHAT CPFC COMMUNITY SPORTS TRUST

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHTSIDE OF LIFE In partnership with the Mr Brightside project, (which aims are to raise awareness of bowel cancer), Crystal Palace FC Community Sports Trust donated Palace shirts, shorts and Texaco mini footballs to the Duang orphanage in Krabi, Thailand. Most of the children aged 2 to 20 had been orphaned by the tsunami disaster that hit the area in 2004

Community Officer Nicky Johns said: “We were looking at a way of launching the Mr Brightside Project to celebrate it becoming a charity, whilst doing some good at the same time. With children changing their football kits every five minutes at home and their old kits left in the bottom of a drawer, we thought it was a good ideal to put old kit to a good use.

“What we thought was going to be a half hour journey turned in to two and a half hours through the countryside of Krabi. On arriving we were greeted by excited young children who gave us tea and home made cakes, the children then put

58 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

on a dance show for their guests.

“With footballs blown up and kit distributed to the excited children who proceeded to wear it with pride.

We were invited to have dinner with the children before we embarked on the journey home.

“We were told that the children were clearing an area at the back of the orphanage of debris and stones so that they could have their own football pitch and were looking to raise funds to purchase a set of goals.

“The whole experience was very humbling, the young children were so excited not only for the new kits but to meet their guests. The smile on their faces made the trip worthwhile”.

The Mr Brightside Project is currently working with the Bobby Moore fund who are looking to take football kits out to young children in South Africa and Brazil where they are renovating dilapidated schools and football pitches to give children a chance to be educated in their own villages.

If you have any old football kits that are currently not being used please give them to a good cause. Contact Crystal Palace FC Community Sports Trust 020 8768 6047. www.bobbymoorefund.org www.mrbrightsideproject.co.uk

STUDY CENTRE

STUDY CENTRE WITH SUSAN BIGGS

GOALS GALORE! - ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE OF OUR FABULOUS DANNY BUTTERFIELD DURING OUR LAST F.A. CUP MATCH OR PREDICTING THE OUTCOME OF TODAY’S FIXTURE? NO, ACTUALLY WE HAVE TARGETS TO REACH FELLOW EAGLES’ FANS!

Good Afternoon Everyone, recently I feel that we have been delivering an article to you weekly-isn’t it great? I hope you enjoy reading about our various programmes and activities at the Selhurst Park learnng zone. We would be delighted to hear from any Eagles’ fan about our reports to you, especially if you have any questions about any of the events or courses that we have introduced to you via this fabulous Matchday programme.

Have any of you had personal experience of the Crystal Palace F.C. Study Centre? If the answer is ‘yes’, we would welcome your comments on how you think the time here has affected your attitude towards life-long learning, please!

Student Council-Can we Do it?

We believe delivering a successful programme relies, in part, on giving our ‘clients’ an opportunity of being an active component during the developmental and planning stages

of the life-long learning programme.

Although we have been operating here for almost 11 years we have not had the privilege of working with a Student council or Parent Teacher/Friends of The Study Centre committee; hopefully we are about to introduce a course that can help to put this right. It is essential that we listen to our students, parents and school partners in order to ensure that we are providing the very best opportinities for the people of Croydon, across every age group. We can of course use our pupil evaluation surveys and the parent and teacher questionnaires we provide during our Celebration of Achievement events; unfortunately schools often seem unable to send staff to every Celebration event, with some schools even finding it difficult to send one representative.

Our objective is to rectify this shortfall, hence our idea of giving pupils and volunteer mentors, who have attended Playing for Success

programmes at Selhurst Park, the chance to join a ‘Graduate’ programme on a Friday afternoon.

Initially we would invite our ‘graduate’ group to attend once a month, perhaps with a film or Apple Workshop club, so that they have the opportunity to work collaboratively in a relaxed atmosphere to create an action plan for our Development programme. The outcome would be to have members elect a leadership sub group who could act as representatives during our staff and Steering Group meetings.

Partners Another of our goals is to work more closely with the various partners in the London Borough of Croydon, especially parents. It is our aim to establish a ‘Friends of Crystal Palace F.C. Study Centre’as with our school colleagues we are always looking for ways to raise funds to enhance our provision, whilst also creating a forum for parental involvement so that we can be aware of what parents would like us to provide for the families of Croydon.

Please do not hesitate to voice your opinions, use the contact details below to get in touch with us, thank you in anticipation.

Our Dads and Kidz programme have been working hard to create new chants to support the Palace, we will include examples in the Reading programme; but until then sing out you Eagles and give the boys your total support. Let’s hope we are victorious in today’s game!

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 59

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PLAYER FEATURE

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60 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA *Cheaper than BT: We are 7.5% cheaper than BT compared to standard monthly service charge.

PALACE RADIO

CONTACT DETAILS: PHONE: 020 8653 5796 TEXT: 07910 060 919 EMAIL: studio@palaceradio.net

PALACE RADIO TIME

SHOW

11:00AM - 1:00PM

The Very Late & Lazy Breakfast Show with Nigel Wearing & Guests.

1:00PM - 2:15PM

The Wibbly Wobbly World with Chris Green & Guests.

2:15PM - 3:15PM

Fixture Focus with Clive Bowden & Nick Macdonald.

3:15PM - 3:45PM

Big Match Countdown. Team news with James O’Reilly, Keith Jeffcoat & Trevor Hayes.

3:45PM - 5:45PM

THE BIG MATCH LIVE. Commentary of the game from Selhurst Park Stadium with Darryl Murdoch and Eamonn Marren.

5:45PM - 6:45PM

Reaction to the action with Don Madgwick.

6:45PM - MIDNIGHT

Non-stop Music Mix.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 61

PLAYER FEATURE

Mark Bright is here today covering the game with BBC Five Live and we are delighted that he was able to give us his views on the competition as we go into this fifth round tie.

The fifth round is a time when clubs will know that a place in the final is now not too far away. With some of the teams who are already out of the cup as we arrive at the fifth round stage everybody will believe they are in with a chance. I thought when Portsmouth won the cup it was an exception to the rule as you have to go back a long way to find one of the smaller clubs winning the competition. Since we played in the final in 1990 I think only seven different teams have won the cup in that 20 year period. There will be many this weekend that will be thinking it could be their opportunity to break into that exclusive club and win a place at the new stadium.

Success in a cup competition can give such a lift to a club and its supporters. A cup run gives you something else to focus on and it can spur you on in the league. In our example in 1990 I can remember the following season we finished 3rd in the old first division – it provides such an inspiration for the club.

The way Palace have been battling against one thing or another all season it would be fantastic if the club could get a result today and will be thinking that a place in the semi-final is not that far away. Palace have a chance this afternoon because they were given the home draw and with a good crowd in the stadium you just never know.

It is now 20 years since we reached the final, what specific memories come back to you when people ask you about season 1989/90. I would have to say the day of the final itself. We stopped Liverpool doing the double that year in the semi-final and Andy Gray grabbed me on the pitch and said ‘We are going to play in an FA Cup Final Brighty’. As a boy, and I am sure so many youngsters have the same dream, you want to play in a final. The romance of the competition is still there and it is still the greatest cup competition.

62 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

A team playing on a Saturday afternoon in the North West Counties League could end up playing Manchester United in a cup final, equally it probably wouldn’t happen but there is that chance and what other industry can you get that opportunity? A non league player can come up against some of the greatest household names in the world of football.

Looking back on the day and remembering just trying to take it all in is what I recall. Pre-kick-off our fans had all the red and blue balloons and we had a great chance of winning the cup on the day. You have to believe you have that chance and buy into the dream. As players we did and after beating Liverpool we came within just seven minutes of beating Manchester United.

This afternoon the two men in the dugout will be getting a lot of media attention, Neil Warnock will be relishing the opportunity to take on Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill. In the position that Palace are in you need a manager that can galvanise the team and Neil Warnock is certainly someone that can do that. I have got to know him a little bit more of late and it is clear that the players play for him. There are a lot of teams who would like to be in Palace’s position. The

Q+A: MARK BRIGHT

OPPOSITE: Celebrations after Mark equalises at Villa Park..

LEFT: Palace on the up.

Promotion through the Play-Offs.

BELOW: Palace at Wembley in 1990.

league is so tight that you can look at both ends of the table and he will be relishing the opportunity to take on Martin O’Neill this afternoon. He has done a great job, after suffering the points deduction and the squad being hit by injuries and the transfer embargo, he has managed to keep the season alive.

Knowing Palace fans like I do I am sure it will be a great atmosphere in the stadium for this match and it is so important that they get behind the team. You just never know what the team can produce and maybe we could be in for another chapter in the club’s FA Cup history.

The end of season Player Of The Year event is going to see a special tribute by the club to the 1990 squad, you must be looking forward to this. I was delighted to hear that the club are marking the 20 year anniversary during the event in May and I am

hoping that as many of the 1990 squad as possible will be available to join us on the night.

I understand that tickets are already selling well for the awards night and I am sure both players and fans will look forward to discussing their memories of not only the day itself at wembley, but that great time in the club’s history.

You must be looking forward to having the opportunity to watch the game live. Yes I am really looking forward to the game and will be part of the BBC Five Live commentary team along with Simon Brotherton and John Southall for the broadcast during the latter part of our Sunday sports programme.

I understand it will be close to a sell out for home support so I think the atmosphere will make it one of those special matches under the floodlights.

Follow Mark Bright on twitter.com/MarkBrighty

Mark can be heard on BBC Five Live 909 and 693 mw and on BBC London news on a Friday evening with all the latest sports news on BBC1.

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 63

PLAYER FEATURE

64 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PALACE RADIO

history 66-67 remember when

&

rock and goal years 68-69

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 65

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

REMEMBER

WHEN…

BELOW: Andy Johnson celebrates scoring his 50th league goal against Villa. 25/9/04.

RIGHT: Aki Riihilahti beats Villa’s Lee Hendrie to the ball. 03/01/05

THIS SEASON ALEX WARNER IS TAKING A LOOK BACK AT THOSE GAMES FROM OVER THE YEARS AGAINST THE OPPONENTS VISITING SELHURST PARK FOR THE LATEST MATCH IN OUR CHAMPIONSHIP CAMPAIGN.

“Bouncebackability, bouncebackability”, roared Palace fans on 3rd January 2005 as Iain Dowie hoisted his fist in the air as part of his customary victory salute. The Eagles had emerged from a run of defeats to overthrow Aston Villa – in some style. Pundits claimed Palace were doomed, though under Dowie it was all boing-boing, spring in our step, trampoline-style energy and television programme “Soccer AM” led a petition to increase usage of his favourite expression so that we could get “Bounceability” included in the dictionary, ideally with a definition that articulated Palace’s irrepressible, indefatigable powers of recovery.

The Eagles team had every motivation given Dowie’s warning to his players on the eve of Villa’s visit that no one was insulated from the chop and that they needed to buck up their ideas. Dreadful Selhurst performances against Charlton, Blackburn and Portsmouth – the latter on Boxing Day as the awful Tsunami was enfolding – climaxed in a slapdash defensive performance at Fulham on 1st January. We seemed in freefall, displaying none of the resilience from our visit to Villa Park earlier in the season on 25th September when we dominated, with A.J scoring his 50th Palace goal after six minutes before Lee Hendrie equalised on 36 minutes. We took the game to Villa, with Michael Hughes having a shot tipped over 66 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

by Sorenson whilst Tony Popovic headed close. Afterwards, Dowie was drooling though surely exaggerating when he chimed, “I’ve had some great moments as Crystal Palace manager, but none prouder than this”.

Never mind a run from the drop-zone to promotion - a 1-1 draw at Villa topped it all and with such ebullience, five days later, Dowie signed a four year contract, explaining that he and Jordan were unified in their long term vision for the Eagles.

Back to Villa’s visit to Selhurst and the first 30 minutes suggested another torrid afternoon – time after time, poor Danny Butterfield (a great player back then but not yet the Pele he has become in 2010) was put under pressure as Jlloyd Samuel and Gareth Barry doubled up on the right to send crosses over. In the second minute, Butterfield, clearly feeling the pressure of playing four games in a matter of days, did not pick up Barry, though fortunately his cross was saved by Kiraly, just as he did four minutes later as Barry connected onto an inch-perfect Solano cross.

Fifteen minutes elapsed and still Palace hadn’t been acquainted with the halfway line until a slim chance from Andy Johnson. Then, against the run of play, we scored, with Ben Watson shooting from 20 yards and Sorenson only able to parry to the feet of “A.J” who blasted into the net.

Vassilis Lakis then nearly doubled the lead with a pile-driver, though Sorenson somehow saved and then Johnson netted for the second time, though the referee ruled his effort out for offside.

Into the second half and referee Andy D’Urso became the key figure – taking charge in only his 10th game. First, he turned down a penalty appeal when Delaney brought Lakis down, then Ridgewell stopped the ball with his hand as Lakis entered the box and still nothing given!

Lakis was then brought down by De La Cruz and the referee continued to refuse to point to the spot!

It had to happen, it really did – finally, finally D’Urso gave a penalty when Lakis (again!) was upended

- this time by Delaney. Johnson duly converted, sending Selhurst mad! “I believe in You” sung Kylie Minogue, whilst Ice Cube cried “You can do It” and Steve Brookstein prophesized with “Against all Odds”, realising that this was finally our big chance.

Palace were now in control with Liegertwood’s marauding runs, Routeledge dancing round Samuel and Delaney and substitute Boyce solidifying the right hand side.

Delightful stuff!

I spent the game completely on-edge - not just worrying about whether we’d hold our lead but whether my wife was going into labour with my son, Noah (I’d got

fortnight on and we thrashed Spurs 3-0 in one of the most memorable top flight encounters at Selhurst. It wasn’t all gaiety and goodwill, though - during this period, our Chairman launched into a tirade about Wayne Routledge who was threatening to leave Selhurst. In a verbal riposte, Jordan announced he wouldn’t pay agents and a burning issue – “the question for people like me and ultimately for Iain is how in God’s name does an agent whose entire motivation is his own gain, succeed in achieving a divisiveness between the player and club who have had the boy for eight years and looked after his family, given him his opportunity

through Portsmouth – his due date, Fulham, Spurs away and now Villa). The final whistle went and afterwards Dowie schmoozed the media, star-struck by his love affair with Johnson “I can see it in A.J’s eyes, he’s an honest lad, he ain’t going nowhere”. Five times during his press conference, he was asked if our Goal Machine was leaving!

Meanwhile, Noah waited a further four days and I didn’t miss a single match during this captivating campaign!

The Chemical Brothers were number one with “Galvanise”, mirroring Dowie’s motivational powers and the inspiring impact of our victory over Villa. A

and every encouragement. How does someone like that wield his level of influence over a player?”

We overlooked the furore regarding Routledge to concentrate on the business of staying up and even though “bouncebackability” finally eluded us at Charlton as we were relegated in one of the most incredible climaxes to a season, the team had provided fantastic memories that season. Third January 2005 was a classic example and Dowie’s favourite phrase was sung so many times that I was convinced qualification for the dictionary had been a formality, until the word cruelly appeared in red on my spell-check when writing this article! Oh well, who cares – it was a fun time to be a Palace fan!

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 67

PL R O AC YKE A R NFDE AG TOUARL E Y E A R S

AND K THE YEARS WE ROLL BAC F PALACE O ES FORTUN S LOOK AT THE S OPPONENT AND TODAY’ .

BY NE IN ERAS GO

1964

1971

1978

Goals by Cliff Holton and Peter Burridge gave Crystal Palace a 2-0 Third Division victory over Notts County in front of 15,867 at Selhurst Park on 15th February 1964: Bill Glazier, John Sewell, Don Townsend, Bert Howe, Brian Wood, Alan Stephenson, Johnny Brooks, Brian Whitehouse, Cliff Holton, Peter Burridge, Stewart Imlach.

Dave Mackay’s goal gave Derby County a 1-0 First Division win over the following Palace team watched by 25,521 at the Baseball Ground on 17th February 1971: John Jackson, John Sewell, Peter Wall, Trevor Dawkins, Phil Hoadley, Mel Blyth, Terry Wharton, Steve Kember, Gerry Queen, Alan Birchenall, David Payne.

Dave Swindlehurst scored to give Crystal Palace a 1-0 First Division victory over Sheffield United watched by 13,391 at Selhurst Park on 11th February 1978: Tony Burns, Paul Hinshelwood, Kenny Sansom, Phil Holder, Jim Cannon, Billy Gilbert, Peter Nicholas, Vince Hilaire, Dave Swindlehurst, Rachid Harkouk, Barry Silkman (Ian Walsh).

Harry Burrows and Ron Wylie scored to give Aston Villa a 2-2 First Division draw with Bill Shankly’s Liverpool watched by 13,729 at Villa Park: Geoff Sidebottom, Mick Wright, Charlie Aitken, Mike Tindall, John Sleeuwenhoek, Alan Deakin, Ken Fencott, Ron Wylie, Phil Woosnam, George Graham, Harry Burrows.

Willie Anderson scored to give League Cup finalists Aston Villa a 1-0 Third Division victory over Rotherham United in front of 27,183 at Villa Park: John Dunn, Keith Bradley, Charlie Aitken, Brian Godfrey, Fred Turnbull, Brian Tiler, Pat McMahon, Bruce Rioch, Andy Lochhead, Chico Hamilton (Harry Gregory), Willie Anderson.

Two goals by Denis Law plus others from George Best and David Herd gave Manchester United a 4-0 FA Cup fifth round win at Barnsley... Geoff Hurst scored twice in West Ham’s 3-1 victory at Swindon Town... Strikes

by Jimmy McNab, Charlie Hurley and Mick Meagan’s own goal gave Sunderland a 3-1 victory at home to Everton.

Two goals by Ray Crawford plus another from Dave Simmons gave Colchester United a shock 3-2 FA Cup fifth round win at home to Leeds United... Chris Lawler scored to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Southampton at Anfield... Charlie George netted twice to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Maine Road.

No 1 single: Needles And Pins – The Searchers

68 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

No 1 single: My Sweet Lord – George Harrison

Aston Villa were without a match after their scheduled First Division fixture at home to Brian Clough’s title chasing Nottingham Forest was postponed due to freezing conditions. Villa had triumphed 1-0 at Arsenal the previous week but were destined to lose 1-0 in the rearranged match against eventual champions Forest two months later.

Clive Walker and Ray Wilkins scored to give Chelsea a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge... Goals by Mick Channon and Colin Bell gave Manchester City a 2-1 victory over QPR at Maine Road... Jimmy Mann and Joe Royle netted to give Bristol City a 2-1 away win over fellow strugglers West Ham.

No 1 single: Figaro – Brotherhood of Man

ROCK AND GOAL YEARS

WARDS

BY LEIGH ED

1985

1992

1999

Goals by Mark Lillis and Phil Wilson gave Huddersfield Town a 2-0 Second Division win over the following Palace team at Leeds Road on 16th February 1985: George Wood, Gary Locke (Tony Finnigan), Brian Sparrow, Phil Barber, Gavin Nebbeling, Jim Cannon, Alan Irvine, Jerry Murphy, Trevor Aylott, Andy Gray, Henry Hughton.

Eddie McGoldrick’s secondhalf goal gave Crystal Palace a 1-0 First Division victory over Tottenham Hotspur in front of 19,834 at White Hart Lane on 16th February 1992: Nigel Martyn, John Humphrey, Lee Sinnott, Simon Osborn, Eric Young, Andy Thorn, Simon Rodger, Geoff Thomas, Mark Bright, David Whyte, Eddie McGoldrick.

Clinton Morrison’s strike gave Palace a 1-1 First Division draw with Crewe Alexandra at Selhurst Park on 13th February 1999: Kevin Miller, Jamie Smith, Gordon Petric, Jamie Fullarton (Craig Foster), Craig Moore, Andy Linighan, Leon McKenzie (Nicky Rizzo), Hayden Mullins, Lee Bradbury, Clinton Morrison, Simon Rodger.

Aston Villa were without a match after their scheduled First Division fixture at home to Arsenal was postponed due to freezing conditions. Graham Turner’s Villa were in the middle of four successive League wins. They were held to a 0-0 draw in the rearranged match against Arsenal the following month and went five games without a victory.

Goals from Dwight Yorke and Steve Froggatt gave Aston Villa a 2-1 FA Cup fifth round win over Swindon Town watched by 16,402 at the County Ground: Les Sealey, Dariusz Kubicki, Steve Staunton, Shaun Teale, Paul McGrath, Kevin Richardson, Tony Daley, Dwight Yorke (Bryan Small), Cyrille Regis, Garry Parker, Steve Froggatt.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored twice to give Leeds United a 2-1 Premiership victory over the following Aston Villa team in front of 37,510 at Villa Park: Michael Oakes, Steve Watson, Alan Wright, Gareth Southgate, Gareth Barry (Alan Thompson), Ian Taylor, Lee Hendrie, Dion Dublin (Stan Collymore), Paul Merson, Julian Joachim.

Ricky Sbragia’s first-half goal gave York City a shock 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Bootham Crescent in the FA Cup fifth round... Peter Reid, Kevin Sheedy and Trevor Steven scored to give Everton a 3-0 win at home to Telford United...

Goals from Gordon Strachan and Paul McGrath gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory at Blackburn.

Two goals by Chris Sutton plus another from David Phillips gave Norwich City a 3-0 victory at home to Notts County in the FA Cup fifth round... Graham Stuart scored to give Chelsea a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge... Eventual winners Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw

by Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

Holders Arsenal defeated Sheffield United 2-1 at Highbury in the FA Cup fifth round but agreed to a historic rematch in the interests of ‘fair play’... Andy Cole’s strike gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory at home to Fulham... Tim Sherwood’s second-half goal gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road.

No 1 single: I Know Him So Well – Elaine Page & Barbara Dickson

No 1 single: Goodnight Girl – Wet Wet Wet

No 1 single: Maria – Blondie

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 69

Life isn t about starving yourself into a size zero or looking like the governor of California, it s all about being happy and healthy.

So let s be honest, we re all going to have those naughty treats we just need to know we ve earnt them.

You re doing more than you think...

WORLD SOCCER

SOCCER WITH GAVIN HAMILTON

A few days later, Ronaldinho’s hopes of making Brazil’s World Cup squad suffered a big blow when coach Carlos Dunga omitted the former World Player of the Year from the squad to face Ireland.

Instead, Dunga opted to retain Robinho who returned to his former club Santos last month after falling out of favour with Manchester City.

There was also a place for Adriano, the former first-choice centre-forward who has struggled with alcoholism and depression. Last year Adriano was a key figure for Rio club Flamengo when they won the Brazilian championship.

It’s been a miserable week for AC Milan star Ronaldinho. First he was forced to deny reports of a ‘mega party’ in a Milan hotel. Then he was left out of Brazil’s squad to play the Republic of Ireland in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium next month.

Italian media reported that Ronaldinho and some friends had drained a hotel bar dry in the run-up to the local derby with local rivals Internazionale.

The 29-year-old Brazilian was forced to issue a denial on his official website. ‘I’ve been reading a few recent messages and I decided to get a few things off my chest and clarify things for all those accompanying me,’ he said. ‘News has been circulating through media outlets that I had a ‘mega party’ in the days prior to the Inter-Milan derby match and, even though it’s true I was staying at a hotel in Milan, it is incorrect that I organized a party, with comments on the details of the supposed party even more incorrect,’ he added.

Real Madrid striker Raul could become the latest star name to try their luck in the United States.

Raul is Madrid’s all-time top scorer but rarely gets a starting place at Madrid, with Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain the first-choice forwards.

Now Spanish newspapers are reporting that the 32-year-old could join Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls next season.

Meanwhile, David Beckham’s American adventure appears to be coming to a close.

Last week it was announced that the California branch of the David Beckham Academy had closed its doors in December with the loss of a handful of full-time jobs.

The announcement followed the closure of the London branch in Greenwich. A spokesman for Beckham claimed that the lease on the Greenwich site had expired.

In Europe, there has been general bemusement over John Terry’s sacking as England captain.

‘I’m not bothered. What do you want me to say?’ said UEFA president Michel Platini.

‘You have some funny problems in England, but fortunately you have an Italian to sort them out’.

KIT SPONSORSHIP

MANAGER Neil Warnock

ASSIST. MANAGER Mick Jones

TO SPONSOR THIS MEMBER OF MANAGEMENT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

TO SPONSOR THIS MEMBER OF MANAGEMENTS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

01 Julian Speroni

1ST TEAM COACH Keith Curle

02 Nathaniel Clyne

TO SPONSOR THIS MEMBER OF MANAGEMENT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

03 Clint Hill

CRYSTAL PALACE VICE PRESIDENTS YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2008/09 TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

www.croydon-jubilee.co.uk

04 Shaun Derry

BEST WISHES FOR THE SEASON FROM JOHN BYFORD

05 Patrick McCarthy

06 Jose Fonte Best Wishes to Palace for the Season from Andrew, Julie, Jack and Lucy Black.

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYER PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049 TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

07 Darren Ambrose

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08 Neil Danns

D.R.Bylett&co

09 Stern John Sean & Carlos say

Tel: 0800 9554676 Fax: 020 83302724 Email: d.bylett@ntlworld.com

“EVERYBODY DANNS NOW”

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

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Building Contractors

10 Nick Carle

11 Victor Moses

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12 Darryl Flahavan

PALACE DETECTIVES

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYER PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

www.palacedetectives.org

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

14 Sean Scannell

15 Lee Hills

16 Freddie Sears

GOOD LUCK FOR THE SEASON from Michael and John Stone

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

72 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

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KIT SPONSORSHIP

17 Matt Lawrence

18 Calvin Andrew

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19 Alan Lee

BEST WISHES FOR THE SEASON from the Man on the Moon Pub TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

20 Danny Butterfield

“The PERFECT Hatrick”

21 Kieran Djilali

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Beverley & William in the Gallery

24 Claude Davis

22 Johannes Ertl

Good Luck for the season from Barbara and Jennifer

33 Alassane N’Diaye

Good Luck for the Season from The Silversteins

www.holmesdale.net The Palace Fans’ Website

TO SPONSOR THIS PLAYERS AWAY KIT PLEASE CALL 020 8768 6049

FIRST TEAM SPONSORSHIP SPONSOR YOUR FAVOURITE PLAYERS’ KIT THIS SEASON! Kit SPoNSorS rECEiVE A MESSAgE or Logo ALoNgSiDE tHE PHotogrAPH oF tHEir PLAyEr iN ALL 23 LEAguE CHAMPioNSHiP MAtCHDAy ProgrAMMES, AS WELL AS A CPFC SHirt SigNED By tHE WHoLE 2009/10 SquAD! tHE PLAyErS AVAiLABLE ArE oN gENErAL SALE NoW! AND ArE oN A FirSt CoME FirSt SErVE BASiS. tHErE ArE StiLL MANy MEMBErS oF tHE FirSt tEAM SquAD AVAiLABLE For SPoNSorSHiP AND your MESSAgE or CoMPANy NAME CouLD APPEAr iN tHE MAtCH DAy ProgrAMME AND oN tHE PLAyEr’S ProFiLE oN our WEBSitE. For FurtHEr iNForMAtioN, PLEASE CoNtACt: CHEryL WiSEMAN oN 020 8768 6049 or E-MAiL: CHEryL.WiSEMAN@CPFC.Co.uK

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 73

PLAYER FEATURE

GET CLOSER

TO YOUR TEAM

...THE EASY WAY

GET BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE TRAINING GROUND TAKE A TOUR, MEET THE PLAYERS, WATCH THE SESSION, THEN WALK AWAY WITH SOME SIGNED KIT!* ENTER AT:

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Crystal Palace F.C.

74 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

PLAYER STATS

PLAYER

SEASON 2009/10 APPEARANCES LEAGUE FA CUP LGE CUP TOTAL APP GLS APP GLS APP GLS APP GLS

Darren Ambrose

27[2]

12

3

1

2

2

34

15

27[2]

12

3

1

2

2

0

0

34

Calvin Andrew

3[9]

0

0[3]

1

0

0

15

1

4[15]

0

0[4]

1

2

0

0

0

25

1

Danny Butterfield

24[1]

0

2

3

1

0

28

3

198[22]

6

11[2]

3

15[1]

0

5[1]

1

255

10

Kieron Cadogan

CRYSTAL PALACE CAREER APPEARANCES LEAGUE FA CUP LGE CUP OTHER TOTAL APP GLS APP GLS APP GLS APP GLS APP GLS 15

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0[4]

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

1

Nick Carle

5[6]

0

1

0

0[1]

0

13

0

40[8]

3

3

0

2[1]

1

0

0

54

4

Nathaniel Clyne

12[1]

1

3

0

1

0

17

1

37[2]

1

6

0

1

0

0

0

46

1

0

0

0[1]

0

0

0

1

0

1[3]

0

0[1]

0

0

0

0

0

5

0 10

James Comley Neil Danns

29

6

3

1

2

0

34

7

45[8]

8

6

2

2

0

0

0

61

Claude Davis

12[1]

0

3

0

0

0

16

0

19[1]

0

3

0

0

0

0

0

23

0

Shaun Derry

29

0

3

0

2

0

34

0

156[25]

3

9

0

12

0

3[2]

0

207

3

Kieran Djilali

0[4]

0

0[1]

0

0[1]

0

6

0

2[8]

0

0[1]

0

1[2]

0

0

0

14

0

Johannes Ertl

15[1]

0

2

0

0[1]

0

19

0

18[10]

0

2

0

1[1]

0

0

0

32

0

Darryl Flahavan

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

2

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

4

0

Jose Fonte

22

1

1

0

2

0

25

1

75[7]

6

4

0

4

0

1[1]

0

92

6

Clint Hill

28

0

2

0

2

0

32

0

99

4

5[1]

1

4

0

2

0

111

5

Lee Hills

5[6]

0

0

0

0

0

11

0

19[18]

1

1

0

0[1]

0

0

0

39

1

Stern John

2[5]

0

0

0

0

0

7

0

2[5]

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

0

Matt Lawrence

3[3]

0

1[1]

0

0

0

8

0

98[11]

1

7[1]

0

2[1]

0

1[1]

0

122

1

Alan Lee

23[6]

5

3

1

1

0

33

6

34[11]

8

6

1

1

0

0

0

52

9

12

0

0

0

2

0

14

0

37[2]

3

0

0

4

0

0

0

43

3 11

Patrick McCarthy Victor Moses

14[4]

6

1

0

2

0

20

6

42[16]

11

3[2]

0

4

0

1[1]

0

69

Alassane N’Diaye 11[6]

2

1

0

2

0

20

2

11[6]

2

1

0

2

0

0

0

20

2

Sean Scannell

3[10]

0

1

0

0[2]

0

16

0

29[32]

4

2[1]

1

0[3]

0

1

0

68

5

Freddie Sears

11[7]

0

0

0

1

0

19

0

11[7]

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

19

0

Ryan Smith

0[5]

0

0

0

0[1]

0

6

0

0[5]

0

0

0

0[1]

0

0

0

6

0

Julian Speroni

28

0

3

0

2

0

33

0

133[1]

0

6

0

8

0

2

0

150

0

Alex Wynter

0

0

0[1]

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0[1]

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Our goal is to change people’s lives through sport The Football Foundation, the UK’s largest sports charity, continues to deliver a unique programme of new and improved community sports facilities in towns and cities across the country. Offering support to thousands of clubs and community groups and with a focus on social inclusion, health, education and equalities, we are increasing participation in grass roots football and making dreams come true.

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Company No 3876305

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 75

MATCH STATS

FIXTURES & RESULTS 2009/10 KEY: bold = home fixtures, away fixtures, cup fixtures, bold player = captain, 1,2,3 = goals scored, † = own goal, first sub, second sub, third sub, player booked, player sent off DATE

OPPOSITION

RES

Sat Aug 8th

Plymouth Argyle

D 1-1 14,358

ATT.

1,542

Speroni

Clyne

McCarthy

Lawrence

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Tue Aug 11th

Torquay Utd CC1

W 2-1

3,140

419

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Moses

Sat Aug 15th

Bristol City

L 1-0

14,603

827

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Tue Aug 18th

Ipswich Town

W 1-3

20,348

570

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns 1

N’Diaye

Ambrose 2

Sat Aug 22nd

Newcastle United

L 0-2

20,642

3,609

Flahavan

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Thur Aug 27th Man City CC2

L 0-2

14,725

1,758

Speroni

Clyne

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Mon Aug 31st

Peterborough Utd

D 1-1

8,473

1,158

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Sat Sept 12th

Scunthorpe United

L 0-4

12,912

458

Speroni

Butterfield

Lawrence

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Sat Sept 19th

Derby County

W 1-0 12,760

1,083

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1 Ambrose

21,007

AW ATT. STARTING XI Moses

Sat Sept 26th

West Bromwich Albion

W 0-1

449

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye 1

Tue Sept 29th

Sheffield Wednesday

D 0-0 12,476

1,062

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Sat Oct 3rd

Blackpool

W 4-1 15,749

859

Speroni

Clyne

McCarthy

Butterfield

Hill

Derry

Danns 1

Ertl

Ambrose 1

Sat Oct 17th

Cardiff City

D 1-1

21,457

703

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose

Tue Oct 20th

Leicester City 7:45pm

L 2-0

22,220

479

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Carle

Sat Oct 24th

Nottingham Forest

D 1-1 15,692

2,688

Speroni

Butterfield

McCarthy

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

Sat Oct 31st

Preston North End

D 1-1

12,558

501

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Clyne

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

Tue Nov 3rd

QPR

D 1-1

14,377

1,702

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

Sat Nov 7th

Middlesbrough

W 1-0 15,321

1,593

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

Sat Nov 21st

Coventry City

D 1-1

Sat Nov 28th

Watford

W 3-0 14,085

Sat Dec 5th

Doncaster Rovers

L 0-3

Tue Dec 8th

Reading

W 2-4

Sat Dec 12th

Sheffield United

L 2-0

Sat Dec 19th

Barnsley

Sat Dec 26th

Ipswich Town 1:00pm

W 3-1 16,496

Mon Dec 28th

Swansea City

D 0-0

Sat Jan 2nd

Sheffield Wed FAC R3

W 1-2

Sat Jan 16th

Plymouth Argyle

W 0-1

Sat Jan 23rd

Wolves FAC R4

D 2-2

Wed Jan 27th

Newcastle United 7:45pm

L 2-0

Sat Jan 30th

Peterborough United

Tue Feb 2nd

Wolves FAC R4 Replay 7:45pm W 3-1 10,282

Sat Feb 6th

Scunthorpe United

W 1-2

Tue Feb 9th

Swansea City

L 0-1

Sun Feb 14th

Aston Villa FAC R5 3:45pm

Wed Feb 17th

Reading

Sat Feb 20th

Coventry City

Sat Feb 27th

Doncaster Rovers

Sat Mar 6th

Sheffield United

Tue Mar 9th

Bristol City

Sat Mar 13th

Barnsley

Tue Mar 16th

Leicester City

Sat Mar 20th

Blackpool

Tue Mar 23rd

Nott’m Forest 7:45pm

Sat Mar 27th

Cardiff City 12:45pm

Tue Mar 30th

Watford

Sat Apr 3rd

Middlesbrough

Mon Apr 5th

Preston North End

Sat Apr 10th

QPR

Sat Apr 17th

Derby County

Sat Apr 24th

West Brom

Sun May 2nd

Sheffield Wednesday

18,400

802

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

1,416

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

13,985

563

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose

16,629

1513

Speroni

Butterfield

Clyne 1

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose 1

25,510

915

Speroni

Butterfield

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose

D 1-1 14,279

311

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Sears

Ambrose

1,606

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Fonte 1

Hill

Derry

Danns 1

Sears

Ambrose

18,794

440

Speroni

Clyne

Hills

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose

8,690

783

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Fonte

Hill

Derry

Danns 1

Ertl

Ambrose

9,318

612

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Hill

Hills

Derry

Danns

Ertl

Ambrose

14,449

1,418

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Ertl

Butterfield

Derry

Danns

N’Diaye

Ambrose 1

37,886

980

Speroni

Clyne

Butterfield

Ertl

Hill

Derry

Danns

Carle

Ambrose

W 2-0 14,699

750

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Hill

Hills

Derry

Danns 2

Carle

Ambrose

896

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Lawrence

Hill

Derry

Danns

Carle

Ambrose

7,543

552

Speroni

Clyne

Davis

Lawrence

Hill

Derry

Danns 1

Carle

Ambrose 1

B

12,328

601

Speroni

Clyne

Ertl

Hill

Hills

Derry

Danns

Carle

Ambrose

B

PLEASE NOTE: Weekend fixtures are 3:00pm kick-off unless indicated. Weekday fixtures are 8:00pm kick-off unless indicated

76 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

A

B

B

MATCH STATS

COCA-COLA CHAMPIONSHIP SUBS Sears

John

Lee 1

Ambrose

Scannell

Flahavan

Carle

Butterfield

Ertl

Ambrose 2

Lee

Djilali

Scannell

Flahavan

Clyne

Lawrence

Cadogan

Ertl

Sears

Lee

Lawrence

Moses

Scannell

Flahavan

Clyne

Carle

Ertl

Sears

Lee

Flahavan

Clyne

Carle

Moses

Scannell

Lawrence

Ertl

Sears

Lee

Moses

Scannell

Clyne

Carle

Lawrence

Djilali

Ertl

Sears

Moses

Smith

Scannell

Carle

Flahavan

Butterfield

Lawrence

Lee

Sears

Lee 1

Smith

Moses

Flahavan

Clyne

Lawrence

Carle

Scannell

Swansea City

29

12

12

5

26

20

6

48

Moses

Lee

Scannell

Smith

Sears

Flahavan

Clyne

Carle

Ertl

Leicester City

28

11

10

7

31

28

3

43

Scannell

Lee

Carle

Flahavan

Hills

N’Diaye

Cadogan

Moses

Smith

Moses

Scannell

Lee

Carle

Flahavan

Hills

Davis

Cadogan

Ertl

Moses

Lee

Scannell

Carle

Smith

Flahavan

Clyne

Hills

Ertl

Scannell

Lee 1

Carle

N’Diaye 1

Hills

Flahavan

Cadogan

Djilali

Smith

Moses

Lee 1

Sears

Scannell

John

Flahavan

Clyne

Hills

Ertl

Sears

Lee

Ambrose

John

Davis

Flahavan

Clyne

Scannell

Ertl

Sears

Lee

Moses

John

Hills

Flahavan

Clyne

Davis

N’Diaye

Moses

Lee

Smith

John

Hills

Cadogan

N’Diaye

Carle

Scannell

N’Diaye

John

Sears

Lee

Hills

Clyne

Carle

Moses

Scannell

TEAM

P

W

D

L

F

A

West Brom

30

17

8

5

61

31

GD PTS 30

59

Newcastle

29

17

8

4

48

20

28

59

Notti’m Forest

30

15

10

5

46

23

23

55

Cardiff City

29

14

6

9

55

35

20

48

Sheffield Utd

30

11

9

10

42

42

0

42

Middlesbrough

30

11

8

11

42

34

8

41

Blackpool

30

10

10

10

46

40

6

40

Barnsley

29

11

6

12

38

43

-5

39 38

Preston

29

10

8

11

34

40

-6

Bristol City

28

8

13

7

34

38

-4

37

Coventry City

30

9

10

11

34

41

-7

37

Derby County

30

10

6

14

33

41

-8

36

Watford

28

9

8

11

39

43

-4

35

Sears

Lee

Carle

N’Diaye

Clyne

Djilali

John

Moses

Scannell

Lee

Sears

Andrew

John

N’Diaye

Clyne

McCarthy

Moses

Carle

Doncaster

28

8

10

10

34

36

-2

34

Moses 1

Lee 1

Andrew

Smith

N’Diaye

Clyne

Carle

Comley

Sears

QPR

29

8

10

11

41

47

-6

34

Moses

Lee

Sears

Andrew

Carle

Clyne

N’Diaye

Smith

Scannell

Sheffield Wed

30

9

7

14

36

47

-11

34

Moses 2

Andrew

Lee

N’Diaye

Sears

Davis

Carle

Smith

Scannell

Crystal Palace

29

11

10

8

33

31

2

33

Moses

Lee

Scannell

Clyne

Sears

N’Diaye

Carle

Smith

Andrew

Ipswich Town

29

6

15

8

34

41

-7

33

Moses 1

Lee

Andrew

Hills

Ertl

N’Diaye

Carle

Smith

Scannell

Scunthorpe

29

9

6

14

34

50

-16

33

Moses 1

Lee

Ertl

Andrew

Hills

N’Diaye

Carle

Smith

Scannell

Moses

Andrew

Lee

Sears

Scannell

N’Diaye

Carle

Smith

Comley

Scannell

Lee

Andrew 1

Wynter

N’Diaye

Comley

-

-

-

Moses 1

Lee

Andrew

N’Diaye

Butterfield

Lawrence

Djilali

-

-

Moses

Lee 1

Lawrence

Andrew

Carle

Djilali

Comley

-

-

Hills

Andrew

Lawrence

Djilali

Lee

-

-

-

-

Butterfield

Lee

Andrew

Djilali

Scannell

Mann

Lawrence

Comley

Cadogan

Butterfield 3

Lee

Andrew

Comley

Djilali

Mann

Wynter

Scannell

-

Butterfield

Lee

Djilali

Andrew

Hills

Comley

N’Diaye

Scannell

John

Butterfield

Lee

Andrew

Djilali

Scannell

Comley

N’Diaye

Wynter

John

Reading

29

8

8

13

32

46

-14

32

Plymouth

28

7

3

18

24

40

-16

24

Peterborough

30

4

9

17

33

53

-20

21

AMBASSADORS CLUB 2009/10 Alan Simmons, Colin & Sue Darnell, Julie Bush, David Mills, Natalie Spurling, Richard Taylor, Patrick Maw, Kevin Fearn, Jane Bull, Richard Seaton, Shaun Couling, Paul Read, David Marney, Clive Jones, Eric Mollison, Edward Baker, Jean Boast, Adrian Mollison, Roy Lawrence, Sharon Snashfold, Lee Snashfold, Paul Connery, Stuart Woodrow, James Taylor-Nye, Matthew Towler, Frank & Colin Smith, Terry Harris, Peter Knight, Rick Malec, Philip Solomon, Martin Randall, John Fahey, Matthew Rothwell, Sue King, Neil Witherow, Paul Dean, Joan Dean, David & Jane London, Carl Davies, Ian Noble, Phil Erwood, Des Kelly, Gary Lane, Michael Sullivan, Jason & Sarah Phillips, Robert des Forges, Victor Hillary, Nicholas Sparkes, Derek, Moira, Keith & Mark Lockyer, Michael & Mason D’Rozario, Paul Farley, Graham & Tom Fancett, David Taylor, Howard Taylor, Paul Riley, Gary Carter, Ben Carter, John Ramage, Michael Scott, Julian Ashley, Paul Matthews, David Hyams, Margaret Hyams, Charles Maw, Christopher Mills, Stephen Browett, Charlie Beadell, Ian Pudney, Hazel Pudney, Martin Searle, Jennifer Cirone, Richard Furphy, Thomas Read

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 77

CHRIS ROE

“WE CAN CHOOSE TO EITHER CRUMBLE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND BE VICTIMS OR COME BACK STRONGER”

LIFE AT PALACE IS RARELY DULL. IT SEEMS WE’RE PERENNIALLY EITHER UP OR DOWN, TAKING FAITHFUL SUPPORTERS ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER-COASTER. Firstly, may I wish you all a very happy Valentine`s Day. Life at Palace is rarely dull. It seems we’re perennially either up or down, taking faithful supporters on an emotional roller-coaster.

Remember David Hopkins` last minute winner in the play-off final against Sheffield United in 1997? And Dougie Freedman’s 88th minute goal against Stockport in 2001 that saved us from relegation?

78 | PALACE vs ASTON VILLA

With the club being placed in administration in what can only be described as bizarre timing, we find ourselves in a situation once again where our backs are against the wall.

Complaining, blaming others or raging against the injustice of it all are ultimately fruitless labours.

In the end, our response to this latest twist of adversity will reveal our true character. We can choose to either crumble under the

circumstances and be victims or come back stronger, as overcomers.

As expected, the response of the supporters, players and management have so far been magnificent - I can`t think of anyone I`d rather have as manager at a time like this than Neil Warnock.

Unfortunately, sometimes things have to get worse before they start getting better, but once we hit the bottom of a pit, there`s only way to go - back upwards.

Moses (the Biblical patriarch, not Victor), was called by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land. Before the plagues which ultimately led to their release, Moses first went to Pharaoh to ask him to “let my people go”.

Pharaoh`s response was to make the Israelites labour virtually impossible by taking away the materials needed to complete their daily work quota, which in turn caused Moses to seriously question his leadership credentials.

Even for Moses, things got worse before they started to get better!

2 Corinthians 4;8; “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” Enjoy the game, Chris Roe - Club Chaplain

PLAYER FEATURE

WWW.CPFC.CO.UK | 79

CRYSTAL PALACE

ASTON VILLA

MANAGER: NEIL WARNOCK

MANAGER: MARTIN O’NEILL

01 02 03 04 05 07 08 09 10 12 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 28 33 34 35 37

Julian Speroni Nathaniel Clyne Clint Hill Shaun Derry Patrick McCarthy Darren Ambrose Neil Danns Stern John Nick Carle Darryl Flahavan Sean Scannell Lee Hills Matt Lawrence Calvin Andrew Alan Lee Danny Butterfield Kieran Djilali Johannes Ertl Claude Davis James Comley Alassane N’Diaye Alex Wynter Charlie Mann Nathanial Pinney

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 27 29 33 47

Brad Friedel Luke Young Wilfred Bouma Steve Sidwell Richard Dunne Stewart Downing Ashley Young James Milner Marlon Harewood John Carew Gabriel Agbonlahor Marc Albrighton Nathan Delfouneso Curtis Davies Fabian Delph Moustapha Salifou Emile Heskey Stiliyan Petrov Nigel Reo-Coker Brad Guzan Habib Beye Carlos Cuellar Stephen Warnock Isaiah Osbourne James Collins Andy Marshall Claran Clark

PALACE PLAYER: Watch Neil Warnock’s post match press conference this evening on Palace Player: www.cpfc.co.uk

HOME FIXTURE Crystal Palace vs Reading Wednesday 17th February 2010 Coca-Cola Championship Kick-Off 8:00pm

MATCH OFFICIALS REFEREE Mr. K Friend ASSISTANTS Mr. T Massey Mr. J Flynn FOURTH OFFICIAL Mr. K Hill

OTHER F.A. CUP 5TH ROUND FIXTURES Bolton vs Tottenham Fulham vs Notts County

NO SMOKING: Smoking is not permitted ANYWHERE inside Selhurst Park and to smoke you need to be outside the club’s property on Holmesdale Road or beyond the gates to the Sainsbury’s car park.

AWAY FIXTURE Doncaster Rovers vs Crystal Palace Saturday 27th February 2010 Coca-Cola Championship Kick-Off 3:00pm