Glad All Over

MAY 2010 £2.50

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

Crystal Palace Football Club, Selhurst Park Stadium, London, SE25 6PU

Terry Byfield, Communications Manager

A week is a long time in football some say, but even though 20 years is a lot longer than that the memories of that famous 1989/90 campaign still seem so clear.

Yes, it is the 20th Anniversay of that great cup run, and although it ended in disappointment on a Thursday night in May, there is still so much to look back on whether it be the Villa Park game, Wembley, the first million pound keeper, that right footed shot at Cambridge or even the club’s version of Glad All Over!

This magazine has been put together to celebrate those memories and take you back to your own recollections of that great era. We have spoken to the personalities involved and have also managed ot get some supporters’ views on those days following the boys in red and blue.

The 4-3 classic at Villa Park was the first of two live semi finals to be shown on television so we caught up with BBC commentator John Motson, who was behind the mic for the matches at Cambridge United, Villa Park and Wembley Stadium to get his account of those enthralling cup ties.

Add to all of this some great memories captured through the lens of club photographer, Neil Everitt, we have put together a comprehensive commemoration that we hope you will thoroughly enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the read and, believe it or not, it really was 20 years ago!

2 | GLAD ALL OVER

GENERAL ENQUIRIES: Tel: 020 8768 6000 Email: reception@cpfc.co.uk BOX OFFICE: Tel: 08712 000 071 Email: boxoffice@cpfc.co.uk CLUB SHOP: Tel: 020 8768 6100 Email: clubshop@cpfc.co.uk CORPORATE SALES: Tel: 020 8768 6023 Email: marketing@cpfc.co.uk CONFERENCING & BANQUETING: Tel: 020 8771 5553 Email: catering@cpfc.co.uk MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS: Tel: 020 8768 6020 Email: info@cpfc.co.uk

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.cpfc.co.uk OFFICIAL TWITTER: www.twitter.com/official_cpfc EDITORIAL TEAM: Terry Byfield, Chris Poynton & Thomas Coupland DESIGN: Nathan Simpson Robert Deacon PHOTOGRAPHY: Neil Everitt, Hy Money, Action Images CONTRIBUTERS: Alex Warner, John Henty, Ian King, Leigh Edwards

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

5/7 JOHN SALAKO The Palace winger talks about his memories regarding Crystal Palace’s incredible route to Wembley.

9 ROUTE TO WEMBLEY An informative guide to who beat who in each round of the 89/90 FA Cup. 10/11 NIGEL MARTYN Shot-stopper Nigel Martyn picks out his high and low points from a season to remember.

15 GLAD ALL OVER John Henty explores the origin of a song that has become synonymous with the SE25 faithful.

16/19 MARK BRIGHT His goal after half-time levelled the proceedings in the Semi-Final against Liverpool and the former Palace front-man looks back on that game and taking on Man United in the Final.

23/31 ROUND BY ROUND Every match report, scorer and team lineup features in this extensive guide from facing Portsmouth in the Third Round to Manchester United in the Final.

32/33 STEVE COPPELL The former United player reflects on the club’s success in getting to the Final and how only seven minutes separated them from glory.

36/39 JOHN PEMBERTON Full-back ‘Pembo’ looks back on a Final that realised his boyhood dreams and how he came so close to picking up the coveted trophy.

42/43 SELHURST SNAPSHOT The Crystal Palace players show off their Hugo Boss suits ahead of the big game.

45/47 GEOFF THOMAS The Eagles captain reveals who chose the yellow and black kit for the Final and how he did not envisage a Cup run at the start of the 89/90 season.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 3

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JOHN SALAKO

ooking back at the early rounds of the competition, was a cup run high on the season’s agenda at that stage?

No I think it was just another game and another opportunity to play in the side. We were just developing really, so for a side like we were we just wanted to win every game we went into and a cup run was obviously very good financially.

Being honest we were probably thinking of the win bonus, getting through to the next round and maybe playing a big side and getting another win bonus!

We were all starting out and developing our careers so I think we took every game as it came and tried to win every one.

Do you think the fact that you weren’t taking the early stages as seriously as the league contributed to your progression?

I would say there wasn’t the pressure the big sides had because there was the expectation for them to go far, but I think one of the brilliant things about that team was that it was very driven, very focused and very ambitious.

Of course we wanted to go as far as we could; we wanted to win every game; we wanted to be in the quarter final, semi final and final of an FA Cup. You had to dare to dream, you had to be ambitious and have a desire to want to push forward, and for a lot of the players we wanted to be as successful as we could be.

Steve Coppell went on record that season to say that he had a bond “that will never break” with the players he brought in, would you agree with that?

Absolutely; there was an incredible team spirit. There seemed to be a special bond, and really all you had to do was worry about your own job because you knew that you trusted your teammates and you knew that they could do their job and you didn’t have to worry about them.

We all worked as a unit and there was a great friendship. We all enjoyed training, and we all enjoyed having a beer together so it all really clicked together very nicely.

words: Thomas Coupland 20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 5

JOHN SALAKO

and Mark and we knew we had to keep it calm.

We said ‘let’s not get carried away, we know our jobs, let’s be disciplined’, and in a way it went back to when we were 0-0.

We had a game plan - Mark up front, plug the midfield, I was marking Ray Houghton, Richard had his man, Andy had his man, and we all knew our jobs.

Then obviously it went to 2-2, then 3-2 but that is football; you get tired and nerves come into it.

I think Pembo gave away a penalty, and we gave away things in and around the box which players the quality of Liverpool’s were going to make the most of and that is what we tried not to do.

But, luckily, we never said die and we kept picking ourselves up. We knew we were dangerous on set pieces. We could carry the ball, get corners, get throw-ins and set them up properly, box them in and attack them.

Do you remember a point in the early rounds where you thought it was actually feasible to get to the final, or indeed win the competition?

I think when we got to the quarter finals against Cambridge United we saw it as winnable and knew we could be in the semi finals.

That was probably when we started honestly believing.

I remember Steve Coppell took us away to Tenerife after we had beat Huddersfield, and because it worked he said if we got through the next round we would go again. It all pulled us together, and again, call it great management because we took it on board, but we really enjoyed it and we had some really good breaks where we bonded.

We would go out have a few beers together and cement that team spirit. And then once we reached the semi finals we thought ‘yeah!’, and then we got Liverpool and it was “oh!”.

But in all honesty I would have to say that I don’t think there was anyone in our team who didn’t believe we could win that game.

We went out there and our attitude was ‘we don’t care who these guys are, they are just players, we are as good as them and we are going to match them; we are going to give a good account of ourselves.’

It was amazing and there wasn’t any real nerves, no apprehension, just a real longing to get out there and have fun, and it was just amazing how it all unfolded.

When you were 1-0 down at half time what was said in the dressing room?

The whole game plan was to match up with them and keep it tight and hopefully stop them from scoring.

We were very defensive minded and were basically very disciplined, and once that goal went in at half time we said ‘right, listen, we have done well, we are going to have to come out of our shell’, because the dynamics of the game changes then, ‘we have got to be a little bit more adventurous, we have got to be a little bit more open and we have got to go at them a little bit’. I remember coming out and being fired up and knew that it was just 1-0 and we could still do it.

Before you know it Pembo is flying down the right wing, I was trying to keep up down the left, he crossed it over and I think I ended up volleying it. It came back across and Mark got on the end of it to make it 1-1 and it was like ‘yeah, we can do this’.

What was going through your head when you went 2-1 up?

I think the weird thing was that is it was about the classic cliché where you play the game not the occasion and not the team. It was Liverpool but we had dealt with that.

We had some strong heads in Andy Thorn, Geoff, Nigel 6 | GLAD ALL OVER

What were the weeks leading up to the final like?

ABOVE: John Salako competes with Ian Rush in the FA Cup Semi Final at Selhurst Park.

RIGHT: John in action against Portsmouth in the third round.

It was incredible, it was just brilliant. Right from the moment we won that semi final the preparations began; the suits; making the record Glad All Over; going to Abbey Road studios and then being on Blue Peter. You watch Blue Peter as a kid and it was the biggest show on the Beeb and to go up there and do that was fantastic.

We went up to town and had Hugo Boss suits made for us and we all went and sorted our boots out. There was just so much going on and there was such a buzz in and around Croydon that you just never wanted it to end, but at the same time you couldn’t wait to play the game.

And tell us what it was like walking out on to the Wembley turf for the first time?

It was a big moment. You come in on the coach from the hotel and it was brilliant because the atmosphere was superb and people like Ian Wright just came into their own.

I remember the morning of the game we went for a walk and a reporter stopped and asked Wrighty: ‘What do you think about today?’, and he just went ‘I was born for today’, and that just sums up what we were all feeling really.

We were going to go there and give it everything we had, and we had great confidence and belief. We got there and we walked out on to that pitch and if you don’t believe you deserve to be there or belong to be there then your knackered already.

But we strolled on there, we had a laugh, everyone was focused on their jobs. I must admit that when I went out there I read the programme, looked to see the family there, soaked up the atmosphere a little bit, but all the time I was looking at the pitch thinking of the right studs to wear and trying to get in the zone.

JOHN SALAKO

minutes to go and then Mark Hughes popped up and broke our hearts.

It was a very weird feeling when it was 3-3 because you felt it should all have been over one way or the other. That is what I remember most - absolutely believing we could win.

What Wrighty did when he came on – the mazey run when he cut inside Pallister - was just the best goal I have ever seen someone who I have been playing with score considering the occasion, the goal, the broken legs and that was just a big memory.

Then I went down the left and put the right sort of cross in and we went 3-2 up, Ian nodded it in and it was dreamland. It was the FA Cup, it was destiny in a way but for whatever reason it was not meant to be.

At the end of it, what were your thoughts on having to play a replay?

Initially it was weird. It was all a bit flat and we were disappointed because we thought we had thrown it all away, and they were on a high because they had a second chance and that set the tone.

I think the bigger sides always have more of an advantage in the replay. Sir Alex was also desperate to do the job because he would almost certainly have been sacked had he lost that final.

He probably tore a strip off them. They trained very hard that week whereas we had had a long hard season and had to pick

ourselves up again, but by the Thursday we were ready again and ready to go.

I just blame that strip. My favourite strip would have been the yellow and blue, the Brazilian strip I used to call it, and to wear that yellow and black I honestly don’t know whose fault that was or why we wore it. In the end though they were more organised and we conceded the only goal.

The replay was a little bit of a blur for me and I don’t think I have ever watched it back again. All I can remember is standing on the pitch watching them pick that cup up and feeling a million miles away from it.

The winners got everything - Europe, the win bonus, the medals and the losers go back and it’s a case of see you later – just very disappointed in the end.

Despite the defeat, the fact that we are looking back 20 years on with such fondness suggests that it is still a fantastic moment in the club’s history and no doubt will live with you forever.

Absolutely; I would go as far to say that when went to the Carribean after that cup final and to see what it meant to people around the world and how many people had seen it and for people to know you was incredible.

It brought it home and that really did cement it from start to finish. The only downside was that we didn’t get to take the cup home, but it was brilliant and it will stay with me forever.

And that was where the team was, we were in the zone. We had a look around and we went back in and started preparing. When we were waiting to come out it was awesome.

Sir Alex was standing there, McClair, Robson, Hughes and we were standing there thinking: “Wow, let’s do this now”.

That was what I was thinking personally I was going out there and going to boss this thing and I wanted to come back every year.

How was it playing in front of 80,000 people at Wembley?

It was brilliant. It was all part of it. The adrenaline, the buzz. You do have to focus on your game but you are aware that they are there and you are aware where you are and of the magnitude of the game.

But it was important to stay focused. You had your job to do and we were just really, really focused on that. That is the thing, you can’t really enjoy the game, you can’t really think about remembering it, you just get on with it and it flies by.

Before you know it you are sat back in the dressing room and thinking: ‘Wow, I have just played in an FA Cup final’, but it was absolutely brilliant.

You spend your whole life watching FA Cup finals, and we just wanted to perform and we were desperate to win. I remember looking at the clock and seeing six or seven 20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 7

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

CRYSTAL PALACE FC PROUDLY PRESENT:

SPORTING DINNER Crystal Palace Football Club are proud to present a top class sporting dinner in a spectacular single span marquee actually on the pitch at Selhurst Park Stadium.

This not to be missed evening will be a fantastic opportunity for you and your guests to warm up for the 2010 World Cup in the company of the legendary 1966 England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. You and your guests will enjoy a superb three course dinner before hearing from our World Cup winning special guest speaker. In addition, you will be entertained by Kevin Connelly, one of the finest Impressionists/Comedians in the country who will have you all in stiches!

FEATURING

1966 WORLD CUP LEGEND

GORDON BANKS

Gordon Banks, OBE is considered by many to be one of the best goalkeepers in football history. He played a pivotal role in England’s World Cup winning team of 1966.Many would credit Banks with making the best save ever. It came during the 1970 World Cup in a game against Brazil when Pelé executed a downward header, which Banks contrived to scoop away over the crossbar with astonishing agility. Pelé, who had begun to celebrate a goal when he headed the ball, later described the save as the greatest he’d ever seen.

PLUS KEVIN CONNELLY

MC & HOST: BARRY WILLIAMS

Kevin is one of the finest Impressionists/Comedians you will ever see.Star of BBC Tv’s Dead Ringers, Kevin will have you and your guests in fits of laughter as he mocks the rich and famous from the world of sport,politics and television.A fantastic speaker and one you simply cannot miss!

Your MC and Host for the evening will be lifelong Palace fan Barry Williams, who will steer you and your guests through a night of top quality sporting chat and entertainment using his own unique style of humour and banter.

An evening for ladies and gentlemen.

Tables of ten guests £750 + VAT. To Book your table(s) CALL: 020 8768 6049 or E-MAIL: cheryl.wiseman@cpfc.co.uk Dress code: Lounge suits All the Crystal Palace Youth Academy 8 |proceeds GLAD ALL to OVER

Kindly sponsored by

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20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 9

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F.A. CUP FINAL REPLAY

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NIGEL MARTYN

They played a very direct game so it was important that we worked defensively on lots of aerial bombardments. They played the old sort of Wimbledon and Watford way in just getting the ball into the box, and I can remember we did some work on defending long balls and we were ready for it.

Although we didn’t create too much ourselves I think we certainly limited them to their one way of playing and it didn’t really cause us too many problems.

You still have to defend it well but I think we did it pretty well and we were certainly prepared for it.

We were expected to win, obviously the television cameras were there hoping we were going to lose but it was a workmanlike, professional performance more than anything really and it was enough to get us through.

Nigel Martyn, the country’s first £1 million goalkeeper, played a pivotal role in Palace’s 1990 cup run, keeping three clean sheets and pulling off a number of top saves on the way to Wembley.

Here he recounts some of his memories from that campaign.

What did you make of drawing Liverpool in the semi finals?

Semi finals on neutral ground are big days, big occasions and they were the top side in the country by a long way.

You look at it now and it is Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal, but then it was just Liverpool at the time and no one was really getting close to them. So probably they were the team we were looking to avoid the most if we were being honest.

Oldham would have been first choice and Man United second choice, but we thought: ‘Right, we will go up there and give it our best shot’, and we kind of did that.

words: Thomas Coupland

Were you pleased that it was just 1-0 at the break considering Liverpool put you under the kosh for much of the half?

The 1990 cup run is synonymous with the great semi final and final performances against Liverpool and Manchester United, but what do you remember about the earlier rounds?

I think that it was just important getting through the rounds really. I don’t think we pulled up any trees but we kept clean sheets.

From our point of view getting Andy Thorn was a big part of that because Thorny was a great defender. Clean sheets had been a problem certainly in the early part of that season and by revamping the defence we were a lot stronger in that area.

As I remember it we kept scraping through the early ones, apart from the Huddersfield game, and I remember going to Cambridge because it was one of those games where it looked like no one was going to score and then we nicked one.

10 | GLAD ALL OVER

They didn’t really put us under much pressure. I don’t remember having that many saves to make or anything like that and I guess being a goalie you remember if you played well.

On paper it looked as if it would be a simple task getting past Cambridge, but how difficult was getting the win?

It was tough. Their manager, John Beck, was doing things like throwing cold water over them in the shower - he was a bit of an odd ball and had some strange ways.

Well I remember the gaffer saying he wanted to keep it 0-0 at half time. He wanted it tight, he didn’t want to play too open or go marauding forward in the way we liked to because Liverpool could kill you off when it is like that.

So he wanted a clean sheet at half time ideally, and yes they did batter us really and I suppose 1-0 was not as bad as it could have been but at 1-0 you are still in the tie.

In the second half he released the chains a little bit. There were 45 minutes to go and we had the chance to go out and prove to everyone that they were wrong in thinking we would be a walkover having beaten us earlier on in the season.

What was the period like between the semi final success and the final itself as an experience?

Exciting, really was exciting. For me personally we are talking May 1990 and in May 1987 I was working in a factory

NIGEL MARTYN

watching the FA Cup final like any young lad was, so it was strange for me that three years down the line I was playing in one.

So personally speaking it was exciting.

The focus was on it; we did the Blue Peter thing and cut a song, not the greatest song that will ever grace the airwaves, but I am sure the people in south east London enjoy it, or at least some of them do.

So it was exciting doing that, it was exciting doing television, the photo shoots; the girls were taken to London and could pick out an outfit from one of the outfitters and they all had a shoot done as well so it was a really great time.

What was the build up like on the morning of the game?

We woke up in the hotel, got a good breakfast, we had a walk around and team meeting and pre match meal. It was all pretty normal in respect of what an away trip is, but going down there the journey was really mundane until you suddenly got close to the ground, and then there was just thousands of people in red and blue.

We drove past the end of Wembley Way and seeing red and blue balloons and scarves, all sorts of things, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end even thinking about it now, it was absolutely fantastic.

I think we tried to play offside as well; one of our centre halves tried to play it and if he stayed with the runner then there was no problem but that is all hearsay now.

What were your feelings about having to do it all again in the replay?

It was an anti climax. We had an evening planned, we were in London, we were staying in the Royal Gardens in Kensington, a nice hotel, the family were staying there, it was all hopefully going to be with the FA Cup and if it wasn’t to be then we would have drowned our sorrows. But to be left there it was bizarre because there was no closure.

Looking back, win or lose, I would have preferred it to be finished on the day because that was the cup final day and there should be someone left holding the cup on that day. The second game didn’t seem the same. We were playing in the yellow and black and it didn’t seem to have the same feel.

It was also a night game but it didn’t get dark. It was a strange feeling because if it is a night game you want it to be pitch black, and I remember it kicked off and it was still light, so it was quite a strange atmosphere to play in.

And it was a dull affair, they scored and probably one that Andy Gray won’t want to

and Wrighty didn’t come on until quite late.

I can remember speaking to Gary Pallister at an England squad very soon after, it might have been that summer actually, and he said he was absolutely s*****ing himself that Wrighty was going to start because Wrighty had twisted him up in the first game.

He said when they knew he wasn’t starting it was such a relief to them because then when he did come on they had something to hold on to and were really determined not to let him score and they managed to hold out.

Finally, it says a lot about the team of 1990 that we are today celebrating a moment in the club’s history that didn’t finish in silverware. It didn’t have the fairytale ending but the drama, the quality, the commitment of the players all made it something to look back with such fondness.

It means everything to me to have played in the only time the club have got to the cup final. Of course you want to win it, no one wants to be remembered for being a runner up but you can still take a lot from the fact that you were in that team. It was a team that finished third in the old Division One and that is a Champions League place now.

Were the tactics the same as the Liverpool game?

Keeping it tight? No not necessarily. We had already beaten them at Old Trafford 2-1 earlier in the season, although they battered us on the day, so there wasn’t any sort of fear of them.

We knew we could beat them but we also knew we had to be at our very best.

And to come from behind to draw before the final whistle was a fantastic effort.

The first period of extra time seemed to go really quickly - we scored and the ref blew. Then we went into the second period and it seemed to go on forever.

I can remember making a good save from Paul Ince when he was just outside the area and I have gone full length, got a finger on it and it went out for a corner.

I remember at that point thinking that save could be the one, which I was dreading thinking incase that was the wrong thing to think completely.

Then they put a little move together, I came out to block it and Mark Hughes dinked it home. You think back now: ‘if I had stayed on the line to beat me it would have had to be a good shot’, but as a goalie you have that split second to try and decide. If you get close enough to him then the ball hits me, but he just managed to lift it before my foot can get there and it was one of those split second things.

watch again when the man ran off him and smashed it in the top corner.

At that point, when they scored it felt like it was no problem and we would get back into it. We had done it before against Liverpool, we had done it against Manchester United and there wasn’t the worry.

But as the time eased by it started to become tough and we were huffing and puffing and there wasn’t the same amount of energy we had.

We couldn’t quite seem to pick it up

It was by no means a bad thing and winning the ZDS Cup, yes the big guys were not involved in it, but we were the next best thing because that season we finished third and we won it and we won it at Wembley.

That put to bed the cup final defeat to Manchester United by going back there and beating Everton and that was important to do that.

That team who finished third and won the Zenith Data Systems cup was a very good team, it really was.

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12 | GLAD ALL OVER

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

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CRYSTAL PALACE FOOTBALL CLUB PRESENTS THE

CROYDON CHARITY BALL 2010 TUESDAY 18TH MAY 2010 IN THE MARQUEE ON THE PITCH SELHURST PARK STADIUM

This wonderful black-tie event is now a highlight on the business calendar. The evening consists of a fabulous three course meal and quality entertainment all in a stunning single span marquee actually on the pitch at Selhurst Park Stadium. Top comedian Jo Brand and dance band ‘Payback’ will ensure you and your guests will have a night to remember whilst supporting an excellent cause.

MC AND HOST

COMEDIAN JO BRAND

The evening will once again be hosted by our very own David ‘The Kid’ Jensen. David has hosted every previous Charity Ball and he will ensure the evening flows throughout.

KINDLY SPONSORED BY

AND Tables of 10 guests are £750 + VAT To book your table call 020 8768 6049 or e-mail charityball@cpfc.co.uk ALL PROCEEDS GO TO MEDIA PARTNERS

14 | GLAD ALL OVER

RECEPTION SPONSORS

Reg no 1122878

JOHN HENTY

GLAD ALL OVER Dave Clark Five Released (some say “escaped”) in the UK - November 1963. Around this time, Croydon journalist, John Henty, was “released” onto the Selhurst Park scene when he became the man to put PA into Palace.

John started as a commentator for Croydon Hospital Broadcasts in the early 1960s and was then asked

by Club Secretary, Chris Hassell, to take over the matchday announcing responsibilities from TV’s “whispering” Ted Lowe. Oh – and “spin” a few records occasionally. For over 30 years (1964 – 1996) John continued in this role – with one spell away when Palace kitman, Spike, took over.

“Glad All Over” went to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1964 – knocking The Beatles off the top spot! John blasted the record out over the then tinny tannoy system and soon kids on the open terraces were joining in by banging rhythmically on the advertising hoardings.

The idea rapidly caught on, the words were added and Dave and the boys replaced Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass as the “Team Theme”.

The rest is history. By the way, You Tube is full of great Palace versions of the song. Try “Glad All Over & Crystal Palace” which shows the team appearing with Derek Jameson on his Sky TV programme just before the 1990 Cup Final.

LEFT: Cover of “Glad All Over” recorded by the Crystal Palace Football Club for the 1990 F.A. Cup Final.

BELOW: The Croydon Advertiser ceramic souvenir serves as a reminder of the amazing experience.

GLAD ALL OVER 1990 STYLE Within days of winning the cup semi final it has always been traditional that the two teams enter the recording studio and make their own cup final song, 1990 was no different.

With that great win over Liverpool still on the lips of all Palace fans it was time for the squad, along with Capital DJ’s of that time, David Jensen and Neil Fox to visit the Abbey Road studio.

They were ready to put their stamp on Dave Clark’s number one hit from 1963 and studios known for the home of the Beatles was the only place to do it.

Prior to the recording Palace’s own ‘Fab 4’ semi final scorers, Mark Bright, Gary O Reilly, Andy Gray and Alan Pardew took their place on the famous zebra crossing to recreate that famous Beatles photo.

The recording was produced by Tony Hillier and arranged by Barry Upton. The squad performed the song on tv and radio as the cup final countdown continued.

Yes – I know Alan Pardew scored our winning goal against Liverpool at Villa Park in the semi-final (observe the video, DVD, tee-shirt, programme, tickets) but – sorry Al – I shall always believe that it was getting the Villa P.A man to belt out “Glad All Over” on that fateful Sunday morning before the game that really got us to the Final!!

Joking apart – the Dave Clark rocker certainly played its part in the build-up to the big day and I helped the club in negotiations with the DC5 to allow our squad to record their version of the hit at Abbey Road. I couldn’t make the actual recording but it looked good on “Top of the Pops”.

In the run-up, I can remember Sylvia and I at Cambridge – watching Geoff Thomas’ winning goal trickle its way into the net through a mass of lunging legs. On the coach back to Selhurst we read a full report of the game in a local newspaper which was on sale outside the small ground within minutes of the final whistle. Those were the days!

At Wembley – accompanied by groundsman Len Chatterton – Sylvia and I released balloons and joined in every chant from “When Geoff Goes Up…” to “We Are Palace – Super Palace..”. I like to think that the sound recordings I made during that first match are unique. Certainly, they were used – in CD format – to provide atmosphere at the Palace Exhibition in Croydon’s Clock Tower not so long ago.

GLAD ALL OVER If anyone would like a personal copy of this rare CD (ideal for playing loudly in the car on long journeys to away games!) then I could make it available – if demand is big enough. Let me know at leweshentys@waitrose.com I’m asking £8 to include postage and packing plus a decent donation to the Crystal Palace Supporters Trust.

The replay, of course, was an anti-climax but we didn’t regret cancelling a holiday to Cyprus to be at Wembley for a second time. Ironically, between the two games, I’d actually done a lengthy radio interview with Sussexbased match referee, Alan Gunn, but that – clearly – did not change the final score! The “Croydon Advertiser” ceramic souvenir always reminds us of an amazing experience which we will never forget.

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MARK BRIGHT

What were your thoughts on drawing Liverpool in the semi finals?

words: Thomas Coupland

I don’t think that 9-0 defeat affected us as much as everyone thought but the papers all picked up on that.

For us it was a case of a chance for some payback. I think we all came in and said we can’t expect to have Huddersfield, Rochdale, Cambridge and then another ‘easy’ tie, because in the FA Cup you can’t be lucky all the way through, you have to play somebody.

We said to each other “This is it, this is the semi final of the FA Cup and let’s go for it.”

So what was it like going into the break 1-0 down?

We were 1-0 down and hadn’t had a kick - I think Rush scored after 16 minutes. We came in at half time and I was pretty annoyed because I had had no support and was getting no service.

I felt I was running around like a headless chicken, but Steve just told everyone to calm down, we were 1-0 and there was nothing to panic about.

We knew the game plan, it was all based around Andy Gray and his set pieces. If you like, Andy’s deliveries were as good as David Beckham’s.

Andy could do anything, he had great vision, he was a great passer and he was in charge of all our set pieces, so the idea was to get set pieces and put them under pressure, put their defence under pressure and that is exactly what we did in the second half.

Then Pembo picked up the loose ball and off he went, the ball richocheted about and I just boshed it into the back of the net.

That gave the fans something to hang on to as well as ourselves. We had gone for 45 minutes and hardly had a kick, but the game really sprung into life in the second half and extra time and everyone considers that as one of the greatest second halves and extra time in the Cup’s history.

That second half was one of twists and turns, high drama and plenty of goals. What was it like experiencing it on the field?

I just think of it as a whirlwind, it was just happening, everything is floating around a little bit and you are going from behind to in front. And it was just back and forward, back and forward. It is very difficult to put into words the emotions you go through towards the end of the game.

You were begging, praying for the referee to blow the whistle and you would have given any amount of money for him to blow the whistle right then because when he says there are three, four, five minutes to go you are thinking ‘oh God!’.

Liverpool had that knack of scoring goals in the last five minutes of games because their pursuit of winning went right to the end like Man Utd do now. I can remember just chasing everything; chasing the ball, chasing over the top, closing down, getting back.

Like anybody when you are in a match like that it is horrendous in the last minutes of the game, you don’t have to enjoy it, you just want to get through it.

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As one half of one of the most prolific strike partnerships Crystal Palace has ever boasted, Mark Bright scored some important goals in the club’s push for promotion the year before.

But his thumping strike at the beginning of the second half that sparked Crystal Palace’s famous comeback victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup semi final will be among his most remembered. We spoke to him to recount some of his memories of the run and being a part of one of the greatest teams in the club’s history.

MARK BRIGHT

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MARK BRIGHT

But you got to the end and could celebrate one of the great footballing victories in the club’s modern history.

What was that like?

To hear the referee blow the final whistle, it was just disbelief. I think Andy Gray was the first player to come over to me.

He hugged me and he said: “We are going to play in the FA Cup Final!”, and even now when I say it to myself I choke up.

We were an ordinary team who worked hard. We did have some ability, I don’t want to undo what we achieved, but an ordinary team can get to the cup final and can be a little bit lucky but at some stage you had to prove yourselves.

I think that was the game where we proved ourselves, especially in light of being beaten so heavily earlier in the season.

Steve actually made a really good speech out on the pitch before extra time and said: “You have done well to get to this position, but there has to be a time when you have to grasp it and this is the time. You are younger, fitter and I believe you are hungrier.

If you want it you have to grab it, take the game to them. Keep concentrating and focus and don’t anybody do anything stupid, don’t give any stupid free kicks and let’s stick to the game plan, work to get set pieces.”

And then when Pards scored I can tell you in that moment you look around to the ref to see if he is running back to the halfway line, and then there is a feeling that goes through your body that can only be explained if you have been in a situation like that.

It is euphoric and one no money could pay for. It is just a burst of joy, and then all of a sudden you get legs from somewhere and you go chase Pards, the crowd is up in arms, everyone is pumping the air.

The next thing you know you are back to the halfway line and everyone on the bench is pointing to their heads to say ‘concentrate, keep focused’.

Good teams naturally hold it together and they drive each other on, but in an inexperienced team it only takes two people to not be concentrating and that’s it they can get back in the game.

It is bizarre that even after all these years I can still feel that really special moment. There is that image of Wrighty hobbling on at the end jumping on top of me, and he was just effing and blinding as always saying: “ I can’t believe it Brighty! I can’t believe it. Well done man you helped get us to the FA Cup final!”.

Looking back, where does that moment rank in your career?

It ranks as one the best days of my career and life I would say. We were up

against it and I don’t think anyone was expecting us to win apart from some hardcore fans who thought we could if things went our way.

The majority of fans thought we would give it a real good go, but this was a strong Liverpool side and we would probably get pipped to the post.

But we had 15, 20 players with a manager who told us to think of nothing else but winning and that was it. At the end we came off the ground into the changing room and you can’t explain the feeling of wanting to hug grown men and kiss them on the cheeks and sharing your joy with a manager you absolutely believed in.

Do you think that belief in the manager was a driving force behind your success as a team?

I don’t know. It was a unique Palace team in terms of camaraderie and everything. The team had Ian and myself in terms of a team within a team but everyone was tight.

We were a hard working team, we grafted away and we had a unique relationship with the manager. I would say at some stage in their lives all of the team spoke to Steve about things that were not football related.

18 | GLAD ALL OVER

MARK BRIGHT

Steve was like a life coach, and I know Wrighty would say the same. If you asked him about a relationship or something like that he would give you good advice, something positive, something to think about.

I think that unique bond came from the fact it was his first job in management and he signed a lot of those players he had.

I would also say that he seemed to have an affinity with the black players because they had been denied a lot of things in life and they had worked hard.

They wanted it better for themselves, they had desire and they drew on those moments in life to achieve, so I think that was the attraction for him.

It was at a time in the game when racism was quite prevalent and it was hard for black players at that stage. It has got a lot better now, but to go out and listen to abuse being shouted at you is not easy and I think he had respect for the way we went about it.

And that was one of the attractions when he signed me. When he asked me to come down to London, because I was getting a lot of stick at Leicester and some of it racial, he said I would not get it down at Palace.

He had a lot of black players and there were black communities down there and I would feel comfortable and that was a selling point.

How well do you remember the morning of the final and the build up to the game?

It is the greatest day and was everything you had dreamt because if you win the league it was over a course of the ten months, but if you win a cup it all builds up to that one day, which is the glamour of it.

You don’t sleep the night before, or I certainly didn’t. I watched The Road To Wembley, got up for breakfast, there were a few duties to do and signings, the day was beautiful and the sun was shining.

It was important to try and treat everything the same as a normal league game - don’t have anything different for breakfast and keep your routine as close to what it normally was as possible, which

is so difficult to do because everyone is excited.

In the morning you are constantly looking at your watch, you want to get down to the pre-match meal, hear the manager do his pre-match speech and then get on the coach and trickle towards Wembley.

You then start to see the fans, you see the Twin Towers and Wembley Way, fans were banging on the coach.

Then you pull into the stadium, get in the changing room, read the programme and in those days you got the telegrams as well from people from your school and past friends.

There were guys in there looking after you and getting you what you wanted, and somebody came down to tell us the protocol when meeting royalty and what you must and mustn’t do - shake hands, don’t pat anyone, don’t try to the brother shake, no high fives.

We then went out for the warm up, took some pictures, waved to the families, and then went to get changed.

The manager then went: “Okay, now is the time to start focusing. You have seen your families, you know where everyone is, but now is the time to get focused on the job, start to focus on what we have to do. It is not a big fun day out, this is the job, we are here.”

We then started that long walk to the pitch and I remember that being a unique thing of the FA Cup. Coming out the tunnel behind the goal the boards were down and you walk across them and the big sand area onto the pitch and the noise and balloons was unbelievable.

We lined up and your mouth is dry, you want to start playing, you do the national anthem, shake hands and then off you go.

The game speaks for itself and it was another roller coaster of a match and you go on to earn 3-3 draw and a replay, but what were your thoughts about having to do it all again?

In hindsight I would have liked it to have ended on the day because everything builds to the day and I believe it is like whatever happens in life or any other sport - it happens on the day.

I am sure that when you get to the final some would say you deserve another crack, but I believe you have had your crack at it over 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, and when you have done that you should decide it on penalties.

It is great drama and I think it comes to a climax on the day, and I think when you get a minnow against a big team they would call for the same thing. The big team would take it to another game because if they did it favours them.

We read somewhere that at the end of the first game Paul Ince came up to you and Ian Wright and said to you both that you had blown your chance. That couldn’t have been helpful.

Yeah it was half said in jest. He came over when Wrighty and me were walking around the pitch and he jumped on our backs, we have all got a picture of that taken together, and he said: “Well I can tell you lot now THAT was your chance right there and I can tell you now this is all ours”, and we said: “well we will see you Thursday.”

We just bantered about it a little bit but it was probably a little bit of truth said in jest, and I think looking back you know the element of surprise is there on the first day and when it goes to a replay the power sways from the underdog to the favourite.

But you have to believe you can upset that balance and that is what you have to work towards and do.

Speaking to some of the members of that team they mentioned that things just didn’t seem right for the replay.

Would you agree?

I would concur with that, but there is not much I want to say about the replay - it was awful.

After the final we went on this three week trip to Tobago, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It took us a while to get over it and we went out a few times, had a few drinks and a chat about it and came back more determined to do something about it the next season.

But I think I went back to Stoke after that. They had been in touch with me and asked if I would run the Stoke marathon and I said yes.

On the day Stanley Matthews was starting it and I was there with him in a VIP area, and people were coming up and saying their commiserations for the final.

Someone then said have you ever met Stanley Matthews? And I said I hadn’t so I jumped up, straight back, shook his hand and I said “How you doing? Mark Bright”, and he went “Oh, I watched the finals. I tell you what the first one, what a game that was. Ian Wright scoring the goals, great game, enjoyed it. I thought you deserved to win it. But I have to say the second one, the way you went about it, kicking, I thought you got what you deserved”, and I was like “thanks Stan”.

My only meeting with him and he spoke the truth. And that was a reflection on the players and ourselves. It wasn’t part of the manager’s plan, it was just horrible, ugly, over zealous, and for all the great work we did in the first game we undid it in the second. But it is one of those things.

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LEIGH EDWARDS

Leigh Edwards takes a look at those dates in history which mean so much for the Palace fan but there was more happening in the world than a game of football... honest!

6/1/90 Coventry City, the 1987 FA Cup winners, lost 1-0 at Northampton Town... Exeter City held Norwich City to a 1-1 draw... Crewe Alexandra drew 1-1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge... Teenage substitute Paul Hirons scored to give Torquay United a 1-0 victory over West Ham... Wimbledon were defeated 1-0 at West Brom.

for the first time in their history by defeating Northampton Town 3-0... Cambridge United held Millwall to a 1-1 draw at The Den... Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by QPR at Highbury... Norwich City drew 0-0 at home to Liverpool.

No 1 single: Tears On My Pillow – Kylie Minogue No 1 movie: When Harry Met Sally 17/2/90 Aston Villa remained on course for the ‘double’ by winning 2-0 at West Brom in the FA Cup fifth round... Liverpool beat Southampton 3-0 at Anfield...

Oldham Athletic drew 2-2 at home to Everton... Steve Bould scored an own goal after just 15 seconds in Arsenal’s 1-0 First Division defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

No 1 single: Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid II No 1 movie: When Harry Met Sally 27/1/90 Aston Villa hammered Port Vale 6-0 at Villa Park... Rochdale reached the FA Cup fifth round

Twenty years ago, blimey!by Andrew Henty I remember bits and pieces. As a student in Manchester it was an early start for the midday kick-off in Birmingham.

Out on my incredibly small and gear-less bike I cycled nervously (and breathlessly, there were no gears remember) up to Manchester Piccadilly station and caught a very early train. I Met up with friends and family and got incredibly stressed for 90 minutes plus extra time and couldn’t quite believe it when the electronic scoreboard finally registered 4-3 and full time.

Amazing, incomprehensible. Things like this didn’t happen to us - the Palace. But it had. We were in The Final. We had beaten Liverpool. It was Really Quite Good!

The train back to Manchester was a peculiar affair with a disbelieving me sat in a carriage full of gutted Scousers. I was very quiet - and very neutral. No red and blue on display now.

Back in Manchester I donned my Palace scarf again and cycled back from Piccadilly station to Rusholme, my student digs next to Maine Road. It soon became apparent that I was not the only footie fan on the move.

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No 1 single: Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor No 1 movie: Family Business

Marshall and Roger Palmer gave Oldham Athletic a thrilling 3-3 draw with Manchester United after extra time in the other FA Cup semi-final.

No 1 single: The Power – Snap!

No 1 movie: The War Of The Roses 12/5/90 Aberdeen beat Celtic 9-8 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.

No 1 single: Killer – Adamski No 1 movie: The Krays

10/3/90 Ian Marshall scored an extratime winner against his former club as Oldham Athletic defeated Everton 2-1 in their FA Cup fifth round second replay... David Speedie scored twice in Coventry City’s 4-2 First Division win at Nottingham Forest... Second Division leaders Leeds United fought back to triumph 4-2 at Oxford United.

No 1 single: Dub Be Good To Me – Beats International No 1 movie: Born On The Fourth Of July 8/4/90 Goals by Earl Barrett, Ian

17/5/90 Manchester United equalled the record held jointly by Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur by winning the FA Cup for the seventh time.

No 1 single: Killer – Adamski No 1 movie: The Krays

The second semi (Oldham v Man U) had finished at Maine Road and as I entered the last bit of journey home I realised that there were thousands of Man Utd fans flocking down the pavements beside me. They were actually very happy to see my Palace scarf - we had, afterall, despatched the hated Merseysiders for them and there were quite a few ‘Well done Palace!’ shouts.

All was fine in the world. It was a beautiful day, United fans weren’t going to attack me and we were going to an FA Cup Final. And then one of them stepped out in front of me. My bike was going at a helluva pace by now and I saw the (rather large) Man Utd fan looming in front of me late. Brakes applied frantically. The bike stopped. I did not. I found myself flying through the air Eagle-like and horizontal from the ground. I headbutted him powerfully in the gut. This was not good. He was down and winded, I was down and convinced the end of the world was nigh.

He got up - looked at me and either winked or grimaced.

I didn’t wait around to confirm. I got back on the bike and rode at Olympic speed the rest of the way home. It had been a good day.

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TO

Page 24: Crystal Palace vs Portsmouth Page 25: Crystal Palace vs Huddersfield Town Page26: Crystal Palace vs Rochdale Page 27: Cambridge Utd vs Crystal Palace Page 29: Crystal Palace vs Liverpool Page 30: Crystal Palace vs Manchester Utd Page 31: Manchester Utd vs Crystal Palace

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TIRD ROUND

CRYSTAL PALACE VS PORTSMOUTH

FA Cup 3rd Round Sat 6th January 1990 Crystal Palace 2 Thomas, Gray (pen)

Portsmouth 1 Whittingham

SELHURST PARK Attendance 12,644 Referee Mr R G Milford Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, O’Reilly, Gray, Hopkins (Thomas 45), Thorn, Salako, Barber, Bright, Wright, Pardew.

Sub (not used) Dyer.

Portsmouth: Knight, Neill, Beresford, Maguire, Hogg, Ball, Wigley, Kuhl, Whittingham (Gilligan), Fillery, Chamberlain.

Sub (not used) Black.

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eoff Thomas had his first taste of FA Cup action just after half time in this third round tie after an injury to Jeff Hopkins, and it was not long before he was playing his part helping Palace progress through.

He followed up a partially cleared free kick and swept in Palace’s equaliser to the managerless second division side’s 40th minute goal.

Even though the visitors led at the break Palace had first half chances as Ian Wright, Mark Bright and John Salako all missed chances before the opening goal.

Steve Wigley flighted over a fine cross for Guy Whittingham to meet with a great header that left Nigel Martyn no chance.

Once Thomas had got Palace back in the game the home side were guilty of missing chances and the game looked to be heading for a replay.

A decision by referee Roger Milford though was to swing the game in Palace’s favour. Andy Gray was felled by Mark Chamberlain and a spot kick was awarded. The same player got up to fire home past Alan Knight and the historic cup run was now under way.

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FOURT ROUND CRYSTAL PALACE VS HUDDERSFIELD TOWN GREENHALLS

FA Cup 4TH Round Sat 27th January 1990 Crystal Palace 4 Hopkins, Lewis o.g, Bright, Salako

ohn Salako came into this cup tie in a striker’s role in place of Ian Wright and played a major part in the team securing a comfortable victory into round five.

He played a part in Palace’s second goal and scored the fourth himself with a splendid piece of finishing and was a constant threat to the Yorkshire outfit.

Their giant killing aspirations received a set back after 18 minutes when an Andy Gray free kick was not cleared and Jeff Hopkins’ shot found the net via the base of the post.

Palace posed a constant threat and goalkeeper Lee Martin saved well to deny

Salako and Gray but the lead was further increased just before the break.

Salako headed goalwards from Alex Dyer’s cross as two defenders got in a mix up and Mark Bright’s shot towards goal was turned into his own net by Huddersfield’s Dudley Lewis.

Late in the game the home side confirmed their victory with goals from Bright and Salako.

Phil Barber’s perfect cross was headed home by Bright whilst, with ten minutes to go, Hopkins found Salako just past the halfway line. He showed his pace and ran on to beat Martin with his first senior goal for almost two years.

Huddersfield Town 0 SELHURST PARK Attendance 12,920 Referee Mr J M Carter Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Burke, Gray, Hopkins, Thorn, Dyer, Thomas, Bright, Salako, Barber Subs (not used) Pardew, Shaw HUDDERSFIELD: Martin, Marsden (O’Regan), Hutchings, May, Mitchell, Lewis, Wilson, Bray, Cecere (Onoura), Maskell, Smith.

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FIFT ROUND CRYSTAL PALACE VS ROCHDALE

FA Cup 5th Round Sat 17th FEBRUARY 1990 Crystal Palace 1 Barber

ROCHDALE 0 SELHURST PARK Attendance 17,044 Referee Mr R A Hart Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Shaw, Gray (Dyer), Hopkins, Thorn, Barber, Thomas, Bright, Salako, Pardew. Sub Hedman.

ROCHDALE: Welch, Goodison, Burns, Brown, Cole, Ward, Holmes, Duxbury, Dawson (Johnson), O’Shaughnessy (Hill), Milner.

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he story of the game in this one was the one about the men between the sticks. Rochdale’s keeper Keith Welch was the busier of the two with an excellent performance and left the pitch to a standing ovation by both sets of fans in the 17,000 crowd.

He denied Mark Bright on a number of occasions and also glanced a chance onto the post from John Salako.

The ‘keeper also impressed opposing manager Steve Coppell who tipped him after the game for a bright future. “Some of his saves were magnificent. One of them was reminiscent of Banks in the World Cup. The lad seemed to claw it back from the net.” he said.

The only goal of the game came just after the hour mark. Andy Gray sent in one of his long throws into the box and Bright’s flick on found Phil Barber, who swept the ball in from ten yards out.

Three thousand fans had made the journey down from Rochdale and they were all but ready to cheer an equaliser, but it was the turn of the other keeper to impress.

Nigel Martyn was a spectator for most of the game but produced an excellent save to deny Peter Ward in the final minute and showed the Palace fans why he had been signed for a £1 million from Bristol Rovers and helped send his new side into the quarter finals.

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SIXT ROUND CAMBRIDGE UTD VS CRYSTAL PALACE HOWLETT

FA Cup 6TH Round Sat 10th March 1990 CAMBRIDGE UTD 0 CRYSTAL PALACE 1 THOMAS

ABBEY STADIUM Attendance 10,084 Referee Mr K P Barrett

Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Shaw, Gray, O’Reilly, Thorn, Barber, Thomas, Salako, Wright, Pardew.

Subs (not used): Hedman, Dyer.

his was one of those giant killing in the making FA Cup ties as Palace travelled to fourth division Cambridge United, but a right footed shot from Geoff Thomas secured Palace’s progress in the competition.

The sixth round tie was never going to be a classic as the game was played in blustery conditions and against a home side who were always difficult to play against at their Abbey Stadium.

The skipper’s goal certainly didn’t go down in the FA Cup Classic goals folder either, but nevertheless was vitally important for the 2000 travelling support from south London.

The goal came in the 78th minute when Thomas got on the end of a corner from Andy Gray and struck a shot which went through the legs of a defender and crept in at the far post.

The home side narrowly failed to become the first fourth division side to reach the semi finals with their best chances falling to strikers John Taylor and Dion Dublin at either end of the match.

CAMBRIDGE UTD: Vaughan, Fensome, Kimble, Baillie, Chapple, Daish, Cheetham,Leadbitter, Dublin, Taylor, Philpott. Subs (not used): O’Shea, Robinson.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 27

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

GLAD ALL OVER GLAD ALL OVER

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FOLLOWING HIS FIRST home League goal FOR THE CLUB ON BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY, WE CAUGHT UP WITH CALVIN ANDREW TO DISCUSS HOW IT FELT TO FINALLY BREAK HIS selhurst park DUCK. We go into today’s vital game against Queens Park Rangers on a high. Seven points from our last three games have provided a real boost for everyone at our club and lifted us out of the relegation zone.

But our job is not over yet. We must not become complacent. We can only relax when we know there is absolutely no way we can be relegated and we’re not there just yet.

Clearly today’s game against QPR is very important. Not only can we maintain our run of form but we’re taking on a team we can push below us as we battle for safety and that’s important at this stage of the campaign.

Obviously people will spot the fact that 28 | GLAD ALL OVER

the managers in charge of today’s teams have swapped clubs during the season.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Neil Warnock’s decision to move to Loftus Road I might never have worked for Palace and that’s something I would have regretted.

But let’s get this absolutely straight today’s game is not about the managers or Palace trying to put one over a manager who decided to move on. The players hold the key to the futures of Palace and QPR and I’ve sensed in my time here that the Palace lads recognise the part they are having to play in ensuring the club’s survival in the Championship.

Being in administration is not ideal but you either feel sorry for yourselves and go under or show some grit and collectively

fight for a brighter future.

That’s what I believe we’re seeing at Palace - and it’s not just down to the players. It’s about everybody connected with our club - especially the fans.

In some recent games we’ve not enjoyed the luckiest of breaks. We’ve let in early goals and had to show our fighting spirit.I have to say in terms of guts, tenacity and, more recently, in getting the ball down and showing we can play, the players have done brilliantly.

I ask them today for another honest, committed performance and believe that’s what we’ll get. I hope they give you something to be proud about. That’s important, too.

The Players and the management

R OUND BY R OUND

SEMI-FINAL CRYSTAL PALACE VS LIVERPOOL Fly

to L.A.

FA Cup Semi-Final Sunday 8th April 1990 CRYSTAL PALACE 4

Bright, O’Reilly, Gray, Pardew

LIVERPOOL 3

Rush, McMahon, Barnes (pen)

VILLA PARK Attendance 38,389 Referee Mr G Courtney Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Shaw, Gray, O’Reilly, Thorn, Barber, Thomas, Bright, Salako.Pardew Subs (not used): Madden, Hedman.

t was a Sunday lunchtime when a seven goal thriller provided thousands of Palace fans with a lifetime dream of seeing their club reach an FA Cup Final.

During an epic semi-final more than 15,000 Palace fans watched inside Villa Park as their side came back against the odds to reach the twin towers. Palace were without broken leg victim Ian Wright, who watched his team mates help provide one of the best semi finals in the cup competition’s history.

The first half followed a pattern which so many had predicted as Liverpool took the lead through Ian Rush. A through ball by Steve McMahon found Rush and his clinical finish gave Nigel Martyn no chance.

The Reds went into the break with the lead but Palace did have chances of their own during the half with the best openings falling to Mark Bright and John Salako which were not taken.

Liverpool lost Ian Rush to injury just before the break and the other side of the interval was to see the game immediately change.

A run down the right wing by John Pemberton saw him cross the ball into the box and a shot by Salako came off the ‘keeper and back to Bright who made no mistake firing the ball into the roof of the net and the scores were level.

Palace were now enjoying much more of the half and took the lead in the 69th minute. Gray’s free kick was headed down

by Barber and O’Reilly made no mistake from close range.

It was not long before things turned against the south London outfit. McMahon thrashed in an unstoppable shot and then, with seven minutes remaining, a penalty decision went against Palace.

A challenge by Pemberton on Staunton was adjudged a foul and the penalty was converted by John Barnes.

The drama just continued though as the scores once again drew level at 3-3.

Gray headed in after Pemberton’s free kick caused disarray in the Liverpool defence.

The game went into extra time and a great save by Martyn denied Barnes before Pardew headed home the historic winner.

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar, Hysen, Burrows, Gillespie (Venison), Whelan, Hansen, Beardsley, Houghton, Rush (Staunton), Barnes, McMahon

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 29

R OUND BY R OUND

TE FINAL

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to L.A.

FA Cup FINAL Saturday 12th May 1990 CRYSTAL PALACE 3 O’Reilly, Wright (2)

MANCHESTER UTD 3 Robson, Hughes (2)

WEMBLEY Attendance 80,000 Referee Mr A Gunn Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Shaw, Gray (Madden), O’Reilly, Thorn, Barber (Wright), Thomas, Bright, Salako, Pardew.

MAN UTD: Leighton, Ince, Martin, Bruce, Phelan, Pallister (Robins), Robson, Webb, McClair, Hughes,Wallace. Sub not used: Blackmore

30 | GLAD ALL OVER

alace’s dream run to the final seemed set to finish with the perfect ending when substitute Ian Wright came back off the bench from injury with two goals until, with seven minutes remaining, United forced a late draw.

The underdogs took the lead from a well worked set piece. Andy Gray ran over the ball to leave the cross coming in from Phil Barber and Gary O’Reilly rose high to head the ball over Jim Leighton and into the United goal.

United drew the scores level when Bryan Robson got on the end of a Brian McClair cross and headed down and past Nigel Martyn.

Into the second half and the favourites were ahead courtesy of Mark Hughes. He was unmarked at the far post as he picked

up a clearance by Richard Shaw and the welshman drove the ball cleanly into the opposite corner of the net just after the hour mark.

Wright’s arrival from the bench then gave Palace the upper hand. On 73 minutes he picked up a pass from Bright and beat Phelan and Pallister on the left, then steered the ball under Leighton to bring the scores level.

Extra time came and the man from the bench once again hit the headlines. Two minutes into the extra 30 and Wright stole in at the far post to get on the end of a cross from Salako and fire the ball into the roof of the net.

It was another effort from Hughes in the 113th minute that meant that both teams ended a classic final all square and back to the stadium in midweek for a replay.

R OUND BY R OUND

TE REPLY

MANCHESTER UTD VS CRYSTAL PALACE fter the excitement and drama of the 120 minutes on the previous Saturday this was a big disappointment as just one goal separated the two sides as the trophy went back with Manchester United to the north-west.

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A well worked move led to Neil Webb crossing for Lee Martin, who was up in support of the attack, to rifle the ball past a helpless Nigel Martyn from close range.

The cup run earned Palace many plaudits across the world but the painful memory was that they were just seven minutes from taking their first FA Cup trophy thanks to the heroics of Ian Wright.

FA Cup Final Replay Thursday 17th May 1990 MANCHESTER UTD 1 MARTIN

CRYSTAL PALACE 0 WEMBLEY Attendance 80,000 Referee Mr A Gunn

Palace: Martyn, Pemberton, Shaw, Gray, O’Reilly, Thorn, Barber (Wright), Thomas, Bright, Salako (Madden), Pardew.

MAN UTD: Sealey, Ince, Martin, Bruce, Phelan, Pallister, Robson, Webb, McClair, Hughes,Wallace.

Subs (not used): Robins, Blackmore

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 31

STEVE COPPELL

Steve Coppell was named manager of Crystal Palace in June 1984, and when taking his first step in league management he wouldn’t have dreamed that less than six years later he would be leading a side out in an FA Cup Final against a side that he had made over 300 appearances for during his playing career.

I

n this magazine we have been pleased to have had the opportunity to get the views from some of the personalities involved in that amazing season for the club, and now we put the questions to the man whose job it was to get his group of players ready to face a side that had already been beaten them 9-0 earlier that campaign.

Steve, with so much of the pre-match media reflecting on that night at Anfield how did you prepare the players for the semi final?

We knew that we had to stop them playing if we were going to get anything from the game. We had a game plan which we worked on leading up to the weekend and it meant people had specific jobs to do.

Our markers marked well, Richard Shaw, John Pemberton, Gary O’Reilly and John Salako all had good defensive performances as they had to stop the quality players that Liverpool had from playing their normal game.

The second half is obviously when the game came alive, but were you actually back in your seat to see the equaliser?

How do you remember the rest of the afternoon looking back now?

I actually got out very early for the second 32 | GLAD ALL OVER

half, and as I was making my way to the seat along the touchline I was amazed to see John Pemberton making a great run down the right and leaving a couple of men in his wake. As the cross went over the ball pinged around, and then as I got to the dug out it was great to see Mark Bright put the ball into the roof of the net.

Gary O’Reilly had scored a very similar goal to the one he scored at Villa Park just a few weeks before our semi final which was deemed offside from a set piece and it happened again, thankfully this one counted.

At the time when we were 2-1 ahead I remember thinking about something John Motson had said to me about playing Liverpool. He said you need to score in the last ten minutes to beat Liverpool, so in my mind I was thinking we had scored too early as they still had about 20 minutes to come back at us.

We then had the setback of the Steve McMahon goal and we conceded a penalty so once again the game turned around. The referee, George Courtney, was in a great position for the penalty as he was only four or five yards away but I think we were unfortunate to get that decision against us. Pembo was trying to get out of the way as Steve Staunton ran across him but I was not surprised that it was given.

At the time I thought we only had two or three minutes but there was a lot longer than I had bargained for. We changed formation back to 4-2-4 and got another set piece which saved us. I can tell you it was a great feeling seeing the header from Andy Gray go in I must admit.

In a matter of 15 minutes I had gone through the whole range of emotions.

The game went into extra time and I just felt that our fitness would prove important for us in extra time having shown such resilience in the 90 minutes, but when I watched it back on video I thought Liverpool edged the extra 30 minutes.

You mention the emotions, but that period of extra time must have seen the Palace dug out going through another roller coaster. We got the winner and then waited for the final whistle, but once that final whistle blew though you didn’t stay around for the celebrations.

Andy Gray took a long time setting up for the corner which I don’t normally like to see, but he hit a great ball and Andy Thorn got the perfect flick on and Alan Pardew made a great run to get on the end of it and he came up trumps that time.

I am of the belief that too much emphasis is put on managers and in front

STEVE COPPELL

BELOW: Steve Coppell and his two main strikers Ian Wright and Mark Bright in a photo shoot on the Selhurst Park pitch.

but having seen it on the video I realised that they battered us towards the end. You sit and dissect the goal that made it 3-3 and think certain things could have been done differently, but it was one of those classic finals that you were just so proud to be a part of.

Expectation probably got the better of us in the replay. On the Saturday we thought we might win but we went into the replay with a real feeling that we were in a position where we really could win the game. It wasn’t a feeling in the back of your mind but a real belief that this squad of players could go and win the cup for the club.

Do you look back and think of anything that you would have done differently for the replay?

of us we had a set of players who had come through to win a semi final. After a real roller coaster of a season it was their opportunity to take the plaudits of such a great achievement.

Attention soon turned to the big day at Wembley against Manchester United, and it was such a great occasion for the club to reach the cup final for the first time in their history.

One of the great sights on the day was walking out onto the Wembley turf and seeing all those red and blue balloons go up into the sky from the Palace sections of the crowd.

That was an exceptional and very much cherished moment for me and I am sure for many people at the club. It showed the world that Crystal Palace Football Club had earned their place in the final of one of the greatest cup competitions in the world.

It was a great match for the neutral and a great game for the Palace fans. It was a fabulous occasion and a great feeling to lead the team out at Wembley.

The club came close to winning the final but were then disappointed in the replay, why do you think that was?

Looking back at the game I felt in my mind’s eye that we were the stronger team

I always remember before the game that I had a word with the other management and made the decision to leave the players alone in the dressing room for a few minutes. I told them that this was their time to establish amongst themselves what the game meant to them and the possibility of what might happen in the next hour and a half. A win would have meant so much to them for the rest of their lives.

Looking back now I realise that was a mistake because that room must have got so charged up that when they got out onto the pitch they just didn’t play.

After the replay the team received criticism for being over physical. Was this something that disappointed you?

I was surprised to read and hear it because there was probably one bad challenge in the game from my side, that was Alan Pardew on Mark Hughes and I am sure you wouldn’t have heard him complaining about it.

I remember Jimmy Hill telling me after the match that the foul count was the same on both sides. It was a dull game in comparison to the Saturday, and from our point of view a marking error cost us the game and it wasn’t to be on that occasion for Crystal Palace Football Club.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 33

B E LO U D, B E P R O U D, B E PA L AC E

Alex Warner has been watching the team since being introduced to Selhurst Park at the age of just four years old by his parents.

Here he gives his account of the 1989/90 season – the highs, the lows, tears and fears but above all a day in May 1990 which he names as the highlight of his life.

Twenty years. Twenty years – does it really feel that long since the greatest days of our lives? So much has happened since then and yet so little too, half a life-time for me, more than that for others and some weren’t even alive to tell the tale. When I look back at that magnificent F.A Cup run of 1990, I wonder whether I’m looking on it so affectionately because it represented an incredible carefree period when I was 18 and had my whole life ahead of me, or was it merely because Palace were playing great football and embarking on a crazy chapter.

It was a mixture of both, plus an eclectic array of newsworthy stories from what was a fairly barnstorming time to be alive – and young.

Granted, Pemberton’s famous run, the Pardew winner at Villa Park, the red and blue balloons at Wembley and silly “Supa’ Al” badges are abiding memories of that amazing period, though for me, it was the more subtle images, often the less enjoyable moments that stick in my mind. Few reflect on the compelling sub-plot that was ensuing in the shadows of the Cup exploits – a story as riveting to light up many a season in its own merit – our successful fight against relegation. Throughout this period, I remember droning endlessly on at anyone who cared to listen, that survival in the top flight was what we should be focusing on.

I seemed even more obsessed about this than Steve Coppell who showed little of his customary caution by rarely dwelling on this key priority. When we consider now just how difficult, nigh impossible, it has seemed to avoid the drop from the highest division, then it puts into perspective our achievement in 1989/90 season. In reality, we took it for granted a little.

It was our quest to avoid the drop that made the F.A. Cup run more magical. From January onwards, there were some abysmal results that made the threat of relegation almost every bit as real as it has been this campaign.

34 | GLAD ALL OVER

The league campaign was, though, lit up by some invigorating encounters and Coppell’s ingenuity in signing veteran striker Garry Thompson who, cup tied, could focus entirely on scoring goals to keep Palace up and provide cover for Ian Wright who had by now twice broken his leg since Christmas. It was a masterstroke and Thompson scored with his first touch in a Palace shirt against title chasing Aston Villa for the only goal of the game in our precious victory. Another tactical act of

with Charlton at Selhurst and then we won at Plough Lane. The league season ended with our 2-2 draw to Manchester City culminating in the most convivial of post-match pitch invasions involving both sets of fans shaking hands and City supporters wishing us luck against their rivals Manchester United at Wembley.

For all the conflict and the symbolic struggles in the world, the riots and quests for freedom, there was this kind of necessary frivolity, eccentric, attentionseeking, good-humoured celebrations played out against the banal, but fun, sounds and lyrics of “Doin’ the Do” by Betty Boo, or the humming, yet irrelevant, murmoured “Birdhouse in your Soul” from “They might be Giants” and the scatty claptrap of Queen Latifah and De la Soul nattering that “Mamma gave birth to the Soul Children”, whoever they may be.

When I think back to that cuprun, I do so with the fantastic tunes from the period swirling around in my mind. “Match of the Day’s

excellence was the decision that season to house away supporters in the Arthur Wait enclosure right up alongside the Palace vocal element, separate only by a small fence. With the outstanding acoustics in the stand, this provided a cauldron atmosphere. I recall our 1-1 draw with Arsenal – our first post Villa Park game – in which Selhurst was literally alight.

Poor Andy Thorn was taken off injured and Arsenal supporters were taunting “you’re not going to Wembley, ha, ha, ha” and then barely minutes later Andy Gray bundled in our equaliser and Palace fans were literally scaling the fence dancing with delight in one of the most incredible goal celebrations seen in SE25.

Palace having as good as put the nail in Millwall’s relegation coffin with our win at The Den the week prior to Villa Park, the run-in to Wembley saw us do likewise

Road to Wembley” build-up to the game showed the goals that took us to Wembley and Primal Scream’s “Loaded” accompanied the ball scuffed off Geoff Thomas’ boot then trickling slowly, oh so slowly over the long grass at Cambridge’s Abbey Stadium (a tactic of extrovert manager John Beck), bouncing off divots then stroking the post and just about nestling into the corner of the net for our Quarter Final winner.

“Loaded” whined, droned and whined - as did the re-make of The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” by “Candyflip” which was buoying for top spot in the charts and resonated in my mind as we overcame the City of its birth in the Semi-Final.

Rebellion was in the air and whilst Primal Scream were crying “we wanna be free to do what we want to do” and Jimmy Somerville implored “read my lips enough

is enough”, Trafalgar Square was being ransacked in the Poll Tax Riots on the afternoon when Palace seized control of the New Den. Thatcherism was, arguably, decimated that day and as Eagles fans celebrated with Manchester City fans on that final afternoon of the league season, a few miles away from The Blues Maine Road, riotous prisoners were stripped half-naked in the searing heat, partying defiantly on roof of Strangeways, as their gaol burned below, seeking the freedom from captivity that Nelson Mandela had, by comparison, justifiably earned barely two months earlier.

Elsewhere, conflict was bubbling under in Kuwait and Iraq’s close season invasion would precipitate the Gulf War. It is a series of images that so forcibly resonate in my mind from that period, often difficult to join up, but all linked in some shape or form, those history-defining pivotal moments when time stands still – Andy Gray’s late penalty that earned us an undeserved victory against 2nd Division Portsmouth as we came behind at Selhurst in the 3rd Round, Nigel Martyn’s last-ditch outstretched dive that thwarted a last minute equaliser

by Rochdale in the 5th Round and Cambridge literally pounding us with a relentless barrage of long balls and bodies in our penalty area during the closing stages of that Quarter Final.

I remember a late corner and the hulking body of Dion Dublin barging and bounding its way into the penalty area to what looked inevitably connect from a cross and send the home crowd delirious. I can still see the celebrations as if he did actually make contact and the teams replayed at Selhurst.

Thankfully, we cleared our lines and it didn’t happen.

Yet, it’s not just images of on-field action that are so vivid.

It’s the faces of people all around you, living the dream with you as it unfolded. When we heard Ian Wright break his leg for the second time on a cold Tuesday night at Selhurst against Derby, I’ll never get out of my mind the look of complete horror etched on the face of the stranger standing next to me as though he’d himself just emerged from the wreckage of a crash of some description - “he’s broken it, I swear, it’s broken, we’re done for now”, he cried, contemplating a Wembley dream slipping away. I won’t forget my sister sitting the other side of the gangway to me at Villa Park turn to me, with five minutes remaining

B E LO U D, B E P R O U D, B E PA L AC E

as the Palace fans drowned out the ground whistling frantically for the referee to call time, and so startled just look at me and say “oh my God, I can’t believe it Palace are going to the F.A. Cup Final”.

She’d stood in a duffel coat with the family in the enclosure during the 1970s, her childhood spent on those shallow steps and though she’d outgrown her season ticket with the onset of adult life, she was still stunned by the enormity of what was occurring.

Then there was the chap in the corner of the Holte End terrace who spent the entire second half and extra time uncomplainingly holding up his glasses lenses to his eyes because the frame had been damaged in an almighty surge when Palace scored our first. And there were grown men shedding tears.

Then the Final itself. If I had my life again, I’d try and enjoy it more – frankly it was purgatory.

I sellotaped my tickets to my inside coat pocket on the way to the ground, terrified they’d blow away in the wind and then once inside, past the chants from both fans of “no Scouse at Wembley” (a novelty back then), the nerves were incredible. Ian Wright coming off the bench to score twice as we came from behind to lead were arguably the most incredible moments in the history of our Club and then those last 7 minutes as everything happened in slow motion, our heroes finally, after all their efforts, sapped of energy, suffering from cramp and retreating further and further towards our own goal, as if transfixed by the unshakeable reality that Crystal Palace F.C. were eternally prohibited from tasting success. Mark Hughes forayed towards us unleashing that feeble shot that somehow bobbled past an unprotected Nigel Martyn in what was without a shadow of doubt the most memorable goal conceded by Palace. Our chance had gone, perhaps forever, it was never destined to happen. The Replay brought with it regret and recrimination – a divot where Geoff Thomas had fallen in the penalty area that went unnoticed by the referee, an unmarked, perhaps offside, Lee Martin and unfair media accusations of rough tactics

by Palace.

Everything had conspired against us, the drab Matchday Programme for the Final suggested, even hoped, it had seemed, that Palace fans were used to being let down by their team when on the crest of a wave and

would be expecting the inevitable once again.

For the Replay, the Programme then cheekily drew an unpleasant comparison between us and our fiercest rivals and the home of the referee Alan Gunn by almost rhetorically asking “have Palace blown their chance as did Brighton at the same stage in their encounter with Manchester United in 1983?”

Overall, the Cup Run was, though, as much about acts of human nature, as anything, encapsulated by both sides helping relieve each others’ cramp barely minutes before United’s late equaliser in the Final (this was a fairly unprecedented act of mutual kindness – remember, too, that kicking the ball off to allow an opposing player to receive treatment was unheard of back then). Football hooliganism was, meanwhile, still fresh in the memory and the newspapers and Replay Programme picked up on the good behaviour of both sets

see a teddy bear I’d had since birth sitting on the doorstep in a Palace kit, arm held up to its face with a hanky in its hand. It was the typical, thoughtful act from my dear late Mum, that summed up her selfless and empathetic character and told the tale of her living the emotion we’d all suffered those past months, staying at home on video-recording duty, watching the mood-swings of her family ebb and flow with every gripping instalment and then finally realising the dream was over. That image of the forlorn teddy told me it really was the end and gave the whole adventure closure.

Whilst one chapter had indeed closed it was very much a new beginning. Summer came – a carefree one for me spent without a care in the world, travelling Britain’s scenic railways and watching endless county cricket between A’ Levels and University – whilst Palace re-charged its batteries, made a couple of astute signings and then started the new campaign

“THEN THE FINAL ITSELF. IF I HAD MY LIFE AGAIN, I’D TRY AND ENJOY IT MORE – FRANKLY IT WAS PURGATORY. I SELLOTAPED MY TICKETS TO MY INSIDE COAT POCKET ON THE WAY TO THE GROUND, TERRIFIED THEY’D BLOW AWAY IN THE WIND” of supporters during the Final which bode well for Italia ’90, a tournament that rehabilitated the English game. Amongst the Palace fans, it was a period of togetherness, an SE25 “Love Shack” where friendships were forged as supporters camped out all night for tickets, humanitarian aid given to thirsty, hungry and exhausted comrades. Meanwhile, pubs and shops across South London were bedecked in red and blue-everyone had a mini Palace shirt visibly dangling from inside their car and there was a clamour for those incredibly naff but funny t-shirts and caps that had on one side “Crystal Who?” and then “Palace – that’s who!” on the reverse.

Then, there are the unforgettable personal recollections – everyone will have their own – mine is arriving home on the night of the Replay – to

with abundant energy and promise.

An unbeaten run until November brought with it genuine title aspirations that were very much alive and kicking until the following Spring. We ended the season, once more against Manchester United, but this time beating them 3-0 to achieve third place – our highest ever league position. We had also returned to Wembley to win the ZDS Cup in some style, thrashing Everton 4-1 in front of 35,000 Palace fans.

Apart from a brief glimpse of that “Match of the Day Road to Wembley”, I’ve still not brought myself to watch any of the seven hours of television coverage on BBC1 from F.A. Cup Final day, nor the Replay either. It makes me feel guilty, as poor Mum worked tirelessly with the remote control, cutting out adverts, putting a new 3 hour tape in around half-time whilst fretting endlessly that her

husband and kids were having the time of their lives. It’s a bit like suddenly being plunged into watching old home-made cinecamera footage of happier times when everyone looked younger, innocent and completely oblivious of all the personal angst, tragedies and setbacks that lie around the corner, whilst the naked eye watches the screen knowing what lies next. I’m not sure I’d be able to come to terms with the poignancy of turning on the video now and instantly being transported into that studio, with Des Lynam and his pundits- twenty years youngerpontificating on a great future for Palace seeing footage of those great Palace players in their prime, of old-fashioned hairstyles and tight-fitted kits, that seemed modern at the time and a world without the curse of relegation, administration, play-off despair, failed student years, office politics, career setbacks, mortgage burdens, death of loved ones and the usual rigours and setbacks that cruelly shatter the kind of naive, starry-eyed, untainted optimism that one enjoys probably only ever once. Tears still well up in my eyes when I look at a picture taken of Steve Coppell immaculately suited and booted proudly leading the Palace team he created out of the players’ tunnel and onto the Wembley turf.

Whatever occurs, there was that one period where Palace looked like ruling the world, where everything and anything seemed possible. Not long after Wembley, I remember sitting in the sun aimlessly watching Middlesex play Yorkshire in a cricket match at Uxbridge, reflecting on the pleasure of the last few months and the future ahead and thinking at that moment in time “it doesn’t get better than this, it really doesn’t”. And it didn’t. However, inconsequential and pointless my life has perhaps turned out to be and insignificant my contribution in the overall scheme of things, I’m just grateful to have lived through this period, to have been there, fully engrossed and immersed in the whole drama and emotion. Just to “have been there”, a passionate, yet ultimately worthless spectator having no impact on the outcome, watching the talents of others at their peak, might not be much of an achievement, when great contributions are made by many during their time on earth, though for me, it’ll do. It was the highlight of my life and always will be. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 35

JOHN PEMBERTON

JOHN It may be 20 years on since Pembo played at Wembley in the FA Cup Final against Manchester United, but it was a day that realised a boy-hood dream, a day that only came about after a truly remarkable run in the most famous domestic football competition in the world. Words: Chris Poynton How did the team prepare for the game against Liverpool, considering in the last two games we had played them we had not scored and had conceded 11 goals?

Obviously we got beat 9-0 away and played them at home and did a lot better, we changed the formation and played three at the back and played well but still lost 2-0.

We went into the semi-final game thinking we were not a million miles away from the standard that they were at. Our main priority was that we did not want to get smashed as it was live on telly. It was the first time they had televised both

semi-finals, so we approached the game cautiously and did not want a repeat of what happened at Anfield.

Mentally we were fine. We were quite a young side that had just got ourselves safe in the league and we felt we had a bit of a point to prove. Nobody expected us to win the game so it was a no lose situation really.

At the break we went in a goal down, what did Steve Coppell say to the lads?

In the first half we were very cautious and just tried to limit their chances. We felt if we could get to half-time with not a

lot separating us from them then we felt we would have a chance. Our game plan was to be tight in the first half and then in the second hopefully it would open up a little bit. We were told at the break to get at them in the second half when we could, and take the opportunity straight from the kick-off.

As it happened you played a crucial part in the equaliser with an incredible lung busting run from inside your own half. Was that planned?

It was not something that I had set out to do in the opening minute, get the ball, run

PICTURE: John on his famous run which helped set up Mark Bright to equalise against Liverpool at Villa Park.

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down the wing,cross the ball and someone scores. The boss just said to me if you do get the opportunity to get forward then do so. As it happened the ball was played back from kick-off and everything felt right for me to go forward with the ball and off I went. It was not pre-meditated for me to get the ball and run past two or three of their players, it just happened all in the moment really.

Could you believe that your cross provided a almost pinball esque moment in the box, which eventually found its way past Bruce Grobbelaar?

I just remember knocking it behind and

clipped me as I was running back on my stride. At the time I was thinking what am I going to say in the dressing room afterwards when we had lost the game, but again we showed character and the rest is history as they say.

With the score 3-3 at full time what did the manager say to everyone going into the last 30 minutes?

We knew we were a fit team, we were young and had a lot of pace and we knew that we had rattled them and had them on the ropes. We knew that after the equaliser we could see in their faces how much it had drained them, they knew that it was

at what you are doing. I was marking John Barnes in that game at Anfield and all I was focussing on was making sure he did not score and then he took a free kick and curled it over the wall and scored. There was nothing I could do about that really. It was one of those games that goes down in history but it was great to get revenge against them at Villa Park.

How sweet was it to get that fourth goal in extra time and progress to the final of the FA Cup?

It may sound like a bit of a cliché but as a kid you always dream of playing in an FA Cup Final at Wembley. To see that goal go

“WALKING OUT WITH ALL OF THE ATMOSPHERE, THE FANS, THE BALLONS IT WAS A MOMENT THAT MAKES YOUR HAIRS STAND ON END.” I knew I had the legs on people. All I was concentrating on was crossing the ball into the box, as when you are running at that sort of speed it is a difficult technique to put the ball across. All that was on my mind was to make sure I got a good cross into the box as there would be players supporting me. Luckily we kept it in the box and found the back of the net.

After getting the equaliser we soon took the lead, and at that point were you thinking ‘Is this really happening’?

I think it was just one of those games that no-body had ever experienced before.

In terms of emotions it was up, down, up, down and it was brilliant really to come out winners. We caused them problems all afternoon with set-pieces as that is what we felt would be their achilles heel, defending set-pieces, and that is how we eventually won it.

Liverpool would soon grab an equaliser themselves and then a penalty was given against you, how did you feel at that precise moment?

As soon as the referee blew the whistle in my head I was thinking that was it. It was a bit harsh as I was chasing him down and I knew he was going to cut across (gestures with his hands to pull back), I almost cut back to let him go through and he just

going to be a tough game and we got a massive lift from seeing their reaction to our goal.

During that 9-0 game, were the Liverpool players a little bit full of themselves, a little bit cocky once they had built up a sizeable lead?

Not at all they were just very good. On their day they were excellent, everything about them. Their passing was crisp and precise and they had players who could turn a game and we caught them on a night when they were just brilliant.

For some people it was a bit of a problem, the result, but for me it was a massive learning curve and an experience which may seem funny, but in terms of my footballing career was a good one. I learnt so much from it, because I had been humiliated and I was determined never to let that happen again. I wasn’t frightened to go anywhere after that game.

So once Liverpool took the lead in that game, they were not saying ‘We are going to beat you like we did at Anfield’?

Not to me no. I just remember going back to something that I have always donebreaking things down and make sure you concentrate on doing on your own job and making sure you are doing the best

in and then the whistle go was a feeling that is hard to put into words.

I remember going into the dressing room afterwards and the kit man, Spikey, who had been here years before I came was sat in the shower room on a skip box, crying his eyes out. When you see that you realise what it means to people who have been at the club so long. Nobody expected us to get to the Cup Final and we did and beat one of the best teams, not only in the Country, but in Europe to reach the Final.

What were the celebrations like after the game?

We got the bus back and I remember for some reason we had massive boxes of cream cakes which we had no idea of where they had come from. We were throwing them round the bus and all sorts.

All the Crystal Palace fans were driving back down to London, passing us on the coach and the atmosphere was brilliant.

We came back to my house for a bit of a party and then went into town and we had a really good night.

I suppose you met other fans out on that night out, it must have been amazing to see the impact a game of football can have on someone’s day and even life-time?

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It was just an amazing feeling when it comes. You realise, for me as a player, all the work you have done, all the trials you have been on, the clubs, and the coaches that have helped you. For the Final I got tickets for all of the coaches that helped me throughout my formative years. I put a coach on and did it just to say it as a thank-you to them for realising one of my dreams, it was good.

Looking back on the game would you have settled for a 1-0 win or the manner in which the game did finish?

I would have settled for a 1-0 win but the 4-3 gives it that little bit of spice and got everybody talking about it as we had created a big shock.

Following all of the partying and celebrations, did you wake up once you had been to sleep and think ‘Did that really happen, am I going to Wembley?

It is when you start seeing things, like the Croyden Advertiser making a special pull out covering the whole game, talking about the final and the whole build up to the game you realise you have done something a bit special.

You went to Abbey Road studios to record Glad All Over for our Cup Final song, what was that like?

It was good. Funny enough, when I work with the England boys now and again we usually have a little quiz and one of the questions is “What do I have in common with the Beatles?” and the answer is that we have both recorded a song at Abbey Road studios, so it was quite funny.

Could you quite believe it at the time that you were making a song where all of these famous musicans had made their names?

Not really, we went across the zebra crossing at Abbey Road and the four players that had scored in the Liverpool game were on the cover of the record sleeve - Pardew, Brighty, Gary O’Reilly and Andy Gray.

It was a day to remember being in the studios recording the song and something that not many people get the chance to do, everyone had a great day.

How would you rate your singing voice?

Not very good, (starts to laugh) I thought I was different gravy but I was not very good at all really.

Were there any players that thought they were a bit special behind the mic?

John Salako fancied himself as a bit of a singer, but Salako always does, he always fancied himself as a bit of a soul singer.

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“A LOT OF PEOPLE DID NOT SEE us AS UNDER-DOGS, WE CERTAINLY DIDN’T OURSELVES AT THE TIME. WE THOUGHT WE HAD A GREAT CHANCE TO WIN IT” And then there were the public performances?

Once it was made everything came on the back of it. We were asked to go on Blue Peter and sing on there and we did something for Sky when it first came out.

We did all sorts of things as there were lots of sponsorship deals, in the end we were glad for the game to come as there were so many things going on you were hoping to get to the back of it really.

How was the preparation going into the game, considering that we probably came into the game as under dogs.

I did not think we came into the game as under dogs really. Manchester United had not had the best of seasons and they were fortunate to get through to the final. A lot of people did not see us as under-dogs, we certainly didn’t ourselves at the time.

We thought we had a great chance to win it and it was not a great suprise when we 3-2 up in extra time, but the equaliser kind of killed us a little bit, but we still really fancied ourselves to win the replay. Again that was not to be, we never saw ourselves as under-dogs, I definetly didn’t.

What was it like before you walked out into a packed Wembley?

I remember sitting in the dresing room and one of the things that my late mother was fond of was that she always used to sit at home and listen to ‘Abide With Me’, it used to make her cry. I remember sitting in the dressing room hearing the band go and I remember running up the tunnel as I knew my family would be there and listened to

‘Abide With Me’. I was just stood there in the tunnel in my kit with my socks on, just listening to that special song was pretty good.

Walking out with all of the atmosphere, the fans, the balloons it was a moment that makes your hairs stand on end.

Was it quite intimidating?

No, not at all really, just exciting really and could not wait to get out there and play.

What did Steve Coppell say before the game?

He just said to go out there and enjoy yourselves,take everything in as it was a special occasion. We had done our homework on what we wanted to do. Ian Wright had broken his leg twice that season and he managed to get himself on the bench.

We started with the same team that played Liverpool and we were okay and were quite comfortable, even when we were down we had the character to come back. I remember Gary O’Reilly tried to play offside Mark Hughes got in and scored.

After that, with all the disappointment we sat in the dressing room saying that we would come back again on the Thursday to do it all again and we were looking forward to another Cup Final, disappointed to lose, but what an experience.

What was it like to play on the massive pitch?

The pitch was so lush and big and people say it does sap your legs, which was

JOHN PEMBERTON

Were those two games the highlight of your career?

It is one of them, I have played all over the world. I played in Europe with Leeds and going away to Monaco and beating them 3-0 in the Uefa Cup was fantastic feeling as well. I have had a few great memories but those two games are certainly up there with the rest of them.

Talking about going through those rounds of the FA Cup, there were some hard games against good teams?

“WRIGHTY CAME OFF OF THE BENCH AND SCORES TWO GOALS AND YOU THINK IT WAS JUST WRITTEN FOR HIM TO COME BACK FROM TWO BROKEN LEGS” true but we were a really fit side. It was an aspect we worked hard under with Coppell and based our game around pace and power, plus we had two players who could score goals and we always knew we had a chance to win games.

Who out of your family came?

When Wright came off the bench, no one could have dreamed that he would make an impact like he did?

Not when two teams play each other twice over a matter of days. You get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses a lot better and they made a couple of changes, obviously they changed their goalkeeper at the time and we just went out to be really strong and hard to beat.

It was just one mistake that cost us the Cup Final but I guess it was not just meant to be.

Wrighty came off the bench and scores two goals and you think it was just written for him to come back from two broken legs, score two goals and that is the headline, but we were seven minutes away from that and then we conceded.

How hard was it to concede that goal with literally just seven minutes left?

Gutted really, you had to walk the steps and shake the hands of all the the dignitaries, walk past the trophy and then do a lap of honour. It was a bit of a damp squib really. We had had a party organised after the game at one of the hotels we were staying in and we could not have a drink. It was a bit flat really as we knew we had to do it again but we got round it and said we will win it on Thursday. So we were a bit down afterwards but we knew we had to play again and had a second chance.

It must have been hard walking past the trophy as you could have been lifting it up?

It was hard having to go past it and just look at it, you want to get hold of it and lift it up and we were so close yet so far.

Everyone and all of the coaches who I felt had an influence on my career, we had a good time?

Were you surprised that the replay turned out to be such a anti-climax?

What did Steve say at the final whistle?

Not a lot at all really. We were just all really devastated afterwards, it was quite an emotional time but you pick yourself up and go again.

Did you feel that you went into the game a little over-confident?

No, we just went into the game knowing we could win the game especially after the first one. We had scored three goals in the opening game and had been within seven minutes of winning it. In the second game we knew we had a great chance as we had already done it in the first game.

It was always going to be a tight affair but we just really wanted to be hard to beat and that is what it was. The game was not really a fantastic spectacle like the first but it was not going to be. We were always in it until that first mistake that cost us the Cup.

Just from the draw we thought we had a decent chance. It was quite kind to us and we had a really tough draw away at Cambridge in the Quarter Finals. It was a red hot day, John Beck was manager, and he pulled loads of tricks to unsettle us. The team they had was strong, they had Dion Dublin up front with John Taylor and they had a decent side with some good players and we ended up winning 1-0.

We thought it would be a tough game and it was and once we had reached the semis we did not really care who we faced.

Ideally we would have preferred Oldham but when Liverpool came out of the hat we thought about it and said maybe it was to be. Having been beaten twice already by them maybe it would be third time lucky, and so it was.

You talked about the Cambridge game, they were in the fourth division at the time, surely you were, confident, of beating a so called lesser team.

We expected to win but we knew that we would have to work hard for it. They had a goalkeeper who kicked it a mile and each time it landed in the box. Everytime they had a set-piece it was thrown into the box and the same with throw-ins. It was like playing Stoke now, they had big Dion up front, John Turner who was another 6ft3ins, 6ft4ins player and they knocked everything on, nothing was played on the floor, it was an absolute fight from start to finish.

The dressing room was red hot, they had nailed the windows down so we could not open the windows, all the gamesmanship that you could have, they had. There was a heater on that we could not turn off, they did not water the pitch as they never used it as they just lumped it forward, they had sand in the corners so it would not roll out. We knew that we had to stand up to it and we were the better team on the day.

PICTURES: John in action during the 1990 FA Cup final at Wembley.

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“HE’S THROUGH – WHAT AN IMPACT – IT’S 2-2” JOHN MOTSON 1990 It was the days before Sky Sports and so it wasn’t common place to be sitting down in front of the television ready to take in full live coverage of a game but on Sunday April 8th 1990 it was time for football fans to be treated to a day of live coverage as BBC Television showed both FA Cup Semi Finals.

John Motson was the man behind the mic for our matches at Cambridge, Villa Park and at Wembley Stadium and therefore ‘Glad All Over’ magazine were delighted to have the opportunity to get the chance to discuss his memories from the gantry of the 1989/90 season.

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JOHN MOTSON

IT’S WRIGHT – OH

BY THE SUBSTITUTE FA CUP FINAL Let’s start with that semi final because that really was quite a day for live football on national television.

Yes both semi finals were live on television that day and after our lunchtime kick-off there was a draw between Oldham and Manchester United. That finished 3-3 so in an afternoon both semi-finals produced 13 goals in the two games both on the BBC. Thinking back I can’t remember if too much was made of the fact that both games were going to be shown live throughout the day but I would imagine, two years before the start of Sky Sports live coverage, it would have been a day that football fans around the country would have been looking forward to with great anticipation.

You did more than just the semi of our cup run that year John, can we first take you back to the match at Cambridge where a single goal saw us through the quarter final.

The tv cameras were there because it was one of those intriguing FA Cup ties with a lower league side at home and a Geoff Thomas right foot shot won the game for Palace.

I can remember it was a very bony, hard pitch which meant for a scrappy game with not much football being played. The Abbey Stadium being a small ground had a crowd packed in and a good atmosphere. The funny thing for me personally is I don’t

think I have commentated on a game at that ground either before or since that quarter final victory for Palace.

After that the draw paired us with Liverpool and what a match to kick-off semi final afternoon.

I have many memories of this afternoon and one is that I remember seeing the then Palace chairman, Ron Noades and his wife Novello at the team hotel the night before the match. He seemed remarkably confident bearing in mind Liverpool’s form at the time and the 9-0 result at Anfield that his club had suffered earlier in the season.

I hadn’t done that many Palace matches as ITV had the contract for league games so the BBC were restricted to cup ties, so apart from the Cambridge game I wouldn’t have seen Palace that often or certainly not commentated on them. A deliberate ploy on my part for the games would have been to stay at the same hotel as Palace so I could familiarise myself with the players as I hadn’t seen too much of them.

I also try and see the team play before I am going to commentate on them for the BBC and this was no different.

It always helps to see them in action in a game situation which I am sure I would have done leading up to this big game.

When Ian Rush put Liverpool in front and they went in ahead at the break I don’t think many people would have

given them much chance of coming back into the game.

The key moment in the game was when they came out for the second half and John Pemberton had that run down the right and from the cross the equaliser came for Palace.

That seemed to change everything and gave Palace a real lift for the rest of the match.

It was an amazing second half after that equaliser and a great period of extra time.

I had lunch with Steve Coppell a few days before the match as part of my preparation for the afternoon and he asked me what I thought would be the best way of beating Liverpool and as a joke I said you score your winning goal as late in the game as possible so they haven’t got time to come back at you.

The talk of south London from when Alan Pardew’s goal hit the net was all about the day out at Wembley, how do you remember that afternoon at the Twin Towers?

It was a fantastic occasion and the year of the red and blue balloons from the Palace sections at Wembley. The thing that comes back to me about that 1990 final was the Ian Wright factor. He had broken his leg earlier in the season but was on the bench for this one and came off the bench and virtually turned the game.

Palace were 3-2 up with seven minutes to go and then of course Mark Hughes got the equaliser.

Palace brought a lot of excitement and colour to the final that year but a reservation I had about the replay was the kit Palace wore for the replay as from my seat in the commentary box I couldn’t make the numbers out on the back of the shirts.

The good thing for the club was how they built on this appearance in the Cup Final because the next season they finished third in the league and returned to Wembley to win another competition, the Zenith Data Systems Cup. You mention you met up with Steve Coppell before the final, and this was such a big day for someone who was only six years into management.

He went into management at just 28 years of age and a year before the cup final had won his first promotion and has now gone on and had a terrific management career. I can remember when he first got the job when I went to a match at the Valley and saw him sitting watching the game talking to one of his former managers, Ron Greenwood and no doubt getting advice on the management game.

“He has had very successful career winning promotions in the latter years with Reading and is well respected throughout the game.

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GLAD ALL OVER GLAD ALL OVER

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FOLLOWING HIS FIRST home League goal FOR THE CLUB ON BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY, WE CAUGHT UP WITH CALVIN ANDREW TO DISCUSS HOW IT FELT TO FINALLY BREAK HIS selhurst park DUCK. We go into today’s vital game against Queens Park Rangers on a high. Seven points from our last three games have provided a real boost for everyone at our club and lifted us out of the relegation zone.

But our job is not over yet. We must not become complacent. We can only relax when we know there is absolutely no way we can be relegated and we’re not there just yet.

Clearly today’s game against QPR is very important. Not only can we maintain our run of form but we’re taking on a team we can push below us as we battle for safety and that’s important at this stage of the campaign.

Obviously people will spot the fact that 42 | GLAD ALL OVER

the managers in charge of today’s teams have swapped clubs during the season.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Neil Warnock’s decision to move to Loftus Road I might never have worked for Palace and that’s something I would have regretted.

But let’s get this absolutely straight today’s game is not about the managers or Palace trying to put one over a manager who decided to move on. The players hold the key to the futures of Palace and QPR and I’ve sensed in my time here that the Palace lads recognise the part they are having to play in ensuring the club’s survival in the Championship.

Being in administration is not ideal but you either feel sorry for yourselves and go under or show some grit and collectively

fight for a brighter future.

That’s what I believe we’re seeing at Palace - and it’s not just down to the players. It’s about everybody connected with our club - especially the fans.

In some recent games we’ve not enjoyed the luckiest of breaks. We’ve let in early goals and had to show our fighting spirit.I have to say in terms of guts, tenacity and, more recently, in getting the ball down and showing we can play, the players have done brilliantly.

I ask them today for another honest, committed performance and believe that’s what we’ll get. I hope they give you something to be proud about. That’s important, too.

The Players and the management

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

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One of the most beloved and cherished Crystal Palace figures in the club’s modern history, Geoff Thomas had the honour of leading the Eagles out for the first time at Wembley in an FA Cup Final. In this interview he looks back at the moments leading up to the final as well as coming clean about a certain yellow and black kit!

Was a cup run high on the season’s agenda early in the campaign?

Not really, it was a case of another game.

Like always when you are first into top flight football we were concentrating on the league, and I think the cup games were a little bit of a nice distraction from the pressures of making sure we had enough points to stay up in the first year of what was then the old first division.

Was there a moment for you when you thought you could go all the way in the cup?

When we drew Cambridge in the quarter finals. That was when we thought we had a terrific run. We had just played Portsmouth, Huddersfield, Rochdale and to get Cambridge in the quarter final was a great chance.

We were just one step away from Wembley and I can’t imagine any other side having such an easy run as we did that year.

As much as Cambridge looked a simple task on paper, how did it prove as a challenge when you travelled there on the day?

They had John Beck as manager and he had all the hype with the cold showers and everybody was rooting for them.

They had already knocked out a couple of big sides so we knew it was going to be a tough challenge, but to be

honest we were not scared about that side of things.

We had a few players missing as well, key players, but we did a job, we did a professional job down there and a tremendous goal by myself – it was a right foot dribbler that managed to sneak its way in somehow, but it was enough to get us through and that was the main thing.

Then you were drawn against Liverpool in the semi finals. When they were pulled out of the hat did the memories of the 9-0 defeat concern you at all?

By that stage we had found our feet in the top flight of football and we were ready for the challenge. The team we had at the time was full of characters who wanted to better themselves individually and it was an opportunity, and I think whoever we got in the semi final the dream of getting to Wembley was still far away because we knew that was either going to be Liverpool, Manchester United or Oldham.

We wanted to pit ourselves against one of the bigger sides and when we got Liverpool we were up for the challenge, but we knew it was going to be tough because they had given us a drubbing twice that year already.

I think they had also done the double on Manchester United as well that season, but we prepared really hard for it, we trained hard and Steve Coppell got all the tactics right on the day so it was perfect.

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T H E C A P TA I N

trouncing which just proved no one was taking it lightly and no one was hiding so they didn’t get injured, everybody was going 100% to the end.

What was the build up like on the morning of the game?

When you went into the break at 1-0 down what was the feeling like in the dressing room?

It was one of confidence really because last time we played Liverpool we were in a state where were out of the game by half time, but I always remember Steve Coppell saying if we could keep it tight, even if we are 1-0 down at half time, our fitness will come through and we could rally and have a go at them, which is exactly what happened.

Before Kenny Dalglish had sat down and was ready to mastermind a victory for Liverpool we were one a piece.

John Pemberton went flying down the right side, crossed the ball and the rest is history - we went on to be involved in one of the best 45 minutes and extra time that there has been in the FA Cup. How important was that equalising goal just after half time?

That was pivotal because if Liverpool had just carried on playing the way they had in the first half then that would have been it, there was no fear factor in there at all and they were playing comfortable football.

I saw Alan Hansen talk about it for the first time and you can see it still grates with him. They were talking about it with Aston Villa and Chelsea after the 7-1 game and how they would react in the semi final, and from what Alan Hansen was saying he didn’t think we could come back.

In football as soon as you take your foot off the pedal it is hard to put it back on again; we took advantage of that 46 | GLAD ALL OVER

and deserved the win in the end and dominated the game for the majority of the time in the second half.

What was the time between the semi final and final like as an experience?

It was a time of being absolutely chaotic.

Boys were off doing Blue Peter singing Glad All Over and singing live on Sky on a chatshow.

It was just crazy; getting measured up for suits and this, that and the other.

They are memories that you will always remember.

We weren’t blessed with knowing that we were going to keep going back as Team Crystal Palace, it was the first time we had ever been there and I think there was noone in the squad apart from Steve Coppell that had the experience of playing at Wembley.

All the build up, you’d seen it for years as a kid like at the start of the morning it used to be It’s A Knockout and the two sides would be playing against each other with the fans and Question of Sport would be the two clubs. Even though it had started to fade off even back then in the early 90s it was still for a player a special occasion.

We had an agent who came on board who was making us do everything and it was a time we really enjoyed, but at the same time we were focused on the games coming up and we never took the foot of the pedal in training.

We played Wimbledon near the end of the season and gave them a good

I remember at the hotel the coach was waiting for us outside early and there was a wedding on at the hotel and we were having pictures taken with the bride. I vaguely remember, I am not sure if this right, but I think the bride was called Pemberton.

It was very relaxed actually except trying to remember to put our sunglasses on, carry the right newspapers under our arms and umbrellas to try and get some extra coppers for players to share after the game because our agent, Eric Hall was demanding that was the case.

I don’t think we saw any money but I think Eric did quite well afterwards!

Eric’s a great character and it was great to experience watching him work. Back then he was one of the top agents and good fun.

He actually made that period between the semi final and the final enjoyable and it probably took away quite a bit of the tension with the things he had us doing.

Looking back financially we didn’t do well but I think it helped us out in other ways.

On a personal level you had the opportunity to lead the team out as captain, what was that like?

Brilliant. Again when I start thinking about it I am there now – stood there with our tracksuit tops on, the sun was blazing and looking infront of me to my right was Alex Ferguson and Brian Robson, who was one of the players I always looked up to.

I never thought I would play against him nevermind going up against him in an FA Cup final. But their whole team was full of names and we were 90 minute of having our opportunity of lifting the FA Cup, which is every kid’s dream.

And I found myself as captain of the side who potentially could be lifting the FA Cup but sadly we fell just short. The first game was a memorable game and it made it all a fantastic day.

What were your thoughts about having to play the replay? Did you relish the second chance to play them at Wembley, or would you have preferred to have seen it to its conclusion there and then?

I would have loved, in hindsight, of seeing it go to penalties because I would much prefer to be beaten on penalties than having to wait another few days and then get back there.

I think it took the gloss off the whole

T H E C A P TA I N

occasion as well. Even though the second game allowed thousands more Palace fans to attend I think replays, proven by the fact you don’t have them any more, take the edge off it.

Brian Robson said a few years ago that the first game was fantastic because we both went to win the game and it was very open, but in the second game both went to not lose the game. It just turned into a really stale, horrible game and one goal by a player who had never scored a goal before for Manchester United ended up being enough for them to lift the cup.

talking about it and Steve was very superstitious and wouldn’t wear anything near what we had lost in before so he wanted a kit that didn’t really represent Crystal Palace as such. Obviously the style had to be the same though so we kept the stripes.

I just remembered that when I was a kid we played in yellow and black stripes and never lost so we put that forward.

To be honest if we would have won in that kit I think it would have gone down as a decent kit, but when you lose in something people don’t have fond memories of it, so it was my fault there.

lifting the cup - it becomes a bit of a blur at that part as you just wanted to get off the pitch.

We pulled ourselves out of it because there were well on 30/40,000 Palace fans that day and we went down and shared all our disappointments with them for a good half hour after the game.

Despite the defeat what is it like holding a special place in the club’s history?

The entire memory of my time at Crystal Palace I look back with the most fondness throughout my career in football. It was funny, it was entertaining, full of characters

Playing in front of 80,000 people for the first time must have been some experience, but were you able to block them out fully and concentrate on your football?

You have to remember that the big players were used to playing in front of big crowds and this was our first occasion. A few of us went on to play there a few more times but this was all our first occasion and it was like little kids in a sweet shop really.

We all just wanted to get out there and the dressing room was buzzing. I remember we were in the tunnel and we heard this noise. First we heard Abide With Me, which is an emotional song anyway and you just want to get out there and line up, and while we were doing that it was electric.

But in the build up to the referee blowing the whistle the noise was ramped up. United fans were predominantly there with 80% of them wearing the colours, but Crystal Palace fans were in one corner and it was the most colourful corner because they had all the balloons and all the banners and everything; it was just a fantastic occasion.

And when you do get playing you focus on the game, but on certain points like when the goals were scored the noise was deafening.

It was a great place the old Wembley and it is going to take a while for the new Wembley to gather all the history and memories of what that old Stadium had, obviously winning the World Cup there.

But going out there and playing on the same turf as the like of Bobby Moore and you are there playing in the FA Cup final, which to be honest a lot of better players never have the opportunity, it was just like you have your own little spot in history and the atmosphere didn’t let anybody down.

Speaking to John Salako about the replay he made a point, quite tongue in cheek, that the kit you wore that day was a contributing factor to the defeat. What is your take on it?

I picked it! Me and Steve Coppell were

Did you talk to the Manchester United lads after the game about the two matches?

No, I think it was a case that we were straight off for a tour in the West Indies and we were going to play out there as a money spinner for Crystal Palace. It was also a good opportunity for us to wind down.

We were just frustrated and angry that we had chucked a great opportunity away because they don’t come round often.

And you don’t really see it as an opportunity to meet the Manchester United players because the last thing you want to do is be in the company of someone who is jumping up and down.

I always remember we were all sat on the turf and we were all looking at each other on the pitch and to our right all the lights were flashing as Brian Robson was

from mad ones to absolute idiots and it was just a brilliant mix of characters.

The different quality coaches coming in and out, Steve Coppell was a constant all the time, and it was a magical time when the club was moving forward, players’ careers were moving forward and we were adding to the team with quality like Nigel Martyn and Andy Thorn and we were going from strength to strength, But sadly after, and I think not qualifying for Europe the year after like we should have done knocked us back, it was sad to watch a side that could have gone on to greater things get disbanded, but it was just one sour point in six and a half years for me that were superb.

FAR LEFT: Geoff in action in the semi-final against Liverpool at Villa Park.

ABOVE: Geoff scoring the winning goal in the sixth round.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FA CUP SPECIAL | 47

P L AY E R F E AT U R E

GLAD ALL OVER GLAD ALL OVER

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FOLLOWING HIS FIRST home League goal FOR THE CLUB ON BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY, WE CAUGHT UP WITH CALVIN ANDREW TO DISCUSS HOW IT FELT TO FINALLY BREAK HIS selhurst park DUCK. We go into today’s vital game against Queens Park Rangers on a high. Seven points from our last three games have provided a real boost for everyone at our club and lifted us out of the relegation zone.

But our job is not over yet. We must not become complacent. We can only relax when we know there is absolutely no way we can be relegated and we’re not there just yet.

Clearly today’s game against QPR is very important. Not only can we maintain our run of form but we’re taking on a team we can push below us as we battle for safety and that’s important at this stage of the campaign.

Obviously people will spot the fact that 48 | GLAD ALL OVER

the managers in charge of today’s teams have swapped clubs during the season.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Neil Warnock’s decision to move to Loftus Road I might never have worked for Palace and that’s something I would have regretted.

But let’s get this absolutely straight today’s game is not about the managers or Palace trying to put one over a manager who decided to move on. The players hold the key to the futures of Palace and QPR and I’ve sensed in my time here that the Palace lads recognise the part they are having to play in ensuring the club’s survival in the Championship.

Being in administration is not ideal but you either feel sorry for yourselves and go under or show some grit and collectively

fight for a brighter future.

That’s what I believe we’re seeing at Palace - and it’s not just down to the players. It’s about everybody connected with our club - especially the fans.

In some recent games we’ve not enjoyed the luckiest of breaks. We’ve let in early goals and had to show our fighting spirit.I have to say in terms of guts, tenacity and, more recently, in getting the ball down and showing we can play, the players have done brilliantly.

I ask them today for another honest, committed performance and believe that’s what we’ll get. I hope they give you something to be proud about. That’s important, too.

The Players and the management