Crystal Palace v Watford programme by Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace v Watford Saturday 7th May 2022 // 3:00pm

palace √ watford sat 07 may | 15:00

08 captain 10 chairman 34 darren ambrose 40 over the road 47 voices of south london 51 non-league neighbours 61 cpfc 1861 64 palace women 66 from the terraces 70 stats & results

Directors Chairman Steve Parish, David Blitzer, Joshua Harris, John Textor Chief Executive Phil Alexander Chief Financial Officer Sean O’Loughlin Sporting Director Dougie Freedman Club Secretary Christine Dowdeswell Head of Sports Medicine Dr. Zaf Iqbal Academy Director Gary Issott Director of U23 Development Mark Bright Commercial Director Barry Webber General Counsel David Nichol Director of Operations Sharon Lacey Head of Ticketing Paul McGowan Head of Retail Laura Holland Chief Marketing and Communications Officer James Woodroof Head of Safeguarding Cassi Wright Head Groundsman Bruce Elliott Editor Ben Mountain Design Billy Cooke, Luke Thomas, Stu Ellmer Contributors Will Robinson, Ian King, Peter Manning, Tash Stephens, Toby Jagmohan, Mohamed Rguyeg Photography Neil Everitt, Seb Frej, PPA, Getty Printer Bishops Printers

contents

If you can’t communicate with the players, even though football is easy and you know the game, it’s hard. I saw many good players who couldn’t perform because they weren’t speaking

briefing palace √ watford sat 07 may | 15:00

Attend open firstteam training session at Selhurst Patrick Vieira is hosting an open training session with the first-team squad at Selhurst Park that supporters are invited to attend later this month. The session is open for free to all 21/22 Season Ticket holders and Members on Saturday, 14th May, however those wishing to attend must still book up to two tickets via the club’s ticketing site. Vieira said of the session: “This is a way for me and the club to thank you for your

may

fantastic support this season, and I hope as many of you as possible can turn up and enjoy the session.” Supporters will be able to watch Vieira and squad in action with an exclusive insight into how they train

Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Crystal Palace, 2010

Stockport County 0-1 Crystal Palace, 2001

Kenny Sansom makes Palace debut, 1975

Record Selhurst attendance as Palace win Division Two

FA Cup final √ Manchester United, 1990

briefing

and prepare, with the south Londoners facing Aston Villa away the next day. Sat in the Main Stand, attendees will be able to enter from 10:30am for the session between 11-12, with the cut-off for entry at 11:00.

Fan update Geoff Thomas will be addressing fans inside the Fanzone pre-match today. Head there for a bite to eat, pre-match drink and to hear from our former skipper!

What’s inside Find out… Patrick Vieira’s approach to the season finish (Page 6), Christian Benteke’s trick for settling in to a new country (Page 12) and Darren Ambrose’s Player of the Season choice (Page 34).

manager

Welcome to Selhurst Park to Roy Hodgson, the Watford directors, staff and players, and to everyone here supporting us.

very warm welcome to Roy in particular. Roy spent almost four years at this football club and did a fantastic job here. I have the utmost respect for what he has achieved in the game and look forward to seeing him this afternoon, when I know you will give him the reception he deserves for what he gave this club. Our last two games have been positive, starting with a good match against Leeds. We were only missing a goal, but we had good tempo in our passing, created a few chances and were unlucky on the day. Our mental approach was pleasing in that we intended to dominate the opposition and find a goal, and that was again clear when we played Southampton. We know how difficult it is to win from behind in the Premier League – even more so when you’re away, and even more so still against a wellorganised team. We should have avoided the first goal but we reacted well to it, and at half-time there was a positive vibe in the dressing room. We believed we could win the game, and it was a great feeling to do so in the 92nd-minute.

I was very pleased that Ebs scored. Although he never doubted his own quality, he needed that goal for his confidence and it is a reward for the work he’s put in to get where he is today. He’s playing more often and getting better game

If we finish this season strongly we can start the next one on a positive platform, so we have to compete like we have throughout the last 10 months after game, which is positive for this club. That said, he’s not at his best yet and I know there’s a lot more to come from him. It’s taken time and patience so far, and will continue to do so, but all the lights are green for him to play game after game now. Going into the final fixtures my objective is to play every one at the manager

highest level. I will not rest a player due to tiredness and will field the team I believe is best suited to win us the game. If we finish this season strongly we can start the next one on a positive platform, so we have to compete like we have throughout the last 10 months, with no changes to our preparation or demands. The players can relax when they’re given the break they deserve in summer, but until then they must treat the final games as seriously as they did the first. We recently hosted the Down’s Syndrome Eagles at the Training Ground; they watched our training and got involved with our warmup. We wanted this to be a fun day for them, something they could talk about and remember, and I hope their parents enjoyed it as much as they did. These young men are true Palace fans. Finally, next Saturday we are hosting an open training session at Selhurst Park. This is a way for me and the club to thank you for your fantastic support this season, and I hope as many of you as possible can turn up and enjoy the session. Thank you for your support

captain

Today is our second-last game of the season after a very positive result in Southampton. It has been a good campaign so far, but we can only look back on it this way if we finish these final matches in a way that is suited to the positives we’ve shown throughout.

e have four games left to collect as many points as we can and make sure we end up sitting where we belong in the table. There have been some times this season where we maybe deserved points we did not end up getting, so now is the period for us to make up for that. We have had time to prepare well for today and will have time to recover afterwards before three very close and difficult matches, with two on the road back to back. So this is a very important afternoon for us. We know Watford have had a difficult season and will be looking at this match as a way to thank their supporters for their following, and we know there’s no such thing as an easy game. I look forward to seeing Roy again, and to welcome him back to Selhurst Park where he did so much for us players, the supporters and club as a whole. He is always warmly greeted by us in the squad and I’m sure by you in the stands. What gives us such a big boost today is the feeling we still have from winning late at Southampton. This game was encouraging for us

I look forward to seeing Roy again, and to welcome him back to Selhurst Park where he did so much for us players, the supporters and club as a whole

captain

because we showed how we can fight back, have some resilience and be determined to battle for every point. The win was what we deserved for a good performance apart from one goal we were frustrated to concede. It can start to come into your mind that you might have to accept a draw and, okay, we still would have come back from behind for that point. But for Wilfried to score from where he did showed what level of focus and drive we had to go further and this is a game we will remember in difficult times. I was also very pleased for Ebs to get a goal he deserved for working hard over the last year and starting to come out on the other side of a big task early in his career. Our last game with Watford was very positive and saw us score four goals from a good performance. We will be looking to start faster than that game today and reflect parts of the match this afternoon. All that’s left to say is we have just one more game in front of you at Selhurst after today, so I am excited to hear you all for the penultimate time this season. Make some noise!

chairman

Welcome to the supporters, players, staff and directors of Watford to Selhurst Park for today’s match, and of course, to each and every Crystal Palace supporter here to get behind Patrick’s team as we continue to push for a top 10 finish.

must begin these notes by welcoming Roy and Ray back to Selhurst Park. It was with a great amount of regret that Roy didn’t get to receive the send off he truly deserved from a sold-out Selhurst Park due to COVID regulations throughout his final season as our manager, but I have absolutely no doubt that he will be given a fantastic reception by each and every supporter when he takes to the touchline today. I was immensely pleased for Roy to be acknowledged in the Queen’s Honours with a CBE for his services to football. His longevity and contribution to the game is unparalleled - and it is a fitting recognition of his immense contribution to football. Our victory at Southampton was immensely satisfying, and what wonderful moments for both Eberechi, who’s had a long fight back from a difficult injury, and Wilfried. It’s Eberechi’s first goal for 11 months and the first in front of fans, so I know he will savour it. As for Wilfried, it was another magnificent goal in a record-breaking return for him, but most important for him will be that it

sealed the three points for his team. I’m sure you have all watched the fantastic video that the club’s media team made for the Foundation’s Made in South London campaign. I would like to thank Ben

i was immensely pleased for Roy to be acknowledged in the Queen’s Honours with a CBE for his services to football. His longevity and contribution to the game is unparalleled Bailey Smith for his incredible efforts in penning the script and starring in the video, as well as the cameos from Patrick, Eberechi, Wilfried, Joel and Marc – plus the special guest appearances from Richard Riakporhe and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It perfectly chairman

encapsulated what makes our club, and our community, so special. If you enjoyed it and want to help Palace for Life Foundation do even more, please do consider donating. As the season draws to a close, there are still many events you can join us at. On Monday, our Under-23s take on Derby at Selhurst Park – a win could take them into an impressive fifth spot in their first season in the top division. On Tuesday, we hold our awards evening at Boxpark, where up to 10 awards will be handed out on what will be an entertaining evening as always. And next Saturday, Patrick is arranging an open training session at Selhurst Park as a show of thanks for your magnificent support – and in the afternoon, the annual Beer Festival is back. I urge you to join us for as many of these as possible. Today’s match offers us a massive opportunity to continue our climb up the table as we seek a strong finish – it’s incredibly tight, and Patrick’s side will fight for every point until the very end. Enjoy the game and up the Palace

Christian Benteke was forced from his birthplace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a child, and he and his family had to adapt fast. Here, he tells Will Robinson how his life across countries has shaped his attitude today.

main interview

here are plenty of less-thancomplimentary words thrown around when people are forced from one country to another. New arrivals are condemned as part of an ‘influx’, different nationalities and identities dismissed as being by their very nature just that: different. There are countless examples in football, as in so much of life, proving that this exposure to interesting ideas and cultures can lead to so many good things. Christian Benteke is one of these examples. His story encapsulates this idea both on and off the pitch, from his disorientating arrival in Europe as part of the Congolese diaspora and his subsequent embrace into a welcoming community, to his domineering arrival into the Premier League as part of Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ and subsequent enriching of the world’s most renowned footballing competition. It takes luck, yes, and it certainly takes bravery. But what becomes clear from Benteke’s story is how much hard work is involved, too. His is a tale that starts properly in Liège, as a two-year-old Benteke and his mother grappled with an entirely new world. “I came with my mum, because at that time there was war [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] and my dad was in the military,” he remembers. “He sent us [to Belgium] for safety, and then he joined us after a year or so. “In the beginning, it was weird… because I used to be in

Africa seeing a lot of young black kids. I was saying to my mum: ‘Wow, I can see young white kids.’ For me it was like something new. My mum explained it was normal. “But I adapted quickly, because I was raised in Belgium. I started to play [football] because of my cousins; I was seeing them having fun and being happy. I wanted to join them, and that’s how I got into football. That’s how football can connect all the different countries and communities.”

I started to play [football] because of my cousins; I was seeing them having fun and being happy. I wanted to join them, and that’s how I got into football. That’s how football can connect all the different countries and communities Benteke grew up in an area awash with young talent: Axel Witsel, Nacer Chadli and others were among his teammates as a child playing football on the street. They were the shoots of a remarkable generation of Belgian talent that would later go on to conquer the Premier League. But Belgian superstars were a relative unknown in English football. To follow his dream of emulating Thierry Henry, Benteke and co. would have to take a leaf out of the former Arsenal man’s book – and that of his current manager, Patrick Vieira. “It just needs one who will open the door for the rest of christian benteke

them,” Vieira said at a recent press conference about the swathes of French talent arriving in the 1990s. “When [Eric] Cantona came, then people thought: ‘Oh, French players could adapt to the Premier League.’ That opened the door for the rest of us.” Much like Vieira, Benteke was part of that early diaspora. “I felt it, because I was one of the ones who has been here the longest and with the most caps,” he says, looking back. “It is a great feeling to represent this country at the highest football level. “Everybody thinks this is the best league in the world. There were a few players doing well – [Vincent] Kompany, [Marouane] Fellaini, [Thomas] Vermaelen. Those players were doing so well that it gave us the belief that we could do the same. “I was at Standard Liège with Fellaini, and I saw him going to Everton… scoring goals in front of the fans with that atmosphere. I said: ‘Me too, I want the same.’ “Other players have seen me and also wanted the same. I had a chat with a few players. They asked me how the league is, and I gave them good advice.” Of all the nations that have so indelibly left a mark on the Premier League, those players from Belgium were almost uniquely poised for success in adapting to a new country. “It’s because our culture is different,” Benteke explains. “In Belgium there are [already] different nationalities. In the national team you

can see Africans, Belgians, Dutch, even Vietnamese and Chinese. “This is our strength. By bringing different cultures we have got different approaches to the game. Different skills, different football learning. That brings out the best in all of us.” Those very differences impacted one of the most important aspects of moving to a different league. “It’s so important to settle quickly and learn the language,” Benteke says. “People think it’s just about the football skills and the players, but it’s much more.

This is our strength. By bringing different cultures we have got different approaches to the game. Different skills, different football learning. That brings out the best in all of us “If you can’t communicate with the players, even though football is easy and you know the game, it’s hard. I saw many good players who couldn’t perform because they weren’t speaking. “I was used to it. In Belgium we speak three languages: French, Dutch and a German part. In my previous club before joining Aston Villa [Genk], we were already different nationalities and the coach was talking English because of the foreign players. “I was already in that kind of different culture. It was just about settling quickly and speaking christian benteke

main interview

English more fluently than when I was in Belgium.” For someone desperate to play in the Premier League, learning English had always been a key target for Benteke. But that meant more than lessons and textbooks; in his opinion, it required full immersion. “It was my dream to come here and play for a Premier League team, so I put myself on a path where I wanted to learn English quite quickly,” he says. “I wanted to understand and I knew it was important to understand. That’s why I settled in quickly.

It was my dream to come here and play for a Premier League team, so I put myself on a path where I wanted to learn English quite quickly

“I was doing courses at home, [learning] vocabulary. But also I was watching TV in English, like Sky. A lot of players, when they come, they don’t speak really well, but they still want to have the same habits: TV in their own language, eating their own food. “These are small details, but they are important: if you are getting [used] to a new country, try to understand the new country and their language. It will help.” At Crystal Palace, Benteke can now help to guide players whose abilities in their new language are christian benteke

main interview

still taking time to develop. It’s a technique he learned from his mother all those years ago, as he clutched her hand on the way to school. “When I came [to Belgium], I was speaking my [Congolese] language,” he remembers. “My mum said: ‘No, you have to speak in French. You are going to school and you will speak only French.’ She was still talking to me in my own language, but I responded in French.” That means, in essence, having the bravery to take risks. “It’s about being willing to do it,” Benteke explains. “For example, JP [Mateta] is someone whose English is not the best, but he tries. The most important thing is: don’t be worried about making mistakes. “For you guys who speak perfect English, you know that we are not in our own country and we might make mistakes. When I was at Villa I was not really talking that much because I was scared. “Now there are times when I might make mistakes, but I don’t care. And JP doesn’t care about making mistakes. Sometimes when he doesn’t understand something, he will ask me and say: ‘Chris, what does that mean?’ or ‘Can you translate that for me?’” It seems as if Benteke’s upbringing plays no small part in him being among the great Belgian generation to take English football by storm, and his embrace of sport in a community where race and background were secondary considerations to ability with a ball. Indeed, when he has time to return to the cages where he first

played, his Premier League record – with almost 300 appearances to his name – is of no immediate interest. “The beauty of street football is that it doesn’t really matter if you play for a football club or not,” he says, smiling. “When I was going back and playing with my friends, it’s not ‘Benteke’, it’s ‘Christian’. I still have to prove that I can be part of their game. It’s pressure, but a different pressure. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s not about the Premier League, it’s not about what I’ve done here. They just see me as Christian, and [say]: ‘If you want to play, we have to win. Let’s go!’”

That’s the beauty of it. It’s not about the Premier League, it’s not about what I’ve done here. They just see me as Christian, and [say]: ‘If you want to play, we have to win. Let’s go!’ This final story, and the warmth with which Benteke tells it, goes some way to boiling down what football is really about. Crossing borders and embracing new cultures is difficult, and it takes hard work on both sides which Benteke found out in both his early childhood and his early career. But if you put in that hard work, the results can be so enriching: a new understanding of the game we love, and that special feeling of community that makes football unlike any other sport in the world christian benteke

Christian Benteke lifts the lid on teammates and inspirations from a long career at the very top of the game.

Prankster We were Under-17s and we were playing the World Cup in South Korea. We didn’t know anyone, so I asked one of the boys if he could trim my hair: Eden Hazard. He was my guy! Because it’s my friend, I trusted him, and I finished bald! He tricked me…

idol inspiration LeBron [James] is my source of inspiration. He is more than a sportsman: he is truly involved in community work. Often when it comes to top football players and NBA players, people only talk about the money we make. Unfortunately, people talk less about the charity work and help we are doing towards the community. That is why LeBron is someone I truly respect.

I was an Arsenal fan because of Thierry Henry. He was my idol. When I first met him with Belgium, that was the first time I was like impressed by [someone].

celebration [My celebration] is just because I’m a big LeBron fan. I remember watching one of his games and he scored an important three points. He did this: the silencer. Since then I decided to do that celebration. the follow-up

Toughest accent When I first came to England, it was Paul Lambert. He was Scottish and I was coming from Belgium. I had a good base of English, but not Scottish!

Rebrewed from head to hop. Carlsberg Danish Pilsner. NEW Brew NEW Glass NEW Fount Still iconically Danish.

Proud to support

Crystal Palace Football Club

watford F.C. est. 1881

Inside Welcome back, Roy Hodgson A huge battle Ambrose picks his Player of the Season

opposition

Hornets watford

Watford sit 19th in the table and are currently 10 points off safety, with Everton in 18th holding a game in hand.

match preview The Hornets’ campaign has been a tough return to the Premier League, involving three managers and being spent in the bottom spots from early on. Former Palace manager Roy Hodgson took charge at the end of January, replacing Claudio Ranieri, who himself replaced Xisco in October. Hodgson collected four points from his first four matches to give Watford a glimmer of hope, with away victories over Aston Villa and Southampton being the highlights. It does appear unlikely that the Hornets can fight their way back to safety, but with four games left it remains a possibility. And if Hodgson’s time at Palace showed anything, it’s that he can

Story so far

Position Points

Home

away

third

Last five Seasons Season

Position

Points

Top Scorer

20/21

2nd (Champ)

Sarr (13)

19/20

19th

Deeney (10)

18/19

11th

Deeney & Deulofeu (11)

17/18

14th

Doucouré (7)

16/17

17th

Deeney (10)

19th 22

Top scorer

Emmanuel Dennis (10)

Most assists

Emmanuel Dennis (6)

Most passes

Moussa Sissoko (1,019)

opposition

Key threat: Dennis

Emmanuel Dennis leads Watford for the two key attacking stats: goals and assists. He has attracted attention for a strong personal season up-front.

Remember when?

Boot in both camps

Palace capped a spell of six games unbeaten against Watford with a 4-0 triumph in 2012. Wilfried Zaha and Kagisho Dikgacoi scored either side of a Chris Martin brace as Adrian Mariappa faced Palace two seasons before joining.

recent form

Recent clash Watford 1 (OG) Burnley 2 Sat 30 Apr / Vicarage Road

Starting xi 1

subs

B. Foster

J. Ngakia

H. Kamara

W. Troost-Ekong

Samir

J. King

C. Kabasele

A. Masina

K. Femenía

K. Sema

J. Kucka

D. Gosling

I. Louza

D. Bachmann

M. Sissoko

S. Kalu

E. Dennis

E. Kayembe

J. Pedro

I. Sarr

First sub Second sub Third sub Yellow card Red card Goal Own goal

10 25

33 14

6 22

19 27

opposition

Bruce Dyer Dyer became England’s first £1million teenager when signing for Palace from Watford in March 1994. “I didn’t even think about the money,” he told the club in 2020.

CYCLING ‘KEEPER

387 apps 91 clean sheets

Ben Foster

02 05 Jeremy Ngakia

William Troost-Ekong

POS: DEFENDER

NAT: ENGLAND

NAT: NIGERIA

Adam Masina

Hassane Kamara

POS: DEFENDER

NAT: ENGLAND

NAT: MOROCCO

NAT: IVORY COAST

Foster is one of the most experienced players in professional football, having played for 22 years and spent time with 11 clubs. He returned to Watford after two loan spells in the mid-noughties and was first choice throughout their 18/19 and 19/20 top-flight campaigns.

player profile

POS: GOALKEEPER

Age

Height

1.93m

Joined

5th July, 2018

Debut

6th August, 2005 v Preston North End

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Racing Club Warwick, Stoke City, Manchester United, Birmingham City & West Bromwich Albion. opposition

Craig Cathcart

WING-BACK

105 apps

Samir

POS: DEFENDER

NAT: NORTHERN IRELAND

NAT: BRAZIL

12 clean sheets

27 31 Christian Kabasele

Francisco Sierralta

Kiko Femenía

POS: DEFENDER

NAT: BELGIUM

NAT: CHILE

NAT: SPAIN

player profile

POS: DEFENDER

Age

Height

1.76m

Joined

1st July, 2017

Debut

12th August, 2017 v Liverpool

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Hércules, Alcorcón & Alavés. opposition

Femenía has represented Barcelona and Read Madrid in their B teams, and played in La Liga with Alavés in 2016/17. He joined Watford in 2017 and has been a core member of the squad since. He has also represented Spain at Under-18-20 level.

06 08 23

TALISMAN

Imrân Louza

Tom Cleverley

49 apps 10 goals

POS: MIDFIELDER

NAT: MOROCCO

NAT: ENGLAND

Dan Gosling

Moussa Sissoko

Ismaïla Sarr

POS: MIDFIELDER

NAT: ENGLAND

NAT: FRANCE

NAT: SENEGAL

player profile

POS: MIDFIELDER

Age

Height

1.85m

Joined

8th August, 2019

Debut

24th August, 2019 v West Ham United

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Metz & Rennes. opposition

Sarr has been a key player for the Hornets since his arrival from Rennes in 2019. The Senegal winger is at the heart of many Watford attacks, with his pace and power down either wing.

29 33 07 take note

24 apps 5 goals

Cucho Hernández

Juraj Kucka

Joshua King

POS: MIDFIELDER

POS: FORWARD

NAT: SLOVAKIA

NAT: NORWAY

João Pedro

Emmanuel Dennis

POS: FORWARD

NAT: COLOMBIA

NAT: BRAZIL

NAT: NIGERIA

Hernández joined Watford in 2017 and embarked on three successful loan spells. Upon his return the Hornets decided to field him in the first-team squad, handing him a scoring debut and seeing him now sit as their joint-second-highest scorer.

player profile

POS: FORWARD

Age

Height

1.75m

Joined

1st January, 2017

Debut

14th August, 2021 v Aston Villa

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Deportivo Pereira & Granada. opposition

NATURAL CAFFEINE ZERO SUGAR HYDRATION ENERGY now available countrywide

for SPORT

This will be Watford’s 110th league meeting with Palace, making it the jointmost common league fixture in their history (also 110 vs QPR and Bournemouth).

Crystal Palace are looking to complete their first league double over Watford since the 2011/12 Championship campaign, following their 4-1 win at Vicarage Road in February.

57 01

02 55

Pass accuracy % 80%

72% shots

368

366 goals

32 goals conceded

69 clean sheets

Michael Olise Goals

Assists

Ismaïla Sarr Goals

Assists

opposition

ambrose from the studio

In each programme, club legend Darren Ambrose provides his unique insight into the opposition – offering analysis and expert opinion as a player-turned-pundit.

Patience of a Saint Palace’s mindset against Southampton was fantastic. People are saying there’s not much to play for, so to secure that recovery speaks volumes of the team’s attitude. The Chairman, manager and players clearly don't agree there’s not much to play for: we’re on 41 points, just two off 10th, with a game in hand over Newcastle. So there’s a lot to do. Southampton got ahead through a typical goal: James WardProwse put in a brilliant delivery that was met well. There’s not a great deal you can do about that. The response was great. Seeing Ebs get off the mark with a fantastic goal was really pleasing, and the timing and movement he showed was impressive. When I was playing I liked to arrive late, and you’d hear fans moaning at you to hurry up and get in the box. Ebs’ was a prime example of timing a run perfectly. Then Wilf’s winner was typical of him. He had his back to goal, shrugged the defender off, rolled the ball and blasted it into the bottom corner. He’s improved massively at that part of his game, and I’m fed up

with the disrespect he gets from other supporters and pundits. Just look at my recent tweet for an example.

Wilf’s winner was typical of him. He had his back to goal, shrugged the defender off, rolled the ball and blasted it into the bottom corner

Now there are four games left, and I think they’ll be good fun with an upbeat atmosphere. Palace have had some disappointment lately and will be really encouraged by ending on a high.

Keep on keeping on It can be difficult to sustain momentum when you’re almost safe Darren ambrose

and playing for the final points. But from my own experience you play for your future in these fixtures, because they speak volume about your mentality. You may have weeks left on your contract or years, but if you’re on the beach and show a lack of desire it won’t go down well regardless. If my contract was coming to an end, or the club were looking to sign players

in my position, I knew the manager might change his mind if he saw how hard I worked to remain there. Those with long-term contracts need to fight for their place at the start of next season, because it could be a huge campaign. A manager like Patrick won’t take anything less than his usual standards, so these players need to stay in his good books. The challenge today will be that Watford really have something to play for. Their chances of survival are incredibly slim, but until relegation is mathematically confirmed Roy Hodgson will remind his players there’s still a fight on. They have 12 points available and are 10 clear of the drop; it’s not completely beyond the imagination that they could stay up. If they do end up relegated, they’ll know livelihoods are affected and so will need to play for the staff and supporters. Today will be a good test for Palace, because if they show professionalism and their usual standards they’ll win. But in a week or two they’ll face Everton and Manchester United, for whom the games are also huge.

Welcome back, Roy The season has been an extreme disappointment for Watford. There are good players there like Sarr, Dennis and Pedro, and they’d be relegated already without Ben Foster, but throughout the season they’ve not been good enough as a team. The older and more experienced you get the more you start doubting your chances in situations as tough

as theirs. You’re not stupid and you understand the odds better with age. But you have to have belief as a professional footballer, so if there’s something to play for you have to give it your all. The main disappointment in Watford’s season has been at the back. You’d expect Roy to address that, and he has to an extent, but you don’t have to be a footballing genius to see Watford have shipped too many goals: 69 from 34. That’s why they are where they are. They’re marginally better going forward because of Sarr and Dennis, but I back Palace’s defence to keep them quiet and make it a relatively comfortable afternoon. Now we’ve had almost a full season, the job Roy did for this club becomes all the more commendable. Palace have been in the top five favourite teams to go down since they earned promotion in 2013; Roy brought stability and as close to a guaranteed position as possible, which helped to finance signings, the new Academy and a rebuild this summer. The success and enjoyment of this campaign has amplified the remarkable job he did giving the club a platform to build from. As much as I like to say the 2010 team built the foundations for the modern era, you have to add Roy’s side alongside them. He gave us the basis for what’s happening now.

Player of the Season Wilfried Zaha. Whether he wins it from the public I don’t know, but darren ambrose

he’s been the club’s best player for a long time. Wilf is top goalscorer, has bagged more this season than any and showed his importance by securing three points against Southampton. He also appeared on talkSPORT for me, so credit to him for that! It’s so close this season, though, and you could give it to almost any of the main positions. That’s credit to Patrick and the team.

Goal of the Season Conor Gallagher’s second against West Ham, which isn’t actually in the club’s vote. He took it on his back foot, did a Cruyff Turn in the box with great feet, and put it into the bottom corner. I loved that. It’s not in the running but, for me, that’s an underrated goal

CRYSTAL PALACE DISABLED SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION 36

Formed in 2015, the aim of the Crystal Palace Disabled Supporters Association is to identify the ongoing needs of the club’s disabled supporters and work with the Crystal Palace Football Club management team to deliver a positive matchday experience. The current committee has five members who are all volunteers to help and support supporters at both home and away matches. The CPFCDSA aims for all disabled supporters to enjoy equality with respect to their individual needs when attending football matches at Selhurst Park.

All disabled Palace supporters are encouraged to join the association, including their family, friends and personal assistants. This is very much an inclusive group, so if you are a Crystal Palace supporter with a disability the CPFCDSA is here to help you. Supporters can get involved by joining via the website for free. Supporters can also report any issues they would like us to look at via the reporting button on the website.

The CPFCDSA works together with the Crystal Palace Football Club management team by having communication via Zoom, email and regular face to face meetings. We also receive support from the Level Playing Field organisation & DAG (Premier League Disability Advisory Group).

Come and join us at CPFCDSA.ORG

Supported by

CPFCDSA

CPFCDSA1

cpfcdsa@gmail.com

writers Mohamed Rguyeg

After widespread job cuts caused by the pandemic, it’s harder than ever for journalists to find work. This page offers three aspiring writers space to display their views and skill. Today, we hear from Mohamed.

This has been a successful first season under manager Patrick Vieira, who brought a new style of play to Selhurst Park and reached an FA cup semi-final for the first time since 2016. As Crystal Palace approach the conclusion of the 2021/22 season, we caught up with three fans to find out how they felt about the campaign and to ask for any standout moments. Abdiaziz Roble, a 24-year-old supporter who calls Wilfried Zaha his favourite player, said he has loved watching this Palace side. “The energy and pressing from the front is something I was not expecting, but I’ve loved it,” he told us. “All the summer signings have given the club a boost and contributed positively to the season. Marc Guéhi and Joachim Andersen have given us solidity at the back while Conor Gallagher and Michael Olise have chipped in with goals and assists.” When asked about his favourite moments this season, Abdiaziz gave us two. “The 2-0 away win at Manchester City was very special. We went in with a clear gameplan and executed it to

perfection. I believe only one other Premier League team has beaten Manchester City all season, so of course it is a standout moment in the season. The second is of course the trip to Wembley. Despite the result the atmosphere created by our fans was amazing; a feeling that will not be forgotten for a while.” David Ibrahim, a 25-year-old fan who started following Palace thanks to legendary goalkeeper Julián Speroni, said that he too thought this was a positive season under Vieira. “I didn’t expect the football to be this positive this quickly. It has been a brilliant season and I hope we can carry this momentum on next season.” David’s favourite moments also came in the cup run. “That run to Wembley was brilliant. If I had to choose one moment it would be the quarter-final against Everton at Selhurst Park: a flawless 4-0 victory and we couldn’t help but dream of a potential trophy.” Abdulghani Shaale, a 32-year-old Season Ticket holder in the Holmesdale Road stand, also said he has enjoyed the team’s improvement this season. aspiring writers

“We have a core of young players that have improved rapidly this season, the new signings have been brilliant, and it will be tough to see Conor Gallagher go at the end of the season. But I think the squad overall has improved as the season went on. Seeing Tyrick Mitchell, Conor Gallagher and Marc Guéhi getting their first England caps showed us how good of a season we have had.” Abdulghani said his favourite fixtures were the London derbies against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at Selhurst Park. “To beat both Spurs and Arsenal 3-0 convincingly at home felt like a dream. It showed how far we got as a unit as the season went on. That Arsenal game especially – they were on a brilliant run of form – for us to beat them like that was my favourite moment of the season.”

Impressed by what you’ve read, and need work from a media professional? You can discuss work opportunities with Mohamed and our other aspiring writers by emailing programme@cpfc.co.uk.

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inside the academy copers cope road

Inside Meet the U23 long punching above his age Darren Powell evaluates the season Foot in both camps: remembering Ben Watson

inside the academy

over the road The Palace Academy has produced players from Steve Kember to Wilfried Zaha, and plenty more in between. Here, we look at some of the talented prospects in the system today.

Joe Whitworth age: 18 / goalkeeper / joined: Under-14s

highlights so far Whitworth opened his first full season at Under-23s level in remarkable fashion, saving four penalties in the first two months. He has also represented England at Under-18 level.

Take note of Not the tallest of ‘keepers, Whitworth is adept at distributing and comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is a solid shot stopper and is confident enough to organise players often several years his senior. inside the academy

Getting to know Joe Whitworth Two aspects of Joe Whitworth’s football career shape the goalkeeper he is today: his outfield experience and ability to play up a level. The former saw Whitworth play as a forward until the age of 12, when, through circumstance and enjoyment, he pulled on a pair of gloves in a trial with AFC Wimbledon. With little to no goalkeeping experience, Whitworth’s impromptu change of position paid off, and he soon joined the Dons’ Academy between the sticks. Today that means, like most modern goalkeepers, Whitworth enjoys playing out from the back, starting passages of play and receiving the ball from further up-field. “There are loads of goalies I have similarities with,” he says. “My distribution, I look to Ederson a lot to improve that. Because of my height – I’m not the tallest goalie – I look at goalies like David Raya or Kasper Schmeichel, who are not six foot four, or five, but are still playing at the top of their game in the Premier League.” Then there’s Whitworth’s age. He started with the Under-23s last season having just turned 17, and is playing regularly this season with his 18th birthday only weeks behind him. It pits him against forwards in their 20s and even experienced professionals, takes him to first-team grounds and puts him in front of sizeable crowds. And

a goalkeeper has to be vocal, meaning Whitworth spends much of the game marshalling players in front of him with a few years’ more experience. “It’s amazing,” he says of the Premier League 2. “Playing for the Under-23s is a big experience for me, playing against all these players who train and play with the firstteam but come down to the Under23s. Playing in Premier League stadiums – we played at Elland Road the other week and Selhurst a few times – is really great. “Everyone in the Under-23s playing in those stadiums is looking up to see what we can do hopefully in the future, playing with a crowd. For me personally playing with the Under-23s has been a real step-up from the Under-18s with how football’s played and the intensity throughout the whole game. Everything is a step-up and you have to be on it or you get punished. It’s another step closer to first-team football, which I’m really happy about.” Palace’s success in securing Category 1 status and subsequent promotion means they face the country’s biggest Under-23s teams week in, week out. And in the EFL Trophy they faced Wimbledon, Portsmouth and Sutton United’s first-team. Whitworth says these are yet more examples of the challenge and development he and his teammates face. “Moving to Category 1 has been massive,” he explains. “Really, really good for all of us. Inside the academy

This year since I’ve moved to the Under-23s we’ve really stepped up to the level, and showed we’re not just here to make up the numbers. “That competition [the EFL Trophy] and those games are massive for our development, playing against real League One and League Two clubs... But also having those experiences in a stadium with a crowd, not full but near full, playing at different stadiums is a really, really great experience for everyone.”

"My dad always tells me to work hard, work hard, work hard. You’re not going to get given anything, so you working hard is going to give you a better opportunity of getting where you want”

inside the academy

Darren Powell The Under-23s have one game remaining to finish what’s been a positive season overall. We’ve seen good growth which has reflected in good performances.

e had to find our feet in a new league during the first half of the season, but we began to really develop once Paddy and I had more time with the players and they understood what we wanted. This campaign was always going to be a challenge because we’re playing against the best in Academy football. But our task was to stay in the league, which in itself is a hard one, and what’s been particularly pleasing is that we’ve done that by playing football our way and sticking to our principles. This league is tough enough with a full squad, so when players leave for loans or permanent moves, their teammates have to challenge themselves even more. A couple of weeks ago, when we had four games left, we said to the boys we wanted to win 12 points. Now we have one game left, but the task remains the same: to collect all the available points through a performance that reflects our work this season. After that the boys will be given their off-season plan. The first two weeks will be spent off-feet, resting and recuperating. Then it’ll

be strength and conditioning and some will come in two or three days a week to work with us at the Academy. They’re not working six-days-a-week like normal, but they certainly don’t get a full summer off.

huge congratulations to our Under-15s for competing in the national Floodlit Cup final. We won the competition in 2019 and making this stage again is another massive achievement Their work pays off. Next season we want to progress and better what we’ve done over the past 12 months; that’s always the task. We want to be more competitive: impose ourselves on the opposition

Inside the academy

better, concede fewer goals and make little gains across the pitch. Something the coaches want is more cup competition next season, because for development that quick turnaround from a Saturday to a Tuesday exposes the players to first-team levels. They’ll be physically stretched and adapt to the intensity, which means if they go on loan or step up within the club they’ll be less shocked by the increased demands. Finally, a huge congratulations to our Under-15s for competing in the national Floodlit Cup final yesterday. We won the competition in 2019 and making this stage again is another massive achievement. The boys should embrace the experience, because whatever happens in their careers this occasion will live with them. Coach Dave Cooper is doing a brilliant job of maximising that group, and knows he has the support of everyone at the club. Hopefully we have won this for a second time. Next season we hope to play in front of you, our supporters, more often, so you can see these young players coming through. Thanks for your backing and interest during 2021/22

made in south london After a landmark season Club Historian Ian King looks back at Palace’s Academy history, recalling some of our proudest former graduates from the huge number to have made their name in SE25.

FA Cup winner -

ben WATSON Born

July 9th, 1985

First-team debut

April 8th, 2003

Appearances

189

Goals

inside the academy

Ben Watson was born in Camberwell, the same area of London as Kenny Sansom. Years after joining he would recall the Academy system being a different environment to today’s, going straight from school to a football apprenticeship cleaning boots and the changing rooms. Not yet 15, in February 2000 Watson appeared for the club’s Under-17s and before the year ended he featured in the FA Youth Cup, which he would do for three consecutive seasons. The Reserves were blessed with his presence for the 2002/03 season and he was part of the squad that went unbeaten in the opening 13 games. Manager Trevor Francis handed Watson his first-team debut when he started the Division One game at home to Watford on April 8th, 2003, where his performance earned him Palace’s Man of the Match. In a programme interview Watson said his favourite nonPalace player was Patrick Vieira... Ten days later Francis left the club and his job passed to Steve

Kember for the final four games all of which Watson was still involved in. This continued at the start of the following campaign as the young midfielder netted his first senior goal in a 1-1 draw at Millwall, but with results falling away after a promising start Watson found himself sidelined. Under Iain Dowie the midfielder earned his Premier League opportunity in September 2004, a month after signing a professional contract, and such were his performances over the next three months he was awarded his first England Under-21 cap in November by former Palace player Peter Taylor. He featured in the same game as teammate Wayne Routledge, but by the turn of the year Mikele Leigertwood had taken Watson’s place. These staccato periods in the starting XI would become something of a pattern. Back in the second-tier Watson flourished, being almost ever-present in the 2005/06 campaign that ended in playoff semi-final defeat against Watford. He was voted the club’s Young Player of the Season, but when Taylor became manager in summer 2006 Watson again found gametime hard to come by. In October 2007 Neil Warnock replaced Taylor and Watson was again ever-present until the end of the season. Play-offs dawned against Bristol City in the semi-final, and by this point Watson was the club’s penalty taker. A successful spot kick in the first leg at Selhurst Park looked to have earned a draw until an injury time winner Inside the academy

from City dented Palace’s hopes. At Ashton Gate Watson scored midway through the first-half to level the scores but with 18 minutes left his penalty hit the post and City scored twice in extra time. Watson had a year left on his contract that summer but in the January transfer window became the target of several clubs,

Manager Trevor Francis handed Watson his first-team debut when he started the Division One game at home to Watford on April 8th, 2003. his performance earned him Palace’s Man of the Match

with Wigan Athletic trumping Middlesbrough via a late bid the club accepted. Due to an injury sustained in a 3-0 victory over Southampton in December, Watson had already played his final game for the Eagles

Iconic Crystal Palace captain Geoff Thomas received an MBE this year for his charitable work raising millions for Cure Leukaemia following his diagnosis with blood cancer. This year, he will ride the Tour de France for the sixth time despite having described his most recent as his final. Here, he explains why the loss of a friend and continuous progression changed his mind.

Voices of South London

eoff Thomas doesn’t notice the snow-capped mountains or rolling green hills surrounding him as he cycles through the Pyrenees and Alps. He sees only tarmac as his burning legs drive pedals round and round, taking him steadily closer to another gruelling day. He wakes every morning on his Tour de France charity rides with hours of pain ahead of him, and regrets the time he spends away from home. But he knows it’s why his five fundraisers have raised so much, both in money and attention. ”If you try to do a 10-mile walk, you’re not going to get any kudos,” he says. After five tours, or over 10,000 miles, Thomas decided enough was enough. He’d raised millions of pounds for Cure Leukaemia and would have to further that differently next time. He wouldn’t face the ride again. Thomas lived under that impression for three months, until his friend and former colleague Geoff Hill lost his battle with leukaemia. Hill was an avid Palace supporter diagnosed just days after visiting Selhurst Park to watch Roy Hodgson’s first game in charge. Coincidentally that afternoon he spoke with Thomas, who was diagnosed with blood cancer himself in 2003. The pair had worked together during Thomas’ playing days and on the TV channel Setanta Sports. Hill made a near-recovery after two years, but in September

2021 passed away, survived by his wife Nat, and children, Emily, Olivia, and Alfie. His passing spurred Thomas into reversing his decision, and this summer the former Palace captain will look to raise another £1million by cycling the Tour de France route. He says: “I watched Geoff’s good luck message before the tour we did last year, and his message was: ‘You’re doing it for people like me.’ “He was a really nice guy, a good guy who wanted to help you. He was always asking about you and I found out it was the same with everybody… Everybody had so much respect for him and loved him. “Meeting his family, going to his funeral and listening to how many people in the world of football and news respected him, I just wanted Voices of South London

He was a really nice guy, a good guy who wanted to help you. He was always asking about youand I found out it was the same with everybody

to do it again in his name.” Hill’s family did their own fundraising for Cure Leukaemia, with his brother-in-law Lee and Lee’s brother-in-law Jordan raising over £30,000 by running the equivalent length from London to Paris.

While they were running Hill collected news stories about their efforts and collated them in a scrapbook. He intended to present his family with the book as a congratulations, but never had the chance. Recently, Hill’s wife Nat asked Thomas to present it on Hill’s behalf. “It was very moving,” the former Palace captain says. Thomas and Cure Leukaemia aim to create a world in which one day blood cancer never again creates those situations, that those diagnosed can fully recover and that people like Geoff Hill are not lost. They’re making progress. The survival rate for leukaemia has more than quadrupled in the last 40 years, and the death rate dropped by 2% every year from 2009-2019. Thomas is one of the four in 10 to make a full recovery. To increase that number the charity has pioneered the Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), which can cut the time it takes to set up a clinical trial from two years to six months. The TAP has united centres across the country to increase access for blood cancer patients to potentially life-saving treatment. “We want to take that chance out of the process when you’re diagnosed with blood cancer,” Thomas says. “We want everybody to have the best and greatest treatment. “We are delivering on something that isn’t a pipe

dream. We believe we are going to help so many people with the skillset we’re funding, the clinical nurses, the professors, and this infrastructure that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Cure Leukaemia.” When Thomas began fundraising following his recovery, he set five years aside to do what he could. Now, roughly 18 years later, he has an MBE for charitable work and is approaching the £5million-mark for funds raised. But he has continuously found reasons to continue, be it through people like Hill or solutions like the TAP. “Every year we seem to be moving forward at such a pace, or something needs to be fulfilled. It’s very hard to walk away from something when you feel that success is around the corner. I don’t want to be on Voices of South London

the bike in another 10 years or so, but maybe I’ll come up with another idea that gets attention. “We believe we can eradicate this without people having to go through the pain, or having a family friend or a family member of themselves [affected]. We’d like to be doing the job without so many more people being touched by this illness.”

Donate to Geoff and support his sixth Tour de France by scanning the QR code below.

21 years of Together for football Unlocking the power of pitches Transforming lives Strengthening communities Tackling inequalities Improving accessibility Football Foundation The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation has been investing into communities like yours for the last 21 years. Building football facilities and using the power of pitches to transform lives.

Find out more about the Football Foundation, its impact and the future plans for your local area: footballfoundation.org.uk

non-league neighbours holmesdale f.c. Surrounding south London’s only Premier League club is a range of non-league sides. In each programme, we catch up with four – Beckenham Town, Bromley, Corinthian-Casuals, and Holmesdale F.C. – to cover the people who sustain south London’s rich non-league scene.

Non-League neighbours

holmesdale f.c. As the Southern Counties East League Premier Division concludes for another season, we recap the story of Holmesdale F.C, a club that embodies the historic place in the community that non-league sides have.

league table

recent results

pos CLUB

1-1

Pts lordswood

bearstead

-10

holmesdale

-3

fisher

1-1 holmesdale

“We all muck in to get everything ready,” he told the programme. “We get the match balls ready, get the bar ready, get the kit out. We get ready for the players to arrive, so everything is done for them. It’s not a great deal

We all muck in to get everything ready. It’s not a great deal of people that run the club. It’s probably around six or seven… of people that run the club. It’s probably around six or seven…” Non-League neighbours

erith & belvedere

2-2 fisher

any of these non-league features start long ago, asking readers to imagine a forgotten era of football where bowler hats and moustaches match the replica shirts and scarves of today’s game. Despite Holmesdale’s fascinating early history – and we will get to that – it’s best to start our final piece in the present. As you’ve read these articles, long-term committee member Mark Hayes will have been struggling with his weekly dilemma. He is heavily involved in every aspect of matchday at Oakley Road, where he and a dedicated band of volunteers busy themselves getting everything ready for kick-off.

holmesdale

But secretly, a part of Hayes’ mind is miles away – 7.1 miles away to be exact, at Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace are kicking off in the Premier League. The odd phone check here, the fleeting sound of radio commentary there; the not-sosubtle fist pump when Wilfried Zaha puts the Eagles ahead. This is the beauty – or the agony – of Hayes’ role: he is a fervent Palace fan and has been for decades, but he is also the heartbeat of a local community club. Aptly, he once stood in the old Holmesdale with his uncle, part of the famous pitch invasion after winning promotion against Burnley in 1979 when more

than 50,000 fans descended on south London – still the club’s record attendance to this day. Hayes is determined that his Palace influences are not lost on the club he now takes so much care in running, and any visitors to Oakley Road in the last couple of seasons will know exactly what we mean.

this year, we’ve got a new kit: the sash. That’s based on the 1980s red and blue sash. We were designing a new kit and I thought: ‘I really liked that – why not try and design that?’ “I sort the kits out,” he says, laughing. “Originally our kits, all the way back from 1956, were quarter-shirts. Our original shirt is yellow and green quarters…

but our away kit a few years ago was a red and blue quartered shirt in the Palace colours, and modelled on the Palace kit. “This year, we’ve got a new kit: the sash. That’s based on the 1980s red and blue sash. We were designing a new kit and I thought: ‘I really liked that – why not try and design that?’” The man tasked with motivating the players sporting Hayes’ sash design is Lee Roots, Holmesdale’s manager. He has enjoyed another successful campaign in charge, leading Holmesdale to a comfortable mid-table finish after promotion to Step 5 last year. Like Hayes, his job is beset by distractions – not Palace, but juggling a full-time job with the pressures of non-league management. This level presents an entirely different set of challenges, and nurturing players through that work-life balance is just one. It calls for innovation. “We meet an hour and 15 minutes before the game, because we have to take into account they have all just been at work,” Roots explains. “No

one has just had the night off, you may have had a stressful day, you may be stuck in traffic. You may not have eaten properly, you may have just had a can of Coke on the way to the game. “I don’t actually announce my team until about 20 minutes before kick-off to the players. At this level, something may have happened at home or at work. Sometimes when a player doesn’t see his name up on the board, and he’s just rushed there from work, you can see a change in the player. It’s a bit of a psychological trick.” For all the Palace connections, however, this is a club with its own fascinating story – one of so many examples in the rich tapestry of non-league football that stretches across the country. It’s a community beyond the gilded walls of Premier League football, not only celebrating a type of football from time gone by but forging a set of new stories all the while. “From Holmesdale I met the mother of my children,” says Roots. “So when you’re in non-league, it moulds a lot of your life. You meet a lot of people through it – it moulds you.” Next season, Holmesdale will wear their latest Palaceinspired kit with pride, but will press ahead as a club with their own unique origins, their own story, and – providing Roots’ and Hayes’ hard work continues to pay off – an exciting future too

Non-League neighbours

Championship 31/12/2005

Watford v Crystal Palace

Andrew Johnson celebrates a converted penalty with Clinton Morrison.

moment in time

Connor Wickham heads the winner in the FA Cup semi-final.

FA Cup semi-final 24/16/2016

Crystal Palace v Watford

moment in time

peter taylor From its founding to the current day, Crystal Palace’s history is rich in stories and characters. Today, we recall how Malcolm Allison fought relentlessly to sign a little-known prospect called Peter Taylor.

n the early 1970s, Manchester City manager Malcolm Allison was determined in his pursuit of a little-known teenage winger from fourth-tier Southend United. He sought to sign the young Essex prospect ceaselessly, and when his transfer target moved into the third-tier with Southend’s promotion, he tried even harder.

From the first second I met Malcolm until the last second I spoke to him, I loved him; I absolutely loved him The youngster was struggling to hold down a firstteam place with the Shrimpers and hit his 20th birthday feeling “a bit unlucky,” however. Two months later, Allison took over at Crystal Palace, and the unlucky winger remained in his sights. From the Archive

That winger, overlooked by Southend, had caught Allison’s eye. That winger was Peter Taylor. “I was in and out of Southend’s first-team which I felt was really, really unfair because I thought I was doing well enough to be playing every week,” Taylor recalls. “Then out of the blue I was told about Crystal Palace and, of course, I’m very, very interested in going to Crystal Palace – what a lovely opportunity for me. “When I then eventually got to speak to Malcolm, he said to me it’s the sixth time he tried to sign me!... I was staggered. In this day and age, you’d have known about things like that but I didn’t have a clue. From the first second I met Malcolm until the last second I spoke to him, I loved him; I absolutely loved him. “Honestly, every time I walked out of his office, I thought to myself: ‘You’re not a bad player. You’re a good player.’ It’s the little things – he would

give you the confidence. He’d say: ‘Go and show ‘em’. You certainly wouldn’t hold back with Malcolm, not the way he treated me anyway; he gave me the licence to try anything I wanted.”

People talk to me about spells in my career and, as a player, I produced my best form for Palace - and I’m very proud to say that

Taylor’s arrival marked the dawn of Allison’s flamboyant south London stint in style, with the classy young winger scooping Palace’s Player of the Season in his first campaign, 1973/74. But neither Taylor nor Allison

From the Archive

could stop the newly rebranded Eagles from sinking to the Third Division, a remarkable drop for a sizeable, recently top-tier club. “When we got relegated,” Taylor says, “the only thing I felt was so sorry for Malcolm. He was like a dad to me in some ways and I just felt sorry for him. I thought: ‘You don’t deserve that.’” Today, Taylor adamantly rebuts the suggestion that he was too talented for the Third Division, stating “I loved every second.” But the winger’s skill was clear to see, and Allison’s pursuit of his signature was vindicated as the prodigy led Palace to an FA Cup semifinal and earned four England appearances shortly afterwards. Today, confirming Allison’s efforts weren’t in vain, Taylor says: “People talk to me about spells in my career and, as a player, I produced my best form for Palace – and I’m very proud to say that.”

palace for life Palace for Life Foundation hold Iftar event On April 11th, Palace for Life Foundation held an Iftar event at Selhurst Park as part of this year’s Ramadan celebrations, which began on Saturday, April 2nd and ended on Sunday, May 1st.

he event was part of Palace for Life’s goal to create more inclusive spaces for under-represented groups in football, including the local Asian community, women and girls, and people with disabilities. Hazmi Bahrin, Football Development Officer at Palace for Life, said: “The event was a great opportunity to bring together and welcome the local community to break fast in the month of Ramadan. Occasions like these show the inclusive nature of our football club and Foundation. “Everyone who attended enjoyed themselves and this was evident by the smiles and positive feedback we received during and after the event, which only serves as encouragement that next year we can build on this and make the event even better.” The event, hosted in Speroni’s Restaurant at Selhurst Park, kicked off with a short introduction to the Get Involved programme, before ex-professional footballer Zesh Rehman answered questions about his career, and what young

south Londoners can do to follow their footballing dreams. Rehman was the first British South Asian to start in the Premier League when he represented Fulham against Liverpool in 2004. Throughout his career and beyond, Birmingham-born Rehman has worked to give back to his community. In 2010 he launched the Zesh Rehman Foundation, which is built on principles of community engagement and support for young people, mentoring and role modelling, and using his networks within football to open opportunities across all elements of the industry.

palace for life

When asked about how he became a professional footballer, Rehman said: “Whatever you want to do, if you’re passionate about it, you should follow your dreams. Anything is possible.” Talking about the Zesh Rehman Foundation, he also said: “The Foundation is over a decade old now – the whole idea of it was to create a ripple effect and it is happening; other clubs are involved. I always think home should be with your local community, so if that’s Crystal Palace – and Palace are doing a great job – wherever you can support club then you should.”

After Rehman spoke to guests, there was a call to prayer, and fast was broken with dates, water and milk. After prayer was complete, every guest was served hot food.

Having this event has definitely shown the attendees that Palace for Life is a foundation that is very open to ensure everyone feels welcome and comfortable Raya Ahmed-Saki, Female Engagement Development Officer, said: “For our very first Iftar event it went amazingly smoothly. Participants, families and staff had smiles on their faces, it was evident that everyone enjoyed their time. “Having this event has definitely shown the attendees that Palace for Life is a foundation that is very open to ensure everyone feels welcome and comfortable. “We hope to do more events like this in the future to both spread and show more awareness of such important dates.” Events such as Iftar are part of Palace for Life’s Get Involved programme, designed to create more inclusive spaces for groups under-represented in football. For more information, please head to palaceforlife.org

Support Palace for Life in our mission to raise £1million to enable us to transform the lives of thousands more young south Londoners.

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palace for life

It’s a bold statement, but Crystal Palace Football Club has a legitimate claim to being the oldest league side in existence still playing professional football. Throughout the club’s 160th anniversary season, author and supporter Peter Manning explains the fascinating tale of Palace’s history from 1861 to 1915, a history acknowledged in their 1906 handbook, laying out in each edition why the club’s heritage stretches further back than ever thought.

cpfc 1861

ver the previous 17 programmes we have covered Crystal Palace’s history from its earliest foundations in 1861 until 1915, when it was forced to move from Sydenham at the outbreak of World War I. In the final two programmes we’ll set out why new archive discoveries now provide the link between today’s Crystal Palace and its early ancestors. Consider it a 54-year summary in four pages.

Q: So, what were these new archive discoveries?

A: Those who follow archaeology will know how ground-penetrating radar completely changed the amount of history that can now be discovered underground. Well, the internet has done the same for historical research. The turning point in our story was when the British Library started digitising its vast collection of 19th century newspapers which could then be searched online. Q: What did these old newspapers reveal? A: It was like discovering thousands of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle without a picture, but it soon became clear that Palace’s true history was nothing like the story handed down through generations. It is so different that it’s best to start from the very beginning.

When the Crystal Palace moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham the Crystal Palace Company had to increase the number of visitors to its 200 acres of land. One of the ideas was to start its own cricket club, so it laid a top-class pitch in summer 1857. The Crystal Palace Club played its first matches that July. Apart from the public schools there was no organised football in those days; cricket was then by far the most important organised sport. Players took it so seriously they organised winter football teams among themselves to keep fit, which also provided a novel idea for the Crystal Palace Company. Companies who used the Crystal Palace for their staff days out often organised football on the cricket pitch, and the Crystal Palace Company recognised that this could bring even more visitors in the winter. So in January 1858 they took the revolutionary step cpfc 1861

of organising football coaching on their cricket ground. Crystal Palace Club cricketers also took their fitness seriously and at some time in 1861 formed

When the Crystal Palace moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham the Crystal Palace Company had to increase the number of visitors to its 200 acres of land their own football team. Then, in March 1862, they took the highly unusual step of playing another team: Forest F.C. from Essex.

Q: Why did they play Forest? A: It’s not known precisely why, but it’s most likely because a family named Cutbill had moved to Sydenham, and some of the brothers who represented Palace had previously attended the Forest school in Essex, therefore playing for both teams. Q: Was this a one-off match? A: No. In fact it was a historically momentous occasion as it was the first recorded game between two clubs that would go on to found the Football Association. In 1863, 11 clubs were minuted as founding the Football Association and four of these were the core teams of Forest, Crystal Palace, Barnes and the No Names Club of Kilburn. These four would form the heart of the FA and drive through the rules we now know as association football. Q: What happened to the FA and Palace after that?

A: When the FA was founded football split into two camps: those who followed association rules and those who followed rugby rules (which included hacking and shinning). In its first years the FA was a fragile organisation and only survived because of the core clubs’ support. In 1866 a dynamic new secretary was appointed, Charles Alcock – one of two brothers who played for Forest – and he set out

to make ‘soccer’, as association football became known, a stronger game. He organised the first football international between England and Scotland in 1870, and in 1871 announced plans for the world’s first national knockout competition, the FA Cup. Crystal Palace, through their captain Douglas Allport, were heavily involved in the cup’s founding and Allport was one of three FA committee members who bought the very first trophy. Palace also played in the first competition 150 years ago and reached the semi-final, mirroring this year’s success.

Charles Alcock – one of two brothers who played for Forest – set out to make ‘soccer’, as association football became known, a stronger game Q: History has always said that the club folded in the 1870s, so what happened to Palace after 1871? A: The newspaper archives showed that this wasn’t the case. Their analysis revealed a long and complicated story that went all the way back to 1862. cpfc 1861

After their first match against Forest in March 1862, Palace played a return match at the Crystal Palace in April. This was just a few weeks before the start of the cricket season on May 1st, and remember, the football team played their matches on the cricket pitch. It seems almost certain that the football match damaged the cricket pitch, a notion reinforced when for the next few years Palace had to play their football away from the Crystal Palace, on a field behind the Crooked Billet pub in Penge. It wasn’t until 1867 that they were allowed back to the palace, and even after that they did not play there after the end of February and, in some years, not after the end of January. This preserved the cricket pitch for competition in summer. To be continued…

NEXT TIME In the last programme of the season, we’ll show that the Crystal Palace Club didn’t go out of existence, and conclude the story of how today’s Premier League Crystal Palace can say it is the firm descendant of the club of 1861. Peter Manning’s book, Palace at the Palace, is available online through the Club Shop.

emily orman This has been my first season in senior football. I’ve played lots of minutes and developed my match understanding and, as a team, we should be really proud of ourselves.

e held our own and battled through adversity to finish fourth this year, which is the club’s highest ever position. It’s been a really good season but hasn’t been plain sailing. We had a bit of a lull after Christmas whereby I learned to be very resilient and work on uplifting

I’ve had a fantastic season with amazing fans and great teammates. The girls have been great myself after a game that wasn’t the best performance. Overall I feel like I’ve impacted games and helped us to win, which has left me feeling pleased with my performances. From this I’ve learnt to sustain and regain momentum which has been beneficial for my transition into senior football. palace women

My targets as a young player were mainly focused around minutes. I not only wanted to play as much as I could, but also soak up as much experience on the field by learning from my teammates. After games I’d always reflect and think: ‘What can I take from that? What did I do well and what could have been better?’ I knew this season wouldn’t be perfect because I’m still early in my journey, but personally and collectively it’s been a huge success. No one expected us to finish so high, and we acknowledged that between ourselves. As athletes it was innate in us to finish as high as possible and we had to ensure that mindset didn’t affect performances. I’m on loan from Chelsea, who I joined aged 16 after several years with Brighton. I’m unsure as to what’s next for me but certain that I am heading in the right direction for success. I spent the season working with both clubs, training Wednesdays/Fridays in the morning and evening across the two. This enabled me to refine the smaller details and focus on minute aspects like my movement and mechanics (which helped with the marginal gains). I’ve had a fantastic season with amazing fans and great teammates. The girls have been great! It goes without saying that there’s a real mixture of characters – from nutters and to those who are a lot calmer. All of who have added great memories

to my time at Palace. I spent more time with Issy Sibley and Alex Hennessy since they joined and knew Gracie Pearse from our time with England, so we connected from the beginning. The four of us are similar ages and at similar stages of our career so we can bounce off each other and check in to make sure we’re all on the same page. Finally, the supporters made a huge difference to our success. Especially when you are in goal and the crowd’s behind you, they give you that boost

the fans even travel to those extra long away games when even we sometimes dread the journey, which shows their commitment. we are all grateful for their support

you need. They even travel to those extra long away games when even we sometimes dread the journey, which shows their commitment. I think it goes without saying that we are all grateful for their support

palace women

The page for Palace supporters: taking your comments from the terraces into the programme. Make sure to get in touch with the details on Page 67 to share your own message.

Congratulations Nick Conway. Having a great time celebrating his birthday with a group of friends in a box today! Nick is a life long Palace supporter with his son Harrison who will soon be joining him in the Holmesdale End.

In Memory of Barry Habgood, who passed away on Saturday 26th March. Forever an Eagle. Always in our hearts. With Love, Michelle, your Family and Friends xx

Happy 56th birthday Jude. Lifelong Palace fan and season ticket holder. From Seth, Dougie, Cameron and the Figueira family. Philip Dellaway born 13th August 1950 sadly passed recently after a courageous battle against cancer. A lifelong Eagles supporter.

In loving memory of our dad Leonard Walker. 25.11.1985 - 19.11.2021. Devoted dad, grandad, son, brother, husband, stepdad, and uncle. You will never be forgotten and forever in our hearts. UTP.

from the terraces

Wishing Hayley Webb a very Happy 37th Birthday, with love from all your family. Especially Freddie, who will be attending his first Premier League game today xx

In memory of Colin Patrick O’Leary, a supporter for over 60 years. Colin was a Season Ticket holder who lived in Croydon, and kept his Season Ticket even after moving to Edenbridge, Kent. He took his son and grandson when possible after moving to Devon and later Blackpool, and will be missed so much by his wife, two sons and his many friends.

Happy 80th Birthday Rob Gordon, a lifelong Palace Fan! Have a fantastic day celebrating, with love from all your family!

In loving memory of our dad Ken Wyatt, life long passionate Palace supporter and founder of the Goalpost shop, selling Souvenirs and Palace merchandise before the official club shop existed.

Happy belated Will – have a corker you Main Stand-loving lad.

Welcome back to Selhurst Jaxson and you will be red and blue forever. Love dad

Welcome to Selhurst, Luke! Hope you enjoy your first game down in south London.

Email programme@cpfc.co.uk Happy 54th birthday Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day because you deserve nothing less, lots of love Riannon x

RIP Pete Herbert. Lifelong Eagles fan. Devoted Husband, Dad and Brother. Main occupation being the best Grandad ever. We will miss you, love from all your family and friends x

from the terraces

with a message of 30 words or fewer and an image to feature on our messageboard.

quiz, games, brighty & more!

Put your Palace, opposition and Premier League knowledge to the test in our various challenges below. The perfect way to pass time pre-match - let us know how you fare via social media!

Guess who

Spot the image

Can you guess the ex-Eagle above just from their picture?

The above cut-out is taken from an image in this programme. Can you find what page it’s on?

matchday quiz 1

Which manager brought Dean Austin to Palace?

With who did Kevin Phillips win the Premier League Golden Boot?

Adrian Mariappa was eligible to play for Jamaica and who else?

Bruce Dyer became the first what when joining Palace in 1994?

Who netted Palace’s goals in the 2016 FA Cup semi-final?

GAmes

FAMOUS FAN

guess the ground

Can you work out which Football League club’s stadium this is?

There aren’t many well-known Watford fans, bar the obvious, but this one is some kind of superstar. But we’ll stop (right now) before giving the game away. Do you recognise this famous Watford fan?

BEAT BRIGHTY In each edition, club icon Mark Bright calls it how he sees it and predicts scores from the weekend’s football. See how you fare and try to Beat Brighty! Scoring: One point for every correct result, three for a correct scoreline.

Brighty

You

2-0 1-1 0-1 1-2 total Manage to Beat Brighty? Keep track of your total score above!

ANSWERS Guess who: Brian Launders Spot the image: Page 26 Quiz: 1) Terry Venables 2) Sunderland 3) Fiji 4) English football’s first £1m+ teenage signing 5) Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham Famous Fan: Geri Halliwell Guess the Ground: City Ground − Nottingham Forest

games

team stats: women / U23S / U18S Hannah Churchill Churchill retired after Palace’s last game of the season, helping the team to a recordbreaking fourth.

Ademola Ola-Adebomi Ola-Adebomi, shortly after signing pro forms, scored an equaliser against Chelsea in the 46th-minute of a four-goal first-half.

Scott Banks Banks again scored a brace as a nine-man Palace beat Leicester 3-2.

Home fixture Away fixture Cup fixture (Crystal Palace score shown first)

AUGUST Sun 29 Bristol City SEPTEMBER Sun 5 London City Lionesses Sun 12 Sunderland Sun 26 Liverpool OCTOBER Sun 3 Sheffield United Sun 10 Coventry United Wed 13 Lewes Sun 31 Watford NOVEMBER Sun 7 Durham Sun 14 Charlton Athletic Wed 17 Reading Sun 21 Blackburn Rovers DECEMBER Sun 12 Bridgwater United Wed 15 Bristol City JANUARY Sun 16 Durham Sun 23 Liverpool Sun 30 Lewes FEBRUARY Sun 6 Bristol City Sun 13 London City Lionesses Sun 27 Sunderland MARCH Sun 6 Coventry United Sun 13 Lewes Sun 27 Charlton Athletic APRIL Sun 3 Blackburn Rovers Sun 24 Watford MAY Sun 1 Sheffield United

W 4-3 L 1-2 D 1-1 L 1-2

AUGUST Mon 16 Leeds United

L 1-3

Fri 20

Arsenal

L 2-4

Fri 27

Everton

W 3-1

SEPTEMBER Mon 13 Leicester City

W 6-1

Sat 18

Manchester City

L 2-4

D 0-0 W 3-2 W 1-1 (4-3)

Fri 24

West Ham United

L 0-1

D 2-2

Sat 16

Brighton & Hove Albion

L 1-2

Fri 22

Derby County

W 3-2

OCTOBER Fri 1 Tottenham Hotpsur

W 4-3

NOVEMBER Mon 1 Blackburn Rovers

L 1-2

Sat 6

Chelsea

W 2-1

Sat 20

Liverpool

W 3-0

Sat 27

Manchester United

W 2-1

L 0-1 L 0-0 (4-5)

DECEMBER Mon 6 West Ham United

L 2-4

W 3-2 L 0-4 W 3-1

JANUARY Mon 10 Everton

D 2-2

Mon 17 Chelsea

W 3-2

Mon 24 Liverpool

L 0-2

FEBRUARY Mon 7 Tottenham Hotspur

W 4-1

Sun 20

D 2-2

W W L W

3-1 3-2 1-3 2-1

L 0-4 L 1-5 W 1-0 L 0-1 L 0-2 W 1-0

Manchester United

Mon 28 Brighton & Hove Albion W 2-0 MARCH Sat 12

Manchester City

L 1-2

Sat 19

Arsenal

D 1-1

APRIL Mon 4

Leeds United

L 0-4

W 2-1 W 2-1

Mon 25 Blackburn Rovers

L 1-2

MAY Mon 2

Leicester City

W 3-2

D 2-2

Mon 9

Derby County

women/u23S/u18S

AUGUST Sat 14 Leicester City Sat 21 West Ham United Sat 28 West Bromwich Albion SEPTEMBER Sat 11 Aston Villa Sat 18 Liverpool Sat 25 Southampton OCTOBER Sat 2 Reading Sat 16 Manchester City Sat 23 Birmingham City Sat 30 Arsenal NOVEMBER Sat 6 Chelsea Sat 20 Fulham Sat 27 Aston Villa DECEMBER Sat 4 Tottenham Hotpsur Wed 8 Barnsley JANUARY Sat 8 Norwich City Sat 15 Wolves Sat 22 Birmingham City FEBRUARY Sat 5 Tottenham Hotspur Sat 19 Arsenal Sat 26 Norwich City MARCH Sat 5 Leicester City Fri 11 West Ham United Sat 19 West Bromwich Albion APRIL Sat 2 Aston Villa Sat 9 Southampton Tue 12 Brighton & Hove Albion Sat 23 Reading Sat 30 Chelsea MAY Sat 7 Brighton & Hove Albion Sat 14 Fulham

W 3-1 W 2-1 W 3-2 D 2-2 L 2-3 W 1-0 D D L W

3-3 2-2 1-2 3-2

L 3-4 D 1-1 W 3-1 W 3-0 W 2-1 D 0-0 L 1-1 (5-6) W 4-0 W 4-2 W 5-0 W 1-0 W 2-1 L 1-2 W 3-0 W L L W D

6-1 2-3 0-1 3-0 2-2

Name

Apps

Skye Bacon

Goals

Tayo Adaramola

Bianca Baptiste

Kirsty Barton

Hannah Churchill

Charley Clifford

Grace Coombs

3 4

Leanne Cowan

Aimee Everett

Name

Apps

Goals

Apps

Joshua Addae Tayo Adaramola

Victor Akinwale

Scott Banks

David Boateng

Ryan Bartley

Malachi Boateng

Kalani Barton

Luke Dreher

Freddie Bell

Harry Freedman

Maliq Cadogan

Owen Goodman (GK)

Junior Dixon

John-Kymani Gordon

Owen Goodman (GK)

Reece Hannam

Millie Farrow

Danny Imray

Nya Kirby

Alex Hennessy

Jake O'Brien

1 2

David Omilabu

Annabel Johnson Sophie McLean

Chloe Morgan (GK)

Killian Phillips

Dan Quick

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Leigh Nicol

Sean Robertson

Emily Orman (GK)

Kaden Rodney

Cardo Siddik

Jackson Izquierdo (GK)

Kanye Jobson

James Leonard

Cameron Lewis-Brown

Joe Ling

Adler Nascimento

Fionn Mooney

David Obou

Ademola Ola-Adebomi

David Ozoh

Jadan Raymond

Kaden Rodney

Aidan Steele

Molly-Mae Sharpe

Rob Street

Laurence Shala

James Taylor

Joe Sheridan

Dylan Thiselton

Basilio Socoliche

Noah Watson

Matthew Vigor

Jack Wells-Morrison

Joe Whitworth (GK)

Vonnte Williams

Hope Smith Lizzie Waldie

Siobhan Wilson

pos CLUB P W D

A GD Pts

liv

22 16 4

2 49 11 +38 52

lon

22 13 2

7 35 22 +13 41

bri

22 11

7 43 28 +15 37

cry

22 11

7 35 39 -4 37

cha

22 10 4

8 27 18 +9 34

pos CLUB P W D 1

mci

26 16 6

Zach Marsh

Gracie Pearse

Isabella Sibley

Goals

Victor Akinwale

Coral-Jade Haines

Name

A GD Pts

4 65 32 33 54

pos CLUB 1

sou

P W D

25 19 2

4 75 32 43 59

A GD Pts

whu 26 15 3

8 59 39 20 48

whu 25 17 4

4 66 25 41 55

ars

26 10 11

5 56 48 8 41

cry

24 14 5

5 58 30 28 47 6 52 27 25 46

liv

26 11

8 47 37 10 40

ful

24 14 4

mun 26 11

9 46 43 3 39

che

25 14 4

7 64 44 20 46

tot

25 10 7

8 48 43 5 37

ars

25 13 6

6 53 43 10 45 7 45 30 15 44

dur

22 10 4

8 30 28 +2 34

lei

26 10 7

9 38 53 -15 37

lei

25 13 5

she

22 9

7 34 31 +3 33

cry

25 11

11 51 49 2 36

bha

25 10 3 12 56 56 0 33

lew 22 9

11 23 24 -1 29

bla

26 9

9 50 56 -6 35

tot

25 10

10 bha

26 9

7 10 41 41 0 34

sun

22 6

6 10 23 32 -9 24

10 BLA

22 5

2 15 17 41 -24 17

cov* 22 5

12 wat

22 2

10 wba 25 8

14 52 61 -9 31

2 15 38 63 -25 26

eve

26 8

5 13 33 54 -21 29

rdg

25 7

3 15 36 58 -22 24

12 lee

26 7

6 13 44 49 -5 27

12 avl

25 5

4 16 42 67 -25 19

7 10 18 32 -14 12

13 che

25 6

7 12 37 46 -9 25

13 bir

25 3

4 18 27 74 -47 13

5 15 18 46 -28 11

14 der

25 4

3 18 30 55 -25 15

14 nor

25 3

* 10 point deduction

women/u23S/u18S

21 20 74 -54 10

MAY

APRIL

March

FEBRUARY

JANUARY

DECEMBER

NOVEMBER

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

AUGUST

Chelsea

KICK-OFF 15:00

Result 0-3

Sat 21

Brentford