Crystal Palace v Cardiff City 26.12.2018 // 3pm
08 THE CHAIRMAN
PROGRESS ON AND OFF THE PITCH Welcome to the supporters, staff and players of Cardiff City to Selhurst Park, and to each and every Palace fan. I hope you all had a magnificent Christmas Day, and are raring to go today.
As the year draws to a close, today’s notes will reflect upon 2018, and for the Chelsea game I will outline some of our plans for 2019. When you look back it’s incredible the amount that can be packed into a year. I think that we have made great progress in many areas, starting with achieving our record-breaking sixth season in the Premier League. We began 2018 with a bang by beating Southampton away, starting a rollercoaster few months but we would go on to finish 11th thanks to some magnificent wins over Leicester and Brighton in particular, with only goal difference keeping us from a top-10 finish while our last six games yielded 14 points, placing us at the very top of the form table. It was quite a turnaround, and credit must go to Roy, his staff and the players for that fantastic finish. Your support never wavered too, as always. During the summer, we bade farewell to some magnificent club servants in Damien, Yohan, Chungy and Bakary. Ruben and Timothy returned to their clubs too after doing a great job for us on loan. The World Cup summer where football nearly came home went by in a flash, during which we signed some able replacements in Vicente, Max, Cheikhou and Jordan, all of whom have settled in well. Meanwhile, Roy, Wilf, James, Wayne, Aaron, Julian and several young players were all rewarded with new deals. This season so far has been full of great team performances, but they haven't translated into the
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THE CHAIRMAN 09
points we think we deserve... yet! The away wins at Fulham and Huddersfield were excellent; the draws with Arsenal and Manchester United magnificent and the outstanding win over Burnley and gritty defeat of Leicester were special days here at Selhurst Park. I have total faith in Roy and the players to secure some much-needed results in the coming months. There is no reason why we can’t emulate our finish last season and rapidly climb the table. Elsewhere, our under-23s and under-18s won their respective leagues which were brilliant achievements for our academy. Aaron’s progress through the ranks has been something to celebrate, but he’s not the only one to force his way into Roy’s plans. Sam Woods and Ryan Inniss made their first-team debuts, while James Daly, Nya Kirby and Giovanni McGregor have made the bench this year. It is an exciting time to be a young player in our academy. We secured planning permission for a gamechanging 14,000+ seat Main Stand, something that’s eluded the club for years, and signed a long-term lease on our academy site so we can now invest and begin to make it something we can all be proud of.
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Our Ladies were granted a place in the Women’s Championship, which has been a big step-up with results hard to come by but I expect them to show the typical Palace spirit, dig in and avoid relegation. I’d urge you all to get down to a game and support them in the new year. That’s not bad going in a year, although the planning and groundwork for these things has taken a lot longer. I’d like to thank my partners and all my staff here at the club for their work in achieving such positive progress, and of course all of you for your continued, loyal and passionate support of our football club. We really appreciate it. As for today, no-one needs reminding how important this match is. Let’s pull together and get behind Roy’s team. Up The Palace!
James With a one-year-old becoming captured by the magic of this time of the year, James Tomkins is trying to ensure that both his son and the Palace fans have a Christmas to remember. Here he speaks to Ben Mountain about how he juggles the demands of the holiday season with the football season.
46 OPPOSITION
01
Age
28
Signed from
Walsall
CCFC Debut
August 2017
I N T E R N AT I ON AL C AP S : 6 2 GOAL S : 0
The first South Asian player in Premier League history started life in the division by saving penalties in both of his first two outings to be nominated for August’s Player of the Month. Beginning at Fulham where he played once, and after stints at Bristol Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, Oldham Athletic and Charlton Athletic he finally made his mark at Walsall in 2015. He shone during his 94 appearances at the Bescot Stadium, before helping Cardiff back into the top-flight. CCFC Games: 64 CCFC Goals: 0
28
I N T E R N AT I ON AL
Age
Aston Villa
31
October 2016
Huddersfield Town
CCFC Games: 78 CCFC Goals: 4
Lorient
30
IN T E RN AT I O NA L CAP S : 6 7 G OAL S: 7
Age
27
September 2014
Reading
Signed from
Age
August 2014
05 CCFC Debut
Signed from
IN T E RN AT ION AL
CCFC Debut
04 CCFC Games: 180 CCFC Goals: 20
Signed from
Age
January 2015
CCFC Games: 121 CCFC Goals: 0
03 CCFC Debut
Signed from
I N T E R N AT I ON AL
CCFC Debut
02
CCFC Games: 137 CCFC Goals: 7
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OPPOSITION 47
22
Age
33
Signed from
Leeds United
CCFC Debut
October 2016
I N T E R N AT I ON AL C AP S : 4 4 GOAL S : 2
Ever since he scored on his debut against Bristol City, the towering centreback has been a fan favourite at the Cardiff City Stadium. His nomadic career has seen him represent Paris St Germain, have stints in Scotland, England, Italy and Turkey and selected for two Ivory Coast World Cup squads, meaning that when he was released by Leeds United in 2016, Neil Warnock pounced. He was an ever-present the promotion campaign when Bamba was named in the Championship Team of the Year. CCFC Games: 89 CCFC Goals: 8
27
I N T E R N AT I ON AL C AP S : 4 GOAL S : 0
Age
Scholar
25
CCFC Games: 192 CCFC Goals: 19
IN T E RN AT ION AL
Age
August 2011
28
Signed from
Bournemouth
08 CCFC Debut
Age
August 2018
CARDIFF CITY
IN T E RN AT I O NA L CAP S : 1 4 G OAL S: 0
Loaned from
v
Preston North End
27
CCFC Debut
PALACE
August 2018
Fulham
CCFC Games: 5 CCFC Goals: 0
07 CCFC Games: 14 CCFC Goals: 0
18 Signed from
Age
August 2017
CCFC Games: 43 CCFC Goals: 0
CCFC Debut
Signed from
I N T E R N AT I ON AL C AP S : 1 4 GOAL S : 0
CCFC Debut
06
52 DREAM TEAM
Combined xi
Palace & cardiff george wood
danny gabbidon
mark hudson
joe ledley
Fan Zhiyi
Darcy blake
paul bodin
David Giles
wilfried zaha
Ian Walsh
Bobby Woodruff
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DREAM TEAM 53
A foot in
Both camps
IN EACH EDITION, WE WILL TRY AND FORM THE BEST STARTING LINE-UP POSSIBLE COMPRISED OF PLAYERS WHO HAVE REPRESENTED BOTH THE EAGLES AND TODAY’S OPPONENTS, AND SEE WHICH CLUB COMES OUT ON TOP WHEN IT COMES TO APPEARANCES AND GOALS.
GK: George Wood – CPFC 210/0 CCFC 87/0 A former Palace Player of the Year back in 1986, the shotstopper moved to Cardiff the following year and after retiring would have stints as goalkeeping coach at both clubs.
CM: Fan Zhiyi – CPFC 102/6 CCFC 7/0 In 1998 Fan became one of the first Chinese players in English football and was named Palace Player of the Year in 2001, before ending his time in Britain with Cardiff two years later.
RB: Darcy Blake – CPFC 11/0 CCFC 118/0 The Welsh international played twice at Wembley for the Bluebirds including in the 2012 League Cup final, but injuries cut short his promising career following his move to SE25 later that year.
LW: David Giles – CPFC 100/6 CCFC 151/12 The winger began his career with Cardiff where he would have two spells bookending his playing days, which also included a stint with the Eagles between 1982 and 1984.
CB: Danny Gabbidon – CPFC 38/2 CCFC 221/10 After helping Cardiff into the second tier in 2003, the 49-time capped international helped the Eagles clinch Premier League promotion in 2012/13 before a second stint in the Welsh capital. CB: Mark Hudson – CPFC 150/7 CCFC 165/11 A captain of both sides, Hudson’s loan arrival helped propel Palace to promotion in 2004 and he won the Bluebirds’ Player of the Year in 2012/13 as they reached the Premier League for the first time. LB: Paul Bodin – CPFC 10/0 CCFC 90/4 Another Welsh international, Bodin’s career took off at Cardiff but would later star for Swindon Town either side of a short stint at Selhurst Park in 1991. RW: Wilfried Zaha – CPFC 301/46 CCFC 13/0 Following his move to Manchester United in 2013, the mercurial winger was loaned to Cardiff for the second half of the 2013/14 campaign in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid relegation. CM: Joe Ledley – CPFC 96/6 CCFC 265/30 Cardiff born and bred, the central midfielder played for the Bluebirds in the 2007 FA Cup final and, after a spell at Celtic, spent three years helping Palace remain in the top-flight.
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CF: Ian Walsh – CPFC 133/27 CCFC 17/4 A member of the Team of the Eighties, Walsh famously scored on the night Palace gained top-flight promotion against Burnley in 1979 and ended his playing days at Cardiff a decade later. CF: Bobby Woodruff – CPFC 139/48 CCFC 197/32 Having helped the Glaziers reach the First Division in 1969, the striker switched to Ninian Park for £25,000 the following year where he spent five seasons.
TOTAL APPEARANCES
CPFC 1,290
CCFC 1,331
TOTAL GOALS
CPFC 148
CCFC 103
RESULT
draw
58 THE GLORY YEARS
1978/79
11th November 1978
Crystal Palace 3 Blackburn Rovers 0 Match report reproduced from the Croydon Advertiser
P
alace’s eager youngsters, spearheaded by man-of-the-match David Swindlehurst, brushed away the unsavoury memories of two successive defeats that had knocked them out of their promotion-seeking stride and got grimly down to nailing the challenge of a surprisingly talented Blackburn side on Saturday. In doing so, they pushed themselves back into second place in the Second Division and emerged, too, with flying colours from a test of character that had manager Terry Venables enthusing afterwards. It was obvious from the opening moments that victory was not going to come easily against a Blackburn side who, after a dismal start, had won their previous two away games, including a fine win over high-flying Fulham. Faced with the absence of the experienced Paul Hinshelwood and Mike Elwiss, Venables took the bold step of dropping another seasoned campaigner in Nick Chatterton – “He’s had one or two personal problems lately and it was beginning to show in his play,” explained the Palace boss. The net result was that Palace went into the game with seven youngsters in the side, and another young man with little first-team experience – Neil Smillie – on the substitutes bench. But such is the talent in this Palace side that
their comparative rawness did not really show. Mind you, it was not particularly pretty to watch for most of the first half while Palace were finding their feet against a Blackburn side who had their fair share of ordinary performers, but who had in their ranks several outstanding players as well.
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THE GLORY YEARS 59
Give Blackburn credit, too, for not pulling all back into defence. They were prepared to run at Palace, and in the first 40-minutes or so it was John Burridge in the Palace goal who had more important work to do than his Blackburn counterpart John Butcher. Palace’s best chance of that opening spell came in the 22nd minute when Brotherston flattened Swindlehurst as the big centre forward bored his way into the Blackburn penalty area. Palace besieged referee Angus McDonald with their penalty appeals, but they were strangely waved aside. It looked to be heading for a scoreless deadlock at half-time when Palace suddenly sprang into life and scored two goals in the space of a minute in the dying stages of the first period. The first came in the 42nd minute when Alan Birchenall recklessly chopped down Jerry Murphy a couple of yards outside the Blackburn penalty area. Palace’s strength in set-piece situations was illustrated graphically yet again. Murphy touched the ball to Kember who stopped it and Swindlehurst
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chipped an exquisite little lob over to Peter Nicholas at the far post. Nicholas headed back into the goalmouth and into the path of the advancing Ian Walsh, who scored with a diving header. Swindlehurst had taken a supporting role in that goal, but while Blackburn were still reeling from the precision of it all, he claimed star billing less than 60 seconds later as he gathered a Hilaire pass, tore through a Rovers defence that was in total disarray and beat Butcher with a low, firm shot. From that moment on it was Palace’s match, and when Rovers' Derek Fazackerley handled in the 66th minute under pressure from Walsh it was just a formality as Swindlehurst sent a carefully aimed penalty past Butcher. Palace – Burridge, Fenwick, Sansom, Kember, Cannon, Gilbert, Nicholas, Murphy, Swindlehurst, Walsh, Hilaire. Blackburn – Butcher, Hird, Bailey, Metcalfe, Keeley, Fazackerley, Brotherston, Garner, Craig, Fowler, Birchenall.