I watched the highlights of the ZDS on the Palace website I was there that day. The film editing was appalling and ruined a reminder of a great day.

Oh well at least we beat Everton that must have brought great joy to the team. I seem to remember Wrighty saying at the time that Everton was the worst ground to go to for our black players as Everton didn't have any they got lots of racial abuse. I bet he enjoyed sticking it to them.

Edited by Badger11 (11 Apr 2020 7.21am)

here, i've excelled myself this time, 1960/61 div 4 going for promotion v oldham - a johny byrne master class for your delectation - i'd never seen the great man strut his stuff, now it's your chance...

[Link]

Just watched the 3-4 defeat to Wolves brings back some memories.

- It was the Mullery era (excuse me whilst I wash my mouth out).
- The ground was pretty empty probably because the results weren't great.
- Jim Cannon reminding me he wasn't just a big unit he was a footballing centre half.
- Vince Hilaire showing Zaha skills before Zaha was a twinkle in his father's eye.
- Paul (Robber) Barron was our keeper the only thing he did was rob the club of a living.
- We were 2-0 up after 5 mins when did that last happen?
- Plenty of perms and mousaches on show
- Andy Gray showing us how to head the ball
- And yet again Palace snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I don't miss those games and to Hodgson's credit we don't do that now.

Yup never liked Barron had a habit of costing us games and then pulling off brilliant saves. I loved John Jackson but Nigel Martyn for me was our most consistent keep.

Our crowds dropped alarmingly in the early 80s and we didn't really get them back till the late 90s, when we went up in 97. In 78-79 we averaged 23k, 79-80 30k and with regular 40k+ crowds (ever since capacity was increased in the 60s) - we were widely regarded as a 'sleeping giant' back then, if only we could secure all that fair weather support that floods in from Surrey when we start to do well. In the 80-81 season the team imploded and they knocked down the Whitehorse for Sainsbury's and gave the away support a section of the Holmesdale - crowds dropped to 19k, and after relegation that year to 9000 per week in 81-82. And for the next few years some of us will remember mind-numbing home defeats in front of Shrewsbury and Barnsley with as little as 4000 watching. I remember losing 2-3 at home to Fulham in 77 (George Best broke Ian Evans' leg) and a crowd of 23k, loads of Fulham, in '83 for a Sunday game 11,000. Even in Div 1 under Coppel crowds were relatively poor, not until 97-98 and 04-05 were we filling the ground every week like we are now. It's a new generation of Palace fans who are a bit more raucous and hard core than the Lens and Kens of old, and they do us proud. I so want improvements to the ground so we can build as a club and one day revive those sleeping giant dreams.

I recall the dire crowds when some of our home attendances were less than 5,000.
Even that dastardly home game against Wimbledon, when we lost 5-0, only attracted about 8,000.
Even in the early days of Bright & Wright some of our attendances were below 10,000.