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DJ John Peel once said: "Supporting Palace has a certain cult value, like pretending that some Peruvian rock band is the best in the world."

'Nostalgia' this way--------------------->

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Bexley Dave

Can you hear the Brighton sing? I can't hear a ******* thing!

"The most arrogant, obnoxious bunch of deluded little sun tanned, loafer wearing mummy's boys I've ever had the misfortune of having to listen to" (Burnley forum)

Remember going to that Newcastle game, they had a team of super stars, and we turned them over. Then remember the west ham game, drew with them, and got beat away in the replay. Some of my first hero's in that team, and along with the sash, my favourite kit.

Just when I thought that I was out...........they pull me back in

My favourite player as a kid.

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
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I'm with you. The publicity early on (largely a result of the TV documentary) always slightly outstripped the legend, and the final product was never quite the equal of the publicity. You are bang on; never as good as when he first broke in and moreover, his game never really improved once he was out of his teens.

With the exception of Sansom, who was simply the greatest player ever to wear a Palace shirt, period, the team of the 80s -- if we are brutally honest -- was filled with slightly one dimensional players who got found out as their careers progressed and thus who tended to sink into relative obscurity. Jerry Murphy had fantastic vision and could hit a telling pass but he had no pace at all. Billy Gilbert had speed and strength but poor positional sense and a lack of timing in the tackle. Peter Nicholas was a fine all rounder but his distribution was just short of really top class. And so on. Once their limitations had been exposed, opposition learned how to play these and other players and most never quite got to the very top. Most ended up as good professional players, but no more. Not quite what we expected of them in 1979 or 1980.

There's a lot of romance around that team but, really, they had a very heady 18 month heyday before it all fell away relatively fast. Sansom is the icon that still shines; a lot of the rest is romanticising the past. I'm tempted to say I know, cos I was there but anyway, that's how I see it.

Edited by sydtheeagle (25 Jan 2014 11.44am)

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.