January 21 2015

Julian Speroni - 'The Gloves are off'

The identity of the opposition for Julian Speroni's testimonial match has been revealed - just one of several mysteries resolved at the Fairfield Halls last night, writes Liz Wells.

Speaking at the first event of his testimonial celebrations, Speroni said: "It had to be Dundee – they gave me the opportunity to come to Europe."

The match will take place on Tuesday 26 May.

The hosts of the sold-out celebration were testimonial committee head Mark Williams, David 'Kid' Jensen and QVC presenter Julia Roberts.

The first half of the evening was a review of Jules' Palace career, starting with how he got into football.

"I started playing aged eight. My grandfather got me into football – he took me to see Boca Juniors play every week.

"I left Argentina aged 21 not speaking a word of English. It was very tough, but I gradually learnt the language and customs," he added.

His career Palace started in the 2004/05 season, when then manager Iain Dowie signed him after following his progress in a few matches.

"I didn’t know a lot about Palace when I signed, but it was an opportunity to play in the Premier League," said Speroni.

"The first season wasn’t the best start, but I learnt a lot. I had to be patient and wait for a chance," he explained.

"That is one piece of advice I would give up-and-coming players: keep training hard – the opportunities will come."

The discussion quickly moved on to the highs and lows of his Palace career. He explained that one of the toughest times came under the reign of Peter Taylor who told the keeper that he would be third choice behind Gabor Kiraly and Scott Flinders. Taylor even offered to help Speroni find another club, an offer he thankfully declined.

The high of his career came when Palace won promotion to the Premier League through the play offs. Current team mate Paddy McCarthy had the audience rolling in the aisles with his recollection of Poogate (See Video).

"Our coach driver had a mis-hap before the match. He wasn’t feeling well, he went to the toilet and it was coming out of both ends. He tried to clean it up but made it worse. Ollie went mental and made a beeline for Gus Poyet," McCarthy said.

As well as McCarthy, the evening also feature a number of other well-known Palace faces, including former striker James Scowcroft. He said of Speroni: "He’s a good all round goalkeeper. His attitude to training was first class. He is always the first in and the last to leave – he would always stay to help the forwards practice."

McCarthy added that he holds a record at the club for being the only player to have had an argument with Julian. It came after a heated match against Burnley – we ended up wrestling. Neil Warnock asked me what I'd said because Jules is the nicest man in the world. I told him I was just being me."

The discussion moved onto team-mates. "Goalies are known for being a bit mad...but so are defenders!

"I've been blessed with centre halves: Dann, Paddy, Sorondo, Delaney, Popovic and so many more," he said.

Meanwhile, McCarthy recalled the first time he met Edgar Davids. "I was at the training ground, sat in my car on the phone with Shaun Derry, my mouth dropped open and I stopped talking, he asked me what was wrong. I replied, You're not going to believe this..."

The Argentinian said he never expected things to go so well at Palace. "I never expected to be here so long – it just happened. I never saw a reason to leave the club," he added.

Speroni concluded the first part of the show by discussing his future. "When George Wood is not around I enjoy coaching the kids. So I think to myself why not be a coach or a manager?

"I have worked with so many managers – I know how tough it is, but I like coaching the kids. I don’t want to think too much about it at the moment, but I think I would like to try management."

The second half of the evening was made up of a Q&A session with the great man, hosted by the new face of Palace TV Chris Grierson. A surprise question came from Jonny Williams, who asked: "How much out of 10 do you love me?" Williams had bought his own ticket and came as a fan.

Meanwhile, co-chairman Steve Browett said: "Jules is the best keeper we have ever had. In the past few years we have achieved so much because of our team spirit, of which Jules is an import part. I don’t think we’d be a Premier League team if it wasn’t for Jules."

This really was an evening for Palace fans of all ages – the youngest being his three-month old daughter Isabella – while the best question of the evening came from an 11-year-old.

Even the Holmesdale Fanatics were present, selling their commemorative scarves in the interval, with all profits being used to fund a display at the testimonial game. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all – and the only disappointment was that it had to end as soon as it did.

Some answers given by Speroni at the Q&A session:

On player of the Year:

"One day I came home to find one of my trophies being used as a doorstop – my wife claimed it was the only thing she could find! It's a great honour to be recognised by the fans."

On his son:

"I won't push him into football, but if he does go into football he won't be allowed to play for anyone but Palace."

On Freedman:

"I was sad to see him go because we had a good thing going on."

McCarthy added: "Everyone was shocked, but it set the wheels in motion. He bought a good bunch of lads in. Later at out Christmas party in Dublin, when we were all a bit worse for wear, we sung 'Oh Dougie Freedman what have you done?'"

On Brighton:

"I didn’t know of the rivalry until half way through my time here because we hadn't played them that much.""

On Argentina:

"If we had been promoted a season earlier I might have had a better of chance of getting in the Argentinian World Cup squad. I understand why the manager wouldn't have wanted to make a change so close to the start of the tournament."

On grounds:

"New stadiums are nice, they are comfortable and beautiful, but they all look the same and have no atmosphere. Old Trafford was very disappointing – this room has more atmosphere."

On Pardew:

"All of the players have taken on board what he's said, but it's early days. I hope we can do better than last season."

Best piece of advice:

"The best advice I've ever received was from Iain Dowie; Don't ever try taking people on again!"

On kits:

"I had no say in the pink kit. It gave me nightmares!"

See more photos of the event.