Looking at the trailer for that Beatles film that Peter Jackson has produced, how great would it be if that Man U 5-0 game could get that treatment?

Home v Charlton I'm sure I recognised that Millwall fan with the ginger hair and glasses from there documentary main stand near the start..

If anyone missed it Palace v Man City (Nov 1980) was on the Big Match Revisited on Saturday morning on ITV4. It’s the feature game before Villa v Arsenal and Utd v Southampton. Doesn’t get a mention on the info bar/programme details. So it’s easy to miss.

Thanks for that heads up Stats!
History will say that we were crap that season.

But, I think we could go through each game and, playing a lot of "what ifs", we could have got out of trouble earlier. Maybe we wouldn't have had so many changes of manager and we may just have stayed up.

You may say I'm a dreamer....

Blimey, that’s a lot of ‘What If?s’. We finished 16 points from safety & it was only 2 points for a win in those days. I was only 11 & I knew we were down in January! :p

I promise you - leave it with me and I will apply enough "what ifs" to turn our season around.

Man City's 2nd goal had a hand-ball in it that VAR would have chalked off.
We would have gone into the last few minutes 2-1 up - and would have no doubt, seen the game out.

That's 2 points to us, and 2 points off Man City.

As I say, leave it with me - I will rescue our 80-91 season.

Fantastic! Am really looking forward to reading how we were the moral League Champions in 80-81 :lux: :p

Coventry away & Allen’s stanchion goal - that’s another easy 2 point gain… :D

My first game

Your first game - and we concede in 13 seconds!!!!

It all went wrong after I started going to games, took us about 5 years to recover!

Well I've moved on to the early part of the 1980/81 season now, and next up for me was a show from September 1980.

The featured game was Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest, in truth hardly a thriller with Arsenal securing a 1-0 win. A few points of Palace interest though. As Brian Moore explained, it was Kenny Sansom's first Arsenal appearance in front of the ITV cameras and he put in a typically assured and buccaneering display, marauding forward regularly and linking well with Graham Rix on the left. In fact he should have scored after playing a 1-2 on the edge of the box but then poking just wide as Shilton rushed out to block. Due to an injury to Pat Jennings George Wood played in goal for Arsenal. Forest did not have a meaningful shot on target though throughout the extensive highlights so other than dealing with a couple of crosses and whatnot there was no real opportunity to assess Wood's credentials. It ended badly for him at Palace of course but he was actually a good servant for us through that transition period from Mullery to Coppell.

Finally, who should be refereeing the game but our old friend from the 1990 cup final Allan Gunn. He had his moment of controversy too, allowing the winning goal from a shot that fairly clearly did not cross the line even allowing for the more limited replays and camera angles in those days. Peter Shilton was not happy about it after the game so perhaps it was for the best. As an aside Steve Gatting played and was said to have been selected ahead of David Price, who would of course join us later in the season to form the dynamic 'pathetic shark' midfield alongside Brian Bason.

Next we moved on to Roker Park for Sunderland against Leeds in front of an absolutely jammed in crowd, one of those ones you used to get when the wide angle camera shots of the terrace show the crowd swaying around in waves like a wheat field in the breeze. Sunderland had started the season really well following promotion the previous year, briefly topping the nascent league table as we had done the year before. They ran out easy 4-1 winners here in front of a delirious crowd against an ageing Leeds side which was starting its slide towards second division mediocrity. A few of the old legends were still there but clearly past their best - Eddie Gray, Trevor Cherry - and another had just taken over as manager in Allan Clarke.

From a Palace perspective we had two future managers on the pitch. Sam Allardyce played football as he managed - ugly but effective - and he clogged away merrily in the Sunderland defence. On the other team we had Paul Hart, a much more cultured defender who found himself pushed up as an auxiliary striker as Leeds chased a game which was running away from them. The Sunderland ranks also included Stan Cummins who had a busy game, he always looked a good player for them and I was excited when he signed for us a few year later only to be underwhelmed by his contribution.

Finally on this game the last Sunderland goal was scored by their centre forward Alan Brown. This is the second time I have seen him play - and score - in these 'revisited' programmes and both times he's had an absolutely awesome game. He looks like the complete centre-forward - powerful and physical but also mobile, a good touch on the deck and a calm finisher. His goal in this game was a lovely first time finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box after latching on to a through ball. I had no recollection of this guy from my football following at the time so I looked him up - could he have been one of the England greats whose career was cruelly cut short in its prime? It seems not, he was only 21 at the time of this game so must have been seen as promising but his goal tally for Sunderland was a less than prolific 23 in 103 games. He went on loan to Newcastle in 1981 which must have been an interesting experience but he did well there with 3 in 5. After that though his career faded away with spells at Shrewsbury (where he probably scored against us) and Doncaster before he did in fact have to retire early due to injury at the age at 26. He does share the same birthday as me though so there you go.

The final game was from the Hawthorns, where WBA came back from a goal down to beat Kevin Keegan's Southampton 2-1. The most interesting thing about this game was the weird camera angle, we were watching the action from a low pitchside position roughly in line with the edge of one of the penalty areas. Therefore any goalmouth action at the other end of the pitch gave you that authentic 'what the hell is going on down there' experience of standing on the Holmesdale unless the cameraman used his zoom facility.

Saints had a really attacking team in those days, somehow squeezing Keegan, Charlie George, Mick Channon AND the prolific Phil Boyer into the starting line-up. It looked like a kind of 4-2-1-3 formation with Keegan floating around behind the front three in which Channon played as an orthodox right-winger. A lot of work for the midfield duo of Nick Holmes and Graham Baker to get through.

1976/77 starts today (ITV4 17.55 - times vary slightly)

Br*ght*n's 1-1 'victory' over us at the Gallstone at the start of October features tomorrow 17.50.

This was of course the season it all kicked off. We played the weeds 5 times (including the 3 cup games) that season. The weeds won precisely none :D

Our promotion season, so hopefully we will feature quite a bit.

Thanks for prompt

Just watched the 1976 Brighton v Palace game on ITV4 (started about 1230), including both managers discussing the match afterwards in the studio with Brian Moore.
Big crowd for Div 3.
Long before I knew anything about football, muddy shorts, jumpers for goalposts, passing back to the keeper, refs in black, capacity crowd all standing, tackles in the box allowed to just happen...

Interesting that Alex Stock criticised Southampton tackling, same side that kicked us out of the semi final.
Venables and Mullery seemed chummy

I was at that match with my Dad. Stood in the North Stand with all the Weeds. I was proudly wearing a massive badge that read 'Kings of the League - Crystal Palace', which gained quite a lot of attention at the time.

I was 5.

Nice one :D You were in the safer place, I remember dodging the stones thrown at us.

But watching that whole edition of TBMR it was evident that one thing hadn't changed at all. The commentator in one of the other matches was Martin Tyler.

And 46 years later, he's still going strong. Think about that. It's quite a remarkable fact.

Advertised that palace Brighton on sat morning itv4 from 1981

Well worth missing, in that case

Rotherham palace now itv4

I was there that day. Remember the big slag heap behind the ground.

Rotherham fans saying much the same about the return fixture.

But do you remember her name? :D

Just watched the home game v Brighton in 81 when we were already down. Still hard to believe how it all went so badly wrong. Remember this game so well, mainly because of the trouble at Norwood junction after.

He should do. He married her :D

Today at 12 30 not the main game but interview with terry venables and kenny sansom and goals from the 4 2 Wrexham game in 1977 .

Remember it well. Returned from NZ the day before and made my way up on a supporters coach. Winning by 2 goals gave us that goal difference advantage that could have been crucial. An emotional roller-coaster of a game!

Amazing goal from harkouk

Why was there always 3-4 cars parked next to the pitch at Stamford Bridge back then? So strange

I’m led to believe the small blue cars at Stamford Bridge used to be where the disabled fans watched the game from.

Quite a few in the Chelsea line up with palace connections Locke Langley lewington wicks Cooke Wilkins not sure if droy was at Chelsea at this time .

Micky Droy is Rambo
Micky Droy is Rambo
Lah La lah la ( and repeat)

Same at Selhurst - how we guffawed when a ball thumped one of the motors.

Remember them little blue cars in the 70s

Three wheelers, handlebars for steering and propulsion, tiny two stroke engine and fibre glass body. Operated by people with restricted mobility and often advanced age. What could possibly go wrong?

Six feet two
Eyes of blue
Mickey Droy is after you!

Yep, Invacars, more fond memories of the good old days :love: Coventry City used to welcome them to assist tactical camouflage attacks:

https://www.motaclarity.co.uk/images...g?v=1645438041

Feels like they've been showing every Chelsea home match from 1977 on TBMR recently!

One of the unexpected joys of this series is the frequency at which you come across players with a Palace connection - past, future or even managers. A few weeks back I saw a very young and skinny looking Kevin Taylor scoring for Sheffield Wednesday against an Orient side featuring good old Henry Hughton. On the same programme the West Ham vs Bolton game featured two of our future left backs, Paul Brush who put in quite a buccaneering display for the Hammers and a young David Burke for Bolton.

Last night I watched Spurs vs Wolves, the away side coming back from the dead to snatch an undeserved 2-2 draw. They had our old friend John Lacey to thank for that, he was directly at fault for the first Wolves goal with a scuffed clearance which Atkinson gratefully snaffled with a first time shot from the edge of the area. And he didn't cover himself in glory for the second goal either, caught flat footed and lumbering underneath a long diagonal ball which Wolves legend 'King' John Richards slotted home. On the Wolves side a young John Humphrey had a bit of a torrid time up against Ricky Villa who took every opportunity to take him on.

There was also Arsenal winning 5-0 away to a woeful Leeds, Kenny Sansom much in evidence and Leeds were so bad that even Steve Gatting scored. John Lukic chucked a couple into his own net, the first a comedy fumble over the line from an innocuous cross when under no pressure whatsoever. And a cracking game between Southampton and Ipswich which ended in a 3-3 draw, Saints coming back from 2-0 and then 3-1 down to snatch a point. Terry Butcher quite rightly sent off for two animal tackles from behind which prompted Bobby Robson to have a good old whinge after the game, the Jurgen Klopp of his era.

I remember the Times once describing John Lacey as having "a turning circle roughly equivalent to that of the QE2"

I just remember, was it Keith Weller? in the track bottoms

Match Time Revisited on Saturday has our quater final v QPR from 1982. Interesting match, even though we lost, because of the Clive Allen celebration which the police investigated and the subsequent shenanigans on the pitch at full time. ITV4 at 10:30.

remember being there - horrible day

I was there as well, gutted about the result, but a great atmosphere, especially after travelling up and down the country all season with sometimes less than 100 of us, it made the mass take over of their pokey little ground an enjoyable day really despite the result

Bloody packed in that lower tier, went from the back to the front nearly and couldn’t do anything about it. ‘‘Twas a tad frightening I recall .

Horrid ground and horrid club and likewise it was pretty scary when Clive Allen ran down to our end to celebrate. He should have been charged for incitement.

Interesting outside after the final whistle, kicking off all round the ground, running battles all the way down to Shepherds Bush

I was in the lower tier as well, right behind the goal, it was a bit scary. But what an atmosphere, football crowds didn’t need organised displays, drums and balloons back then,atmosphere just happened

Yep, was in there too….

The police wanted to and interviewed venables but nothing came of it.

I was there too. I knew fans were going to spill off the terrace at our end, regardless of the result, as soon as the match was over just because the crush was so great.

Did anyone else get their knuckles rapped by a truncheon for leaning over the wall and trying to pull the edge of the ‘carpet’ up? Or was that just me and my mate? :D

:D

that atmosphere was really intense. Christ knows what it would have been like had we scored.

Remember Vince getting hacked down by Glen Roeder when clean through at our end? A red card all day long under current laws but he got away with a yellow and Palace being Palace squandered the free kick. I'd be interested to see a replay; I don't think I've seen it since watching it live (or am I confusing it with another match?). It was brushed under the carpet at the time (metaphorically if not literally).

Bit like that Willie Young foul in the 1980 FA Cup final if I remember right. Still, Vince was never a very good finisher so he would probably not have scored. I loved him though!

There were more arrests made at that game than at the other Quarter final Chelsea v Spurs that was being played 3 miles away at the same time.

Telegrah has a piece about Clive Allen today & that incident is mentioned. Police actually wanted to interview Clive Allen, T.V. accompanied him to advise.

Me too. Nearly got run over by one in Dulwich park. Me and my mates told an old boy that the Russians were coming after him, he got in his little blue car and drove it over the grass trying to run us down :D. We was about 14 at the time

Think that why there was so much trouble around the ground that day wasn't enough police to stop it all week there was talk how much trouble there would be at the Chelsea spurs game so police concentrated on that fixture more . We had already played qpr away that season from memory 'and there was trouble that day so police had warning .

Yeah your right, we played them in the September at there place (John Burridge attack) and January at ours, loads of trouble at both games.

With the amount of palace at the game and what Clive Allen did it doesn’t surprise me. Hard to believe there was only 63 of us at Shrewsbury not long after(yes I did count) :D

We played Cardiff at home 3 days later, and there was only 6000 there.
Dark days.

I read Clive Allen's book last year. For someone who comes over as reasonably amiable on TV, he was clearly an utter plonker as a player. He basically has a massive fall out at every club he played for and then with Sky when he was a pundit but it was never his fault!

Just watching it now, I’m trying to pick my 17 year old self out in the crowd. I forgot Glen Roeder would’ve been sent off this day and age for bringing down Vince, we were robbed :D

Our home game v Luton the same season next Saturday :p

Is that the 3-3? Excellent

I couldn’t remember, so I cheated and looked it up, yes it is, smillie with 2 and Mabbutt scoring, with a crowd of 12,001, (I was the one) :) which was good for that season, we regularly got half that, Luton must have a had a good turn out as they were up the top

Thanks. I remember the game but can't remember the scoring order. I think either we or they went 3-1 up. Or 2-0. Or maybe I'm talking bollocks.:D

I watched the FA cup revisited on BBC yesterday,1970 Chelsea v Leeds.It wasn`t football it was more who could put the most amount of opposition players in hospital.If that game were replicated today there would only be two goalies left on the pitch.

I remember us drawing 3-3 with Luton in the early 80’s, but couldn’t remember it being that season or how the scoring went. I went to most of the away games that season and remember more about them, I think one home game tends to merge into another. Awaydays are always more memorable

I think they had Dermot Gallagher watch the full game a few years ago and ref it how he would’ve done at that time, I seem to remember him saying, there would’ve been 3 left on the pitch, probably what you said, the two keepers and one other

A (Luton) friend sent me this

https://www.hattersheritage.co.uk/cr...-town-19811982

The (soon to be) famous Raddy Antic, eh. Now sadly departed this world

If you can't wait for the full highlights, you can see the goals here ...

Even though it coincided with a very dark period full of mostly shit football, I absolutely love that white adidas kit. It's easily my favourite white sash kit.

Amazing to see the reaction to the penalty. The Luton player just got up; the Palace players just accepted the decision. Now all the players surround the ref from both sides; followed by a carnival of ****wits on sites like this analysing the decision.

Never understood why David Boulter was released at the end of the season.

Pretty much the same with reaction to the goals. And what a pitch!

Whatever happened to the choice between short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirts? It's got to be long-sleeved with an Adidas shirt doesn't it? The Admiral long-sleeved sash shirts were much cooler too.

Well, to be fair, it was an absolute stonewall pen after that horribly clumsy 'tackle' from Doris

Interested to see George Wood and Chris Whyte both playing for Arsenal in the same episode too. Denis Law praised the latter for his performance.

I actually thought Chris Whyte played ok for us in the short time he was with us (I only saw him play around half a dozen games iirc).

He could pass a good used VCR out of his car boot apparently.

There's not such a thing as a stonewall penalty these days. When was the last time you saw a penalty given for a foul or handball, and nobody argued about it?

Me too, and the sky blue away one. I also strangely enjoyed the period despite it all going Pete Tong. I think it’s because I was one of a very few that were travelling away in those lean years, I hardly missed a game. Sometimes there was less than 100 of us on some big open northern terrace, but if we at least scored a goal or scraped a draw we came home happy

I know exactly what you mean, i look back at that time through rose coloured glasses, i used to live for going to the match back then.

On ITV4 shortly

I got so excited by this I forgot it wasn't our latest match. Spoiler alert: we drew 3-3 with Luton.

Grainy screen grabs of Smilie's opening goal and the line up.

That must have been Neil Smillie's best ever performance for us.

Funny listening to the crowd ‘hate Ron Noades, hate Ron Noades, hate Ron Noades’ :supergrin:

Loved Kevin Mabbutt :love:

Kevin Mabbutt was amazing

Yeah, Mabbs was my fav of that period, even though I'd grown up with the Team of the 80s. He was just a huge beacon of hope.

One of my fav ever Palace games was a 4-0 home win against (I think) Oldham. Mabbs got 2, Vince got 2. Think it was April time, thumping home win in the sunshine.

Gonna go look it up now....

Yeah, it was 81-82. 17th April, the day before my birthday. I'll take the memory of that game to my grave....

I suppose games like that would stick out in the memory in those bleak times, for me it’s always been an away win at Wrexham earlier that season that like you I’ll take to my grave :D and carry on boring people with it until the day I do pop my cloggs!!

Great player at a bad tine for us. think we bought him same time as McCuloch? was best player in the team by far

That wasn’t the game when we wore a quite un-Palace red shirt & white shorts, was it? Did Vince score that goal? I’m struggling now… :p