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.
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