Babe of the Month - Gorgeous TV presenter and model Layla Anna-Lee

Layla Anna-Lee was born on 22nd March 1983 in London, England.

Layla is an English TV presenter, host, model and actress, best known as the voice of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, broadcast live to an audience of nearly one billion. She also hosted the London 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball Finals.

That same year Layla hosted the Queen's Diamond Jubilee party live in front of 20,000 people in Trafalgar Square.

Layla has hosted 'OK! Insider,' since its launch in 2008, presenting red carpet events and interviewing celebrities for the magazine's website. In 2010, she became the face of  'OK! Magazine Online,' and has interviewed cast members of the Twilight movies, actor Harrison Ford, and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, as well as covering 'Big Brother' series eleven in 2010, which lead to her appearance on 'Big Brother's Little Brother.'

Having presented the Goal Line show on Goal.com, Layla was headhunted by MLS's 'KickTV' and hosted their weekly show 'The Rumour Mill' before hosting 'KickTV’s' journey to the Confederations Cup in 2013.

In 2014 Layla returned to Brazil for the World Cup for 'KickTV.' Whilst in Rio the views on Layla’s videos helped 'KickTV' reach their 100 million viewer milestone. During the World Cup Layla also hosted adidas' live World Cup show 'The Dugout' - where she interviewed many legends of the game such as David Beckham, Kaka and Ruud Gullit.

Layla continues to work with the brand fronting their Champions League show 'adidas GameDay+,' currently the most popular football show online.

Layla has also worked for Eurosport and Sky Sports covering major road cycling events and mountain biking.

Layla has continued to interview many footballing legends including a rare interview with Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale, Pep Guardiola and Luis Suarez.

Since 2013, she has co-presented 'The Munch Box,' a Saturday morning children's cooking show alongside Ben Ebbrell and then Joe Hurd for ITV and CITV.

An accomplished writer, Layla attended the London School of Journalism and regularly writes for the Huffington Post. She is an avid Crystal Palace fan and has a regular column in the Crystal Palace official match day programme under the appellation 'Layla The Eagle.'

Layla speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese and can be seen on 'BBC Bitesize,' helping children learn French. She has also modelled for Max Factor, Daewoo, Samsung, Bacardi, First Choice Holidays, Harvey's and Kinder Bueno.

In 2013 Layla was named in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World and appeared in an exclusive interview and photo shoot for a 6-page FHM feature in their April 2013 edition. In 2012 she made Time Out’s Hot 100 – a prestigious list of the most influential creatives in Great Britain.

You can follow Layla on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Crystal Palace Football Club Pre-Season 2015 - Fixtures, Results, Teams, Scorers & Directions

Crystal Palace First-Team Squad:

Saturday 11th July - Barnet 3 Crystal Palace 5 (H-T 1-2)
at The Hive Stadium, Camrose Avenue, London, HA8 6AG.

Palace squad:
Palace (first half): Speroni, Ward, Hangeland, Delaney, Kelly, Gray, Boateng, Puncheon, Kaikai, Gayle, Murray.

Palace (second half): Kettings, Ward (Croll 60), Dann, McCarthy, Binnom-Williams, Dymond (Scales 73), Kaikai, Gray (Allassani 65), Boateng (Anderson 65), Campbell, Gayle (Breimyr 65).

Palace goalscorers: Gayle (3), Allassani, Campbell.

Saturday 18th July - FC Union Berlin 2 Crystal Palace 0 (H-T 0-0) at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, An der Wuhlheide 263, 12555 Berlin, Germany.

Palace squad: 
Palace (first half): Speroni, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Puncheon, McArthur, Jedinak, Mutch, Gayle, Murray.

Palace (second half): Hennessey, Ward (Bannan 69), Kelly, Hangeland, Binnom-Williams, Bolasie, Cabaye, Ledley, Guedioura, Mutch (Kaikai 60), Campbell.

Friday 24th July - SuperSport United 0 Crystal Palace 4 (H-T 0-4) at Cape Town Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, Green Point, Cape Town, 8051, South Africa.

Palace squad:
Hennessey, Kelly, Dann (Delaney 46), Hangeland, Souare (Scales 59), Jedinak, Ledley, Chung-yong Lee, Mutch (Cabaye 59), Puncheon (Kaikai 46), Campbell (Bamford 46).

Palace goalscorers: Jedinak, Chung-yong Lee, Mutch, Campbell

Sunday 26th July - Sporting Lisbon 2 Crystal Palace 0 (H-T 0-0) at Cape Town Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, Green Point, Cape Town, 8051, South Africa.

Palace squad:
McCarthy, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, McArthur, Cabaye (Bamford 76) Gayle, Mutch (Jedinak 62), Puncheon (Zaha 76), Murray (Lee 69)

Thursday 30th July Bromley 0 Crystal Palace 6 (H-T 0-5) at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF.

Palace squad:
McCarthy (Kettings, 70), Kelly (Dymond, 70), Hangeland, Croll, Scales, Zaha (Bissaka, 70), Mutch (Anderson, 59), Ledley (Allassani, 70), Kaikai (George, 70), Gayle (Breimyr, 70), Bamford (Guedioura, 45).

Palace goalscorers: Bamford (3), Kaikai, Zaha.

Saturday 1st August Fulham 1 Crystal Palace 1 (H-T 0-1)) at Craven Cottage Stevenage Road, London, SW6 6HH.

Palace squad:
Hennessey, Ward (Kelly 75), Dann, Delaney (Hangeland 57), Souare, Jedinak (Ledley 46), McArthur (Campbell 75), Puncheon, Cabaye (Mutch 46), Lee (Zaha 46), Murray (Gayle 75).

Palace goalscorer: Souare

Monday 3rd August  Dagenham and Redbridge 1 Crystal Palace 0 (H-T 0-0) at Victoria Road, Dagenham, Essex, RM10 7XL.

Palace squad:
Palace: McCarthy, Kelly, Hangeland (O’Dwyer 60), Croll, Scales, Dymond, Lee (Bissaka 68), Kaikai (Breimyr 68), Bamford, Wickham (Anderson 46), Campbell (Gray 8, Allassani 78).


Crystal Palace Development Squad:

Tuesday 14th July - Sutton United 0 Crystal Palace XI 2 (H-T 0-1)
at The Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, Surrey SM1 2EY.

Palace squad: 
Palace (first half): Gregory, Pike, Binnom-Williams, Collins, Croll, Boateng, Wan-Bissaka, Breimyr, Anderson, Gray, Allassani.

Other Palace players used: (second half): Pain, Phillips, Andrews, O'Dwyer, King-Elliot, Connor, Hoare, Eyenga-Lokilo, Berkely-Agyepong, McKenzie, Scales.

Palace goalscorers: Anderson, Own Goal.

Tuesday 21 July - St Albans City 1 Crystal Palace XI 1 (H-T 1-0) at Clarence Park, York Rd, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4PL.

Palace squad:
Palace (first half): Kettings, Collins, McMarthy, Croll, Williams, Guedioura, Dymond, Bannan, Bissaka, Berkeley-Agyepong, Anderson.

C.Kettings, R.Collins, P.McCarthy, L.Croll, J.Williams, A.Guedioura, C.Dymond, B.Bannan, A.Bissaka, J.Berkeley, K.Anderson.

Other Palace players used: Andrews, Loikio, Hoare, King-Elliot, George, O’Dwyer, Forte, Inniss, Allassani

Palace goalscorer:  Berkeley-Agyepong

Friday 24th July - Tooting and Mitcham 0 Crystal Palace XI 2 at KNK Stadium, Bishopsford Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 6BF.

Palace squad: To follow:
Palace goalscorers: To follow

Monday 27th July - Hampton and Richmond Borough 1 Crystal Palace XI 1 (H-T 1-0) at Beveree Stadium, Beaver Close, Hampton, Middlesex, TW12 2BX.

Palace squad:
Palace: Kettings, Pike, Binnom-Williams, Dymond, Croll, Cesar, Allassani, Bannan, Anderson, Forte, Berkeley.

Other Palace players used: Pernteou, George, Breimyr, Hoare, O'Dwyer, Andrews, Bissaka, Mohammed, Connors

Palace scorer: Olly O'Dwyer

Saturday 1st August - Lewes 1 Crystal Palace XI 2 (H-T 0-2) at The Dripping Pan, Mountfield Road, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2XA.

Palace squad:
Palace: Pain, Wynter (Omrope 78), Akjotu, Dreher (Hogan 61), Jones, Woods, Coker (Linton 68), Philips (Hossonam 78), Fundi (Daly 71), Flanagan, Lumeka (Sturgess 78).

Palace goalscorers: Fundi, Flanagan,

Tuesday 4th August - Bournemouth U21s 1 CrystalPalace XI 2 (H-T 1-1) at KNK Stadium, Bishopsford Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 6BF.
Palace squad: 
Palace: Perntreou; George, Cesar, Collins, trialist; Allassani, Hoare, Breimyr, Bissaka; Anderson, Daly, Andrews.

Palace goalscorers: Breimyr, Andrews


* Any additional fixtures announced will be updated on here.
+ Match results, teams and goalscorers will be posted here following each fixture.


# Dates and kick-off times are subject to change.
Please check the Crystal Palace Football Club official website for details and tickets.

Babes of the Month - Merry Christmas/Fröhe Weihnachten/Joyeux Noël/Feliz Navidad/Buon Natale/Feliz Natal/Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia

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Crystal Palace Football Club Squad List - as at February 2014

Goalkeepers:

#1.Julian Speroni - Age 34 - Date Signed: 12 Jul, 2004.
#25.Neil Alexander - Age 35 - Date Signed 15 Aug, 2013.
#26.Wayne Hennessey - Age 27 - Date Signed: 31 Jan, 2014.

Defenders:

#2.Joel Ward - Age 24 - Date Signed: 30 May, 2012.
#3.Adrian Mariappa - Age 27 - Date Signed: 03 Sept, 2013.
#4.Jonathan Parr - Age 25 - Date Signed: 16 Jul, 2011.
#5.Patrick McCarthy - Age 30 - Date Signed: 12 Jun, 2008.
#6.Scott Dann - Age 26 - Date Signed: 31 Jan 2014.
#19.Danny Gabbidon - Age 34 - Date Signed 16 Sep, 2012.
#21.Dean Moxey - Age 28 - Date Signed: 31 Jan, 2011.
#27.Damien Delaney - Age 32 - Date Signed: 31 Aug, 2012.

Midfielders:

#7.Yannick Bolasie - Age 24 - Date Signed: 24 Aug, 2012.
#8.Kagisho Dikachoi - Age 29 - Date Signed: 04 Jul, 2011.
#11.Tom Ince - Age 22 - Date Signed: 31 Jan, 2014 (Signed on loan from Blackpool for the rest of the season).
#12.Stuart O'Keefe - Age 22 - Date Signed: 18 Aug, 2010.
#13.Jason Puncheon - Age 27 - Date Signed: 31 Jan, 2014.
#14.Jerome Thomas - Age 30 - Date Signed: 01 Jul, 2013.
#15.Mile Jedinak - Age 29 - Date Signed: 11 Jul, 2011.
#20.Jonathan Williams - Age 20 - Date Signed: 01 Jul, 2011.
#28.Joe Ledley - Age 27 - Date Signed: 31 Jan 2014.
#44.Adlène Guedioura - Age 28 - Date Signed: 04 Sep, 2013.
#46.Barry Bannan - Age 24 - Date Signed: 02 Sep, 2013.

Strikers:

#16.Dwight Gayle - Age 23 - Date Signed: 03 Jul, 2013.
#17.Glenn Murray - Age 30 - Date Signed: 31 May, 2011.
#18.Aaron Wilbraham - Age 34 - Date Signed: 04 Jul, 2012.
#29.Marouane Chamakah - Age 30 - Date Signed: 12 Aug, 2013 (Signed on a 1 year deal from Arsenal).
#30.Cameron Jerome - Age 27 - Date Signed: 03 Sep, 2013 (Signed on a season long loan from Stoke City).


*This page will be updated accordingly in the event of any new loan signings.


Management Team:

Manager: Tony Pullis
Assistant Manager: Keith Millen
First Team Coach: Ben Garner
Technical Coach: David Kemp
Coach: Gerry Francis
Goalkeeping Coach: George Wood
Head of Sports Science & Strength and Conditioning: Scott Guyett
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Andy Page
Head Physiotherapist: Alex Manos
Assistant Physiotherapist/Under-21 Physiotherapist: John Stannard
Assistant First Team Physiotherapist: Matthew Roberts
Rehabilitation Coach: Joe Best
Masseurs: Ian Evans and Chris Swallows
Kit Manager: Brian Rogers
Assistant Kit Manager: Danny Young
Club Doctor: Bill Jasper

Crystal Palace - A Football Club in Crisis? Betting News on the next Palace Manager

Have the wheels well and truly come off at Selhurst Park or are current events part of a bizarre plan to give the other 19 teams in the Premier League a head start before 'The Eagles' go on a six month unbeaten run and challenge the big boys at the top of the league!

Sadly I and almost every Palace fan knows this season was almost over before it began. From the euphoria of a play-off final win at Wembley on 27th May, a chaotic summer took its toll on the South London club as they huffed and puffed, wheeled and dealed and ultimately failed to build a solid foundation for this forthcoming season.

Palace brought in players in abundance but mostly very average players and tried to knit a rather complicated pattern and following promotion to the 'top flight' in its current guise prove the critics wrong and stay there for more than a token one season for the first time in the Club's history.

To add into the equation the 25 man squad rule (youngsters aside) some somewhat mystifying questions were left unanswered and disharmony began to set in among the players. The squad that basically got us to the Premier League was to a certain degree broken up! The likes of Ramage, Garvan and Dobbie, instrumental in our promotion were left out, Moritz just left and Zaha is now bench warming at Old Trafford. Palace hitman Glenn Murray is still a long way off first-team action following knee surgery in May and no target man of his stature was brought in to replace him. Club captain Paddy McCarthy was included in the squad although he hasn't kicked a ball in anger for around 18 months. In addition no defensive coach was appointed.

As a result what palace fans feared has become reality. Eight games in and three points from a possible 24 has left the club second from bottom of the league table. A squad that has been chopped and changed far too regularly has mustered a paltry two goals conceded 13 in a run of five straight defeats, culminating in Monday's 4-1 home defeat by Fulham.

Desire, total commitment and enthusiasm are what you always get from Ian Holloway and he did a great job in leading Palace up in his first season but was he really up to the job?

After the opening day defeat to Spurs care of a dubious penalty decision, Holloway nearly blew a gasket and was ultimately fined and given a touchline ban for his reaction. I expected Holloway to galvanise the troops following the Spurs game, and that he and the players would come out with all guns blazing as they visited Stoke in the league and then Bristol City in the League Cup.
However a rather uncharacteristic spineless and soulless couple of performances (bar the first 45mins at the Britannia Stadium) were the tip of the iceberg as Palace stumbled like a naive bunch of newborns to adapt to the league and each other. Sure the guns were blazing but heads were all over the place and Palace were firing blanks! Also the usual effervescence wasn't there from the 'gaffer.' Perhaps it was all getting too much for the Bristolian. He looked like a man who'd worked himself to the bone all summer, was mentally fatigued, stressed and fresh out of new ideas.

The outcome was somewhat inevitable although it has left opinions divided amongst the fans. Holloway and Palace parted company this week and now Crystal Palace face league leaders Arsenal tomorrow lunchtime, both managerless and rudderless.

So who are the available targets to take up the managerial role, which to be fair is by any standards one of epic proportions! Palace need a man with experience, who commands respect, who can take charge of a dressing room that already seems fractured, who can get the best out of some pretty average players, play a system that suits the squad, someone that will help shore up the defence and be creative going forward, even if it is not pretty to watch and ultimately grind out results.
Crystal Palace FC at the moment is not a place for the feint hearted, so I suggest the new gaffer is mentally strong, someone who is prepared to role up his sleeves, be proactive and who can motivate a group of players who currently come across as disillusioned and lost in the headlights and he needs to do it fast.........no easy job by any means with Palace already 1/10 shots to be relegated!

According to the bookmakers the front running candidates are as follows:


Tony Pulis:
The 55 year-old Welshman took his first steps into management at Bournemouth in 1992, where he was a player/coach and then Harry Redknapp's assistant. He then took control when Redknapp left the club. He then went on to Gillingham before leaving in 1999 after a dispute with chairman Paul Scally. Pulis then had unsuccessful spells at Bristol City and Portsmouth before being appointed manager of Stoke City in 2002. He was sacked by Stoke in 2005 only to return a year later. His left Stoke in May 2013 following a falling out with chairman Peter Coates.

Management Style: Pulis has a reputation within the game for achieving solid results on small budgets and also maintains the proud record of never being relegated as a manager. Throughout his managerial career Pulis has used the long ball style of play.

Betting News: Pulis can be backed at 10/11 with Bet365 and most firms but 11/10 with Coral to be the next Palace boss.


Avram Grant:
Grant has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, and also managing the Israeli national team for four years.
Grant moved to England in 2006 to become Technical Director of Portsmouth before being appointed Director of football at Chelsea in July 2007. Two months later, in September 2007, following the departure of José Mourinho, Grant was appointed manager of Chelsea. Despite steering the team into the Champions League final, the League Cup final and contesting the Premier League title to the last day, his contract was terminated at the end of the season. Grant returned to Portsmouth as Director of football in October 2009, and was made manager the following month. After the club's relegation to the Championship Grant resigned and, on 3rd June 2010, was appointed as manager of West Ham United, a role he held up until 15th May 2011, when he was sacked after the club was relegated to the Football League Championship. On 13th January 2012, Avram Grant was named the new manager of Partizan Belgrade. After guiding Partizan to their fifth consecutive Serbian championship, Grant resigned on 14th May 2012.

Management Style: Grant is known in Israel for giving a chance to young players in almost every club he coached. Grant is considered one of the most successful Israeli coaches. He has a reputation of a lucky winner in Israel, which caused the invention of the frequently used humorous term 'Hatachat shel Avram'. This means 'Avram's Ass,' a reference to the allegedly large amount of luck Grant enjoyed during the 2006 World Cup campaign

Betting News: William Hill go 4/1 for Grant to become the next Palace manager. Bet365 are as big as 10/1 on 'Avarm's Ass' to be next in the Palace hot seat!


Gianfranco Zola:
The 47 year-old Italian had a decorated playing career both in Italy and in England with Chelsea. He also won 35 caps for the Italian national team. He began his managerial career with the Italian U-21s before taking over at West Ham United in the Premier League in September 2008. On 11th May 2010, two days after the end of the 2009–10 season, West Ham announced the termination of Zola's contract with immediate effect. Avram Grant was announced as his successor on 3rd June 2010. He has been in charge of Watford since July 2012. In his first season, Zola led Watford to 3rd place and a play-off position, which then saw them progress to the final at Wembley. There, they lost 1-0 ironically to Crystal Palace.

Management Style: Zola likes his sides to play with a flair and has also received praise for integrating more youth products when manager of West Ham's first team.

Betting News: Zola is 9/1 with Paddy Power to take over at Selhurst Park, although Betfred go 25/1 on the same outcome.


Martin O'Neill:
The 61 year-old Northern Irishman began his managerial career in 1987 with Grantham Town. He went onto manage Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland. He guided Leicester City to the Football League Cup final three times, in which he was twice victorious, in 1997 and 2000. In his time as Celtic manager between 2000 and 2005, he led the club to three Scottish Premier League titles and the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville. O'Neill was sacked by Sunderland on 30th March 2013 after an eight-game run of five losses and three draws, leaving the team one point above the Premier League relegation zone with seven games left to play in the season. Overall Martin O'Neill has a 51% win ratio over his whole managerial career.

Management Style: O’Neill’s public image, though, is that of a nice guy and his management style has been built on inspiring his players, especially in the early days when, with his energy and enthusiasm. He worked wonders, often with decidedly ordinary individuals and teams. He is not one to doubt his own abilities.

Betting News: O'Neill is as short as 2/1 with Coral and as big as 4/1 with Boylesports to become Palace's next manager.


Chris Coleman, Neil Warnock, Alan Curbishly and Tony Popovic are also fancied candidates for the vacancy.

# Prices correct at time of going to press.

The Championship Play-Off Final - Big Willie Style!

There are only seven days until Crystal Palace Football Club take on Watford at Wembley in what is comfortably recognised as the the richest domestic football match in the world.

The npower Championship Play-off Final 2013 is a game reportedly worth somewhere in the region of £120m to the winners, and can literally change a club's standing in terms of structure and development overnight, but who will be the hero on the day?

Ultimately the whole playing squad, the management, the owners and the fans will all be winners should Palace reach the promise land, but often in Wembley finals, the hero on the pitch is someone rather unlikely!
Think Booby Stokes of Southampton, Alan Taylor of West Ham, Lee Martin of Manchester United, Wade Elliott of Burnley or Brett Ormerod of Blackpool.
Not necessarily players who set your pulses racing, but all of them have made significant and winning contributions in past Wembley finals.

Now Crystal Palace are a club that boasts a squad of young flair players, just think Zaha, Williams and Bolasie alongside some very experienced ones in Speroni, Phillips, Delaney, Jedinak, Gabbidon and Ramage.

However I think the key to success at Wembley lies with a player who has only stated five league games this season, having had to play second fiddle to the Championship's leading goalscorer Glenn Murray. However since a recent season ending knee injury to Murray, this player has been thrust into the role of  centre-forward, target man or lone striker (or whatever the correct modern day terminology is when you play with one out-and-out an out front man).

Step forward Aaron Thomas Wilbraham. The 33 year-old, 6ft 3" Cheshire born striker joined Palace from Norwich on a two year deal on 4th July 2012, after rejecting offers from several other clubs including Brighton and Bristol City.

The name Aaron is thought to descend from either ancient Egyptian origin meaning "Warrior Lion" or derived from various Hebrew roots meaning "Mountain of Strength."

Zaha & Wilbraham celebrate as Palace reach Wembley

In recent weeks Wilbraham has been given more game time and his performances have been reflected in that fact. He has taken on an almost no win role in trying to fill the boots of Palace hero Murray, but from what I have seen of his performances I have been impressed! He may not have grabbed the headlines but he was instrumental in our play-off semi final victory over Brighton and Hove Albion, a club now seemingly in freefall and reeling in the aftermath of that defeat!

He is by no means a goal scoring machine but he brings valuable experience to the team, and is particularly good at bringing other players into the game. He is a strong and mobile player and I think he holds the ball up adeptly, takes up good positions in and round the 18 yard box and has a decent touch in terms of ball control. In addition his work rate is good and as a result he is able to put pressure on opposition defences.

Wilbraham started his career in 1997 at Stockport County, where he made 118 league starts. He then had a spell at Hull City before joining MK Dons where he had a solid six years helping 'The Dons' to win the 2007–08 Football League Two title and in the following season under Roberto Di Matteo he was the clubs Players' Player of the Year, Player of the Year and was also was the clubs leading goalscorer.
On 1st January 2011 Norwich City under Paul Lambert signed the big man and he gained valuable Premier League experience in his 18 month spell with 'The Canaries.'

The season Norwich clinched promotion to the Premier League meant Wilbraham had won promotion from all three Lower Leagues: (League 2 to League 1 with MK Dons in 2007/08, League One to The Championship with Hull in 2004/05 and The Championship to the Premier League with Norwich in 2010/11)
Wilbraham became a member of an elite group of players who have scored at all 4 levels of English league football, namely for Norwich in The Championship and Premier League, the MK Dons and Stockport in League Two and the MK Dons in League One.

Now Aaron our "Warrior Lion and "Mountain of Strength" has the opportunity to step up and become a Crystal Palace hero with a match winning performance against 'Udinese Reserves' at Wembley in the Championship Play-Off Final in a week's time.

Can Palace do it on the 27th May 2013? Of course they can........and in style, with the help of Big Willie!

Crystal Palace - The Facts and Stats for 2012/13

With just over 24 hours until Crystal Palace face Brighton in the 1st leg of the Championship play-off semi-final, I thought I would put together a list of statistics for the 2012/13 league season, ranging from the number of penalties awarded and scored to the the number of clean sheets kept, from the average number of goals scored and points won at home to the disciplinary records of the players.

2012/13 Championship season - Crystal Palace   

Final League Position: 5th

Total points: 72 (Champions: Cardiff 87pts, Runners-up: Hull City 79pts)

Overall analysis: Played 46 Won 19 Drew 15 Lost 12 Goals scored 73 Goals conceded 62

Home form analysis: Played 23 Won 13 Drew 8 Lost 2 Goals scored 52 Goals conceded 31
(65.3% of Palace's total league points were won at home).

Away form analysis: Played 23 Won 6 Drew 7 Lost 10 Goals scored 21 Goals conceded 31
(34.7% of Palace's total league points were won away from home).

Most league appearances: Julian Speroni (46), Wilf Zaha (43), Glenn Murray (42), Damien Delaney (41 + 1 as sub), Mile Jedinak (41), Peter Ramage (40 + 1 as sub)

A total of 30 different players were used by Crystal Palace during the 2012/13 league season.

Top Palace goalscorer: Glenn Murray (30). Murray was the top goalscorer in the Championship.
Of Murray's 30 goals, 24 were scored at home and 6 away. 8 of his 30 goals were scored from the penalty spot.

12 other Palace players also scored at least one goal for the club this season.

Total club goals scored this season: 73

Club goals scored at home: 52 (71.2% of Palace's league total for the season)
52 goals was the highest number of goals scored at home by any team in the league.

Club goals scored away: 21 (28.8% of Palace's league total for the season).

Total club goals conceded: 62

Club goals conceded at home: 31 (50% of Palace's league total conceded for the season).

Club goals conceded away: 31 (50% of Palace's league total conceded for the season).

Of the 73 goals Palace scored in the 2012/13 league season 37% were scored in the 1st half of matches and 63% in the 2nd half.

Of the 62 goals Palace conceded in the 2012/13 league season 41.9% were scored in the 1st half of matches and 58.1% in the 2nd half.

Goal times in 15 min segments:

Palace jointly scored most goals (16 goals) in the 15 min period between the 46th and 60th min and also (16) in the 15 min period between 61st and 75th min.

Palace conceded most goals (18 goals) in the 15 min period between the 76th and 90th min (inc. added time).

Palace opened the scoring in 24 of their 46 games this season (52.2%).
Palace conceded the opening goal in 18 of their 46 games this season (39.1%).

Hit-man Murray scores again!

In the other 4 games no goals were scored by either side.

Average number of goals: 

Average number of goals scored at home: 2.26 per game.

Average number of goals conceded at home: 1.35 per game.

Average number of goals scored away from home: 0.91 per game.

Average number of goals conceded away from home: 1.35 per game.

More than 2.5 goals per game:

In Palace's 46 league games, on 30 occasions (65.2%) they were involved in matches that produced 3 goals or more.
The league average was 52%.

                                                                                                     

Failed to score: 

In Palace's 46 league games they failed to score in 11 (23.9%), with five of those blanks coming in a run of consecutive matches between 17th March and 16th April 2013.

Palace scored at least one goal in every one of their opening 18 games, from 18th August to 24th November 2012, before they were held to a goalless draw at Hull on 27th November 2012.

Penalties:   

Number of penalties Palace were awarded/scored: 15/12

Of those 15 penalties 13 were awarded to Palace at Selhurst Park. The penalties that were awarded to Palace away from home were at Middlesbrough and at Bolton, (both were scored). Murray missed 3 pens this season versus Blackburn, Ipswich and Hull. The other penalty scorers this season were Garvan (2) against Watford and Brighton, Easter at Middlesboro' and Phillips versus Hull.

Number of penalties Palace conceded/scored: 4/2

Palace conceded penalties away at Bristol City, at home to Millwall (both were scored), and at home to Huddersfield and away at Derby (both were missed).

Clean Sheets:

In Palace's 46 league games they kept 11 (23.9%) clean sheets.

Margin of victory/defeat:

Biggest league win of the season: 5-0 versus Ipswich at Selhurst Park on 6th November 2012.

Biggest league defeat of the season: 4-0 versus Birmingham at Selhurst Park on 29th March 2013.

Most goals in a league game this season: (7) Palace 4-3 Burnley on 6th October 2012.

Attendances:

Biggest home crowd of the season: 22,154 versus Peterborough on 4th May 2013.

Lowest home crowd of the season: 13,153 versus Nottingham Forest on 18th September 2012.

The total number of fans to visit Selhurst Park during the 2012/13 season was 397,450.

The average attendance at Selhurst Park for the 2012/13 season was 17,280. (That is 65.6% of the grounds official capacity)
This was the 13th highest of the 24 clubs in the division.

Cup competitions 2012/13:

FA Cup: Lost 4-1 versus Stoke in a 3rd round replay at The Britannia Stadium on 15th January 2013.

League Cup: Lost 4-1 versus Preston North End in the 2nd round at Deepdale on the 28th August 2012.

Naughty Boys:    

Damien Delaney - 9 yellow cards and 1 red card, Dean Moxey - 6 yellow cards and 1 red card, Mile Jedinak - 10 yellow cards, Glenn Murray - 9 yellow cards, Wilfried Zaha - 8 yellow cards, Kagisho Dikgacoi 8 yellow cards.

(Jedinak also received 2 yellow cards in cup games and Zaha 1 yellow card in a cup game).

Player of the Year: Mile Jedinak.

Young Player of the Year: Jonathan Williams.

Academy Player of the Year: Hiram Boateng.

Palace Goal of the Year: Glenn Murray v Middlesbrough on 16th February 2013.


Upcoming fixtures:

Friday 10th May 2013: Championship play-off semi-final 1st leg: Crystal Palace v Brighton at Selhurst Park (7:45pm ko).
Monday 13th May 2013: Championship play-off semi-final 2nd leg: Brighton v Crystal Palace at The AMEX (7:45pm ko).

Babe Of The Month - Amber Russell - Hot US Music Artist

Amber Russell was born and raised in Florida, United States. From an early age Amber pursued her lifelong dream to be an entertainer. When she was the age of 14, Amber auditioned for and became a member of a girl pop group called 'Girl Zone' out of Orlando, Florida. With 'Girl Zone' she recorded an album titled 'Never One Thing' and performed in over 50 shows throughout central Florida.

As the girls in the group grew older and made plans for college the group disbanded. Amber, however, kept singing and training her voice with her vocal coach Barbara Browning. She is currently working on her first solo project with her production team Thunda Tracks.

Amber is also a fan of British football, and is as overseas supporter of Crystal Palace Football Club.

Pop artist Amber Russell's performance of "Bad Girl" at South Broward Artist Showcase in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last Saturday.

Sexy American pop artist Amber Russell chilling out!

You can follow Amber Russell on Twitter and Facebook.
Amber is also on Instagram.


You can listen to Amber's music on Soundcloud and on her YouTube page.


#TeamAR
#AmbersUKFans
#amberrussellmusic 

Who would want to own a Palace?

With Crystal Palace Football Club’s on field performances stuttering badly of late it seems everyone associated with the South London Club is in the firing line. There is a definite divide amongst the fans of the the club as to who and/or where the significant blame lies – is it with with the players, the management, the owners.......or perhaps, although far less likely with the Kayla the Eagle, The Crystal Cheerleaders or the guy in the Palace scarf who walks his dog around Ashburton Park at 7am every weekday morning - everybody is ostensibly a potential scapegoat!

As a write on the back of another ‘pointless’ trip to Ipswich on Tuesday night and previous docile displays against the likes of Brighton, Birmingham, Blackpool and Barnsley it was interesting to study the Club's financial accounts that were published this week.

For the period July 2011 to June 2012, the accounts show a net loss of £2.2m, but that figure is down by more than £7m on 2010/2011 and that the Eagles' turnover has risen by £2.3m, and this does not include monies from the sale of Wilfried Zaha to Manchester United. Wages for players, managers, coaches, administration and commercial staff are up by nearly £3m, but directors Steve Parish, Steve Browett and Martin Long (pictured above) took no salary.

Although it is fair to say that the financial accounts of a football club are far more complicated than they appear above, it is a credit to the business acumen of the consortium ‘CPFC2010’ who purchased Crystal Palace FC three years ago, when the club was on its knees. They are carefully managing the club's finances and are indeed reducing the debt, so as not to put the club in any kind of financial risk, unlike some of the other Championship clubs.

To put it into perspective, in the last financial year Palace spent 78 per cent of their turnover on wages, Middlesbrough 119 per cent, Nottingham Forest 119 per cent, Leicester City 130 per cent and at the other end of the table, relegated Bristol City were quite literally flushing money away, as they spent an incredible 157 per cent of their turnover on wages.

I want to get away from discussing our current ownership situation and for the purposes of this article focus on some histrionics that came about not once, but twice in the last ten years regarding ‘rumoured takeovers’ that actually made the front pages of some newspapers.

Daily Star - 23/3/2011 - 7 months before his death!

Back in the summer of 2004 Colonel Gaddafi, known as 'The Mad Dog of Tripoli' was reportedly contemplating purchasing Crystal Palace, who had just been promoted to the Premier League. Gaddafi was increasingly keen to join a growing cosmopolitan group of club proprietors in the Premiership at the time, including Mohamed Al Fayed at Fulham and Russian oil baron, Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

The offer at the time was expected to come through the state-owned Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, (Lafico) the body that was used by Gaddafi to buy a 5.31 per cent share in Juventus, the  Turin-based football club.

The then chairman of Palace Simon Jordan was was making no secret of the fact that he wanted to sell the club saying – "I don't enjoy football anymore" and declared to reporters "I have been told that Gaddafi and his son are interested in acquiring Palace. If Gaddafi's money was able to progress Palace and allow them to be a successful football club then one would have to take that under consideration”

It is interesting to note that a year earlier one of Gadaffi’s seven sons was signed as a player by the Italian club Perugia. The 30-year-old managed only 15 minutes of first-team action however, before he was suspended for failing a drugs test. Also when his son was playing for the Libyan national side, his team-mates had to allow him to take all the free-kicks and corners he wanted, under the orders of the manager!

Obviously nothing came of Gadaffi’s apparent interest, and only a few days after the story broke Mr Gaddafi denied knowing anything about the rumours linking him to the purchase of Crystal Palace. However it is a pretty frightening thought when you sit back and try and envisage with Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at the helm, how he along with his family and his Libyan 'representatives' might have gone about running the South London Club, had a deal gone ahead!

Gadaffi may have been the most controversial suitor to show an interest in acquiring ‘The Eagles’ but he is not the only high profile public figure to do so in the last ten years.

Back in March 2010 with the the bankrupt club in chaos, Rap mogul P Diddy (right) was planning to splash some of his reported £360million on the Selhurst Park side. As mad as it seemed, the multi-millionaire American wanted to invest in an English football club, and it was Palace that caught his bling-obsessed eye.
Why Palace you may well ask? Well according to insiders he 'liked the name,' which could be considered an innovative if not bizarre reason to throw your money at a football club in administration.

Brendan Guilfoyle, administrator of the bankrupt Championship side, said at the time he "would willingly fly to New York to meet him to discuss a purchase".

Mr Guilfoyle, of The P&A Partnership financial firm, said he was "a big hip-hop fan" and would be "delighted if P Diddy wanted to buy Crystal Palace."

Diddy it is reported actually sat down and had a meeting in London to discuss a possible swoop for the then beleaguered London club. With the finance in place, it was just left for him to decide whether or not to go ahead with the deal!

A few months later P Diddy, real name Sean Combs confirmed that somebody "had looked at it" for him, but "it just wasn't the right business move for me at the time."

Perhaps P Diddy thought he was buying an actual Palace made out of Crystal, and with P Diddy in charge the Palace fans’ might have been 'treated' to a rap version of 'Glad All Over,' the song adopted by the fans of the club as their anthem in the 1960's.

When you think of what might have been as a Palace fan, are you not relieved that the club is now owned by ‘CPFC2010’ and in a safe pair of hands, or would you rather the Club had been bought by a ‘terrorist’ or a ‘rapper?'


As former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan entitled his recent book, ‘Be Careful What you Wish For’ – never has a phrase been more apt in the rollercoaster that is Crystal Palace Football Club, both on and off the field!

Dindane Dong – Could Aruna hold the key to the Palace!

The 2012/13 football season is reaching its climax and now it’s time for Crystal Palace Football Club to pull one final rabbit out of the hat!

Crystal Palace’s recent form has dipped with 'The Eagles' taking just 2 points from their last five Championship fixtures, conceding 10 goals and scoring just twice in the process. Palace and hitman Glenn Murray have not scored since our 2-2 draw with Leeds at Selhurst Park back on the 9th March.

A month on and this poor run of form threatens to destabilise Palace’s promotion push. It looks very much like Palace will have to settle for a play-off place at best, but I think the Club still need another seven points from their remaining five games to be sure.

So what can the boys from London SE25 do to make sure that this nine month long season ends with a bang and at least the opportunity to compete for a place in the financial promise land that is the Premier League!
A new TV deal coming into play next season will see the bottom placed top flight side still receive around £60million in TV cash.

Enter Mr Aruna Dindane.......!

Dindane is an experienced 32 year-old Ivory Coast international, who plyed his trade with RSC Anderlecht in the Belgium league between 2000 and 2005, helping the club win two league titles and winning the Belgium League Player of the Year award in 2003. He then joined French Ligue 1 club RC Lens in 2005, where he spent five years which also included a loan spell with then Premier League outfit Portsmouth during the 2009/10 season, where he scored 10 goals in 24 Premier League appearances and helped the Fratton Park club to the 2010 FA Cup Final. He left Pompey at the end of the 2010 season and spent two-and-a-half years in the Middle East, before being released by Qatari side Al-Sailiya Sport Club in December 2012.

Dindane has represented his country at the 2006 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt. He was also selected for the Ivorian squad for the 2008 African Cup of Nations hosted by Ghana.
He currently has 67 international caps to his name and has scored 11 goals for his country, where he often partners Didier Drogba (right) in attack.
He also participated in the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, in Germany and South Africa respectively.

On 23rd March 2013, Dindane signed for Crystal Palace until the end of this season, after eventually receiving international clearance from the Middle East. On joining he clearly lacked match fitness and only made his first outing in a Palace shirt as an over-age player in the Under-21 development match versus Stoke City at Tooting and Mitcham's Imperial Fields last night, but he did play 70 minutes and more importantly got on the score sheet!

Ipswich Town at Portman Road is our next league game on Tuesday 16th   April, so the Ivorian has another 10 days to improve on his fitness. The Crystal Palace gaffer Ian Holloway is a student of the game and a deep thinker, and although I do not claim for one moment to be his eyes or ears I expect Dindane to play a part in this crucial fixture. I think Holloway sees something in Dindane that is lacking in the side at the moment. Dindane boasts a wealth of experience but that is not an area where I feel the squad is lacking with the likes of Phillips, Murray, Ramage, Delaney, Jedinak, Wilbraham, Dobbie and Speroni on the books!

It may be just as a goal threat, but equally ‘Ollie’ may feel Dindane can provide us with some 'fresh guile' or possibly something different tactically.

Dindane was training with Palace before he was officially signed. Holloway has been trying hard to get his fitness levels up. He may have featured against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Easter Monday if it had not been for an issue with red tape. There are only five league games to go and I cannot see why the gaffer would exert the amount of time and energy into Dindane, if he did not have a game plan that involved the Ivorian striker!

Whether he starts in place of Glenn Murray who is struggling with a hip injury as I speak, plays him alongside Murray in a 4-4-2 formation or behind Murray in a 4-4-1-1 formation that we have used frequently and fruitfully this season remains to be seen. He may alternatively be used as an impact substitute, particularly if we need a goal with the clock ticking down.

So what can the Palace fans truly expect from Aruna Dindane?
Well realistically and honestly, absolutely nothing! He has only played 14 competitive games since January 2012, and none since December 2012, that was before last night.

However now and then when you least expect it you can be holding the key to the ignition! Palace need a spark from somewhere right now, and in Dindane perhaps this skillfull, powerful and experienced striker can be dusted off and a like sparkling gem and be subsequently restored to its former glory.

Dindane (right) has nothing to lose and everything to gain! At present he only has a two-month contract. Could he inject that flash of brilliance, a magical on-field moment or two that could ignite the tail end of what has so far been a wonderful season for a Club, that were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season.

If Dindane can prove himself and help guide the Londoner’s to the Premier League I am pretty sure he could secure himself a lucrative deal with Palace next season, and perhaps become a fans’ favourite.

'Roy of the Rovers' material it may sound, but that’s what football dreams are all about..........so let’s just wait and see!

As Oscar Hammerstein once famously said: “If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?”

Unlikely Superhero – Crystal Palace’s very own Rambo!

When Peter Iain Ramage signed for Crystal Palace on a one-year contract in August 2012, even as a Crystal Palace fan I have to say I was left feeling somewhat uninspired!


I had witnessed the Whitley Bay born defender in action for ‘The Eagles’ during his five month loan spell with us during the 2011/12 season. To be fair to Ramage  during that time (which included 17 league appearances) he tended to be used by the then manager Dougie Freedman as a ‘utility’ player, and he flitted between the full-back and centre-half positions.

Ramage - In the form of his life!

As a result the 29 year-old had little opportunity to put a marker down, and establish himself in an ever changing back-four. In the first-half of the 2011/12 season Palace were in a defensive mess as they juggled numerous players in an attempt to find a settled back-four. By the time Ramage’s loan period had come to an end on the 15th January 2012, he had played with 11 different defensive partners in McCarthy, Davies, Tunchev, McGivern, Gardner, Clyne, Keinan, Eagan, Parsons, Moxey and Parr.

However Freedman had no hesitation in re-signing the Geordie lad for the start of the 2012/13 campaign. The signing of Ramage may have been initially as cover following the loss of Club captain Paddy McCarthy. McCarthy sustained a groin injury in the summer, and as I write is still sidelined and has yet to feature in a first-team game this season.
However it has proved to be an inspired signing as the player affectionately known as ‘Rambo’ has played a pivitol role in a wonderful season so far for the boys from SE25.

Rambo has established a solid, no nonsense central defensive partnership with Irishman Damien Delaney (right) this season, and his passion and desire is written all over his face during the heat of battle! Ramage has started 31 of 33 league games this season, come on as a substitute in another and since our opening day defeat to Watford at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace are unbeaten at home this season, a run of 16 games at ‘Fortress Selhurst.’

It must be said that several of the reasons for the success on the pitch this season can be attributed to confidence, attitude, belief and fitness. But unlike last season stability in defence in terms of personnel has been crucial.

Before Palace signed Delaney from Ipswich on the 31st August, Ramage was paired at the heart of the defence with Aaron Martin a loanee from Southampton, but Palace lost their opening three league games of the season conceding nine goals in the process. Upon his arrival Delaney was immediately paired with Ramage and the two have been inseparable ever since, other than a three game suspension handed to the Irishman for seeing red at Huddersfield just before Christmas.

Despite the upheaval with the departure of the rather flaccid Dougie (the grass is not always greener on the other side) Freedman and the backroom staff to Bolton in late October, and the subsequent arrival of the flamboyant Ian Holloway as his replacement in the managerial hot seat, Rambo has rolled with it all, without flinching or suffering any long term heartbreak! In fact Holloway’s arrival has probably seen Ramage develop as a player due to the Bristolian’s style of play, which allows players to express themselves a lot more by playing a fluid passing game with the emphasis on getting forward more often, rather than strangling the life out of a 1-0 lead!

    Ramage (wearing 28) shows what it means to him after scoring against Watford this month!

Ramage has even contributed with some rare but vital goals this season. He has in fact scored twice as many goals for Crystal Palace this season than he has over his entire professional career, having made his first-team debut for Newcastle United as a substitute in a UEFA Cup tie on the 16th March 2005.

His first goal in the red and blue of Palace came at The Walkers Stadium in October, as the Londoner's turned over the then league leaders Leicester City 2-1. Ramage then bagged a consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat at Leeds in November, before netting a vital goal at Watford this month, followed by a second goal in consecutive games as Palace thrashed Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park last week. His smart turn and shot against Boro’ was a goal that any striker would have been proud of, and it was also his first goal for the club at Selhurst Park.

On the pitch Rambo is the consummate professional, whilst off the pitch he comes across as a great lad, a family man who will always takes time out to chat to the fans and someone who loves a bit of banter with his team-mates. I imagine he is an inspirational, yet calming figure in the dressing room and someone that all the lads, particularly the youngster’s look up to!

He is also becoming somewhat of an unlikely favourite among the fans. You cannot as a football fan fail to revere a man who gives everything, a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and plays for the badge on his chest.......and who always goes to, and applauds the fans at the end of every match!


Rambo you are a credit to yourself and Crystal Palace Football Club and you won’t be far off winning this season’s Palace ‘Player of the Year’ award as voted for by us, the fans!

You can follow Peter Ramage on twitter or find him after training at most good coffee outlets, with Damien Delaney and Andre Moritz!


Pictures courtesy of: FiveYearPlanFanzine.co.uk and RednBlueArmy.co.uk

You can’t buy experience! - Why ‘Super Kev’ can shoot Crystal Palace to the promise land!

Kevin Mark Phillips, may be diminutive in height but he has a presence and aura that is both dynamic and effective, and Ian Holloway’s capture of ‘Super Kev’ on a transfer deadline day loan to Crystal Palace may be pivotal in ‘The Eagles’ attempt to successfully secure promotion to the Premier League this season.

Kevin Phillips comes off the bench to equalize for Crystal Palace at Watford last week

As numerous names and potential Palace targets such as George Boyd, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Albert Adomah and DJ Campbell were banded about during the hectic January transfer window, many Palace fans were bemoaning the fact that Kevin Phillips was even in the frame!
There were still a lot of furrowed brows when he signed for the South London Club on loan until the end of the current season. Phillips was seen by many as a footballing veteran at 39 years young, with over 450 senior starts spread over a career spanning nearly 20 years. Numerous fans questioned the signing of Phillips and the ambition of the club, in what many saw as a gamble on a player who was surely over the hill!

On his move to Palace Phillips was the ‘ultimate pro’ saying exactly what the Club and fans alike wanted to hear: "Every time I pull on a Palace shirt or a training kit I will give 100 per cent and I thoroughly look forward to it. Palace are an exciting team, I enjoyed working under Ian Holloway at Blackpool and I really look forward to working with him from now until the end of the season."

Since joining Palace, Phillips had made two substitute appearances and on both occasions he has been instrumental in a change in fortune on the pitch. Less than two weeks ago the Crystal Palace team trudged off the Selhurst Park pitch at half-time looking crestfallen, after a woeful first-half performance against London rivals Charlton. The visitors had dominated the first 45 minutes and deservedly led at the break. Palace were lacklustre and void of ideas. Holloway took immediate action and the former England striker was handed his debut as a half-time substitute.

Murray and Phillips (right) celebrate!

This change in personnel clearly had the desired affect as Phillips helped spark a dramatic turnaround. Two goals from the Championship’s top scorer Glenn Murray secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for Palace, with Phillip’s orchestrating a calm, creative and significant influence on the game.

The Palace manager was naturally delighted by Phillip’s debut and the social message boards were awash with praise for the Hitchin born striker. Sentences containing adjectives such as classy, sublime, nippy, polished and impressive were used to describe the impact Phillips had on the match. As a result many fans were forced to eat at least a little piece of humble pie.

A week later and he was at it again, as Palace rescued a point at high flying Watford, despite going into the break two goals down.

Phillips’ introduction at Vicarage Road 10 minutes after half-time culminated in a non-stop second-half onslaught by a rejuvenated Palace team with Phillips and teenage sensation Jonny Williams playing a father and son age defining double act, culminating in Palace coming away with a well deserved point. Phillips firstly providing a good foil for fellow striker Murray, and secondly getting the all important equalizing goal, as he made a wonderfully timed run into the penalty box to expertly dispatch Jazz Richards’ low cross at the far post - his 243rd career league goal!

I don’t think the first 80 minutes of football played by Phillips in the red and blue shirt should be underestimated, as his introduction on both occasions has been quite simply ‘game changing.’ Most players take a while to settle in at a new club, but not ‘Super Kev.’ He signs for Palace, moves down to the South of England, meets up with his old manager, his new team-mates, has a training session or two, and on match day he puts in a couple of performances that make him look like he has been at the club since the year dot!

Not only is a Phillips a class act on match day, but I am sure his experience and knowledge will rub off on the youth in a Palace squad with some outstanding young talent at its disposal.

Throughout his professional career Kevin Phillips has averaged nearly a goal every other club game and commanded transfer fees with a cumulative total in excess of £5million. Palace are his eighth club since he turned professional in December 1994, and he represented England on eight occasions making his debut against Malta in Ta’Qali in June 2000 under the stewardship of Kevin Keegan, before bowing out of the England set-up, against Holland in the Amsterdam Arena in February 2002 under Sven-Göran Eriksson.

In 1999-2000 Phillips was the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League top scorer with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him both the Premiership Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot. He remains the only Englishman to win the European Golden Boot.

Phillips was a Football League Championship winner and the Football League Championship Player of the Year with West Brom in 2007-08, and a Football League Cup winner with Birmingham City in 2011.

Last season at the tender age of 38, Phillips helped Blackpool reach the Championship play-off final at Wembley, and finished as the club’s leading scorer with 16 Championship goals in 41 appearances.

When speaking on his arrival at Palace, Phillips was visibly grateful to Ian Holloway for bringing him to the club and giving him one final hurrah. He said: "I don't want to let him down (Ian Holloway). He's brought me here and I want to repay the faith he has shown in me".............and believe me, he has already started to repay the belief Holloway showed in him!

Could Mr P be the transfer coup of the season for Crystal Palace? That one individual that brings a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the table every day he is at the Club, whether it be on the training ground, in team meetings or on match day?

Time will tell, but for now it looks like a very shrewd bit of business on the part of Ian Holloway and the owners of Crystal Palace Football Club.

You cannot buy experience, so Mr Kevin Phillips welcome aboard the Crystal Palace rollercoaster! It’s never dull, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

# Photos courtesy of the BBC and The Sun Newspaper Group.

Wilfried Zaha - 'The Boy Wonder'

Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha, better known as Wilf Zaha is currently the hottest young star in British football. As a Crystal Palace supporter I am running out of superlatives to describe England's most recently capped international player.

Today the Crystal Palace forward/winger won the ‘Football League Young Player of the Month’ award for October. Zaha scored his first two goals of the season against Wolves on the 2nd October 2012. He then scored a further two goals in his next game, four days later, in a 4–3 win over Burnley. Palace remained unbeaten in October and this included a victory at then table-toppers Leicester who had won all five of their home games before Palace spoiled the party, winning 2-1 at The Walkers Stadium. Palace are in fact unbeaten in the league since 25th August. Zaha’s form has been a major factor in the Club’s successful start to the season, and many opposition managers have complemented the recently turned 20 year-old on some magical displays. 

Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway presents Wilf Zaha with his award.

His pace, footwork, balance and tricks are breathtaking, but this season he has stepped up his game to another level. His ability to beat players has never been in doubt and he regularly leaves opposition full-backs on their back sides. But this season he has worked on his all-round game and as a result his fitness, work rate, defensive duties, and his ability to pick a pass or take on a player have improved ten-fold. Added to the fact that he is scoring goals as well - this all contributes to making him one of the most exciting player to watch in British football. The way Palace are set-up to play this season, using two wingers to attack at pace, often drawing defenders out of position and creating time and space for team-mates has made Crystal Palace an exciting team to watch this season, something the Selhurst Park faithful have not witnessed for many years!

Zaha and team-mate Yannick Bolasie are the protagonists in this football feast with all the trimmings now being served up at ‘The Palace.’ Their direct attacking style of play is electric and although outstanding in their own individual ways, it is as a partnership that they seem to have flourished, often swapping wings in a game or both attacking down the same flank, causing chaos as the opposition are left chasing shadows or hauling them to the ground in a foolhardy attempt to stop them!
Wilf’s form during the October also contributed to him becoming the first Championship outfield player to be called up by England since Jay Bothroyd in 2010.

Speaking ten days ago BBC Sport pundit Mark Bright, who played for Palace and now helps out as a coach at the club said of Wilfried Zaha: "He is the biggest talent to emerge from Crystal Palace since Arsenal legend Ian Wright. In my opinion, Wilfried is the most exciting player outside the Premier League," Bright went on: "He played in the League Cup last season at Manchester United. Palace won with a Darren Ambrose screamer and Wilfried gave Rafael such a torrid time that they took him off."

Leon Osman, who made his England debut in the same match as Wilf against Sweden this month said of Zaha: "We have all been hearing about him for a year or so now. He came and trained on Monday morning and looked the real deal. He was direct, skilful and committing people."

His rise has not been an overnight one, but a gradual nurturing of a player with undoubted talent. However many players show talent at an early age but their careers often stagnate or go backwards. Some players are greedy, some are badly advised and as a result they leave at the wrong time or join the wrong club, but Wilf is an classic example of how to nurture talent correctly.

Zaha was born in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and moved to South London with his family aged four, but has been at Crystal Palace FC since the age of 12.

Zaha was given his professional debut aged 17, making a substitute appearance at home to Cardiff City on 27th March 2010 by then caretaker manager Paul Hart.
Two years later, in March 2012, Zaha was voted 'The Football League's Young Player of the Year.'

Wilf follows in a long line of young players to roll off the CPFC academy production line. There are currently four players plying their trade in the Premier League who graduated through the Palace academy. No doubt Zaha wants to join the likes of Victor Moses at Chelsea, Ben Watson at Wigan, Nathaniel Clyne at Southampton and Wayne Routledge at Swansea in the top flight, but it is more a question of when rather than if, and with whom?

The vultures are circling, but Palace are currently top of the Championship and they find themselves in with a real opportunity of securing top flight football next season. Taking into account the odd dip in form most teams suffer at some stage of a season, along with a bit of luck such as keeping the squad fit and injury free, Palace are in a great position to dictate the future of their ‘wing wizard.’ Keeping hold of Zaha in January is the first step in maintaining a steady platform in the Club’s effort to reach English football’s top tier for the first time since the 2004/05 season.

EPL football would generate the club over £60m, even if they came straight back down, and the sale of Zaha in the region of £15-20m. But Palace, even with £15m burning a hole in their pocket could not buy a replacement for Zaha, as there is no player more gifted in the country to play his role in the team. Take £15m+ in January and risk missing out on a £60m+ windfall, or keep Wilf untill the summer thus improving the chance of that windfall becoming a reality and then sell the ‘boy wonder,’ assuming he chooses to leave.......is simply a no brainer!

Even if Palace do not make it to the Premier League, nobody at the Club or any Palace fan would begrudge the youngster the opportunity to grace the stage of  Europe’s top domestic league. But Wilf is a local lad who has even admitted he misses ‘home’ when on international duty. His home being the structure in place at Palace to advise him, educate him, coach him and help him keep his feet firmly on the ground. By doing this Wilf can focus on achieving his personal and professional goals under the watchful guidance of the owners, management and his team-mates, who all play their part in contributing to his love affair with ‘The Eagles.’

Players of the calibre of Wilfried Zaha don’t come around very often, and it is important that the Club use him as a stepping stone to a brighter future and Wilf does likewise. It is imperative that Wilf continues to learn his trade while at Palace, so that when he does fly ‘The Eagle’s Nest’ he is ready both mentally and physically for what lies ahead.

We are witnessing the development of a player that may one day reach the heights of........well let’s just wait and see, and enjoy the moment!

Wilfried Zaha, remember the name!

C.P.F.C Pre-Season 2008 - Fixtures, Results and Scorers.

Saturday 12th July: Bromley 1-1 Palace (Clint Hill) - Away - Crowd: 2,153

Monday 14th July: Crawley Town 1-1 (Paul Ifill) - Away - Crowd: 2,536

Thursday 17th July: Aldershot Town 3-4 Palace (D.Freedman pen, S.Thomas, J.Dayton, J.Smith pen ) - Away - Crowd: 1,436

Monday 21st July: Tavistock 0-4 Palace (C.Andrew (2), B.Watson, Own Goal) - Away - Crowd:

Wednesday 23rd July: Bodmin Town 1-4 Palace (J.Ertl, J.Dayton (2), C.Fletcher) - Away

Friday 25th July: Truro City 0-1 Palace (S.Thomas) - Away

Tuesday 29th July: Palace 0-0 Fulham - Home (Dougie Freedman's Testimonial) -

Wednesday 30th July: Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2 Palace XI (M.Abnet pen, Own Goal) - Away

Thursday 31st July: Afan Lido (of Wales) 4-1 Palace Youth - Away

Saturday 2nd August: Palace (V.Moses) 1-1 Leicester City - Home - Crowd: 1,993

*All kick-off times are subject to change.

Congratulations to young Palace starlet Lee Hills

Name: Lee Hills Nationality: English Date of Birth: 03/04/1990 Height: 5' 10" (179cm) Weight: 11st 11lbs (75.0kg) Previous Clubs: Oldham (loan), Colchester (loan) Position: Defender

Wickes Young Apprentice of the Year Award 2008 - 3rd Place

The energetic left back made his full debut for Palace, aged 17, against Watford in October 2007.

Lee was educated at Whitgift School in South Croydon and joined the Wimbledon academy at the age of nine.

Five years later he left for Arsenal but the move didn't work out, paving the way for him to join Palace.

Lee gets up and down the pitch well to support the attack and can also play at centre back. His defending has also improved since his arrival at the club and he is one of the fittest players in the squad.

His first team value was underlined on January 8 2008 when he signed his first professional contract for a period of two-and-a-half years.

Hills scored his first professional goal as a left winger at Bristol City the following month and came third in the Wickes Young Apprentice of the Year Award 2008, earning the academy £2,000 in the process.