ONLY five years ago this month....

[Dai the Swansea Eagle]

About this time 5 years ago we had that bizarre occurrence when that petulant Frenchman with a disciplinary record that eclipsed even that of Mark Dennis, leapt into our crowd with a playground style kung fu kick. I think the following Saturday we were at Forest in the cup and the police climbed aboard the Palace coaches to warn the travelling fans about our behaviour before we even got in the ground. (2-1, Chris Armstrong to score first, 66-1, thankyou very much). Anyway I digress. It really does seem to me like a lot longer than 5 years ago – is that a measure of how much has happened over the past two years let alone five? There can’t be any set of fans that have had anywhere near the ride we’ve had over the last five years:

Two cup semi finals, fan murdered, relegation 4th from bottom, player strife, Harry Bassett, Wembley playoff failure, Bassett out - Coppell in, Hopkin’s goal, Hopkin out - Lombardo in, can’t win at home – great away, takeover speculation, disastrous purchases & no LUCK, Coppell out – half the western world in, pathetic relegation, takeover, Venables, high wage earners out – high wage earners in, very poor league form, financial troubles, Venables out – Coppell in, reach mid table safety, administration, staff sacked, administration, struggling on the pitch, administration……

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Players have come and gone. Managers have come and gone. We’ve seen great games, we’ve seen shocking games. I’m not for a moment suggesting that other clubs don’t know what it’s like, every team’s fans experience some extreme ups and/or downs. Even ManUre followers have had a little taste of it in their European Cup win – but it seems that we get it the whole time which is what makes me believe that despite our current situation being a Palace fan is the best part of life. You can’t explain it to “non-believers”. Is there a sweeter feeling when someone who supports another club tells you about their heartfelt passion for their club and what it means to support them, and all you can think is “And…? Palace is all that and more”?

Just two things have stayed the same for me – firstly there’s the humour, the colour, the noise & the general sense of expectation that goes with the Palace support (And it’s the wide range of expectations that makes it so special – some of us expect to see us challenging for Europe, let alone reaching the play offs, some of us expecting disaster at every turn, some of us just expecting the unexpected such as the appearance of a 20 stone streaker during a vital game or the moment our Brazilian ahem “superstar” spat his false teeth out). The second constant has been the awful state of the Selhurst Park pitch – some things never change.

Does anyone else feel that the “Sh it hits the fan” incident seems longer than five years ago?

[ruediger]

Indeed it seems such a long, long time ago.
I was listening to Radio 5 that evening. Great stuff.
The following day Palace (or Cantona rather) were making the headlines on Page 1. (I've collected at least a dozen newspapers.) It made me feel so proud to explain all my mates (and those who had no chance to get out of my way that day) that it all happened at SELHURST PARK, the home of MY CLUB. That really was great: "German Palace wierdo" becoming soccer expert overnight.
I'd love to have a Porky-Pie-Miller-incident making the headlines. (Sorry, I got carried away for the moment.)
Can't agree more with you, Dai. You summed it up what Palace is all about.



[This message has been edited by ruediger (edited 11 January 2000).]

[DANPEPPER]

I Love this club.

What about the 9-0/4-3 caper?

I lived in Bristol at the time and practically everyone at my school supported Liverpool. Being the only Palace fan I was hunted down and ripped the pisz out of by the lot of them, after the 9-0 game. The day after 4-3, was soooooooo cool, just seeing their glory supporting pig-****ling faces.

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[James]

Dai the Swansea Eagle reminded us about the infamous Cantona incident, and went on:
...... It really does seem to me like a lot longer than 5 years ago

It's a sign of age, I know, but I can't believe it was that long ago! I remember driving back from the game and listening to the radio reports - quite amazed, because I had seen none of it from my seat in the Main Stand. I knew that there had been a scuffle, but that was all.

It seems like yesterday.

James

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[topper]

Is it really 5 years since that, I remember the evening as if it were yesterday......and so I should do, seeing how I was a steward at that match in the Old Stand standing not 20 yards from where it went off...(AND NO I AM NOT THE FAT STEWARD WAVING HIS HANDS AROUND!!!!)...I also went to school, I am not proud of this, (HONEST GUV !!!) with a certain Mister Simmonds ...and I was flicking through some old palace echos' and guess what there he is again, writing articles on away games to places like swindon...

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[Brian Turner]

Unfortunately I wasn't at the match - I was in Panto at the Secombe Theatre in Cheam (see below - I don't miss a chance). Anyway, news about the incident started to filter through the bar after the show and I got the full story from my son when I got home. At least, nearly the full story because when Cantona was sent off he was fiddling with his contact lens, looked up, saw him going, then went back to his lens only to hear the roar when the Kung Fu happened. He had to wait to see it on TV to see what actually happened!!

Anyhow, in the following night's performance, during the scene where the Principal Boy rubs the ruby ring and the Peri suddenly appears (having already primed everybody else on stage apart from the Peri) I exclaimed "Gosh, it's Eric Cantona!!" and we all rushed into the wings, leaving poor old Peri by herself!! She still hasn't forgiven me!! Actually, having re-read the above, I think you had to be there to savour the moment! It was certainly a big hit with the audience!

Quite by co-incidence, we are using the same scene in this year's show - so if you want to see what I say this time, why not come along? I promise you that I give the Eagles a good mention!!

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Dick Whittington
Secombe Theatre, Sutton
14-29 January, 2000
Proceeds in aid of Queen Mary's Hospital for Children and Orchard Hill

[jonesy]

Originally posted by topper on 01-11-2000 05:57 PM...I also went to school, I am not proud of this, (HONEST GUV !!!) with a certain Mister Simmonds ...and I was flicking through some old palace echos' and guess what there he is again, writing articles on away games to places like swindon...


I think you will find that that is a different MS writing the Echo articles.(I'm sure Neil The Eagle will confirm that.

5 years? Only seems ike 5 minutes! That night is still as clear as glass in my mind.I was right by the incident(well 14 rows back http://cpfc.org/ubb/wink.gif)and still can't quite believe what happened.it looked like something was going to occur as soon as C****** got the red card the way he seemed to wander around in a daze...The crowd all waving and singing Au Revoir and then as he passed by ...Somehow I found myself 4 Rows further down I really felt that there was going to be an 'off' between the Crowd and the Scum players especially when that tosser Cole was standing there beckoning to the supporters to come and have a go.IMHO that prick should have been done for incitement.
In the end I felt a bit sorry for MS the papers done a real asasination Job on him and with The Race Card being played he was on a real loser.If only he had told the papers that said what everyone else was shouting(**** Off you French ******* ) I suspect the outcome may have been different.Mind you his behaviour in court didn't do his cause any good.
Reckon Ince was lucky to get off and all.(Thanks to another character asasination by the press on DW)
Any thoughts on this?

[Dai the Swansea Eagle]

Originally posted by topper on 01-11-2000 05:57 PM
I also went to school, I am not proud of this, (HONEST GUV !!!) with a certain Mister Simmonds ...and I was flicking through some old palace echos' and guess what there he is again, writing articles on away games to places like swindon...



The Matthew Simmonds who has written articles for Eagle Eye/Palace Echo lives in Swansea and was in South Africa during the 94-95 season (Didn't stop half the people he knows contacting him within hours of the event to tell him he was famous!).

[James Varcoe]

My strongest memory was of the split second of silence.
At the time I was sitting in the Whitehorse right in front of the police box. I turned around to watch the incident between Shaw and that piece of s**t on the tellies in the police box when (and this will sound odd) I 'heard' this silence followed by a 23,000 intake of breath. Then bedlam.
In a long but logical sequence that follows the French tw*t in his refusal to apologise and the FA in their refusal to ban him forever (an action they would have taken against any other club) are responsible for the death of a football fan the following April.

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This no smoking thing is killing me

[jonesy]

Totally agree James regarding that tragedy.I have always felt that that incident alone was responsible what happened at the semi-final.

The thing that amazed me most was the shift in atitude by the papers.One minute it was Ban Him For Evermore then once the allegation of 'racist' abuse was made and it as discovered MS had a bit of form the meeja changed sides faster than a glory hunting fan.


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TRUST THE TRUST

[Neil the Eagle]

Originally posted by jonesy on 01-12-2000 08:09 AM
I think you will find that that is a different MS writing the Echo articles.(I'm sure Neil The Eagle will confirm that.



As Dai has already said, they are not the same bloke. Matt Simmonds from Swansea is a lovely guy who did some sterling interviews for the Eagle Eye book and, more recently, produced the T-shirts with pic's of old players like Cannon & Hilaire on.

Having seen the other MS on Sunday Football pitch, I'm glad I don't know him to be honest.

I also have no doubt that Denny Warren was totally stitched up. I can't defend him rushing down the steps following the provocation of Ince & Cole (typical Denny!). However the fact remains that there were over 40 witness statements taken on the night which tell of Ince lashing out at someone and yet, with the aid of Queens Council, Ince got off scot-free. Justice? Pah!

[I have a feeling that this message might get edited by James!]

[James]

Neil the Eagle said:

........ I have a feeling that this message might get edited by James!]


Why? Looks fine to me.

James

[jonesy]

Originally posted by Neil the Eagle on 01-12-2000 10:13 AM



I also have no doubt that Denny Warren was totally stitched up. I can't defend him rushing down the steps following the provocation of Ince & Cole (typical Denny!). However the fact remains that there were over 40 witness statements taken on the night which tell of Ince lashing out at someone and yet, with the aid of Queens Council, Ince got off scot-free. Justice? Pah!

[I have a feeling that this message might get edited by James!]

The papers were following Dennys kids,they were going through his rubbish and I seem to recall one article making him out to be some sort of 'thicko' just because he was/is a binman.They even dragged up a run in with the police from the early 70's.

There should have been 3 people in the dock over that night.I still fail to see how Cole the Stingray Puppet Head got away with what he did.

[topper]

apologies for my mix-up,

THERE'S ONLY TWO.......

....I'll get my coat.

...Top articles though, probably explains why he has written about various trips to cardiff,shrewsbury, etc...

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[This message has been edited by topper (edited 12 January 2000).]

[Chobham Eagle]

I'm sure the Cantona incident will prove to be the most amazing thing any of us will see at SP. I saw it from the Whitehorse end of the old stand. No-one else with me seemed to see it and I had to watch it later on TV to confirm that it really happened.

The subsequent events around the cup semi-final were tragic. Cantona's behaviour had been a disgrace, but so was Roy Keane's behaviour in the semi-final replay. After both managers had gone on the pitch at the start of the game to appeal for calm etc Keane blatantly stamps on Gareth Southgate. To add insult to injury the ref randomly picks on Darren Patterson (no relation) just to even things up.

You might remember that this was the game that Ron Noades and his side-kick brother Colin told us not to go to. Apparently the club couldn't guarantee our safety! This was both daft and hypocritical. If the club had felt so strongly about the events of the previous saturday they should have called for the game to be postponed and, if this wasn't granted, pulled the team out of the competition. Being presented the way it was it looked like the club were trying to disguise the fact that few Palace fans were going to turn up anyway. And few did - perhaps 2,500? The contrast with a few days previously was stark.

Remember also that it was during that semi-final that Nigel Martyn got injured and missed the rest of the season to be replaced by Rhys Rhys Rhys Wilmot. No-one who was at the Dell later that season will have forgotten his Gary Sprake style cock-up in that game! How much did Nigel's injury cost us that season?

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[This message has been edited by Chobham Eagle (edited 12 January 2000).]

[Neil the Eagle]

James was wondering why I thought my post needed editing ...

Erm, I actually edited it myself before posting - I was a helluva lot more damning and abusive in the original.

I forgot to edit the last line tho' http://cpfc.org/ubb/clown.gif

Stingray puppet, jonesy? I Like it http://cpfc.org/ubb/supergrin.gif

[jonesy]

Go on Neil!Post the original!!You are probaly only going to say what thousands have thought.

Its a Mechanical Fish Troy!!!

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TRUST THE TRUST

[Dai the Swansea Eagle]

What was the story re Denny Warren, I missed that having moved back down to Wales almost straight after that time? (BTW was he another Eagle Eye/Palace Echo contributor?)

Swansea Matt Simmonds pointed out last night that in fact there is only ONE MATTHEW SIMMONDS, as the guy attacked at Selhurst spells his surname SIMMONS apparently.

Chobham Eagle - You're all too right about Rhys Wilmott at Southampton. A stronger ref in the semi finals would have seen us right on the pitch - Butt's (I think) tackle on Martyn that broke his hand smacked of the tactics we used in the 90 Cup Final Replay - he was late and he was trying to shake Martyn up by hurting him. Chris Armstrong destroyed the central defenders at first game - it was all they could do to pull him back/bring him down everytime he broke through - a decent ref would have sorted them out. And Pattersons sending off in the second game was a farce - he was no worse than anyone else in that melee - the ref just wanted to even the sides up.

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[This message has been edited by Dai the Swansea Eagle (edited 13 January 2000).]