James McArthur Crystal Palace. During the summer’s transfer wheeling and dealing, Palace were involved in a bizarre deal which saw them sign a young goalkeeper Paul Barron and the huge prospect Clive Allen from Arsenal (who themselves had only just signed him from QPR) with Kenny Sansom and £400,000 going the other way. The 80/81 season began with a visit to champions Liverpool, with new goalkeeper Barron in between the posts and Allen starting up front with Flanagan but it was to no avail as Palace were comfortably beaten 3-0. The crowd invaded the pitch in jubilant mood and once the game restarted Dave Swindlehurst smashed in the second and clinched the title. Player Rater: Crystal Palace v Southampton. What a roller-coaster ride and a time that I and many others would never forget. ... Steve Coppell led Crystal Palace to fifth in the Second Division and unearthed one of the club's greatest-ever players. ON A Friday night in May 1979, I was part of a record crowd of over 51,000 fans who watched Crystal Palace beat Burnley 2-0 to win the Second Division championship and be promoted to the First Division (what would now be known as the Premier League). The ref consulted his linesman and both agreed the ball had hit the post and bounced back into play. 020 8971 4335 Email Edd, Neil Wooding, Trade Marketing Manager 200 4. (Pictures: Action Images via Reuters) By Simon Sheldon. 1. Sam Emery, Head of Sales You know you want to! With 14 minutes remaining, a cross from Vince Hilaire was met by the head of Ian Walsh and the ball flashed into the net. Managed by a young Terry Venables, this was a highlight of a fantastic roller-coaster ride. This article was brought to you by Late Tackle football magazine, the national football fanzine, 'by fans for fans'. The remainder of the season was less exciting as Palace struggled to score goals, but managed to dig in and grind out results to stay away from the relegation battle. 020 8971 4333 Email Matt, ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Crystal Palace missed out on the Second Division play-offs on the final day of season 1986/87. So, on to that amazing night in which the gates had to be closed an hour before kick-off. At a stroke, Palace’s defence from last season had been broken up. But November began with back-to-back home wins against Manchester City and Arsenal and was followed by a very creditable 1-1 draw at Old Trafford with the league leaders Manchester United. Simply insert your Palace Players Club card while playing any of your favorite Palace Slots. Vince Hilaire won one of just a few Palace legends who were at the club throughout the entirety of these memorable roller-coaster years. It finished 0-0 and, in fact, Palace would be hard to score against as they conceded just four goals in their opening seven matches and were unbeaten.