On this day 40 years ago, Crystal Palace achieved a feat which hadn’t been managed before and hasn’t been repeated since: sitting at the top of English football. “Once things start going against you in the top division, like in the Premier League now, it is a hard league and it is very hard to recover when things start going wrong.". He had heard that Howard Kendall was being interviewed for the job while he was still manager. “But then to get relegated the second year, we didn’t start very well. "We had some experienced players, with Gerry Francis and myself, but we had seven or eight young players and it was probably just too much. Stay up to date with all the latest with all the latest Crystal Palace news from the team at football.london across our social media channels. (Photo by Duncan Raban/Getty Images), Terry Venables at Crystal Palace: Shaun Botterill /Allsport, Terry Venables during his second spell as Crystal Palace manager. On this day 40 years ago, Crystal Palace achieved a feat which hadn’t been managed before and hasn’t been repeated since: sitting at the top of English football. 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Hilaire then made his debut for the first team in 1977, following in the footsteps of Sansom who had done so the season before, while Palace retained the FA Youth Cup in 1977-78, beating Aston Villa in the final. The documentary - which played in public for the first time at an exclusive event in Boxpark Croydon - examines the rise and fall of a Palace team tipped to dominate an entire decade of English football. In 1979, Palace's exciting, young blend of talent before would briefly sit top of the First Division before dropping into the second tier at the start of the 1980s: the decade they were supposed to dominate. Make sure to switch on this evening to watch the first-ever TV screening of BT Sport's excellent 'Team of the Eighties' documentary! “All the disappointments evaporate and you remember winning things and doing good things.”. In order to use the live chat functionality you need to opt into live chat cookies. The film on the club's rise and fall in that era was shown at Boxpark in Croydon earlier this week in front of Palace fans, with director Alan Ryan in attendance along with Eagles chairman Steve Parish and some of the players from the team of 40 years ago, including Paul Hinshelwood, Steve Kember and Ian Evans. “No-one remembers getting relegated. Facebook: You can follow our Crystal Palace page here. “This thing about the team of the eighties, it was not something we ever said, it was put on us by the media. And his thoughts were echoed by the captain of the team, Jim Cannon, who led Palace after skipper Ian Evans broke his leg in a tackle with George Best in 1977. “Crystal Palace enter the land of consolation but they barely deserve that today,” one commentator noted as he watched Steve Kember’s Eagles fall 5-0 at the hands of Wigan Athletic. “It was about getting off the pitch alive and then it was mad. That team, managed by Terry Venables, had just been promoted as Division Two champions after a 2-0 victory against Burnley at Selhurst Park on May 11, 1979 in front of almost 52,000 people. In 1979, Palace's exciting, young blend of talent before would briefly sit top of the First Division before dropping into the second tier at the start of the 1980s: the decade they were supposed to dominate. Alternatively, please email ifollow@efl.com - note that live chat is recommended for the quickest response on a matchday. It all began in the mid-seventies when Malcolm Allison was installed as manager. Meanwhile, striker Dave Swindlehurst said he too relished the time at Palace, having been with the club through ups and downs during his seven years with the first team. Everyone was just on a cloud, and you can’t explain it. As such, when Palace took on Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park a week later, they did so as top dogs, not just in London - as the Eagles' class of 2019 briefly found themselves after their 2-1 win at West Ham on Saturday - but the side leading the way in the country's top division. All the latest transfer news and rumours as attention turns to the January window with Jose Mourinho hoping to correct the defensive issues exposed in that West Ham collapse over the weekend. You remember the great things that happened to you," he said. In order to use the live chat functionality you need to opt into live chat cookies. And I think probably being as young as we were, with so many young players, maybe we just couldn’t handle it. Tottenham fans are not happy with the inconsistency of Premier League referees after Wolves star Raul Jimenez dodged a red card in his side's win over Leeds United. Featuring stars such as Vince Hilaire, Jim Cannon and Dave Swindlehurst, the Team of the Eighties documentary covers outrageous, amusing and dramatic events from one of the club's most remarkable spells and includes behind-the-scenes footage … “The youthfulness and exuberance of being in the top division was great, but maybe the inexperience showed in the second year. BT Sport have produced a brand new documentary on Crystal Palace’s ‘Team of the Eighties’ and you can watch its premiere for free at Croydon’s Boxpark today (October 8th). Find out more details here. A film about the Crystal Palace team managed by Terry Venables will be shown on BT Sport later this month. In the gallery above, you can see some of the best shots from the era which started with the great Malcolm Allison and ultimately ended with the departure of Terry Venables.