Crystal Palace Football Club, now often referred to as just The Eagles or Palace, was founded in 1905 by the owners of the Crystal Palace Exhibition Centre, which had been built in south London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The club played its first match on September 2, 1905, and has played its home matches at a number of different grounds throughout its history. The current home ground, Selhurst Park, houses 25,486 spectators; find out more about Crystal Palace here at Online Casino Slots.
History of Crystal Palace
In its early years, Crystal Palace played in the Southern League and experienced some success, winning the league title in 1909 and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1922. The team also had a number of famous players during this period, including Arthur Rowe, who later went on to manage Tottenham Hotspur. In 1924, Crystal Palace was elected to the Football League’s Third Division, and the team played in the lower divisions of English football for much of the next few decades. However, the team did enjoy some success during this period, reaching the FA Cup final in 1990 and winning the Full Members’ Cup in 1991.
In the early 2000s, Crystal Palace faced financial difficulties and was close to bankruptcy. However, the team was rescued by a consortium of local businessmen and supporters, and under the management of Iain Dowie, the team won promotion to the Premier League in 2004. Since then, Crystal Palace has established itself as a mid-table team in the Premier League and has featured a number of talented players, such as Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie, and Christian Benteke. The team has also had a number of successful managers, including Tony Pulis and Roy Hodgson.
Crystal Palace Honours
While Crystal Palace have never worked a miracle and won the Premier League, they have won the 3 divisions below this, securing a League Two title, a League One title, and a Championship title. All 3 of these, of course, came with promotion to the step above, and Crystal Palace have remained in the Premier League for successive seasons. In 1990, they finished as runners-up in the FA Cup, and this is the closest they have been to a piece of silverware outside of league titles since then.
Famous Players/Team Legends of Crystal Palace
One of England’s most famous players, Ian Wright, was once a Crystal Palace player. While Ian Wright is more well-known for his time at his boyhood club, Arsenal, he also played for their London rivals in a Palace shirt. Mark Bright played as a centre-forward for the club, appearing in 118 games and scoring 39 goals; he saw more success during his time with Sheffield Wednesday.
Other names that may ring a bell include Geoff Thomas, Julian Speroni, Jim Cannon, Gareth Southgate and, more recently, Wilfried Zaha.
Crystal Palace Football Betting
Although Crystal Palace do not have much success with actually winning competitions, they see plenty of good results and always play great football. They are what some would refer to as a “bogey team”, essentially meaning they will get good results from the teams who are performing, such as holding a thriving Manchester City to a 0-0 draw or defeating Arsenal in a tight game.
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