Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace Football Club is an English professional association football club that is based at Selhurst, South London, England. Although it was officially established as a professional team around 1905 the team's roots can be traced as 1861 which was the time that it was an amateur Crystal Palace football team was founded on near the location of the Crystal Palace Exhibition building. The club has been able to make assertions from Crystal Palace that Crystal Palace should be recognised as the first professional football club in the world following the discovery of an underlying lineage that runs through their ownership with the Crystal Palace Company. The professional and amateur teams both played home matches within the stadium at the Palace. The amateur team shared the cricket ground in Crystal Palace Park with the Crystal Palace Cricket Club, while the professional club was based at the FA Cup Final stadium until 1915 which was the year they were forced to leave the grounds due to the start in the First World War. They relocated to their present location at Selhurst Park in 1924.

The club's amateur team was one of the first founding players of the Football Association in 1863. They played in the first FA Cup competition in 1871-72 in the semi-finals in which the team was removed by Royal Engineers in a replay following the game's first without a goal, and played at the FA Cup over the next four seasons, before being erased out of the record after the match against Barnes F.C. on the 18th December of 1875. on the 18th of December 1875. Crystal Palace did return to existence in 1905 as a professional team and sought to join the Football League, but were denied and were forced to accept a spot within the Southern League Second Division. Palace was eventually allowed to join the Football League in 1920, and in the end, the club mostly played within the upper two levels in English football. Their most successful top flight season took place in 1990-91, as Palace fought to win the English league title and finished just behind the eventual Champions Arsenal as well as runners-up Liverpool in third position to earn the club's best league record to this point.

Palace had a bad luck missing out on a spot in Europe since, despite the restriction on English clubs after the Heysel Stadium disaster had now been lifted, it led to England being ranked as non-existent in European tournaments. This meant that there was just one spot open to play in the UEFA Cup, and this was given to Liverpool instead of Palace. The club was founded as a member of the Premier League in 1992-93, however, they were then relegated in the following season, despite earning 49 points, which is a Premier League record for the highest number of points achieved by an exiled club. Palace have also made it to the two FA Cup finals in 1990 and 2016 where they finished runners-up both times in both finals to Manchester United.

Between 1852 between 1852 and 1854, the glass-covered structure known as The Crystal Palace was relocated from Hyde Park and rebuilt in an area in South London next to Sydenham Hill. The area was named Crystal Palace - including the Crystal Palace Park surrounding the site , where various sports facilities were constructed. Crystal Palace was founded in 1857. Crystal Palace Company who owned the building for exhibitions established the Crystal Palace Club in 1857 to play cricket, before switching their focus to football. The club was lobbied by players of the club in order to ensure an opportunity to continue sporting activities during winter. The company established the amateur Crystal Palace football club in 1861. The whole team's management committee members and the majority of the players who were part of the original team were previously part of the cricket club and they played on the same playing field in the Crystal Palace Park.

The club was one of the initial founding participants of the Football Association in 1863. They played in the very first FA Cup competition in 1871-72 and reached the semi-finals which was where they were defeated by Royal Engineers in a replay following the game that ended without a goal. They also participated at the FA Cup over the next four seasons, before being erased out of the records following an encounter with Barnes F.C. on December 18, 1875. In 1895 it was announced that the Football Association found a new permanent location to host this year's FA Cup Final at the stadium for sports located within the Palace grounds. Since that the Crystal Palace Company also reliant on tourism to generate their revenue, they looked for new attractions for the stadium and created an organization called the London County Cricket Club of W. G. Grace before deciding to create an all-professional football club that would play in the stadium.

Professional Crystal Palace Football Club was established on the 10th September 1905 under the direction of Sydney Bourne, and were supported with the help of Edmund Goodman, an Aston Villa employee who was suggested for the position of manager at Palace from his Villa chairperson, William McGregor. 9 Goodman managed the business aspects of the club, and also was appointed John Robson to be the manager of the team. Robson transformed his former team Middlesbrough into an amateur team to a reputable Football League First Division team. Goodman was a former amateur player at Villa was a victim of injury, and had his playing career ended due to an injury that led to the removal to his left leg. He also ran Palace from 1907 until 1925, making him the longest-serving club manager.

The newly formed professional club was interested in joining in the Second Division of the Football League but were turned down and were forced to accept an entry into the Southern League Second Division. To expand the amount of games played by the club, Palace also joined the mid-week United League, where they were able to win their first game as a professional football club with a 3-0 win against New Brompton. The manager of the team John Robson established a squad of 16 professionals, the majority of whom came from clubs located in the North East area of England the region which is where Robson was born. Palace's first season within the Southern League Second Division consisted mostly of games against reserve clubs' teams, along with Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton, Southern United, St. Leonards United and Grays United. The opening game of the season was in the home stadium against Southampton Reserves, and approximately 3000 spectators paid 6d per stand or a shilling for sit. Palace were 3-0 ahead in the first 30 minutes before going down 3-4. The team's only loss during the season long, and Palace were named champions. The season featured a streak of 17 straight wins including an 8-1 win against Grays United. The attendance at home of the club in the league that year ranged from 2,000 to 3000 fans. 

After the promotion process, Palace started their second season as a professional team playing within the Southern League First Division, finishing 19th however, they had improved their performance during their participation in the FA Cup. After defeating Rotherham County in a qualifying match, Palace were drawn away to Newcastle United in the first round in the proper. Newcastle was one of the most powerful and prosperous clubs of the highest division of English football at the time. They had been in the two previous FA Cup finals, were Football League First Division champions in 1905, and in this season was on the way to a third title. It is one of the greatest ever victories, Palace scored through Horace Astley against the flow of play. They later defeated Newcastle to win the surprise of a 1-0 win. The third and the second rounds saw Palace get rid of Fulham and Brentford in the same round, after both matches were replayed. In the quarter-finals Palace were playing at home against cup holders Everton which were battling Newcastle to win winning the First Division title throughout that season. With a record attendance at 35,000 fans, Palace took the lead however, their rivals equalised making it replay, but Everton were too strong winning 4-0.

John Robson left Palace to manage the neighbours Croydon Common F.C. during the 1907-08 season then Edmund Goodman took over as manager and secretary of the club. Palace enjoyed a successful season which saw them finish fourth. Bill Davies became the first professional Palace player to be selected on a global level, when he was picked to Wales. Palace did not maintain their winning form during the next season, and finished with a disappointing 16th position. The following season, in the FA Cup, Palace lost by a score of 0-9 to Burnley in an replay of the second round and is still to this day an all-time record loss for Palace in this competition. Palace was with a seventh place in the League following season and was fourth the following season, and attendances in the league as high as 12,000. The club posted sixth and seventh-place finishes in the following two seasons, and also was awarded the London Challenge Cup in 1913 beating West Ham United 1-0 in replay. Palace was in good form during the 1913-14 season, Palace putting together long , unbeaten runs. They also finished the season in second place behind Swindon Town on goal average. Palace also won their London Challenge Cup, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the final at Highbury and the defender Horace Colclough was called up by England to be part of the team that defeated Wales at Cardiff on March 16th, 1914. 

After the start of the First World War on 4 August 1914 The club was able to have three players selected as Reservists prior to the 1914-15 season was due to begin. The former Palace player Ginger Williams and Joe Bulcock were among those who died during the war. In March 1915 The Admiralty, who had assumed control of The Crystal Palace and its grounds at the beginning of war directed the club to disband and decided to move towards Herne Hill Velodrome. The club ended that season with a 15th place finish. After Croydon Common F.C. was unable to reopen following during the conflict, Palace moved to their home ground, known as The Nest which was opposite Selhurst railway station. In the very first season following the war Palace came in third in 1919-20.

Crystal Palace became a Football League club in the year 1920, when it was announced that the Southern League First Division clubs were admitted as founding members of the newly established Football League Third Division. In the first season of their debut being the first Football League club, Palace lost their first game against Merthyr Town 1-2 with George Milligan scoring the club's very first goal in a league match. Milligan's Palace career was not long-lasting however, as he made only one appearance in the team's history. Palace's very first at-home Football League match was a poor 0-0 draw with Plymouth Argyle, but the team then enjoyed six consecutive victories. Goalkeeper Jack Alderson, who had been hired in 1918, maintained his score clean during five of those victories and the team lost only six more league games during the season. Palace were unbeaten during the final 16 game of the campaign, which featured an 8-game win streak. The club won the title by five points over runners-up Southampton and be promoted into the Second Division. Palace scored just 34 goals in the entire campaign, which was a mark which was in place until 1979. Palace became part of Preston North End, Small Heath, Liverpool and Bury as the only teams that at the time won a trophy in its first campaign as league clubs. Palace also took home its 3rd London Challenge Cup, beating Clapton Orient 1-0 at White Hart Lane thanks to the goal of the forward John Conner.

The following season saw the establishment of the Northern segment that was part of the Third Division which meant the southern clubs would now be part of a brand new division dubbed The Third Division South. The arrangement would last until 1958 which was when it was the time that both Third as well as the Fourth Division were formed, but for the moment, Palace was ahead of all that. And in 1921-22, they began with their first season of the Football League as a Second Division club and finished 14th. In the opening game of the FA Cup that season, Palace won one of their most memorable wins, defeating First Division Everton 6-0 at Goodison Park. The 1922-23 season saw Palace was struggling in the lower parts of the division, ultimately being 16th. The following season saw Palace finish 15th. In the same year that Palace took on a major purchase in the intention of acquiring a permanent residence.

In 1919 the Palace minutes book contained an article that directed the Secretary to study the possibility of getting an agreement to lease the ground at Selhurst however the term "ground" was somewhat misleading as at the time, it was a wasteland that was only valuable for railway workers from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. It was once been a brickfield as well as two chimneys remain. 3 January 1922 was the day the club bought the stadium for PS2,750 and the renowned football stadium designer Archibald Leitch was commissioned to create Selhurst Park. Leitch was the architect of stands for Craven Cottage, Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane and Leeds Road, but the design of Selhurst Park was unusual in the fact that it didn't have a roof gable. The remaining three parts of the field were open with the lower part being laid out in a terrace. Construction was delayed due to dispute over industrial relations, and by the time the stadium was officially opened to the public by Lord Mayor London on the 30th of August 1924, the stadium was not completed. It was however equipped with a variety of amenities, including "offices tearooms, training rooms and slipper, plunge, needle and shower baths". The first game was played against The Wednesday, and in the presence of 250,000, Palace lost 0-1, with the opening goal of the game in the game at Selhurst Park being scored by Billy Marsden. The loss was the beginning of the remainder of the season, and Palace eventually being placed in the twenty-first position and being relegated together with Coventry City. A win in the final game against Oldham Athletic would have secured the club's existence, but Palace fell short by one goal, and it would take nearly 40 years before they was able to return to the second tier that is English football. The next year was when Selhurst Park stage the England against Wales international on the 1st March 1926. It's the only complete international game to be held at Selhurst Park.

After the club's demotion into the Third Division South, Edmund Goodman was relieved of his position from his position as the manager in the first period of the 1925-26 season to resume his administration duties. A succession of managers tried to plan Palace's return to the top of to the Football League pyramid. However , their stay in the division would continue for longer than the existence in the Third Division South itself. Only the champions could gain promotions and a challenging division to exit from however Palace had a chance to winning on several occasions. In the 14 Third Division South seasons pre-Second World War, Palace finished above eighth spot ten times and never sunk below fourteenth place, and was also runners-up no lower than three times. When the 1939-40 season Palace were at the top of the table however the season was put on hold after only three games at the start in the Second World War.

The war years 1939-45 were a state of chaos, resulting in the creation of Wartime Leagues. Palace was a member of to the League South "A" Division in 1939, and then the League South "D" Division in 1940. They were successful in the latter tournament immediately, before winning an unofficial South Regional League the following season, based on the goal average. They were a part of the London League during the 1941-42 season. This was despite the clubs of London refusing to participate in the improvised competitions that which the Football League were organising. The division lasted only one season, before the London clubs returned to their place in the Football League fold, with Palace joining the Football League South for the subsequent four seasons. The club fielded 186 players throughout those seven seasons of wartime.

After the war, Palace was relegated to the Third Division South and endured their worst season to 1948-49. They ended up being bottom of the pile and being re-elected for their first time. Palace maintained their place and finished seventh in the following season. They followed that up with another place in the bottom and re-election in 1950-51 with the unpopular records of having the least number of goals during the Third Division South season. Palace was struggling for the next couple of seasons and were required to be elected for the third time in 1955-56. the exception of Swindon Town keeping them from the bottom of the table that season and they would stay in the bottom that season until their league overhauled in the year 1958.

The 1958-59 season started an era of change, that saw Arthur Wait taking control of the club as chairman while the league reorganized with Palace being part of the new Fourth Division. This division was created through the union of clubs that were in the lower half of the Third Division South with those that were in the bottom of the Third Division North. Palace did not get into the brand new Third Division, falling outside the top 12 finish needed in two positions. Palace's inaugural campaign as a member of the Fourth Division saw them finish seventh. The team performing slightly worse the following season, with an eighth-place result.

Wait appointed the former Tottenham manager Arthur Rowe in April 1960 and the club went on to enjoy an excellent 1960-61 campaign, being second to the league's brand newcomers Peterborough United who thus matched Palace's 1920-21 record of winning a title in their first league season. Palace also established Fourth Division records for the most attendance, which was 19,092 and also the highest attendance for an individual game 37,774 at the Good Friday match in Selhurst Park against Millwall. Born in Surrey, Johnny Byrne scored 31 of Palace's 110 goals in the season, while his striker co-player Roy Summersby contributed 25 as Palace made the move into the Third Division.

Palace finished 15th within the Third Division at the end of the 1961-62 season. In November of the year 1961, Byrne was called up to the England national team despite being outside of the second and third divisions and was one of the five players who have ever achieved this. He was a part of the 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland, part of the 1962 British Home Championship, at Wembley Stadium. After receiving international recognition, West Ham manager Ron Greenwood paid a fee of PS65,000and former Palace forward Ron Brett in exchange, to transfer "Budgie" into the Hammers in March of 1962. This was a record amount for two British clubs at the time. Byrne was released from Palace after scoring an impressive 96 goals, and later the record was set postwar.

On the 18th of April, 1962 Palace was astonished when the legendary Real Madrid team of that time made their first appearance in London for a friendly game played at Selhurst Park to celebrate the opening of the club's brand new floodlights. It was just two weeks until they were scheduled to face Benfica at their European Cup final. Madrid defeated Palace 4-3 in an exciting game. Arthur Rowe resigned as Palace manager over health issues in December of 1962. The club chose ex-player Dick Graham to replace him. The 1962-63 season ended with the club finishing eleventh and then advancing into the Second Division the following season after finishing second to Coventry City on goal average. 

The following few season, Palace achieved respectable top half-time finishes within the Second Division, during which they named Bert Head as their new manager in April of 1966. Head was promoted from the youth squad and brought in a host inexperienced players which included the re-signing of long-time favourite Johnny Byrne. The work he did paid off during the 1968-69 season, in which Palace was not considered promotion contenders at the start this season came in second after Derby County, who were under the direction of Brian Clough. Palace were able to get a spot in the top division to the extent they had never been before in history. They won promotion after a 16-game winless streak to finish the season.

The chart-topping Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over" became a huge fan popular around that period, following the time when the group performed the tune at the concert held in Selhurst Park. It was regularly played prior to the home opener as the Palace supporters banging out the advertising posters in tune to the beat of the drum in the chorus and is still the official anthem of the club.

Palace's journey to the highest class of English football started with a match at home in the Premier League against Manchester United. It was the first time that Palace scored a Division One goal for the club was Mel Blyth after eleven minutes after the first goal, and a subsequent goal scored by new arrival Gerry Queen saw Palace hold United to a draw of 2-2 while goalkeeper John Jackson denying George Best and Brian Kidd. The following game was on the pitch, at home this time with Sunderland and Sunderland, which Palace defeated with a 2-0 win. But the following season turned into a long battle to avoid relegation however, they eventually successful in securing safety by finishing in 20th place above the demoted Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. Palace did not fall in two additional seasons and followed the same pattern as several other top-flight clubs by introducing a brand new "Player of the Year" award that was given at the end of each season from 1971-72. The first winner was the defender John McCormick.

Despite some impressive performances during the 1972-73 campaign, most particularly a 5-0 win at home in the 1972-73 season against Manchester United, Palace eventually fell into relegation during their 4th season of the premier league. Arthur Wait, having overseen the climb to the top of Fourth Division to into the First Division, was replaced as chairman by Raymond Bloye in November 1972 and the club was appointed Malcolm Allison as the new manager in March of that year, succeeding Bert Head. When Allison's first match as manager at home against Chelsea and Chelsea, he handed his debut to young Scottish player Jim Cannon. Palace did not have a win in an London derby at the highest league prior to this however Cannon who was coming from the youth ranks and was able to keep Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Osgood out of the match and added the third goal in the victory of 2-0 to start an extensive career at the club.

Following the disappointment of losing the league and the subsequent devastation that followed, there was more to come to the team. Under the leadership by Allison, Palace were immediately dropped again, and then were back to division Three in 1974/75. Also, it was under Allison that Palace changed its name to "The Glaziers" to "The Eagles" and stopped its association with claret as well as blue kit colours , changing to blue and red vertical stripes of to this day. Palace was able to reach semifinals in the 1975-76 FA Cup, beating Leeds and Chelsea throughout the course. Allison quit at the conclusion of the season in 1975-76 following his inability to move Palace out of the third division as it would be under Terry Venables' management that Palace was able to return to the top division through promotions in 1976-77 and 1978-79. The latter saw Palace named Division Two champions.

The team of 1979 was nicknamed "The team of the eighties" due to the fact that it contained many talented youngsters who had come from the youth team that was crowned the FA Youth Cup in 1976-77 and 1977-78. They had a brief time at the in the top spot of the Football League in the early portion of the season 1979-80. But financial issues faced by the club resulted in the disintegration of this group of players which ultimately resulted in Palace not being able to keep its place in the top tier of football. Palace were exiled out of into the First Division in 1980-81, in the same year as Ron Noades' takeover of the club. They struggled to recover in the second division, and Noades even appointed ex-Brighton Manager Alan Mullery, which was highly unpopular among Palace supporters.

On the 4th of June, 1984 the former Manchester United and England player Steve Coppell who had recently quit the sport because of injury was named as manager. He continued to rebuild the club slowly through the years, which led to the Eagles being promoted back to the top league through play-offs in 1988 and 89. Palace then followed that up with winning their first FA Cup Final, drawing 3-3 against Manchester United after extra-time in the opening game, but losing the replay 1-0. Palace were successful in building on their victory and the 1990-91 season saw them secure the highest league finish ever of third in the top division.

Palace were fortunate to miss the chance of an European spot at the close of the season, partly because of being subject to the UEFA prohibition on English clubs that was triggered through the Heysel Stadium disaster. Although at the time, the ban was lifted, it caused England being left out of the UEFA coefficient rankings that were used during in that season. This meant that the English top league was only eligible for one European spot during the UEFA Cup, and this was given to runners-up Liverpool. The club also went back to Wembley and took home the Full Members Cup beating Everton 4-1 after extra time in the final. In the next season, top player Ian Wright left the club to join Arsenal. Palace placed tenth in the league, which allowed Palace to join the founding team of the Premier League in 1992-93.

They sold Mark Bright to Sheffield Wednesday however they failed to build a strong squad and had a difficult time scoring goals throughout the season. Palace were eliminated with an overall score of 49 points. This remains an Premier League record for the highest amount of points ever scored by the club that was relegated. Coppell was dismissed as manager, and Alan Smith, his assistant at the club, assumed the role as manager.

The first season of Alan Smith's tenure as manager was a success, seeing Palace be awarded the First Division title and gain promotion to the Premier League. The time they spent in this position was both exciting and controversial. On January 25, 1995 Palace were playing Manchester United at Selhurst Park in which United forward Eric Cantona was sent off. Cantona was slammed at by Palace supporters Matthew Simmons, and retaliated by kicking the ball into the air. Cantona received jail for two weeks but was later reduced to 120 hours of community service upon appeal. Simmons was banned immediately out of Selhurst Park, and later was found guilty on two counts of threats against Cantona. The incident was further escalated in March and March, when Palace forward Chris Armstrong was suspended by the FA for failing a drug test. On the pitch, Smith guided the club to the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup however, their league form was not consistent and Palace yet again were in the bottom four, and were relegated to bottom of the table as The Premier League was reduced from 22 clubs to 20.

Smith was dismissed from the club as did Steve Coppell returned as technical director in summer 1995. He then, through an amalgamation of coaching for the first team from Ray Lewington and latterly Dave Bassett's management Palace made it to the play-offs. They fell in to the 1995 First Division play-off final in stunning fashion after Steve Claridge scored in the final minute of extra-time to Leicester City to win 2-1. The next season saw Coppell assume the role of manager of the first team after Bassett quit to join Nottingham Forest in early 1997. The club made it to the play-offs for the second time in a row and, this time, earned promotion into the Premier League, when they beat Sheffield United 1-0 in the final at Wembley.

This time, the Premier League was no more successful than the two previous seasons however, and in true traditional yo-yo club style, Palace were sent back into the First Division at the end of the 1997-98 season. Palace also gained an owner who was new when the entrepreneur who was a recruiter Mark Goldberg completed his takeover in June 1998.

Terry Venables returned to Palace for a second stint as manager. The club took part in European competitions during the summer, when they participated during the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Palace went into administration in 1999after the owner Mark Goldberg was unable to keep his financial support for the club. Venables quit after which Steve Coppell took over again as manager. The club was relegated to administration under the control by Simon Jordan, and Coppell was succeeded as director by Alan Smith for a second time. Palace were in danger of being dropped to the third division in Jordan's first season, 2000-01. Smith was fired in April. Long-serving manager Steve Kember took over as the interim manager. Kember was able to secure two more fixtures to ensure Palace survival. Dougie Freedman scoring the winner in the 87th minute of the last match day getting a 1-0 win against Stockport County. A former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce was appointed manager for the season 2001-02. A successful start to the season offered Palace hope of an eventual promotion, however Bruce was hesitant to step down from the club following just four months in charge , following an offer to Birmingham City to become their new manager. After a brief time on gardening leave,[40Bruce returned to Birmingham City. Bruce was finally allowed to join Birmingham and was replaced in the role of Trevor Francis, who had been his predecessor at the Midlands club.

under the leadership of Francis, Palace finished mid-table for two consecutive seasons However, he was dismissed and replaced by Steve Kember, who became the permanent manager. The club won its first three games in this season in 2003 under Kember and they were in the top spot of the table, however the manager was fired in November following a devastating performance slump that saw Palace slide towards the bottom of the table. The former Palace player Iain Dowie was appointed manager and led the team through to the final of play-offs, winning promotion by winning 1-0 against West Ham. In the end, Palace did not manage to keep their position at the top of the league and were knocked out on the final day of the season after drawing with their local opponents Charlton Athletic.

Following the relegation, Simon Jordan was unable to get the club back on financially sound footing over the next few years and in the month of January, Palace were once again put in administration and this time, by an individual creditor. Because of the Football League's regulations Palace were penalized 10 points and the administrators were forced to dispose of important players like Victor Moses and Jose Fonte. Neil Warnock had also departed as manager at the beginning portion of the year. He was appointed manager in 2007 to replace the former Palace fan Peter Taylor who had a brief stint as manager. Paul Hart took over as manager in the final months in the campaign. The team's survival within the Championship was secured only on the last game of the campaign, following an unforgettable draw of 2-2 at Sheffield Wednesday, which was in turn relegated.

In the final days of the 2010 season CPFC 2010, a group comprised of a number of wealthy fans was able to negotiate an agreement to purchase the team. They were guided by Steve Parish, the vocal representative of the consortium comprising four members, including Stephen Browett, Jeremy Hosking and Martin Long. In addition, the group obtained the freehold of Selhurst Park, and paid tribute to a fan's campaign that helped to pressure Lloyds Bank into selling the ground to the club.

The CPFC consortium of 2010 swiftly appointed George Burley as the new Palace manager. But a poor start to the new season was a sign that the club was hovering near the lowest of the table by the end of December. The 1st of January, 2011, following losing 0-3 against Millwall, Burley was sacked and his assistant Dougie Freedman appointed interim manager. Within a week, Freedman was named manager on a permanent basis. Palace made a move up the table , and after securing an 1-1 draw against Hull City on 30 April the club was saved from relegation, with just one game left. After an additional year and a two-thirds of a season as the manager, Freedman quit to become manager of Bolton Wanderers on 23 October 2012.

On November 12, Ian Holloway became the new Palace manager. He led Palace back into in the Premier League after an eight-year absence when they beat Watford by 1-0 at the Championship play-off final at the brand-new Wembley before resigning in October of 2013. Following a brief period in the hands of Tony Pulis, and an unsuccessful second stint under Neil Warnock, former Palace Alan Pardew was named as manager in January of 2015. In his first season as a full-time manager, Pardew led the club to the 2016 FA Cup Final, their first in 26 years.

Palace faced Manchester United who they had lost to in the final of 1990 but the Eagles lost again 2 to 1 in extra-time. In December of 2016, Pardew was sacked and was replaced with Sam Allardyce, who kept the club in the Premier League, but resigned suddenly at the end in the current season. On June 26, 2017 Palace was appointed Frank de Boer as their first ever permanent manager from outside the country. The manager was fired after just 77 days in control, with the club losing the first four league matches at the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign, not scoring in any of them.The following day, The former England coach Roy Hodgson was appointed as the new manager of the club the following day. Palace placed eleventh within the Premier League in Hodgson's first season, but he finished 12th in the 2018-19 season, and 14th the following season.

On May 18, 2021, the club announced that Hodgson will be departing at the close of the season 2020-21, at the end on his current contract. He finished in 14th place in his final season at the club. On July 4, 2021 Palace named ex- Arsenal footballer Patrick Vieira as their new manager, on a contract of three years.

The club's first amateur members wore white and blue hooped shirts and blue shorts. Although there were variations of this. It is believed their first uniform in 1861 had light blue and white halves. In the time that the first official Crystal Palace club was created in 1905, the choice of colors was initially blue and claret shirts with white socks and shorts that were mainly claret. This was due to the crucial role in the formation of the club performed by Edmund Goodman, an Aston Villa employee later to become Palace manager. The club stuck to the same formula for a while up to 1938 when the club made the decision to drop the blue and claret colors and opt for white shirts as well as black shorts that were matched with socks. The club reverted to claret and blue between 1949 and 1954, but then in 1955, the club switched to black and white using blue and claret trim.

There were variations on the theme up to 1963, when Palace adopted the yellow away strip shirts as their home colors. The club in 1964 switched to an all-white strip , based after Real Madrid whom Palace had played in a recent friendlymatch, but then returned to blue and claret shirts with white shorts, in 1966. The club continued to play with variations of this design when Malcolm Allison was appointed coach in 1973. Allison changed the image of the club adopting blue and red vertical stripes for the club's colours and kit, which was inspired from FC Barcelona. Palace have been playing in different shades of blue and red since then, except for the season marking the centenary in 2005 in which they wore the 1971-72 blue, claret and white uniform.

The club was tardy in establishing the logo. While the initials were embroidered onto the shirt in to the season 1935-1936, an eagle displaying the façade that was The Crystal Palace did not come into existence until the year 1955. The crest was taken off the shirt after 1964 and the team's name was on shirts in the years 1967 to 1972. The round badge was adopted in 1972, bearing the initials of the team and name "The Glaziers" prior to when Allison changed it again. The club's name was changed to "The Eagles" after the Portuguese club Benfica The badge depicting an eagle balancing the ball. This emblem remained in place until 1987 when the club tied the eagle and it's Crystal Palace facade, and while it was updated in 1996, and at the end of 2012, its crest still has the features. In June 2022 the year 1905 was added to it was replaced with 1861 to reflect the year that the first Crystal Palace Football Club was founded.

Between mid-2010 and 2020 from mid-2010 to 2020, the club employed the American Bald Eagle, known as Kayla as their club mascot. Kayla was seen moving from one side in the arena to the opposite during every home game. The bird passed away in June of the year 2020.

In 1905 in 1905, The Crystal Palace Company which controlled The FA Cup Final venue situated within the premises of The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace, was looking for a professional football club to play in the stadium and capitalize on the huge capacity of the crowd in the region. They formed a professionally-run Crystal Palace football club to play in the stadium. Then, when it was the time that First World War broke out the Palace as well as the grounds was taken by the military and, in 1915, the club was made to leave through the Admiralty. They established a temporary headquarters in Herne Hill Velodrome. Herne Hill Velodrome. Though other clubs offered the facility to Palace but the club decided it was better to remain as close to their original zone of operation as they could. In the event that Croydon Common F.C. was wound up in the year 1917 the club was able to take the old stadium that was located in the Nest however, in 1919 they started buying the land that they would eventually construct Selhurst Park, their current home.

The well-known stadium designer Archibald Leitch was employed to sketch out plans and the building of Selhurst Park was completed in time for the 1924-25 season. Selhurst Park remained virtually unchanged, with the exception of the addition of floodlights and some minor improvements to the maintenance until 1969 which was when it was the time that the Arthur Wait Stand was built. In the meantime, the Main Stand became all-seater in 1979, and further work was added in the 1980s, when it was revealed that the Whitehorse Lane End was redeveloped to accommodate the opening of a Sainsbury's grocery store office, club offices, and an official shop. In addition, the Arthur Wait Stand became all-seater in 1990 In 1994, in 1994, the Holmesdale Terrace was replaced with the Holmesdale Terrace, which was a two-tier stand. Selhurst Park's attendance record reached its peak in the year 1979 with an official figure of 51,482. After all the renovations to the stadium and security demands resulting from the Taylor Report, the ground's capacity stands at 25,486. In 2011, plans were made to relocate this club to its initial home at The Crystal Palace National Stadium, however, since the club was granted advancement to the Premier League in 2013, there was an increasing focus on the redevelopment of Selhurst Park into a 40,000 seats stadium. The revised plans for a brand new thirteen-seat Main Stand (extending overall stadium capacity to 34,000) were approved by the Croydon Council meeting on 19 April 2018.

Crystal Palace have a fan of mainly of the local area that draws from South London, Kent, and Surrey. Their first home, The Crystal Palace was on the border of Kent and Surrey, and Selhurst Park was within Surrey's boundaries until when the London Government Act 1963 saw Greater London encompass Croydon. The team's fervent support during home games is derived from The Holmesdale Road Stand, in which the ultras-focused group known as Holmesdale Fanatics Holmesdale Fanatics have been based from 2005.

The fans have set up at least two additional supporters ' groups. The Association for Independent Supporters of the Palace put in order to address concerns of supporters about the club. Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace Supporters' Trust first set up to help fans buy the club during the administration in 2000. It continues to exist today.

Numerous fanzines have been created by fans throughout the decades. Eagle Eye was launched in 1987, and was in circulation until 1994. There was a group of contributors producing the successor Palace Echo in 1995, that ran until 2007. It was followed by the Eastern Eagles, So Glad You're Mine, and One More Point were also released by fans in the 90s. After One More Point ceased publication, Five Year Plan was created in its place and has a presence on the internet. The fans also have a chance to debate on two forums online, The BBS and Holmesdale.net which the club utilizes to interact with fans.

Since Crystal Palace are a London club, they have to compete with many other clubs from the local area to get the attention of fans However, it has an identifiable catchment area of 900,00. As the new owners assumed control in 2010, they sought members' opinions on the future decisions. They sought their input on the new badge design and when the designs they had chosen were not accepted, the club chose to adopt a new design that was based on a fan idea that was gathered from an online forum. The club has strengthened its connections with the local community with the help of The Crystal Palace F.C. Foundation, they collaborate in conjunction with residents of their local London municipalities of Croydon, Bromley and Sutton to offer sports and educational programs that they expect to expand their supporters and their geographical base. The Foundation's work was recognized by the Football League in August 2009 by awarding them the Silver Standard Community Scheme Award.

The club also has a significant amount of celebrity support. Kevin Day and Jo Brand host a comedy night every year to benefit Comic Relief and the Palace Academy along with other comedy stars Eddie Izzard and Mark Steel are as well fervent Palace supporters. It is the actor Neil Morrissey developed Palace Ale which is a beer that can be purchased at the stadium, and the actor Bill Nighy is patron of the Crystal Palace Children's Charity (CPSCC). The radio DJ David Jensen is chairman of the Crystal Palace Vice Presidents Club and was a spokesperson for the CPFC consortium during their bid to take over the club. Writer, actor and producer John Salthouse was on the books of Palace as player from 1968 until 1970 under the name John Lewis. He played mascot of the club when he was a kid. He integrated the club into his character of Tony on Abigail's Birthday. The TV presenter Susanna Reid showed her fondness for Palace during her participation in Strictly Come Dancing, and went to Selhurst Park for inspiration.

Because of their position in the capital city, Crystal Palace are involved in several local derbies. They are mostly in South London. They are a favorite of rivals Millwall and their former leaseholders Charlton Athletic. The club has a long-running and intense relationship against Brighton & Hove Albion which began after Palace's demotion into the Third Division in 1974, peaking when both teams were drawn in the opening game of 1976/77's FA Cup. The match went through two replays. The second replay was marred by controversy because the referee Ron Challis ordered a successful Brighton penalty to be taken again due to Palace players' invading. The retake was deemed to be safe, Palace won the tie 1-1 and the two clubs formed a fierce rivalry.

The Crystal Palace Company formed both professional and amateur clubs. The first president of the professional Crystal Palace club was Sydney Bourne who was discovered by the club secretary Edmund Goodman after he had studied the documents that included FA Cup Final ticket purchasers. Goodman recorded his name as being one of those who was a frequent purchaser of tickets each year and subsequently met Bourne who was to be happy with the idea of the club's new name. Bourne was accepted onto the directors' board, and elected chairperson at the club's initial ever meeting. He was chairman until his death in 1930.

After the death of Bourne there were a variety of temporary chairmanships: Louis Bellatti (1930-35), R.S. Flew (1935), Carey Burnett (1935-36), E.T. Truett (1936-39), before Percy Harper's reign (1939-50). A local construction company Arthur Wait established a consortium of seven businessmen to buy the organization in the year 1949 and then took over from Harper when he left in the year 1950. at first shifting the position of chairman. Then, in 1958 Wait took over as the club's permanent chair and lasted until 1972, when Raymond Bloye took over. Bloye's ownership ran until January 1981 which was when the property development Ron Noades and his consortium assumed control of the team. Noades ultimately transferred the team to Mark Goldberg on 5 June 1998. He became the second-longest serving Palace chairman after Sydney Bourne. But, Noades did maintain ownership of Selhurst Park, leasing it to the club for utilize it for. The time that Goldberg was in charge of the club did not prove to be an unqualified success, and the Palace went into administration in March of 1999. While the fans set up a group known as"the Crystal Palace Supporters Trust to try to control the team, multimillionaire lifetime supporter Simon Jordan negotiated a deal with the administrator and creditors as well as a new company, CPFC 2000 took control. The company went into administration in January of 2010 but it wasn't until June that the takeover was finalized by a group of four wealthy fans referred to as CPFC 2010.

CPFC 2010 was created by a group of four businessmen Steve Parish, Martin Long, Stephen Browett and Jeremy Hosking. Each one of them holds 25% of the corporation. The four were able to negotiate an agreement to take over Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle from the P&A Partnership and a voluntary arrangement was agreed to by company creditors on the 20th of August. The consortium also bought the back Selhurst Park from Lloyds Bank after a fan demonstration who pressed Lloyds Bank to negotiate terms.

On December 18, 2015, the club revealed that a new contract was in place by the American investor Josh Harris and David Blitzer. The club announced it was expected that Steve Parish would continue as chairman, along with Harris as well as Blitzer who are general partners under the new structure. It also stated the club also stated that Browett, Long and Hosking would also be able to keep their substantial stake.

The company's accounts later revealed that the ownership percentages included: Steve Parish 18%, Steve Browett 5% and Jeremy Hosking 5 percent as well as Martin Long 2.5% with the remaining 5% owned by Palace Holdco LP (a limited partnership with its registered office within Delaware) 67.5 percent in addition to Palace Parallel LLC (a company which is located within Delaware) 1.5 1.5%. The two companies Palace Holdco and Palace Parallel possess 180 shares of preferred shares. Because the Delaware companies aren't required to divulge who their shareholders are, precise ownership of the team is not known, however Steve Parish did confirm that each of Harris and Blitzer owned an 18% stake that was equal to his own.

In August 2021 John Textor, another American investor, joined the club as a fourth shareholder and invested £87.5 million, which is 40% of the club.

Jim Cannon holds the record for the most Crystal Palace appearances in all tournaments, with the first team in 660 matches between 1973 between 1973 and 1988. Cannon has also set the mark for most appearances in leagues, with 571. The striker Peter Simpson holds the record for scoring the most goals during a single season, 54 goals in the 1930-31 period within Division Three (South) and is also the most prolific goal scorer in his career, scoring the record was 165 goals scored between 1929 between 1929 and 1935. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey holds the club record for most international appearances.

Crystal Palace were inaugural champions of the newly created Third Division in 1920-21, which was also their first year within the Football League and so became one of the very few in the club to have been able to win the Football League Division at the first attempt. The average attendance for the league was 19,092 during the 1960-61 season and 37,774 fans during that Good Friday game at Selhurst Park between Palace and Millwall in the following year have been recorded as Fourth Division attendance records. Palace's official record for attendance at home is 51,482 in the Second Division match against Burnley on the 11th of May, 1979.  The biggest winning percentage during the season was 9-0 win at home in the match against Barrow during the Fourth Division in 1959, the most severe loss they suffered in the league came by similar score in a game against Liverpool within the First Division in 1989. 

The most expensive transfer fee paid for an Crystal Palace player is £50 million, paid by Manchester United for Aaron Wan-Bissaka in June 2019. the most expensive transfer fee received by the club has been the one paid to Christian Benteke from Liverpool in August of 2016 for £32 million.

The club's best ever league score to date is third in the former Football League First Division, that is now known as The Premier League, achieved in the 1990-91 season. Palace have the record for the highest number of points scored by an exiled Premier League club with 49 (although this was during an entire season of 42 games in 1992-93). Palace are also the only team to be exiled to the Premier League, even though they finished fourth in the bottom. It was decided at the conclusion of 1994/95 that the four bottom clubs would be removed to allow the league to be reduced from 22 clubs to 20 in 1995-96. Palace's total points this season of 45 points is the second highest points amount of all time in Premier League history for a club that was exiled. Palace are the only club to have winning the most Play-off finals (4) that led to being promoted to the top flight. Each of these finals took place at a different site: Selhurst Park in 1989 (the first stage of the two-legged final performed in Ewood Park in Blackburn) and the old Wembley Stadium in 1997, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in 2004 and the the brand new Wembley at the end of 2013.

Crystal Palace Honours and Achievements

• English first tier (currently the Premier League)
  • Highest finish: 3rd place, 1990–91
• English second tier (currently the EFL Championship)
  • Champions (2): 1978–79, 1993–94
  • Runners-up (1): 1968–69
  • Play-off winners (4) (record): 1988–89, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2012–13
  • Play-off runners-up (1): 1995–96
• English third tier (currently EFL League One)
  • Champions (1): 1920–21
  • Runners-up (4): 1928–29 (South), 1930–31 (South), 1938–39 (South), 1963–64
• English fourth tier (currently EFL League Two)
  • Runners-up (1): 1960–61
• FA Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1989–90, 2015–16
• Full Members Cup [C]
  • Winners (1): 1990–91

[C] This was a cup competition held from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992. It was created after the Heysel Stadium disaster, when English clubs were banned from European competition, as an additional competition for clubs in the top two divisions.

• Football League South
  • Champions (1): 1940–41
• Football League South 'D' Division
  • Champions (1): 1939–40

• Southern Football League Division One
  • Runners-up (1): 1913–14
• Southern Football League Division Two
  • Champions (1): 1905–06
• United League[121]
  • Champions (1): 1906–07
  • Runners-up (1): 1905–06
• Southern Professional Floodlit Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1958–59
• London Challenge Cup[D]
  • Winners (3): 1912–13, 1913–14, 1920–21
  • Runners-up (6): 1919–20, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1931–32, 1937–38, 1946–47
• Surrey Senior Cup
  • Winners (3): 1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02
• Kent Senior Shield
  • Winners (1): 1911–12
  • Runners-up (1): 1912–13