ForCrystal Palacesupporters of a certain vintage, Malcolm Allison and his famous fedora is where it all began. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the club’s first FA Cup semi-final appearance, under the maverick former Manchester City manager, when they were in the old Third Division.
Allison had already changed Palace’s nickname from the Glaziers to the Eagles and their colours to red and blue within a few months of his arrival from City in March 1973. It was after their third-round victory over non-league Scarborough that he decided to keep wearing the lucky hat that had bizarrely been inspired by the “spats” – fabric shoe covers – worn by Portsmouth’s 1939 Cup-winning manager, Jack Tinn.
“When Jack was asked why he wore them, he said: ‘We’re going to win the Cup with these spats,’” Allison said. “I think they were 40-1 in the betting and they went and won it. So I thought: ‘Well, nobody can really see spats, so I’m going to wear the fedora.’ As I was going past the Scarborough dressing room, all their players were in the bath and I could hear them saying: ‘What do you think about that big-headed bastard? First chance we ever have of getting some publicity and he comes along in that stupid hat.’”
Palace went on to win at Leeds, Chelsea and Sunderland – all in higher divisions – before losing to the eventual winners, Southampton, in the last four. They missed out on promotion that season and Allison, who would later inspire a certain José Mourinho while in charge of the Portuguese side Vitória Setúbal during a managerial career that encompassed five countries, left to join Galatasaray. But his assistant, Terry Venables, went on to guide them to the top flight for only the second time in their history within three seasons.
The club’s firstFA Cupfinal came in 1990 under Steve Coppell after a thrilling victory over the eventual league champions, Liverpool, in the semi-final at Villa Park and they finished third the following year in Division One. Palace also reached both domestic cup semi-finals under Alan Smith in 1995. But as they complete a club-record 12th consecutive season in the top division it is hard to argue against the notion that this is the most successful era of their existence.
A third Cup semi-final in 10 seasons suggests Palace are getting closer to the holy grail of a first major trophy after the bitter disappointment of twice losing to Manchester United in the final.The 2016 defeatis remembered for Alan Pardew’s infamous dance after Jason Puncheon gave Palace the lead. In the 2022semi-final against Chelsea, Patrick Vieira’s side – missing the loanee Conor Gallagher – failed to show up.
Palace’s evolution under Oliver Glasner feels different. After Wednesday’sbattling draw at Arsenal, they need five points from their last four games to record their highest Premier League tally and are in contention to finish above 10th for the first time. They have a squad stacked with internationals. Eberechi Eze’s goal against Latvia in March made him the first Palace player to score for England since Peter Taylor in 1976.
Taylor was sold to Spurs a few months after Palace’s Cup run under Allison and the vultures have continued to circle Selhurst Park. The captain, Marc Guéhi, has only a year on his contract and is likely to leave in the summer, and Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta – the top scorer – and the midfield conductor Adam Wharton are also wanted by bigger clubs. This team likely have one opportunity to make history and Glasner – who has yet to commit his future beyond next season amid reported interest from the Premier League and Bundesliga – is determined to seize it.
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“It’s now a big chance to make a great season,” he said. “This is what I love, not to make a bad season into an average season – it’s to make an average season into a good season. In the next five weeks, this is what we’ll go for.”
In terms of personality, Glasner and the often-controversial Allison could not be further apart. The softly spoken 50-year-old Glasner grew up in rural Austria and his only previous trip to Wembley was for a Taylor Swift concert with his daughter Alina. But after winning the Austrian Cup twice as a player with his boyhood club SV Ried beforeleading Eintracht Frankfurtto their Europa League triumph in 2022 and the German Cup final 12 months later, Glasner is hoping to bring silverware to south London. He will wear a suit if Palace reach the final.
“I like this tradition,” he said. “I went to the tennis at Wimbledon and then you have to wear a jacket and tie. It was a Thursday evening and I’ve never worn a jacket and tie on a Thursday evening. But it was a special atmosphere. If we get there, I will stick to the tradition.”
More than £13,000 has been raised by the Palace supporters’ group the Holmesdale Fanatics for a tifo at Wembley thanks to donations from several first-team players, including the goalkeeper Dean Henderson and the defender Chris Richards. The end of Roy Hodgson’s second spell as manager was tainted by criticism from the supporters about the club’s lack of direction, with a banner during a 5-0 defeat by Arsenal in January last year complaining of “wasted potential on and off the pitch. Weak decisions taking us backwards.”
A civil war between the chairman, Steve Parish, and John Textor, Palace’s biggest shareholder, who has designs on taking over the club despite threatening to sell his 45% stake for the past year, has yet to be resolved.
Meanwhile, they are seeking extra funding for a new Main Stand that was planned to be completed by 2021 and is expected to cost more than £200m. Winning the FA Cup final and qualifying for a first European campaign – other than two games in the 1998 Intertoto Cup after Palace had been relegated – would certainly help to boost the coffers.
“I was told the relationship [with the supporters] before [I arrived] was not on the top level, but since then I could feel the support for the team,” Glasner said. “Tomorrow I will get butterflies and be a little bit nervous. When you get up, it’s a little bit of tension. But when the referee starts the game, let it run, let it flow, and then it’s just football.”