The context was a club that had failed to make the final step in 1981 on goal difference and one that had faded away from promotion positions to 5th more than once afterwards, including the previous season's huge ,final stage collapse from automatic promotion position with Archibald, Ardiles et al. This was an awful, awful weekend. The weekend of Tiananmen Square massacre too. Rovers arrived with a 3-1 advantage from the first leg with the frustration of Howard Gayle's missed penalty. The Rovers fans were crammed in a tiny corner. It felt much more restricted than my previous visits to Selhurst. The Palace crowd were already wound up and their stadium managers were clever at placing speakers to blast out the way contingent, so we could hardly hear ourselves speak in the 20 minutes before kick off. The team bloody froze. Nothing went right from the first kick of the ball....and yet, we still could have done it. We only needed to score once. Courtney allowed Wright and Bright to get away with fouling over physicality from the start...Think of it, as a cross between Old Trafford and Escape to Victory! Then, the penalty that never was -in the 2nd half at 0-0. None of us knew why it had been given. Even Ian Wright agreed, albeit 25 years later. From memory, the Palace attack was actually finished and the ball was moving out of our area at the time. Finally, the last few minutes were a joke when Courtney allowed play to continue while hundreds of Palace fans, spilled onto the side of the pitch along the touchline.. The final whistle and the Dave Clark fcking Five...

The week's salary isn't your actual weekly pay either...it's capped..

THIS

In that regard, anyone for Dennis?

You make a fair point. My concern is if there is an arbitrary target of the amount of first team minutes from the academy...

I know.. Get relegated to the third tier...then the transition would be so much easier. Look at Crewe.. Oh, just fuck off, Gestede. You make me sick!

"Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful."

Just think, we can hate them from beyond the grave!

I wonder whether he will be denying his comments like the "oh-poor-me"- gooner?

Not sure I agree. Of course, we have fans in Cumbria and Scotland etc, but the point is that we are ringed by other clubs ..

Yeah, and when I chanted "Venky's out", what I really meant was a thankyou for all their efforts over 15 years and they now need a well earned break.

Got to wonder who gains from what was such an obvious "mistake" loan. Have we got that agent virus again?

"The Gooner" lol...I think that will stick

We knew what you meant!

Agreed. I think he/they have been constantly warned/given hard truths by significant Rovers fans, almost since day one. 15 years later, it's still....."Oh, thanks for telling me, Glen. We really had no idea what our management team were up to over there." Hmmm...Take responsibility or fck off!....Actually, it's already too late, Balaji. In God's name, Just sell our club and go!