manoftaste
Member
- Location
- Hastings
- Country
England
Dear Mr. Glasner,
It is the early hours of Sunday morning. I'm still buzzing from that game at Craven Cottage yesterday. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I can't sleep, so I thought I'd get up and write to you.
I'm 75 this year. I've been following the Palace since 1962. There have been some great memories in that time - the first-ever home game in the top flight in 1969 at home to Manchester United; beating the scousers 4-3 in the semi-final at Villa Park after being humiliated by them 9-0 in the league earlier that season; and of course, standing with 51,000 others rammed into Selhurst Park one evening in May 1979 to see us get promoted back to Division I against Burnley.
There have also been some terrific players - Don Rogers, Kenny Sansom, Vince Hilaire, Ian Wright - and two great managers (Terry Venables and Steve Coppell).
But in all that time, being a supporter of CPFC has always felt like being the underdog. In the top division, we also expected to get relegated. On cup runs, we never really believed we would beat the biggest teams. Talking with friends who supported Chelsea or Man Utd, one always felt either pitied (if we were doing badly) or patronised (if we were doing well). And that is what you have changed!
Thanks to the chairman (who took over this club on the brink of bankruptcy - we didn't even own our own ground) we have a solid foundation on which has been assembled the most talented squad of players ever to pull on the shirt (and I'm including the 'team of the eighties' in that). And since you joined the club less than 18 months ago, they have been melded into a force that can now take on any team in the country and expect to prevail. The spirit in the team is obvious; the connection with the fans feels extraordinary; the belief is refreshing. And that is down to you.
So Vielen Dank, Herr Glasner! And please, whatever happens in this cup run, stick around for a while in SE25, and tell the chairman he must do all he can to retain this group of players, because we all long to see what this club can now achieve over the next two or three seasons. I feel you can deliver us a golden period which my grandchildren will be telling their grandchildren about in another 60 years. This time, don't let's blow it.
It is the early hours of Sunday morning. I'm still buzzing from that game at Craven Cottage yesterday. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I can't sleep, so I thought I'd get up and write to you.
I'm 75 this year. I've been following the Palace since 1962. There have been some great memories in that time - the first-ever home game in the top flight in 1969 at home to Manchester United; beating the scousers 4-3 in the semi-final at Villa Park after being humiliated by them 9-0 in the league earlier that season; and of course, standing with 51,000 others rammed into Selhurst Park one evening in May 1979 to see us get promoted back to Division I against Burnley.
There have also been some terrific players - Don Rogers, Kenny Sansom, Vince Hilaire, Ian Wright - and two great managers (Terry Venables and Steve Coppell).
But in all that time, being a supporter of CPFC has always felt like being the underdog. In the top division, we also expected to get relegated. On cup runs, we never really believed we would beat the biggest teams. Talking with friends who supported Chelsea or Man Utd, one always felt either pitied (if we were doing badly) or patronised (if we were doing well). And that is what you have changed!
Thanks to the chairman (who took over this club on the brink of bankruptcy - we didn't even own our own ground) we have a solid foundation on which has been assembled the most talented squad of players ever to pull on the shirt (and I'm including the 'team of the eighties' in that). And since you joined the club less than 18 months ago, they have been melded into a force that can now take on any team in the country and expect to prevail. The spirit in the team is obvious; the connection with the fans feels extraordinary; the belief is refreshing. And that is down to you.
So Vielen Dank, Herr Glasner! And please, whatever happens in this cup run, stick around for a while in SE25, and tell the chairman he must do all he can to retain this group of players, because we all long to see what this club can now achieve over the next two or three seasons. I feel you can deliver us a golden period which my grandchildren will be telling their grandchildren about in another 60 years. This time, don't let's blow it.
