Crystal Palace v Leicester City Sunday 3rd October 2021 // 2:00pm
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palace √ leicester sun 03 oct | 14:00
08 captain 10 chairman 34 darren ambrose 40 over the road 47 voices of south london 51 non-league neighbours 61 cpfc 1861 64 palace women 66 from the terraces 70 stats & results
Directors Chairman Steve Parish, David Blitzer, Joshua Harris, John Textor Chief Executive Phil Alexander Chief Financial Officer Sean O’Loughlin Sporting Director Dougie Freedman Club Secretary Christine Dowdeswell Head of Sports Medicine Dr. Zaf Iqbal Academy Director Gary Issott Director of U23 Development Mark Bright Head Groundsman Bruce Elliott Commercial Director Barry Webber Director of Operations Sharon Lacey Head of Ticketing Ally Spicer General Counsel David Nichol Chief Marketing and Communications Officer James Woodroof Head of Safeguarding Cassi Wright Editor Ben Mountain Design Billy Cooke, Luke Thomas, Stu Ellmer Contributors Will Robinson, Ian King, Peter Manning, Darren Ambrose, Tash Stephens, Toby Jagmohan, Alexa Terry, Dinesh Sanassee Photography Neil Everitt, Seb Frej, Reuters, Dan Weir (PPA), @SniperPose Printer Bishops Printers
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there are times when you have to switch off. I’m fortunate enough to have my family with me, so spending time with my sisters, my mum and my dad where possible, I switch off
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manager
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Welcome to Selhurst Park to Brendan Rodgers, the Leicester Directors, staff and players, and to everyone here supporting us.
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e nearly played the perfect game against Brighton. We were solid, worked well and managed some good football. Ultimately, we did not get the points we deserved on Monday, but this does not take away from the performance. We were able to take lots of positives as we continue to move in the right direction, so I have to praise the team for their quality in that game. We learned in a really hard way about focusing on the details and ensuring we concentrate on them throughout the match, no matter how long it goes on for. I have been speaking with players individually about that this week, because you win or lose games with these details. It’s all part of a process, and part of that is reinforcing the messages that are most important to our game. Undoubtedly one of the most important strengths we have at Crystal Palace is our supporters. This was proved again on Monday night: the atmosphere was incredible. After Wilfried scored just before half-time, I was walking down the touchline to the dressing room and
the sound you made honestly gave me goose bumps. I could see the excitement and the passion and that exact moment was the best for me since I’ve been here.
After Wilfried scored just before halftime, I was walking down the touchline to the dressing room and the sound you made honestly gave me goose bumps
The Crystal Palace fans – particularly at Selhurst Park – are well known by their passion and the way they support the team. This is what I want people to remember and focus on when they talk about the club. There is no manager
better way to support us than how you have been recently. I would also like to congratulate Wilf on making his 400th appearance for this football club. He is not only an important player, but also an important figure. He is an example to those kids in the Academy today who want to play for us and want to be the next Wilfried Zaha. His passion for winning is unbelievable; he’s always demanding of himself and those around him. This is one of the things I like most about him. Today we face a different challenge. In Brendan, Leicester have one of Europe’s top managers and they have a really good squad, too. They have been a little like us lately, in that they’ve been unlucky with some results and are playing better than their scorelines suggest. It will be really important for us to play this game with a higher tempo and with the same passion we showed against Brighton. I look forward to another home game in front of you all. As ever, thank you for your support
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Marc Guéhi is already a calm and collected head at Crystal Palace. A man who’s proudly not been sent off at any level, he exudes confidence and assurance both on and off the pitch. Here, he offers Will Robinson an insight into his character.
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over the road The Palace Academy has produced players from Steve Kember to Wilfried Zaha, and plenty more in between. Here, we look at some of the talented prospects in the system today.
OWEN GOODMAN age: 17 / position: Goalkeeper / joined: 2016
highlights so far Making his England Under18s debut against Coventry City’s Under-23s after joining the Young Lions’ training camps in previous years.
Take note of An easy strength to spot, Goodman is one of the tallest players in the squad. His height – 6’3” – ensures he can cope well in the air, even against older opposition. But Goodman’s size belies his shot stopping ability, and the young ‘keeper is athletic and reliable when blocking goalbound efforts. inside the academy
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getting to know OWEN GOODMAN -
Owen has all the attributes to be a top goalkeeper. He can make world class saves, even at such a young age and he has a fantastic physical presence Paddy M©Carthy u23s manager
Footballers and their families uproot to accommodate careers on a regular basis. Travelling across London or relocating further south are both relatively common practice for players in the Palace Academy. But few teenagers have upped sticks across 5,700 miles to pursue their passion. “I was born in Romford. I moved to Canada when I was four and lived there for about nine years,” Owen Goodman says, explaining his journey to south London. “My mum is really good friends with Kanu, the ex-Arsenal striker part of the Invincibles. He came over to my town at a camp and brought over a guy [Colin Cardines] who works in the Palace scouting system. “He wanted to bring me over, thinks I’m good enough. I came over and was able to show what I can do. “To be honest for the first year or so it was really tough – a new area, completely different. Where I lived, everyone’s close to you, everyone’s around you and there’s no transportation. You come to London and there’s transportation everywhere, people everywhere. It’s completely different.” Moving any distance is a life-changing experience for a 13-year-old and his family. With it comes huge risk, but this decision has been thoroughly vindicated over the last year, as Goodman made his England U18s debut in November before signing a professional deal with Palace the following summer. Inside the academy
“I got selected [for a training camp] and was buzzing to go. We had two games, Southampton and Coventry [Under-23s]. I didn’t play the first game but then got told I’d play against Coventry, and I was nervous; a lot of nerves because you’re making your England debut and don’t want to slip up. “I felt nervous [at kick-off] but after 20 seconds they came down and I made a double save. After that, I felt much better, more into the game.
i always see myself as quite confident and motivated to really do the best I can do. What my parents have given me, I want to be able to give back to them. To give back to them, I want to do what I’m best at, which is football “[Now] I really want to get some good minutes in, play for the [Palace] Under-23s and hopefully by the end of the season I want to be part of the Under-19s team going to the Euros for England. I’m really looking to be the best I can be.” For a teenager who’s moved 5,700 miles, it's no wonder
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Crystal palace f.c. Jack BUTLAND (GK) Joel WARD Tyrick MITCHELL Luka MILIVOJEVIĆ James TOMKINS Marc GUÉHI Michael OLISE Cheikhou KOUYATÉ Jordan AYEW Eberechi EZE Wilfried ZAHA Will HUGHES Vicente GUAITA (GK) Jean-Philippe MATETA Jeffrey SCHLUPP Joachim ANDERSEN Nathaniel CLYNE James McARTHUR Remi MATTHEWS (GK) Christian BENTEKE Odsonne EDOUARD Conor GALLAGHER Martin KELLY Nathan FERGUSON Jaïro RIEDEWALD Jesurun RAK-SAKYI
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leicester city f.c.
A. Taylor G. Beswick A. Nunn D. Coote J. Gillett N. Davies
For Ticketing, reaction and highlights download the Official Palace App
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Kasper SCHMEICHEL (GK) James JUSTIN Wesley FOFANA Çağlar SÖYÜNCÜ Ryan BERTRAND Jonny EVANS Harvey BARNES Youri TIELEMANS Jamie VARDY James MADDISON Marc ALBRIGHTON Danny WARD (GK) Kelechi IHEANACHO Ayoze PÉREZ Daniel AMARTEY Hamza CHOUDHURY Ricardo PEREIRA Kiernan DEWSBURY-HALL Jannik VESTERGAARD Nampalys MENDY Wilfred NDIDI Timothy CASTAGNE Patson DAKA Luke THOMAS Eldin JAKUPOVIĆ (GK) Ademola LOOKMAN Boubakary SOUMARÉ