Selhurst Park – Crystal Palace

Selhurst Park – Crystal Palace – SeasideEssexXile

Bank holiday has been and gone and with 3 tough away games left first up is Palace.
Handily sat just outside the playoffs, Palace have been resurgent under the guidance of the normally placid Mr Warnock. His first game in charge was at the reverse fixture at Bloomers which resulted in a draw. However despite being in a much better position than ourselves, Palace have only scored 1 goal more at home than we have on our travels. Saturday`s game should be a tight one, and on the back of last Saturdays’ draw at Stowke belief should be riding high in our quest for points. What do points make? The answer is of course safety.

How to Get There
It’s going to be a long day. M55, M6 South. & then the M1 on to the M25. Leave the M25 at J7 and follow the signs for the A23 to Croydon. At Purley bear left on the A23 at it’s junction with the A 235 (to Croydon). You will pass roundabouts and junctions with the A232 and A236 as you pass Croydon, after which the A23 bears left at Thornton Heath.

Go straight over, in to Brigstock Road (B266), passing Thornton Heath Station on your left and bearing right on to High Street. At the next mini roundabout, (Whitehorse Road / Grange Road) go left into Whitehorse Lane. The ground is on your right. (With grateful thanks in advance to plumber for driving)

For the Virgin Lovers amongst us, Euston then use the tube. Don’t be fooled – Crystal Palace Railway Station is nowhere near the ground. Saturday`s maintenance works mean delays & shutdowns on the Victoria line and as the nearest railway stations are Selhurst or Thornton Heath which are served by London Victoria main line station, Clapham Junction, London Bridge (every 30 mins) and East Croydon (every 15 mins) this should make for some good fun. You can also use Norwood Junction station which is also served by Victoria, but is a little further away (10-15 minute walk to ground).

The Ground
Selhurst Park has a capacity of over 26000. Both ends have been redeveloped over the years and we’ll be sat in the Arthur Wait Stand towards a corner. There’s room for 2337 which may be the reason for the cramped conditions. The roof obscures the view from the back of this area and we’ll also have those damn pillars to contend with too. On the plus side the banter is allegedly good here between home and away fans. Only 1 food outlet for away fans so it`ll be a scrum and there are numerous reports of having trouble when using the loos. The steps are notoriously steep.

Where to Drink
The Clifton Arms is the nearest pub to the ground. Clifton Road. A big victorian corner pub due to popularity away fans will only get in if they turn up early. After one thirty it is Palace season ticket holders only past the doorman.
The favoured away pub is the Railway Telegraph on Brigstock Rd, referred to as ‘a spacious Young’s house’. Wetherspoon’s Thornton Heath is right next to the Telegraph. Around Norwood Junction station there is The Alliance on Station Road, another Wetherspoons – South Norwood High Street, The Ship – South Norwood High St or The Portmanor on Portland Road. Ale is on sale inside the ground.

Plod & Stewards
It’s the Met, need I say anymore? No reports of bad stewarding which should mean a relaxed visit inside and outside the ground.

Fear Factor Rating – 3.

Here we go, not long left and with not many easy looking games other than the Wendies at home coming up every point is crucial. We`ve usually performed well on our travels at the top clubs this season and come 5pm on Saturday let’s hope it’s a case of us and not the Palace fans that have the bragging rights to feeling ‘Glad Allover’ on the long journey home.

Onwards + Upwards