Palace for the first time faced a second consecutive season in the Premier League and fans were hopeful that Tony Pulis, with a full season in charge, could see the Eagles begin to build and become a established top flight side.
Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland joined on a free transfer from Fulham whilst fellow defender Martin Kelly joined in a £1.5 million transfer from Liverpool. Midfielder James McArthur joined us from Wigan Athletic and Irish striker Kevin Doyle signed on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
August
With just 48 hours before the opening fixture at the Emirates to face Arsenal, rumours began to mount over an alleged fall out between Tony Pulis and Steve Parish. Following news that Martin Kelly had just joined the Eagles from Liverpool it all looked to all be hearsay.
Unfortunately the news proved true as in the early evening Sky Sports broke the news that Tony Pulis had left the club by mutual consent. Cue the bookmakers immediately making Palace favourites to be relegated.
So it was Keith Millen’s Palace who started the season. They were unable to put a dark week behind them as a last gasp Aaron Ramsey winner sealed the win for the hosts. Brede Hangeland’s opener was cancelled out by Laurent Koscielny header right on half time.
Palace followed up with a 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham United then a welcome win in the League Cup at Walsall before the appointment of Neil Warnock.
Dwight Gayle started his first game of the season and scored in less than a minute in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Alan Pardew’s Newcastle. A late Wilfried Zaha goal saw Palace snatch a late draw.
September
Neil Warnock’s first home game in charge ended goalless against newly promoted Burnley. A last minute Scott Arfield penalty was saved by Julian Speroni earning the Eagles their second point of the season.
An away trip to Goodison Park was up next where Palace secured their Premier League status last season with a 3-2 win. It was an identical result with Palace achieving their first win of the season.
Leicester City were next up to visit Selhurst Park off the back of a momentus 5-3 home win against Manchester United. Goals from Mile Jedinak and Frazier Campbell in four minute spell meant that Neil Warnock managed a first home win to lift Palace out of the bottom three.
October
Palace began October in dismal fashion by losing with a lackluster performance away at Hull City. A better showing could not achieve a better result at home to Chelsea in the game that followed. The Eagles then travelled to the Midlands and surrendered a two goal lead to West Bromwich Albion which ended a draw but will be rememebr for the infamous ‘Dawson elbow‘ on Julian Speroni which forced the Argentine stopper off with a concussion.
November
It was was a mixed month for Neil Warnock and his Palace side. A draw away at Swansea was followed up with a fantastic win at home to Liverpool courtesy of Mile Jedinak, Joe Ledley and Dwight Gayle. Despite those two results, there was not much more to take from the month after back to back defeats at home to Sunderland and away to Manchester United which started a dismal dip in form.
December
The busy Christmas schedule was soon upon us and Palace had some big games to play over the chaotic part of the season. The Eagles only managed three points from the games courtesy of three draws. A torrid home loss to Aston Villa was on par with Sunderland the previous month. A return home from Manchester City empty handed while managing draws with Stoke City and Spurs. The poor run put Neil Warnock at serious risk of being the first Premier League manager to face the axe.
The final straw was a dismal Boxing Day defeat to in form Southampton that saw the Yorkshireman handed his P45. Once again Palace fans were looking to the chairman and wondering who could save us now. Enter Alan Pardew.
January
The term ‘New Year, New Me‘ is thrown around a lot and Crystal Palace Football Club fell under the mantra as speculation was abound with news that former Palace midfielder Alan Pardew was set to ditch Tyneside for South London. Palace’s clash with fellow strugglers Aston Villa was the first appearance for Pardew who watched his new side achieve a valuable point on New Years Day.
Immediately, the mood around Selhurst Park lifted. Palace almost went the rest of the month unbeaten and began to rise up the table with a last minute win over Burnley and an excellent win at home to Spurs. Things began to look up. The record was blighted however when a traveling Everton side were the first to beat Palace under Pardew to continue to poor home form.
We also saw the return of fan favourite Glenn Murray to the club following a brief loan spell with Reading. Wilfried Zaha made his loan move permanent allowing the club to sign Yaya Sanogo on loan from Arsenal. South Korean midfielder Chung Yong-Lee made the switch from Bolton Wanderers which saw Barry Bannan head to Lancashire on loan in return. Palace finished up their January window with acquisitions of full back Pape Souare from Lille and Jordon Mutch from Queens Park Rangers.
February
The month of love saw us reunited with our new best friends on Merseyside. There was a collective groan from the red half of Liverpool after they drew Palace in the 5th round of the FA Cup at Selhurst. Daniel Sturridge was on hand this time to write a better script for the visitors who finally got one over on the Palace.
Luckily for Palace the league results were firing better and better with a vital win away at Leicester City and a brilliant victory over London rivals West Ham United. Palace fans were suddenly dreaming of a top ten finish. There was only one loss in the league which was at home to Arsenal. It was a result that flattered the Gunners after some less than reputable refereeing.
March
The Eagles continued their march towards safety after starting off the month with an away defeat after an uncharacteristic error from Julian Speroni. Two back to back wins in the aftermath saw Palace all but guarantee Premier League football for another season with a home win over struggling Queens Park Rangers and a well earned and hard fought victory over Stoke City. Those results all but mathematically confirmed survival for Pardew’s side who demanded a top ten finish.
April
It began with a bang as another memorable game under the lights at Selhurst saw a struggling Manchester City side leave SE25 with nothing. City fans saw their title hopes all but dashed following defeat to the Eagles. Glenn Murray latched on to a brilliant pass from Scott Dann to side-foot home and a brilliant free kick from Jason Puncheon sealed all three points for Palace.
Another impressive win away at Sunderland saw Yannick Bolasie become the first ever Palace player to achieve this feat in the Premier League which helped the London outfit to an incredible 4-1 win.
Two lack lustre home performances saw back to back defeats to former boss Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion side who came back to haunt his former employers helping his new side towards safety themselves. Defeat to Hull City appeared to be the last ‘easy‘ game for Palace as a difficult period approached.
May
Palace entered the final month of the season still not mathematically safe but with the bottom four so tight there was really no need to worry about looking down.
Palace travelled to South West London for a game against Chelsea who needed to win to secure their first title in four years. An Eden Hazard penalty secured the title for them although the Belgian missed the penalty, heading in the rebound.
Manchester United were the next visitors to Selhurst Park. A late Marouane Felliani winner sealed the points for the visitors even though it appeared he had fouled Mile Jedinak in the build up. Jason Puncheon scored Palace’s equalizer after Juan Mata opened the scoring.
The last of our tough run of games at such a crucial part of the season was a visit to Anfield. An early opener from Lallana looked to be making Steven Gerrard’s last game at Anfield a win. Jason Puncheon scored a fantastic free kick to draw level before Wilfired Zaha’s first touch put Palace ahead. A penalty rebound from Glenn Murray sealed the three points and the first victory for Alan Pardew’s side in five games.
The final game of the season was soon upon us. Swansea City the visitors to Selhurst Park after themselves reaching a new record league position and points total looked to end their season on a high. In a fairly even game Marouane Chamakh, making his first start in four months, scored the only goal of the contest which sealed tenth place for Crystal Palace.
