Last week I wrote about the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton played back in 1976.
The game was a disappointment, given the opposition were eminently beatable.
There are ITV highlights of the game, but it was a game lacking in many highlights.
Inevitably the coverage focused at regular intervals at the man in the front row of the director’s box wearing a spectacular hat – the fedora.
Malcolm Allison is one of the best known and most fondly remembered Palace managers. As well as overseeing the cup run, he changed the team kit from claret and blue to red and blue stripes then to the sash, and changed the club nickname from the Glaziers to the Eagles.
If we are honest, the whole Palace/Brighton rivalry would appear to be due to an alpha-male thing between him and Alan Mullery.
This clip is from 1970, five years before the ‘fiver’ game …
Allison was a national celebrity, after his efforts as first team coach leading Manchester City to a title and a cup win. His willingness to speak his mind meant that he was an obvious choice to be one of the first television pundits.
Here is an excruciating clip of ITV covering the 1974 World Cup.
(He will have got a couple of quid from Slazenger for both those appearances).
As Palace manager, there is no question he made a lasting impact.
Results wise, he was a bit of a disaster. He was brought in to try to avoid relegation in March 1973. Not only did he fail to stop Palace going down that season, but Palace were relegated again the following season.
Several established players, including legends like John Jackson and Don Rogers left to join former first team coach George Petchey at Orient.
By 1975-76 things had begun to turn around. In January 1976 as the cup run began to gain momentum, Palace were seven points clear at the top of Division Three. In circumstances that have been repeated forty years later, league form fell away and Palace failed to get promotion.
Allison left the club and Terry Venables was promoted from first team coach to manager. Within three seasons Venables had the side promoted twice and returned us to the top division. Three years after the semi-final in May 1979, when Palace secured promotion in front of over 51,000 people at Selhurst Park, only two players remained – Jim Cannon, of course, and Dave Swindlehurst.
Malcolm Allison’s cup side had been replaced almost entirely by the youth team.
While Paul Hammond was not in the class of the man he replaced – John Jackson, Malcolm Allison did replace Don Rogers with a skilful, exciting game-changing player, with equally dodgy knees as it turned out.
Peter Taylor had a remarkable season in 1975/76. He was the outstanding attacking player in Palace’s Cup run, in particular scoring two memorable goals against Chelsea in Palace’s 3-2 win.
He ended the season scoring on his England debut in what was in those days the grand finale to the British football season – the home internationals.
Here is a long clip of England beating Northern Ireland 4-0 with the occasional mention of ‘Taylor’
In recent years he is best known for being a stereotypical English league manager, who seemed too happy to follow the coaching orthodoxy of the day, and was determined to be heroically dull in public. He became manager of the England under 21 side and in one game as caretaker manager for England, he gave David Beckham the armband.
That should not be his most famous moment because he was, all too briefly, a great player. Although he was left-footed he often played on the right, looking to swivel his hips, cut in and shoot. He could play as a winger or a central forward, and was an engaging presence on the pitch.
Let us ask Malcolm Allison to explain (after forgiving him for forgetting the name of ‘the lad from Swindon Town’ – it is not often we are grateful to Garth Crooks for stepping in to offer clarity). Anyway …
Peter Taylor’s Palace career ended with a big money move in September 1976 to an exciting Spurs side, with Glenn Hoddle emerging as the key player. Spurs promptly got relegated and Taylor got injured, and never became a star player at the highest level.
Ironically he ended his league career, like so many of Allison’s ex-players, at Leyton Orient.
