The ecstasy and pure unbridled joy is still at the forefront of our minds following that wonderful day at Wembley in May.
It remains a real pinch yourself moment and has become the pinnacle of our Palace supporting lives, no matter what age.
Nothing and nobody can take away those feelings when that final whistle was blown and those feelings ever since, even though it has not been quite the enjoyable summer that we had all hoped.
We sit here still waiting to find out if we are to take our rightful place in the Europa League or have to take demotion to the Conference League on the chin. Even though it leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, we will be playing European football and at this juncture we are so fed up with the whole farcical situation we are probably accepting of the lesser competition now that the draw for the plat off has taken place.
This weekend, the Eagles take park in the curtain raiser for the very first time which will be the very start of a very exciting new journey for the season ahead.
As TEB enters its fourteenth season as an independent Crystal Palace fan site, none of us could have ever imagined that this is where we sit at this very point as a club. It is truly very exciting indeed.
With Wembley continuing to be a home away from home for Palace, ahead of our third visit of 2025, the FA Cup holders will take on Premier League champions Liverpool.
It was perhaps a surprise that Arne Slot guided the Reds to their league title number 20 at his very first attempt, but they have wasted no time this summer in building on that with a plethora of talent arriving at Anfield.
With Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Pringpong making up an total spend of a little shy of £300million, Liverpool are certainly not resting on their laurels and it will be difficult to stop them securing back to back titles.
The departures of Luis Diaz, Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, and Trent Alexander-Arnold for a combined estimated income of around £112million, few could argue that they have not secured high quality replacements.
Of course, the terribly sad news of Diogo Jota losing his life in the summer in a tragic road accident will be very raw for the Liverpool players as they kick off their defence of the title, but that may well drive them on to succeed once again this season.
It was a clear disappointment exiting the Champions League after topping the league phase convincingly, only for PSG to end their involvement in the competition. The quality that they have added will certainly help them do better this season, and there is no sign that their spending ends their either.
There is no doubting that Arne Slot will be looking for his side to challenge on all fronts this season.
As for the Eagles, it is clear that the furore and controversy over the disappointing UEFA decision has potential affected the transfer strategy somewhat, and we sit here with baited breath for August 11 when the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision will be announced, hopefully in favour of the Eagles.
Regardless, it is going to be a lot of fun being part of the curtain raiser against a side that have had their celebrations abated somewhat by the loss of Diogo Jota. Both sets of fans will come together to pay tribute to the Portuguese international and it will be an opportunity for the Palace fans to make themselves heard once again, with the Fanatics leading the way.
Whatever happens this season, and however things pan out, we will always have that day in May when Joel and Marc went up to lift the FA Cup.
ANNOUNCEMENT – This season TEB will be collaborating with Playmakerstats to provide match previews, line ups, score predictions, and injury news. Head over to their SITE for all this and more.
