There has, as usual, been much talk of the 'Oldham' factor in GPD over the last few weeks. It appears that we should now be safe from the drop, but in 1993 we all felt much the same, only to suffer a shock relegation after Oldham pulled off three highly unlikely wins to end their Season.
Most people remember the five point gap, but on the Saturday evening, after Palace win against Ipswich, the gap was 8 points, with Oldham due to play the following day.
Palace looked to have pulled well clear of relegation after an excellent 4-1 win against Middlesbrough on 12 April and that 3-1 victory against Ipswich on 1 May. In addition, we managed a point away to Leeds on 17 April. A reverse against the champions Manchester United (a narrow 0-1 defeat at home on 21 April) didn't do much to affect the optimism.
So, following our win over Ipswich (as has been frequently mentioned) there was a lap of honour. This looked safe as we then had a massive EIGHT point lead over Oldham (and a better goal difference) - although they had a game in hand (albeit against Aston Villa away, who were second in the table). This is how the table looked that evening, after the Ipswich match and the premature celebrations:
Middlesbrough only had one game left, so they couldn't catch us. Oldham had to play Aston Villa away, and Liverpool and Southampton at home. Palace had to play Manchester City and Arsenal (both away).
Oldham had to win all three to survive (highly unlikely) and rely upon Palace picking up no more than a single point.
So, what happened?
Oldham did win all three: Aston Villa (A) 1–0, Liverpool (H) 3–2, and Southampton (H) 4–3. Palace managed a draw against City and lost the final match against Arsenal (with Ian Wright scoring against his former Club to hammer the metaphorical nail into the Palace coffin).
So, what are your memories of that awful Season end? I flew to New York on the Sunday morning, confident that Palace would be safe. I didn't find out that Oldham had beaten Villa that day until three days later, when I saw the result buried in a US newspaper. Still, we had a five point lead, with both having two to play. I couldn't find the midweek results anywhere, and only discovered the awful truth when I arrived home on 10 May 1993.
Here is the final table:
Most people remember the five point gap, but on the Saturday evening, after Palace win against Ipswich, the gap was 8 points, with Oldham due to play the following day.
Palace looked to have pulled well clear of relegation after an excellent 4-1 win against Middlesbrough on 12 April and that 3-1 victory against Ipswich on 1 May. In addition, we managed a point away to Leeds on 17 April. A reverse against the champions Manchester United (a narrow 0-1 defeat at home on 21 April) didn't do much to affect the optimism.
So, following our win over Ipswich (as has been frequently mentioned) there was a lap of honour. This looked safe as we then had a massive EIGHT point lead over Oldham (and a better goal difference) - although they had a game in hand (albeit against Aston Villa away, who were second in the table). This is how the table looked that evening, after the Ipswich match and the premature celebrations:
Middlesbrough only had one game left, so they couldn't catch us. Oldham had to play Aston Villa away, and Liverpool and Southampton at home. Palace had to play Manchester City and Arsenal (both away).
Oldham had to win all three to survive (highly unlikely) and rely upon Palace picking up no more than a single point.
So, what happened?
Oldham did win all three: Aston Villa (A) 1–0, Liverpool (H) 3–2, and Southampton (H) 4–3. Palace managed a draw against City and lost the final match against Arsenal (with Ian Wright scoring against his former Club to hammer the metaphorical nail into the Palace coffin).
So, what are your memories of that awful Season end? I flew to New York on the Sunday morning, confident that Palace would be safe. I didn't find out that Oldham had beaten Villa that day until three days later, when I saw the result buried in a US newspaper. Still, we had a five point lead, with both having two to play. I couldn't find the midweek results anywhere, and only discovered the awful truth when I arrived home on 10 May 1993.
Here is the final table:
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