1989–90 Crystal Palace F.C. season

Crystal Palace F.C. 1989–90 football season

Crystal Palace F.C.

1989–90 season

Chairman

Ron Noades

Manager

Steve Coppell^[1]

Ground

Selhurst Park

First Division

15th

FA Cup

Runners-up
(eliminated by Manchester United)

League Cup

Third round
(eliminated by Nottingham Forest)

Full Members' Cup

Southern final
(eliminated by Chelsea)

Top goalscorer

League: Mark Bright (12)
All: Mark Bright (17)

Highest home attendance

29,870 vs Liverpool
First Division,
20 January 1990

Lowest home attendance

3,747 vs Luton Town,
Full Members' Cup,
27 November 1989

Average home league attendance

17,369

Biggest win

4–0 vs Huddersfield Town (home),
FA Cup, 27 January 1990

Biggest defeat

9–0 vs Liverpool (away),
First Division, 12 September 1989

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

← 1988–89

1990–91 →

The 1989–90 season was the 74th season of competitive association football and 63rd season in the Football League played by Crystal Palace Football Club, a professional football club based in Selhurst, South London, England. Their promotion via the Second Division play-offs in 1988–89 meant they played in the First Division, after an eight-year absence from the top division of the English football league system. The season ran from 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1990.

It was Steve Coppell's sixth start to a season as manager. Palace occupied a position in the bottom half of the table for most of the season, and finished the 1989–90 Football League First Division in 15th place. The club suffered its record league defeat this season when Liverpool beat them 9–0 at Anfield. Palace reached the 1990 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, they drew 3–3 with Manchester United and so the tie had to be replayed five days later, United won 1–0 to give Alex Ferguson his first major trophy as their manager. Palace were eliminated from the 1989–90 Football League Cup in the third round, and from the 1989–90 Full Members' Cup in the Southern section final.

23 players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were 12 different goalscorers. Midfielders Andy Gray, Alan Pardew and Geoff Thomas played in 51 of the 54 competitive matches played over the season; Gray started all 51 while Pardew and Thomas made 2 and 4 substitute appearances respectively. Mark Bright finished as leading scorer with 17 goals, of which 12 came in league competition, two came in the FA Cup, one came in the League Cup and two came in the Full Members' Cup. Bright was voted as the Crystal Palace F.C. Player of the Year.

Background and pre-season

The 1988–89 season was Palace's eight successive season in the Football League Second Division. They finished the season in third place missing out on the second automatic promotion place by one point, instead they qualified for the play-offs. They beat Swindon Town in the semi-final 2–1 on aggregate. In the 1989 Football League Second Division play-off final they faced Blackburn Rovers, the first leg was won by Rovers 3–1 at Ewood Park. In the second leg at Selhurst Park, Palace were 2–0 up after 90 minutes so the match went into extra time. Another goal from Palace saw them win the tie and take the remaining place in the First Division.

Pre-season match details
Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A
23 July 1989	IF Norvalla	A	W	3–1
25 July 1989	Billesholms GIF	A	W	7–2
27 July 1989	Verderslov Danninglanda	A	W	5–1
29 July 1989	Virserums SGF	A	W	7–1
31 July 1989	Skera IF	A	W	7–1
1 August 1989	Sodra Vings IF	A	W	2–0
5 August 1989	Farnborough Town	A	W	2–1
8 August 1989	Aldershot	A	W	2–0
11 August 1989	Swansea City	A	W	4–1
13 August 1989	West Ham United	A	L	1–3
30 August 1989	Derry City	A	W	4–2

League table

^[2]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
13	Manchester United	38	13	9	16	46	47	−1	48	Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]
14	Manchester City	38	12	12	14	43	52	−9	48
15	Crystal Palace	38	13	9	16	42	66	−24	48
16	Derby County	38	13	7	18	43	40	+3	46
17	Luton Town	38	10	13	15	43	57	−14	43

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Results

^[3]

First Division

Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace

19 August 1989 1	Queens Park Rangers	2–0	Crystal Palace	London
	Wright x2			Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 16,161

Crystal Palace v Manchester United

22 August 1989 2	Crystal Palace	1–1	Manchester United	London
	Wright		Robson	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 22,423

Crystal Palace v Coventry City

26 August 1989 3	Crystal Palace	0–1	Coventry City	London
			Kilcline	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 11,122

Crystal Palace v Wimbledon

9 September 1989 4	Crystal Palace	2–0	Wimbledon	London
	Thomas Wright			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,116

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

12 September 1989 5	Liverpool	9–0	Crystal Palace	Liverpool
	Nicol 7', 90' McMahon 15' Rush 45' Gillespie 56' Beardsley 61' Aldridge 67' (pen.) Barnes 79' Hysén 82'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 35,779

Southampton v Crystal Palace

16 September 1989 6	Southampton	1–1	Crystal Palace	Southampton
	Horne		Hopkins	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,368

Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest

23 September 1989 7	Crystal Palace	1–0	Nottingham Forest	London
	Wright			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,899

Crystal Palace v Everton

30 September 1989 8	Crystal Palace	2–1	Everton	London
	Wright Pardew		Newell	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 15,943

Derby County v Crystal Palace

14 October 1989 9	Derby County	3–1	Crystal Palace	Derby
	Goddard x2 Saunders pen.'		Pardew	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 14,535

Crystal Palace v Millwall

21 October 1989 10	Crystal Palace	4–3	Millwall	London
	Wright x2 Bright x2		Hopkins o.g.' Cascarino Anthrobus	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 18,920

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

28 October 1989 11	Aston Villa	2–1	Crystal Palace	Birmingham
	Platt x2		Pardew	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 15,724

Manchester City v Crystal Palace

4 November 1989 12	Manchester City	3–0	Crystal Palace	Manchester
	White Morley Allen			Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 23,768

Crystal Palace v Luton Town

11 November 1989 13	Crystal Palace	1–1	Luton Town	London
	Bright		Wilson	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 11,346

Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur

18 November 1989 14	Crystal Palace	2–3	Tottenham Hotspur	London
	Bright x2		Howells Samways Lineker pen.'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 26,266

Sheffield Wednesday v Crystal Palace

25 November 1989 15	Sheffield Wednesday	2–2	Crystal Palace	Sheffield
	Whitton Hirst		Gray Hopkins	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 17,227

Crystal Palace v Queens Park Rangers

2 December 1989 16	Crystal Palace	0–3	Queens Park Rangers	London
			Maddix Sinton x2	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,784

Manchester United v Crystal Palace

9 December 1989 17	Manchester United	1–2	Crystal Palace	Manchester
	Beardsmore		Bright x2	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 33,514

Charlton Athletic v Crystal Palace

16 December 1989 18	Charlton Athletic	1–2	Crystal Palace	London
	Walsh		Thorn Bright	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 15,763

Crystal Palace v Chelsea

26 December 1989 19	Crystal Palace	2–2	Chelsea	London
	Wright Pemberton		Dixon Le Saux	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 24,680

Crystal Palace v Norwich City

30 December 1989 20	Crystal Palace	1–0	Norwich City	London
	Wright			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 14,250

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

1 January 1990 21	Arsenal	4–1	Crystal Palace	London
	Dixon Adams Smith x2		Pardew	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,711

Coventry City v Crystal Palace

13 January 1990 22	Coventry City	1–0	Crystal Palace	Coventry
	Speedie			Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 10,858

Crystal Palace v Liverpool

20 January 1990 23	Crystal Palace	0–2	Liverpool	London
			Rush 9' Beardsley 62'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 29,807

Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace

3 February 1990 24	Nottingham Forest	3–1	Crystal Palace	Nottingham
	Clough Hodge Jemson		Salako	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,739

Crystal Palace v Southampton

10 February 1990 25	Crystal Palace	3–1	Southampton	London
	Salako Gray Barber		Osman	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 13,363

Crystal Palace v Sheffield Wednesday

24 February 1990 26	Crystal Palace	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	London
	Bright		Worthington	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 11,857

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace

3 March 1990 27	Tottenham Hotspur	0–1	Crystal Palace	London
			Pardew	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 26,181

Everton v Crystal Palace

17 March 1990 28	Everton	4–0	Crystal Palace	Everton
	Cottee x2 Whiteside Sharp			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 19,274

Crystal Palace v Derby County

20 March 1990 29	Crystal Palace	1–1	Derby County	London
	Gray		Wright	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 10,051

Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

24 March 1990 30	Crystal Palace	1–0	Aston Villa	London
	Thompson			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 18,586

Millwall v Crystal Palace

31 March 1990 31	Millwall	1–2	Crystal Palace	London
	Allen		Bright Gray	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 13,332

Norwich City v Crystal Palace

4 April 1990 32	Norwich City	2–0	Crystal Palace	Norwich
	Sherwood O'Reilly o.g.'			Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 12,640

Crystal Palace v Arsenal

14 April 1990 33	Crystal Palace	1–1	Arsenal	London
	Gray		Hayes	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 28,094

Chelsea v Crystal Palace

16 April 1990 34	Chelsea	3–0	Crystal Palace	London
	Dixon Stuart Wilson			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 16,132

Crystal Palace v Charlton Athletic

21 April 1990 35	Crystal Palace	2–0	Charlton Athletic	London
	Thompson Bright			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 15,276

Luton Town v Crystal Palace

28 April 1990 36	Luton Town	1–0	Crystal Palace	Luton
	Dowie			Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 10,369

Wimbledon v Crystal Palace

2 May 1990 37	Wimbledon	0–1	Crystal Palace	London
			Bright	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 8,209

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

5 May 1990 38	Crystal Palace	2–2	Manchester City	London
	Pardew Gray		Allen pen.' Quinn	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 20,056

FA Cup

Crystal Palace v Portsmouth

6 January 1990 Round 3	Crystal Palace	2–1	Portsmouth	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace v Huddersfield Town

27 January 1990 Round 4	Crystal Palace	4–0	Huddersfield Town	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace v Rochdale

17 February 1990 Round 5	Crystal Palace	1–0	Rochdale	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park

Cambridge United v Crystal Palace

10 March 1990 Quarter-final	Cambridge United	0–1	Crystal Palace	Cambridge
				Stadium: Abbey Stadium

Crystal Palace v Liverpool

8 April 1990 Semi-final	Crystal Palace	4–3 (a.e.t.)	Liverpool	Birmingham
	Bright 46' O'Reilly 70' Gray 88' Pardew 109'		Rush 14' McMahon 81' Barnes 83' (pen.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 38,389

Manchester United v Crystal Palace

12 May 1990 Final	Manchester United	3–3 (a.e.t.)	Crystal Palace	London
	Robson 35' Hughes 62', 113'		O'Reilly 18' Wright 72', 92'	Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 80,000

Manchester United v Crystal Palace

17 May 1990 Final replay	Manchester United	1–0	Crystal Palace	London
	Martin 59'			Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 80,000

League Cup

Crystal Palace v Leicester City

19 September 1989 Round 2 leg 1	Crystal Palace	1–2	Leicester City	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 7,382

Leicester City v Crystal Palace

4 October 1989 Round 2 leg 2	Leicester City	2–3 (a.e.t.) (4–4 agg.)	Crystal Palace	Leicester
				Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 10,283
Note: (Crystal Palace won on away goals)

Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest

24 October 1989 Round 3	Crystal Palace	0–0	Nottingham Forest	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 14,250

Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace

1 November 1989 Round 3 replay	Nottingham Forest	5–0	Crystal Palace	Nottingham
				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,625

Full Members' Cup

Crystal Palace v Luton Town

29 November 1989 Southern section round 2	Crystal Palace	4–1	Luton Town	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 3,747

Crystal Palace v Charlton Athletic

19 December 1989 Southern section round 3	Crystal Palace	2–0	Charlton Athletic	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 6,621

Crystal Palace v Swindon Town

13 February 1990 Southern section semi-final	Crystal Palace	1–0	Swindon Town	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 6,027

Crystal Palace v Chelsea

21 February 1990 Southern section final leg 1	Crystal Palace	0–2	Chelsea	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 14,839

Chelsea v Crystal Palace

12 March 1990 Southern section final leg 1	Chelsea	2–0 (4–0 agg.)	Crystal Palace	London
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 15,061

Squad

^[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Nigel Martyn
—	GK	ENG	Perry Suckling
—	GK	ENG	Brian Parkin
—	GK	ENG	Andy Woodman
—	DF	WAL	Jeff Hopkins
—	DF	ENG	John Pemberton
—	DF	ENG	Rudi Hedman
—	DF	ENG	Adam Locke
—	DF	ENG	Gareth Southgate
—	DF	ENG	Gary O'Reilly
—	DF	ENG	Richard Shaw
—	DF	ENG	Andy Thorn
—	DF	ENG	Mark Dennis
—	DF	ENG	Chris Powell
—	DF	ENG	Ricky Newman


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	Alex Dyer
—	DF	ENG	David Burke
—	MF	ENG	Phil Barber
—	MF	ENG	Andy Gray
—	MF	ENG	David Madden
—	MF	IRL	Eddie McGoldrick
—	MF	ENG	Alan Pardew
—	MF	ENG	John Salako
—	MF	ENG	Geoff Thomas
—	MF	ENG	Mark Hone
—	MF	ENG	Simon Osborn
—	FW	ENG	Mark Bright
—	FW	ENG	Ian Wright
—	FW	ENG	Garry Thompson

Notes

^ Manchester United qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as the 1989–90 FA Cup winners.

References

General

King, Ian (2011). Crystal Palace: The Complete Record. Derby: Derby Books Publishing Company. pp. 398–399. ISBN 978-1-85983-809-9.

Specific

^ "Crystal Palace Manager History | Past & Present | Soccer Base".
^ "English Football League Tables 1989/1990".
^ "Crystal Palace match record: 1990".
^ "All Crystal Palace players: 1990".

Crystal Palace F.C. seasons

1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24

1989–90 in English football

« 1988–89

1990–91 »

National teams

Bobby Robson
Rous Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
- qualification
- UEFA
- UEFA Group 2

League
competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (Premier, One) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two North, Two South) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (Premier, One) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) Midland Football Combination (level 8 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Spartan League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) Wessex League (level 8 only) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup
competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Full Members' Cup (Final) Associate Members' Cup (Final)

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Athletic Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Millwall Norwich City Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Wimbledon
Second Division	Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bournemouth Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Middlesbrough Newcastle United Oldham Athletic Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Portsmouth Sheffield United Sunderland Swindon Town Stoke City Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Third Division	Birmingham City Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chester City Crewe Alexandra Fulham Huddersfield Town Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Northampton Town Preston North End Notts County Reading Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Tranmere Rovers Walsall Wigan Athletic
Fourth Division	Aldershot Burnley Cambridge United Carlisle United Chesterfield Colchester United Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Gillingham Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Lincoln City Maidstone United Peterborough United Rochdale Scarborough Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Torquay United Wrexham York City