Before a ball had been kicked, the newspapers had front page stories about Palace's new wages and bonus scheme, which gave rise to speculation that their players could become the game's highest earners, with up to £300 in their weekly pay packet! Whatever the true figures, Palace made a tremendous start to the new season, and after four wins and three draws in the first eight games found themselves sitting third in the league, behind Leeds United and Manchester City, a high point from which the slide was to be relentless. However, at this point the team were earning some deserved praise for the quality of their football, and the close-season signings were proving to be good ones. Alan Birchenall was exactly the kind of partner that Gerry Queen needed, and for the first part of the season at least the combination of Tambling's attacking instincts on the wing, Birchenall's strength in the air and Gerry Queen's speed proved quite effective, if not prolific.

John Sewell

Just as important was the extra dimension to Palace's defensive thinking added by left back Peter Wall. Although not a regular first team choice at Liverpool, some of that club's class had rubbed off on him, and he impressed as a cool, skilful player with the confidence to play the ball out of defence, and a touch of arrogance which could inspire his colleagues.

It appeared that Bert Head had transformed last season's no-hopers into a genuine First Division side by adding just three players, and although the core of the side remained intact, they were at this stage all playing to their limits. In October of 1970, after consecutive victories against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion at home, and by a single goal at Old Trafford to spoil Bobby Charlton's 500th game for United, the top six of the first division contained four London clubs - Arsenal, Spurs, Palace and Chelsea - along with Leeds and Manchester City, and for the first time Palace fans felt they really did belong in the elite. Confirmation that Palace's league position was no fluke came when they faced Arsenal in the 4th round of the League Cup. The Gunners were to win the F.A.Cup and League double that season, so it was a great feat for Palace, after forcing a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, to win the replay at Highbury, albeit against the run of play, with goals from Gerry Queen and a Bobby Tambling penalty.

It looked as if things were going Palace's way, because this game came just two days after a memorable home match against Leeds United, at that time two points clear at the top of the table. Despite matching Leeds for most of the game, Palace were unable to break through the mean defence, and found themselves a goal down with less than a minute left, and heading for an undeserved defeat. When the ball fell loose to John Sewell inside his own half, it looked as if the captain too had given up all hope, for instead of trying to find a team mate up front, he simply clogged the ball upfield as hard as he could, to the groans of the home crowd. The ball dropped gently towards the Leeds goal, where Gary Sprake, with nobody else within 30 yards of him, prepared to take the simplest of catches inside the left hand post. But Gary Sprake was not like other men, and his mind began to wander. One moment the ball was safely in his hands, and the next it was behind him, in the net. Sprake looked around, searching desperately for the strange force which had sucked the ball from his grasp, but there was no one but himself to blame. Those of the crowd who had left the ground a couple of minutes early had missed the finest moment of comedy they were ever likely to see at Selhurst Park, but luckily for them - if not for the hapless goalkeeper - the slapstick was repeated on television every week until the end of the season. There is a photograph taken from behind the goal, which shows the keeper's gloved hands firmly behind the ball as he catches it, and I imagine that among Gary Sprake's many nightmares, this one will always be one of the most frightening.

Although still on the heels of the leaders, the team was soon to be affected by injuries to Queen, Tambling and Payne, and the productive partnership of Birchenall and Queen was never able to recover its early promise. Jim Scott's form in place of Tambling was a disappointment, and with Gerry Humphries and Trevor Dawkins pressed into service, a run of four games during December and January saw the team unable to score a single league goal, and knocked out of the F.A.Cup by Chelsea, always a particularly bitter pill to swallow. Things improved slightly after the purchase of an established goalscorer,

Terry Wharton

Bolton's Terry Wharton, and home victories followed against Liverpool and Ipswich. The Liverpool result, with Gerry Queen scoring the only goal, stood as Palace's first and only victory over them until a famous day nearly 20 years later. Thus, with two thirds of the season gone, Palace were still lying quite handy in 9th. position, with an outside chance still of qualifying for Europe, and everything to play for.

With the European possibilities in mind, a friendly game was arranged against the leaders of the Dutch League, PSV Eindhoven. It was certainly no disgrace to lose 4-2 against such a good side, but for some reason the effect on Palace was devastating. In the following eight games they only earned themselves one point, and after the home defeat by Coventry Bert Head allowed himself a rare public outburst when he claimed that several of his players were performing as if the season was over, which of course proved to be the case, only John Jackson escaping his wrath. One incident summed up the peculiar lack of passion in the team, when Alan Birchenall picked up a ball in the opponent's half of the field and, showing a good deal of skill, dribbled past several tackles as he looked in vain for a team mate sufficiently interested to receive a pass, eventually taking it all the way back to John Jackson in his own area.

Bobby Tambling

After such a good start to the season, it was especially disappointing to witness such a decline, and it looked as though many of the players knew that they could achieve no more. John Sewell, certainly, was at the end of his career, and injury had affected John McCormick and David Payne, as well as Queen and Tambling, but the slide from third in the league to a final, humiliating 6-0 defeat at Southampton was incomprehensible. The only consolation was that Palace finished in their highest ever league position, 18th. in the First Division, and comfortably clear of the two relegation places.

Some self respect was recovered after the season's end with good performances against Inter Milan and Cagliari in the Anglo-Italian Tournament, and the Palace fans, ever optimistic in the face of all the contradictory evidence, looked forward to next season in the knowledge that their team was now well and truly established in Division One.