As a six year old boy I was given the “Choice”, or more so I was blackmailed!
My Dad had bought me a football to test the water, to see if I would show any enthusiasm for the beautiful game. This gift proved to be a huge success and it would have to be surgically removed from me before I’d be seen without it.
He asked me one day would I like to go to watch a football game. At this point I had very limited knowledge of any teams, except one! I asked my Dad, “Who do we support?” Even at a young age I just assumed that we would make a pact and support the same team. I blame Pannini for what turned out to be a huge faux pas on my behalf, I said, “Can we support Arsenal?” If only for the convenience of alphabetical order, it seemed logical, I guessed that the best team would be at the front of the sticker album! Like most kids I thought supporting the best team was the way to go? What followed has stuck with me to this very day.
“Son, I support Crystal Palace and if you choose to support them, I will take you to as many games as I can! If you choose to support Arsenal, you won’t be taken to any!”
I remember being quite taken with the fact that Arsenal played in red, but I’d never get to see that. My thoughts began to swing towards Crystal Palace, although I’d never heard of them! However, it would mean I’d get a day out, taken to watch the games!
I inspected my sticker book, they weren’t in there, so I was able to deduce that they were not a Division One team. I contemplated the name, it seemed exotic, a Palace I thought, I even wondered if the Queen supported them. Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace, it circled in my head, Arsenal was slipping away, did it matter that they weren’t in The top division? Then what really swung it for me was, when I asked what the kit was! Red and blue stripes my Dad proclaimed, it struck a chord, no other team in my sticker book had these colours! Arsenal were red, Everton were blue, in my child like head I’d forgotten about divisions and was now fixated on the powerhouse combo of red and blue stripes!
I turned to my Dad and said “If I choose Crystal Palace can I have shirt please?”
The deal was sealed, I was ecstatic that I was not only going to watch a football match, I supported the same team as my Dad and most importantly I’d be getting a red and blue football shirt.
Tuesday September 8th 1987. Crystal Palace v West Bromwich Albion.
My memory of the game is virtually non existent now, I’m pretty sure Ian Wright and Andy Gray were on the scoresheet? What I do remember is that it was a cold night, standing was still allowed, the lights seemed so bright and best of all I had my first ever taste of Bovril. After the game my Dad went into the club shop and for whatever reason I stayed outside with my Mum. My Dad emerged with a carrier bag that was to contain my first ever football shirt, not just any, but a Crystal Palace shirt. I was so excited, the bag was passed to me and I pulled out what was a mainly red shirt with two diagonal white and blue stripes. I was confused! It had a Crystal Palace logo but it wasn’t the stripes I had just seen. As per usual my Dad was being thrifty and felt that his son wouldn’t mind that his first ever Crystal Palace shirt would be the 1985/86 third shirt? After all it contained the important colours. It didn’t matter we had won 4-1 and I had a football shirt! I remember thinking to myself, “I bet we win every week? We won 4-1, I reckon I’ve picked a team that won’t ever disappoint me!”
Little did I know!
Editor’s note:
The game in question did indeed finish 4-1 to Palace and was played out in front of a crowd of 8,554 at Selhurst Park – dark days indeed for the attendance as Steve Coppell’s Palace were only really just starting to come good after the Mullery era. The scorers were Mark Bright with two, Neil Redfearn and Ian Wright. Bobby Williamson netted for The Baggies. Greig’s story shows his Dad in a fantastic light – many a Palace fan will relate to the lengths his Dad went to to rescue Greig from the clutches of more glamourous options!
