- Crystal Palace greatest players turned managers
- Terry Venables and Iain Dowie included
- Eagles stars often take to management
Crystal Palace have a rich history of players who hung up their boots and stepped into the managerial dugout, some with glory, others with heartbreak.
With the Eagles now enjoying the most successful period in the club’s history, it feels like the perfect time to look back at the greatest Palace players who made the transition to management.
Here Read Crystal Palace ranks the best managers in the club’s history who continued their careers in football by stepping into first-team management.
5. Peter Taylor
A fan favourite on the pitch, Peter Taylor was one of the finest wingers to grace Selhurst Park, earning England recognition during his time at the club. His managerial record at Palace was far less celebrated, however.
Given the role in 2006, he struggled to impose himself in the Championship and was eventually sacked by chairman Simon Jordan with the team hovering dangerously close to the drop zone. A case of a great player whose qualities simply did not translate to the dugout.
4. Steve Kember
Few players are as embedded in Crystal Palace’s DNA as Steve Kember. The midfielder was an integral figure between 1965 and 1971, helping the club win promotion to the top flight for the very first time, before returning in 1978 to play a key role in another promotion.
As a manager, he showed resilience, stepping up from youth team coach in 1981, keeping a struggling side in the Second Division and enjoying a decent FA Cup run. Simon Jordan handed him the reins again in 2003 following two successful caretaker stints, though his second spell lasted just 164 days. His loyalty and dedication to the club, however, remain unmatched.
3. Dick Graham
A reliable and popular goalkeeper between 1946 and 1950, Dick Graham became one of the more innovative managers in Palace’s history. Taking charge in 1962, he guided the Eagles to the Second Division within two years.
He was ahead of his time tactically, one of the first managers in English football to deploy two central defenders and regularly rotate shirt numbers to unsettle opponents. His contract was eventually cancelled in 1966 following disputes over team selections, but his legacy as a forward-thinking manager endures.
2. Iain Dowie
As a player, Iain Dowie was a hardworking target man who gave everything during a difficult period for the club, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances as Palace were relegated from the Premier League in 1995. It was as a manager, though, that he truly made his mark at Selhurst Park.
Taking charge in 2003 with the club in the relegation zone of the Championship, he masterminded one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the club’s history, steering Palace to the play-offs and promotion to the Premier League in his very first season in charge. A genuinely transformative figure.
1. Terry Venables
There can only be one. Terry Venables finished his playing career at Selhurst Park in 1974-75 and almost immediately moved into coaching alongside Malcolm Allison. When Allison departed, Venables stepped up and guided the Eagles on a remarkable journey, climbing two divisions in two years to reach the top flight.
Before going on to manage Barcelona and England, he cut his teeth at Crystal Palace, and his impact on the club’s trajectory cannot be overstated. El Tel at his very best. The greatest Crystal Palace player to make the transition to the dugout, without question.
