“I never realised what a magical world it was. It was just people and families and colour and joy. The smell of hotdogs, people selling scarves and souvenirs. It was like I’d gone into this magical world I didn’t even know existed,” Hy Money, photographer and Crystal Palace fan, of her first visit to Selhurst Park in 1971 (cpfc.co.uk).
Not everyone sees the magic, admittedly. If you prefer a modern stadium with a park-and-ride next door and a bit more legroom, Selhurst Park is never going to figure on your list of favourite grounds.
Maybe you have sat in the away end and been able to see only two-thirds of the pitch. Maybe you don’t understand why a large Sainsbury’s supermarket is tacked onto one side of the stadium. Or maybe a bit of snobbery has set in after all these years of the tills-ringing Premier League.
Simon Inglis, the author and football historian, recommended as long ago as 1983 that Crystal Palace might be better off without the stadium that Archibald Leitch, the architect who designed it, predicted would be the biggest in London.
Inglis took the view — “to be really provocative” — that the club should share the athletics stadium two miles away. Leitch’s portfolio included Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage, Anfield, Goodison Park, Old Trafford…
