In the wake of James Vaughan's hat-trick home debut since arriving on loan from Everton (we'll ignore the red card at Derby), FYP dives into the nostalgia box and has a look at five loanees that impressed, and five that didn't so much.
Dan Cooper get remembering...
5 of the best…
Ashley Cole
On loan from: Arsenal
Position: Left-back
Season signed: 1999-2000
Last spotted: in every tabloid newspaper, every week.
Along with Jose Mourinho, a handful of tabloid editors and, er, no-one else, Palace fans display that most uncommon of traits - we actually like Cashley. No, scratch that, we REALLY like Cashley. See, long before the days of Cheryl, ludicrous wage demands and questionable mobile phone usage, Ashley Cole was young, hungry and - most importantly - churning out top notch performances in red and blue. Arriving on loan from Arsenal during the admin season of 1999/2000, he took little time winning over the Selhurst faithful with a string of outstanding performances at left-back. But whilst his great defensive work and marauding runs up the left flank gave us plenty to admire, it was his very genuine hunger for the fight which really endeared him to the fans. Well, that and his infamous Selhurst howitzer against Blackburn. Consistent douchebaggery may well have defined his more recent years, but his contribution to the Palace will live long in the memory. Just keep it in your trousers, eh Ash?
Gonzalo Sorondo
On loan from: Inter Milan
Position: Centre-back
Season signed: 2004-2005
Last spotted: plying his trade for Brazilian side Defensor
Along with cult hero / injury prone disaster (delete as appropriate) Nicola Ventola, Gonzalo saw sense and swapped the drab surroundings of Milan for the sun, sea and sights of Thornton Heath at the beginning of the 2004/2005 Premiership campaign. The Uruguayan international followed the oft-travelled route from the San Siro to Selhurst off the back of a successful season loan at Belgian giants Standard Liege, and it didn't take long for him to cement his place at the heart of Iain Dowie's (much over-worked) back four. Despite our eventual relegation, his performances were consistently impressive – particularly praiseworthy when one remembers that he was frequently partnered at the back by OneSize. That’s no mean achievement folks.
Jose Fonte
On loan from: Benfica
Position: Centre-back
Season signed: 2007-2008
Last spotted: batting below his average with league 1 Southampton
Peter Taylor's incumbency yielded few positives, but the loan capture of Benfica’s Fonte was an undoubted masterstroke, with the Portu-geezer quickly injecting a much needed dose of culture into the Palace back four. Jose’s early performances had the majority of Palace fans calling for his permanent signature, which duly arrived in the following close season. Few Palace loanees have developed into successful permanent signings, but José certainly bucked that trend, going on to enjoy a further two seasons as a mainstay of the Palace rearguard. His contributions on the pitch will be fondly remembered, but surely his finest Palace moment came in the all-together less salubrious surroundings of Norwood boozer The Albion. Upon receiving a much deserved player of the year award from the Holmesdale Fanatics, he delivered a sterling acceptance speech through a knackered old amp, before seeing off a sambucca with the assembled masses. Legendary status secured.
Paul Stewart
On loan from: Liverpool
Position: Striker
Season signed: 1993-1994
Last spotted: selling advertising space at football grounds. Apparently.
Say what you want about Alan Smith, but his decision to bring in Paul Stewart during the title winning season of 1993-1994 was a very canny move indeed. Stewart’s goal return for Palace – 3 in 18 appearances – can be best described as modest, but his overall contribution to on the pitch matters was righty viewed by fans as being integral to that year’s promotion push. Stewart added guile and experience to a near unbeatable side, helping Armstrong, Salako, Southgate and co to push the title over the line.
Mikael Forssell
On loan from: Chelsea
Position: Striker
Season signed: 2000-2001
Last spotted: getting on dis ting in the Bundesliga with Hannover 96
Everyone’s second favourite Palace Finn, Forssell’s always been a popular character at Selhurst. It’s therefore easy to forget that his initial goal-shy performances were far from convincing, to the extent that Palace looked to cut short the loan agreement, a move which was blocked by parent-club Chelsea. There are few things to thank Chelsea for in this world, but that particular decision worked brilliantly in Palace’s favour. Forssell found form soon after, forging a fantastic relationship with Clinton and bagging a number of crucial goals during a nerve shredding run-in, none more so than his 17th minute strike away at Pompey in a must-win end of season clash. And let’s face it, even if he’d been unfathomably gash, he’d still get in this list by virtue of the fact that he looks a tiny bit like Aki.
5 ‘thanks….but no thanks’
Amir Karic
On loan from: Ipswich Town
Position: Left-back
Season signed: 2001-2002
Last spotted: tearing up the Slovenian second division. No, seriously.
Most football fans have had to put up with their fair share of dross over the years, but every now and then, a player comes along who is so gloriously rubbish that you just have to sit back, relax and revel in the sheer ineptitude of it all. For Palace’s finest example of this well-documented phenomenon, look no further than Slovenian left-back Amir Karic. His third and final Palace appearance has become the stuff of legend, with the hapless loanee being hauled off after only 30 dismal minutes of action. I say dismal, but such was the brilliantly clown-like nature of his performance, it’s become something of a perversely fond memory for many Palace fans, this one included. Amazingly, Karic managed to drag his travelling circus onto the biggest of stages, gracing both Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002 with his seemingly bottomless pit of footballing nonsense. For that at least, the man deserves credit.
Matthew Upson
On loan from: Arsenal
Position: Centre-back
Season signed: 2000-2001
Last spotted: heading for the Championship with the Hammers.
To say that Matthew Upson is one of the 5 worst players ever to be loaned to Palace is of course outrageously harsh. However, when you look at the context of his wider career both pre and post Palace, it’s difficult to view his brief period with us as anything other than disappointing. Upson arrived at Palace with a big reputation, but did little to turn the growing hype into fan-pleasing performances. The informed opinion is that he was carrying a persistent injury for the duration of his loan spell at Selhurst, which perhaps should be blamed for a string of sloppy performances at the heart of a porous back four. Given that Upson went on to carve out a successful Premiership career (with more than a few international caps to his name too, most recently during a toe curlingly dreadful World Cup campaign), it’s no surprise that Palace fans still feel bit short-changed by his brief loan spell. Should have been good, but just somehow wasn’t.
Franck Songo'o
On loan from: Portsmouth
Position: Winger
Season signed: 2007-2008
Last spotted: doing surprisingly well in La Liga with Real Sociedad
Just...bizarre. Franck arrived on loan from Pompey in the midst of Neil Warnock's post-Taylor rebuilding period and immediately showed that he possessed, well, none of the qualities you'd expect from a Colin signing. All tricks and no end product, the Cameroonian flicked, juggled and backheeled his way around the Selhurst turf without ever posing the slightest threat to the oppo's onion bag. Much to the surprise of no-one, Mr Songo'o was quickly sent packing back to the South Coast, no doubt nailing a couple of killer stepovers as he went. We've seen far worse signings over the years, but Franck nabs his spot in the top 5 simply for the sheer strangeness of it all. File under 'odd'.
Paul Dickov
On loan from: Manchester City
Position: Striker
Season signed: 2007-2008
Last spotted: dishing out x-rated half time rollockings as manager of League 1 Oldham Athletic
One of the many low-points of Peter Taylor’s stint in the Palace hotseat, the signing of the notoriously surly Scot in late 2007 did little to excite a home crowd already suffering near fatal levels of boredom every other Saturday. To be fair to Dickov, he pretty much did what was expected of him – sadly for us, that mainly involved unleashing foul mouthed tirades at anyone within spitting distance and not scoring any goals. After six goalless games in the red and blue, he was swiftly dispatched from whence he came. Dickov once described his main strength as ‘giving defenders pain’. Swap ‘pain’ for ‘an easy afternoon and a mild case of earache’ and you’ve pretty much summed up his Palace career. Pointless.
Trevor Benjamin
On loan from: Leicester City
Position: Striker
Season signed: 2000-2001
Last spotted: player-managing non league side Morpeth Town
One of the 6,324 clubs where big Trev plied his trade over the years, Palace wasn’t a happy hunting ground for the journeyman striker. To be fair, he did manage to hit the back of the net once in his 6 games here, with a solitary, scrappy strike against Bradford to his name. However, his lumbering performances up top are the abiding memory for me, contributing to the sort of football that makes you not only lose faith in the beautiful game, but in the very concept of living itself. Interestingly, then Leicester manager Peter Taylor once shelled out 1.3 million big ones to secure the services of Mr Benjamin. I’d love to say I’m surprised, but….