Fans from The 72 Unite plan mass protest against EPPP on Saturday October 29 (v Reading)

Written by Jim Daly

Sick of the new Elite Player Performance Plan? Think Premier League chief Richard Scudamore (right) is taking liberties? Well you're not alone!

The 72 Unite, made up of fans from the Football League, are angered by the plans to reduce compensation for smaller clubs for their young stars, in a move that makes it easier for big clubs to snatch young talent.

In a statement they said: "In the current financial climate with the divide between rich and poor widening on a daily basis, modern football continues to be an exaggerated version of the overall global picture. The rich continue to get richer while the poor suffer.

"Lower league football is dying, starved by Premier League greed and excess. Attendances are down, and clubs will soon cease to exist, unable to balance the books to survive, let alone compete with the elite.

"The lifeblood of Football League clubs are their successful academy systems, some of which have supported and sustained clubs for many years, producing local, homegrown talent representative of the area and fanbase. Today’s ruling cuts this essential lifeblood at the arteries and will signal the death knell, the final nail in the coffin for the survival of professional football outside the Premier League.

"In response we are calling for action from every fan at every match on Saturday 29th October 2011 to unite, rise-up and fight for the very existence of their clubs. It’s now or never. We must met the Premier League and FA know we will not be trampled on.

"Every fan, every game; boycott the first five minutes to draw attention to this and show the strength of opposition to the proposals."

FYP supports any opposition to the EPPP but if you are planning on doing he protest on Saturday we urge you to get in the ground and then wait on the concourse for five minutes before going to your seat. Hell! Have a drink. We're only thinking of you and your safety people. Cos we love you so much.

For more information on The 72 Unite visit their website here - www.the72unite.co.uk or Facebook. Also, check out their video below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1WVQHRb-YY


FFS MURRAY t-shirts now available to order!

Written by Joe Bloggs

***We have SOLD OUT of Large Reds, Medium Reds, XL Blues and Medium Blues. Sorry people! Every other size/colour still available***

FOR F*CK SAKE MURRAY! Thus were the words blurted out by frustrated Brighton fans as the Palace new boy slammed home the third in a glorious 3-1 win at the AmEx on Tuesday night.

And now you can own that moment forever by purchasing one of our FFS MURRAY! t-shirts for just £9.99! (plus postage and packaging)

Available in red or blue and in sizes Small, Medium, Large and X Large, the t-shirts feature Muzza in his now famous hand on head celebration with 'FFS MURRAY' atop the picture and 'Buy CMS & Get 1-3!' below!

Sizes are as follows: (chest size in inches)

Small 33-36
Large 40-42
XL 44-46

These are being carefully hand-crafted by Russian Nuns as we speak and will be sent out to fans next week.

Work with Brighton fans? Live near one? Married to one? Rub it in their face with a FFS MURRAY t-shirt!

And join in the fun on Twitter with the #FFSMurray hashtag!

And if you're not sure what all the FFS Murray nonsense is about, scroll down to this article. All is explained!

Get yours now here!

And we have I Belong To Dougie t-shirts available in every size and colour  (EXCEPT MEDIUM BLUES) !


Spurs release images of planned 60,000 stadium for Stratford, where does it leave Palace?

Written by Jim Daly

Tottenham have released images of their plans for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as they remain adamant on up rooting and relocating to east London.

As previously revealed, Spurs also want to redevelop he National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace Park if their Olympic bid is successful.

Like Palace, Spurs want to turn the centre into a 25,000-seater stadium with the opportunity to upgrade to 40,000.

But where do Palace stand in all this? To put it bluntly: nowhere in Spurs' plans. Part of the agreement of hosting the 2012 Olympic Games is that the country will leave some sort of Olympic legacy. By turning the stadium in Stratford into a football-only venue, Spurs need to use the Crystal Palace Park to leave their legacy.

Plenty in athletics hallways secretly oppose the bans and favour West Ham's, which would see an athletics track left at Stratford, as well as using it for football, which would leave Crystal Palace Park for CPFC2010 to develop for the Eagles.

On plans for the NSC, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said: "We would increase the current capacity of Crystal Palace by 9,500 to 25,000 and a new 4 lane warm up track and all weather hockey pitch would also be built.

"With these proposals, Crystal Palace would become a re-invigorated dedicated facility, bringing more activity to the area and be available to the athletics community every single day of the year."

A decision on the bids is due this week when we'll see where Palace's plans to move home stand. Spurs plans for NSC can be seen below:


 


 

FYP Feature: Crystal Palace fans tempted Edgar Davids on Twitter

Written by Robert Sutherland

Internet-savvy Crystal Palace fans can feel a certain amount of pride about their role in securing the sensational signing of Edgar Davids.

The Dutch midfield legend told Palace World that the tweets he received during the #saveCPFC online campaign as the June 1 deadline day loomed stoked his interest in the Eagles - and made him more receptive to a potential move.

He said: "It started actually on Twitter, some fans were tweeting if I could help the club because it wasn't doing very well financially, I heard. Then I asked my followers to support Crystal Palace.

"Then, two weeks later, I got a tweet back. They tagged me that the club was saved, that was the start."

Davids was then approached by a mutual friend shared with George Burley, asking whether he would be interested in signing for the club.

"I'd been training with Ajax and all of a sudden I got a call and had a good chat with George and I was sold to the club."

Palace fans were encouraged to tweet messages on the social blogging website on May 31 and the June 1, highlighting the club's difficulty with Lloyds and asking for support from a variety of celebrities, footballers and managers.

With Davids being one of the many twitter users that responded, few Palace fans would have imagined that the player would be so encouraged by the support that he would sign for the club just a few short months later.

Few can now question the power that such tool can give organisations or social movements - Palace fan's Twitter activity put the club's difficulty in the number one spot for 'trending' tweets - meaning that it was the most talked about topic of the day.

Football fans around the world were made aware of the protest outside Lloyds - adding thousands to the hundreds that were actually standing outside the bank in the soaking wet.

It's pretty amazing - and a sign of the times - that fans can have such an influence in club affairs, and new Palace owners CPFC2010 are clearly aware of this, hence their embracing of fans' forums and message boards.

Although it was clearly George Burley who convinced the Dutch star to sign, it was Palace fans who planted the seed.

 

Other players on Twitter we could convince to sign

1. Wayne Rooney - @waynerooneyno10 When he's not tweeting about the local talent at the Bingo Hall.

2. Guiseppi Rossi - @GiuseppeRossi22 Loves a bit of FIFA on the playstation, apparently.

3. Luis Enrique - @LUISENRIQUE21 Hey, why not convince another former star out of retirement?

4. Andres Iniesta - @andresiniesta8 Likes playing in red and blue already, does little Andres.

5. Regi Blinker- @SuperReg Another Dutch dreadlocked star we could convince to join.

5. Rio Ferdinand - @RioFerdy5 Likes to post weird photos of himself with cryptic messages.

6. Nicolas Anelka - @anelkaofficiel When he's not sulking, he's whining to his fans on Twitter.

7. Stephen Ireland - @StephenIreland The guy who hates football talking about...football.

8. Diego Forland - @diegoforlan7 A serial tweeter who can't keep away from his blackberry.

9. Dimitar Berbatov - @dimi_berbatov Potential spoof profile here, but it is well funny.

10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - @ZlatansOfficial Striker, wants to leave, likes red and blue. Hint!


 

Who next? The candidates for the Crystal Palace job

Written by Robert Sutherland
With the departure of George Burley fresh on our minds, FYP takes a look at some of the candidates who might be linked with the job. Whoever comes in will have a tough task - Palace haven't won in the last five games and desperately need an injection of confidence and stability.
 

Steve Coppell - A Palace legend and a manager with a great reputation in the game, Steve Coppell is a fans favourite and a likelycandidate for the job. Despite stating that he lost the passion for the job following his resignation from Bristol City, we reckon a return to Palace for one final crack at the beautiful game wouldn't go amiss. His brief spells at Manchester City and Bristol City aside - both of which were subject to interference from the boardroom - Coppell has a proven track record of success on limited budgets. Palace have exactly the right raw ingredients for a manager like Coppell to work with.

Gareth Southgate - Having gained his football education at Palace, Gareth Southgate knows all about the club, its fans and its methods. While he oversaw Middlesbrough's relegation from the Premier League, he was relieved of his duties at Boro with the side second in the Championship and looking good for promotion. Boro subsequently appointed Gordon Strachan and failed to get promoted. His inexperience may well be the biggest contributing factor to CPFC2010 looking elsewhere.

Eddie Howe - Bournemouth's young manager has impressed in the last two seasons, building a promotion-winning League 2 side from an administration-restricted budget last season and then continuing  the remarkable climb up the league to take them to their current position of 4th in League 1. Working with a mix of young players and old pros, Howe's Cherries play with a smooth attacking style that would suit CPFC2010's requirement. As with Southgate, experience might be the issue, but his managerial CV certainly has an impressive first entry.

Paul Tisdale - Another manager who has worked wonders on a tight budget, Tisdale is a sartorially elegant, stylishly-tactical manager who took Exeter City from the depths of non-league football to the heights of League 1 in just two seasons. His third year in charge saw City secure their League 1 status, while this season is likely to cement a mid-table finish. Utilising a mix of patient passing football and serious graft, Tisdale's approach could be ideal for Palace.

Chris Hughton - The former Newcastle United manager was reportedly spotted at The Den this evening, resulting in a flurry of speculation linking the Londoner with Palace. Hughton was the victim of some incredibly short-sighted chairmanship at Newcastle United, having steadied the listless Geordies by winning promotion from the Championship. While Hughton's promotion-winning side impressed, the players at his disposal certainly made the task an easier one - with the likes of Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Andy Carroll and Fabricio Coloccini available to him. He won't have that kind of quality at Palace.

Chris Coleman - Another former Palace player likely to be linked with the job, Coleman certainly has the experience that Palace might be looking for. A successful spell at Fulham was followed by a tumultuous spell at Real Sociedad and a disappointing stint as Coventry City's manager. His style of football didn't win him many friends at Coventry, with the side often taking the lead only to spend the remainder of the game defending - an approach that wasn't welcomed at Palace when Peter Taylor used it.

Sean O'Driscoll - Fancy football and impressive performances, all on a tight budget - Sean O'Driscoll is another ideal candidate for the Palace job. The Irishman did a remarkable job at Bournemouth, winning promotion to League 1 with the Cherries in 2003. After six years as Bournemouth's manager, he departed for Doncaster Rovers, leading them to promotion from League 1 in 2008. Having built a strong side at Belle Vue, it is unlikely that O'Driscoll would swap mid-table security for relegation-obscurity - but it might be worth a try.

Sam Allardyce - Linked with the jobs at Burnley and Preston North End, Allardyce was quick to dismiss speculation regarding both jobs. Having worked wonders at Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, Allardyce was touted as a potential successor to Fabio Cappello shortly before Blackburn's new owners took the decision to sack him. A highly unlikely appointment is only made less likely by CPFC2010's preference for aesthetically pleasing football - something Allardyce is not famed for.

Who do YOU want? Comment below!