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Brede Hangeland reveals Pardew made him scout his own replacement at Palace - and he chose James Tomkins

Written by FYP Fanzine

 

Palace didn't exactly see Brede Hangeland's best days at the club but he was always a popular, friendly figure and left with the best wishes of all the fans.

But today he revealed that when he told Alan Pardew he was retiring from football the former Eagles boss made him scout his own replacement at centre-back.

And he chose James Tomkins. The West Ham defender promptly signed for Palace for £10m this summer.

Speaking to Norwegian radio show 'Heia Fotbal' Hangeland was asked about Pardew.

"Everyones seen him dancing in the FA-cup final and not all the players were happy with that but he was a cool guy," he said.

"He was more interested in attack than defense though for sure. After I told him my body was more or less done and that I was retiring he sent me across the country and wanted me to scout my own replacement.

"After scouting you have to write reports and then he decided if he wanted to go forward with this. Pardew told me I knew more about being a CB than most in the premier league. I ended up recommending Tomkins."

Tomkins signed for Palace last summer for £10m and has looked fairly decent in the games he's played so far, so we have Brede to thank for that!

 

He was also asked about playing with Emmanuel Adebayor and came up with a couple of pretty incredible stories.

He said: "I played for Fulham and he played for Spurs. We were attacking and I was marking Adebayor in the midfield, suddenly he says 'ahhh, I'm hungry'. I replied 'what?'. 'I can't wait for the game to finish, I'm so hungry. Do you know a good restaurant in London?'.

He added: "Later when he came to Palace I started to realized where this came from. When we had strength workouts he would sit in the gym with just a cup of coffee and a muffin. He was being paid by City, Tottenham and Palace at the same time, and he was sitting in the gym drinking coffee. Incredible natural talent, very lazy."

Crazy.

Did Patrice Evra just drop a hint he's joining Crystal Palace?

Written by FYP Fanzine

Palace need a left-back. Everyone knows this.

So it's no surprise that the Eagles have been linked with a number of them since the January transfer window opened. 

There are strong rumours that Leicester's wing-back Jeffrey Schlupp is on the verge of joining, and had a mediacal at Palace's training ground on Friday morning.

They have also been linked with Sunderland's Patrick van Aarnholt but it's rumour of a deal for Juventus and France left-back Patrice Evra that is really getting Eagles fans excited.

Even at 35, the former Manchester United star would be a great addition to Sam Allardyce's squad...and the Frenchman dropped a big hint that he could be about to move clubs today on Instagram.

He posted a picture of himself diving underwater with the comment "Deep Moment!!! But I love this game jahahahaahhaah #life #future #decisions #honesty #god"

 

 

Deep Moment!!! But I love this game jahahahaahhaah#life#future#decisions#honesty#god

A photo posted by Patrice Evra (@patrice.evra) on

Reports in France have claimed he is already in talks with Palace over a move and it seems he is seriously considering it.

His advancing years are obviously a concern - hardly any Premier League teams have full-backs over the age of 30 these days due to the physical demands of playing that role. But it's been obvious for a while that Palace need an upgrade on Joel Ward and Martin Kelly. First choice left-back Pape Soaure continues to recover from a broken pelvis sustained in a car accident and there are rumours he could never play again.

Even so, Evra played at the very top and his signing would be seen as a huge boost for the club, although some fans could argue it would fall more into the catgory of "marquee signing" like Cabaye and Benteke. Allardyce hasn't traditionally made big name signings at clubs, preferring to sign players he has worked with before who are reliable if somewhat underwhelming.

Eitherway, the links to various left-backs are good news for Palace.

Would Evra be the left-back Palace need? Comment below!

Wilf Zaha claims he made the right choice picking Ivory Coast over England

Written by FYP Fanzine

...and he's probably right!

After giving up waiting for that England call-up to arrive, Wilf has chosen to represent his country of birth, Ivory Coast.

And he marked his arrival for Les Elephants in style, with an assist five minutes into his debut against Sweden and a goal in his next game against Uganda a few days later.

 

Palace fans have known for ages Wilf was good enough to play for the Three Lions but for some reason that call never came, despite getting a call-up to a friendly in 2013, ironically against Sweden, when Wilf was tearing up the Championship.

And Palace's best player so far this season reckons he's made the right choice.

"I left for England and I did not return to the country. So I did all my classes in my adopted country and it was normal that I played for the English youth selections," he said, in an interview with the Ivory Coast's football federation.

"But for the past four years, I have had ample time to analyse the situation and to take into account the solicitations of the Ivorian federal leaders. So I made my choice.

"Now I want to play with Côte d'Ivoire. It is rewarding first because I am proud to play for my country, then because the Ivorian selection has quality players and it has always been a reservoir of talent. So I made the right choice and I do not regret it.

"I want to be able to give the best of myself to the selection of my country and contribute with my teammates to win more titles.

"I want to be able to offer a third African Cup to Côte d'Ivoire and make Ivorians happy. That is my ambition in the short term. Then we need a qualification at the 2018 World Cup."

Eagles fans certainly wish him well but will miss him for the next few weeks, with some important games against West Ham, Everton and Bournemouth.

NBA star reveals he wants to one day buy Crystal Palace

Written by FYP Fanzine

 

Well, this is a random one! 

NBA star Luol Deng has revealed he wants to one day BUY Crystal Palace FC. No, really.

Deng is a South Sudanese-born British basketballer who plays for the LA Lakers. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2013.

And ahead of NBA Global Games London 2017 on January 12th - featuring the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers - the  Lakers star revealed why he has a connection with South London's finest...evern though he's actually an Arsenal fan.

Having grown up in London, Deng has been keeping a close eye on the fortunes of Arsene Wenger’s men over the course of the Premier League season, but also revealed a soft spot for his local team.

“We just played Crystal Palace where Giroud scored that amazing scorpion-kick goal, but this is where it’s tough because I grew up three minutes from the Crystal Palace stadium and when I was young on match day there was a hill where we could watch the Palace through a gap in the stadium."

Let's face it, he should really be a Palace fan! 

He added: "Since then I’ve been a huge Crystal Palace fan – Arsenal’s my number one team, Crystal Palace is my second! I’m hoping they can stay up – I’ve always said that if I become a billionaire I’m buying Crystal Palace – it’s a dream of mine!”

Random but then we nearly had P Diddy and Colonel Gadaffi as owners so who knows!?

The Denver Nuggets host the Indiana Pacers at The O2 in London on Jan. 12 as part of NBA Global Games London 2017. The game is live on BT Sport or via NBA LEAGUE PASS (www.nba.tv).

Keith Millen leaves Crystal Palace - but goes with thanks from the fans

Written by Robert Sutherland

In a short, sharp statement, Palace announced the departure of popular coach Keith Millen. Here's Robert with a look at what he did during his four years at the club. 

Pardew Millen

Given the brief way in which the official Crystal Palace website announced Keith Millen's departure, it's only right that we take some time out to thank the former assistant manager for all of his hard work and endeavours over the last five years. 

Millen arrived at the club as an assistant to Ian Holloway. While Holloway wasn't the most popular of Palace managers, his assistant has shown charisma, character and dedication in the face of sometimes-difficult circumstances. Millen has seen the departure of Holloway, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock and Alan Pardew. He has assisted all of these managers, and while those defensively-minded ones were able to use his skills to perfection, others struggled.
 
The former assistant manager did however play his part in some crucial Palace moments over the course of his time at the club. In his first season, after a difficult start from which Palace could easily have dropped out of the play-off hunt, he helped to oversee a promotion-winning trio of games, drilling a defence into conceding no goals across the three play-off matches against Brighton and Watford.
Millen also took the reigns of the club at two very difficult times, following the departure of Holloway and then, a season later, the departure of Tony Pulis. His first spell as caretaker will always be remembered for the hair-raising win over Hull City -- a game that Palace seemed destined to lose to further confirm their relegation candidacy -- but also the draw against Everton a couple of weeks prior.
 
Millen then assisted the new manager, Pulis, by helping to form a defensive unit that kept crucial clean sheets and a set-piece regime that seemed to be one of the club's strongest assets. 
 
With Pulis's departure came another of Millen's caretaker spells. While it wasn't as successful, it was a crazily hasty process that gave him little time to really set the agenda. Neil Warnock arrived and then went, and the assistant-come-caretaker was once again tasked with steadying the ship. He oversaw 0-0 draws against Aston Villa and QPR, before Pardew's arrival signalled a further spell as assistant for the Croydon boy. 
Pardew's time at the club will always be looked at from the perspective of the club's year of poor league form, but it should also be remembered for the great way in which Palace solidifed their Premier League status in Pardew's first season and the threat that Palace were from set-pieces -- something Millen is rightly credited for. Last season, thanks in part to the way Palace performed in testing fixtures against Tottenham, Reading and Watford, the club reached only the second FA Cup Final in its history. Millen, like Pardew, deserves credit for that. 
 
The arrival of Sam Allardyce has signalled the end of Millen's time at Palace. It was arguably time for some fresh voices and fresh ideas at the training ground.
 
It's rare for an assistant manager to outlast four different managers, but Millen proved an important, stable presence in tumultuous times for the club. We'll always be thankful for that cool, calm head that he provided -- and the dignity with which he represented Palace over the last five years. 

Simon Jordan unsurprisingly still isn't happy with Iain Dowie and Steve Bruce

Written by FYP Fanzine

Former Palace chairman Simon Jordan has opened up about his eventful time as Eagles chairman and it's a decent watch.

Talking to Premier League World the 47-year-old businessman discusses his ten year stint as owner of the Red and Blue Army in the same open and frank manner that fans became used to during that decade.

Unsurprisingly, Jordan, who now lives in southern Spain, is still not a fan of Iain Dowie and Steve Bruce, two managers who left the club in acrimonious circumstances after having some success at Palace.

Bruce left after just six months inthe job in 2001 with Palace top of the First Division to manage his beloved Birmingham City while Dowie aksed to leave the Eagles in 2006 having failed to return the club to the Premier League at the first time of asking. He claimed he wanted to "move north" to be nearer his family in Bolton and then resurfaced at Charlton, three miles north in Greenwich.

Sitting by his pool in Marbella, Jordan opens up about a lot of the aspects of his role as chairman during a time where Palace exited administration, got promoted to the Premier League, relegated and then places back into administration again.

And while a lot of Palace fans didn't have brilliant memories of the red-coated, yellow-haired, orange-skinned former owner, he talks with honesty and it's a pretty good watch to be honest.

Plus, he still loves Neil Warnock, mind.

Watch the interview below... 

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