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38 min: Steve Hudson gets in touch: \u201cYou mentioned Derby County in the terrible pitches conversation – the Baseball Ground was absolutely shocking for most of every season – only in October and April was it not two inches deep in mud. Surely the worst pitch. Wasn\u2019t it undersoil heating that changed it all, so that the grass carried on growing all year, repairing wear and tear?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, I recall they used to import different grass, too, from Australia and South Africa.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 36 min: Porro blams a shot wide and then claps, presumably as encouragement, rather than self-praise. Spurs have been rotten, in truth.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 35 min: Spurs try to play out from the back, and that presents a chance to Wharton, on his favoured left foot but this time he can\u2019t deliver any magic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 34 min: David Bowen gets in touch: \u201cI\u2019ve just spotted Djed Spence is wearing odd coloured boots. The right a vibrant orange, the left an energetic lime green. What are your thoughts\/feelings\/emotions on such a development?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m OK with it, as long as they fit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 33 min: No Spurs attacks since that flurry around the disallowed goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 31 min: Jefferson Lerma, standing in among the defence, has a problem. The cupboard is bare and him going off would mean a reshuffle. He\u2019s soon enough back amid the fray.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 min: The Spurs fans make themselves heard. Long trip home on the Windrush Line or via Victoria for them. Devenny, who has been lively among the sloth, has an effort. Wharton, such a classy player, is trying his best to set up something. He\u2019s a stroller in the finest tradition. The modern game is no place for a stroller, you\u2019d think, but he has real class, plays in his own time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 27 min: Will Hughes and Kolo Muani bring da ruckus after a dispute over a free-kick. It got heated, but not for long. Palace get the free-kick, from which LaCroix, sweetie, heads over to Mateta, who nods over. That counts as a big miss.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 26 min: The game\u2019s entertainment levels have not been high despite a couple of incidents. Perhaps it needs a pitch like the old Baseball Ground.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 24 min: Richard Hirst Jeremy Boyce is back in touch: \u201cYeah, footie actually stopped in 1992, the pitches were part and parcel of all that legendary footie we love to watch on YouTube archives. We were treated to players making a mockery of the conditions to produce unreal skills and great action. I refer the honourable Gentleman to Derby County 1971\/72, Champions of England, playing on the most unplayable surface anywhere winning the title with a bunch of no-nonsense defenders (McFarland, Hennessey…) then a skillful midfield and attack (Gemmill, Hector, Hinton, Durban, McGovern, O\u2019Hare) that skipped over the filth and racked up the goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Pitches were still bad in the 1990s, with Old Trafford bad, as was Stamford Bridge in the early 2000s. Selhurst was no snooker baize, either.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.07 EST<\/p>\n 23 min: Archie Gray is now booked, for manhandling Wharton when the Palace man had beaten him with a drop of the shoulder.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min: You might say officialdom has been harsh on Spurs for the goal ruled out but not for the early Danso decision. It looked a foul, and if it\u2019s a foul then\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 21 min: Now Palace go close, and it\u2019s Mateta, from a Wharton pass, who lashes wide. Kevin Danso is struggling with him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 20 min: Richarlison, who was barely involved until that \u201cgoal\u201d, goes on a run into the box and is eventually crowded out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 19 min: The first bit of quality from Tottenham and they are denied by a marginal \u2013 if correct \u2013 call.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Goal ruled out! Still 0-0<\/p>\n In the buildup, Bergvall was ruled offside by the automation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Goal! Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham (Richarlison, 17)<\/p>\n Kudus links with Porro and Richarlison heads in from a pearling cross\u2026hang on is there a VAR call?<\/p>\n Richarlison \u2018s strike for Tottenham is later ruled offside by VAR. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.53 EST<\/p>\n 16 min: No Tottenham attacks of note as yet. But here\u2019s one\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 min: Maxence Lacroix has played the most games of anyone this season, and he seems happy to pass the ball around the back. Spurs\u2019 forwards are doing little to press and chase.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 13 min: All Palace on the attack. Mateta has a sniff of a chance when Devenny tries to force his way through but an offside flag stops the move.<\/p>\n Matetashoots on target. Photograph: Ian Walton\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.50 EST<\/p>\n 12 min: Long ball to Kudus, who seems recovered, but there\u2019s jeers as Bergvall losess the ball. Up in the stand, Chris Richards looks on. He\u2019s expected to be back soon, good news as that looked a nasty injury he suffered against Arsenal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min: Mateta spins and turns, this time failing to find a teammate but he looks on his game. Spurs beware. They also have worries that Mohamed Kudus has a back problem. They\u2019ve not been at it, at all.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 8 min: Palace look lively, full of spring on the break. Mateta is sent away by Tyrick Mitchell but Spurs are back in numbers this time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min: There\u2019s a few contenders for the kick but the wall is hit when Pino smashes low. That was a waster.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min: Mateta sends Devenny away and Danso is struggling, and clips the Palace player. That resulted in a yellow, and VAR rules that\u2019s the correct decision. No Dogso, you see. Palace must settle for a free-kick.<\/p>\n Danso in action with Mateta. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.45 EST<\/p>\n 4 min: Djed Spence and Marc Guehi get into a tussle. Guehi seems set to see out the season at Palace, though he is able to sign a pre-contract from Thursday, 1 Jan.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min: There\u2019s a drum beat audible but Selhurst sounds quiet; most grounds this weekend have. The festive fare can have a draining effect.<\/p>\n Archie Gray of Tottenham in action. Photograph: Chloe Knott\/Tottenham Hotspur FC\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.39 EST<\/p>\n Away we go at Selhurst<\/p>\n 1 min: Will Palace miss players like Munoz and Sarr? Their squad is being stretched to its limits by their heavy schedule; they have already played 30 games this season. Spurs kick off having won just one game in eight in the Premier League<\/a>. Devenny, making only his second start of the season, has the first dart of the day. Spurs beat the ball awat, and it\u2019s back with Vicario.<\/p>\n The different coloured boots of Djed Spence of Tottenham. Photograph: Javier Garc\u00eda\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.03 EST<\/p>\n Glad All Over plays, signifying a Palace game is on its way. Odd that the Dave Clark Five were known as the \u201cTottenham sound\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a cold day in London, and Selhurst awaits the teams, who are both in the tunnel and will enter the pitch from the corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Richard Hirst gets in touch: \u201cWatching the video of John Robertson in the piece you linked to I was reminded not only of his ability but also of the state of the pitches. It really was a different game then: maybe football did begin in 1992!\u201d<\/p>\n So does Jeremy Boyce: \u201cLooking forward to the match and I\u2019m almost certain that Palace will have benefited from a few days to rest tired legs after their hectic pre-festive schedule. So what will Glasner\u2019s team talk consist of ? Mostly \u201cLads, it\u2019s Tottenham\u201d I would think. Frankly, I\u2019m beginning to wonder if Franck\u2019s decision to take the ill-fated manager\u2019s job at the cheese shop won\u2019t turn out to have been as ill-judged as Graham Potter\u2019s when he swallowed the devil\u2019s shilling and moved from a great career at a smaller club to ignominy and ridicule at a bigger one. And then another. Spurs aren\u2019t in crisis, yet. But defeat today would leave them small goal difference and points away from the Postecoglou vortex of the drop zone.<\/p>\n \u201cA win for Palace would leapfrog them back to the Europe places, where of course they already are. As are Spurs. Who will be there next year ? Glasner, a much-touted one day \u201cBig-Club\u201d boss would be well advised to read the tea leaves and everything else possible before deciding anything should such an offer materialise. 3 – 1 Palace then….\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s an obituary of one of British football\u2019s very best players.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Last time out, both teams coming off a defeat:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Palace had that disappointing loss in the Carabao Cup to Arsenal this week, from which Oliver Glasner makes four changes. Dean Henderson has the gloves, while Nathaniel Clyne starts in defence and Will Hughes and Justin Devenny play in midfield.<\/p>\n Suspension robs Spurs of Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero for their red cards against Liverpool, as Richarlison and Kevin Danso come in.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The benches:<\/p>\n Palace: Benitez, Nketiah, Uche, Esse, Canvot, Sosa, Rodney, Benamar, Drakes-Thomas. The referee is Jarred Gillett (Australia)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The starting teams<\/p>\n Crystal Palace: Henderson; Lerma, Lacroix, Gu\u00e9hi; Clyne, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Pino, Devenny; Mateta.<\/p>\n Tottenham: Vicario; Pedro Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Gray, Bentancur; Kudus, Bergvall, Kolo Muani; Richarlison.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s been a golden year for Crystal Palace<\/a>. This is their last of 2025.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n That Thomas Frank is under pressure is no secret. Though he is a tough character and pulls few punches.<\/p>\n At Br\u00f8ndby, I didn\u2019t win the first eight games and then we were unbeaten in nine,\u201d he said. \u201cAt Brentford, we lost eight out of 10 games and then we were unbeaten in 10. So I am convinced we will see a similar pattern here. I\u2019m not in doubt of that. Because I know how to make a competitive team. We will make a very competitive team here, as well.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n The pressure\u2019s on for Thomas Frank. Spurs are having last season all over again, and he was supposed to be the manager to change things. Oliver Glasner meanwhile, can do no wrong, aside from sign a new Crystal Palace<\/a> contract. A Palace win would put them into the reaches of the top five, while Tottenham can go a point behind the Eagles should they win at Selhurst. Maybe that wouldn\u2019t be so bad, after all.<\/p>\n Kick-off at 4.30pm. Join me.<\/p>\n
Tottenham: Kinsky, Dragusin, Joao Palhinha, Tel, Johnson, Takai, Odobert,
Davies, Scarlett.<\/p>\n