Are We Bigger Than Palace?

There's a bit of an argument going on over on the BBC between Palace and Bolton fans over who is the biggest club, who has the least cash, and which club Freedman should choose.

Here are a few choice comments:

This Palace fan has clearly never been to Horwich:

Amused to see Bolton fans trying to justify your claim to being bigger than Palace....

Sort of sums your club up that you even have to.

Both in the Championship, so I would say the bragging rights will go to who finishes higher.

I mean Bolton Wanderers.... Come on! Hardly a glamour club or indeed glamour place.

Mark Davies a force? You have to find him first.

If we did get DF it would certainly be a gamble from the Bolton board. If he could make us watertight at the back and bring out the best in our attacking talents such as Holden, Lee and Mark Davies then we will be a force to reckon with. I don't want to sound arrogant but Bolton are majorly underachieving and Palace are overachieving- something I'm sure will be going through Freedmand's mind.

Palace are massive don't you know.

Bolton a bigger club than Palace? Do me a favour! Palace are the sleeping giants of South London, with a massive catchment area extending to the south coast. With huge potential yet to be realised, which Dougie will well understand I'm sure. . .

This Palace fan reckons we're not a proper club:

Why refuse them permission? If Dougie wants to go he should go, but I would be very, very surprised if he wanted to leave Palace for Bolton. He is a Palace man. One day he might leave but for a proper job with a big club, in which case he would go with our blessing - legend status in tact. Bolton is a great club but it would be a sideways step for him - not "career progression".

This Palace fan has a point. Er, Gerald Cid?

Name on decent player to have emerged from bolton in the last 5 years???

Gary Megson posts regularly on the BBC website:

He should stay at Palace anyway, he's doing a great job there. From an Arsenal supporter whose second club is Brighton.

Won't be long before Bolton make an approach for Megson at this rate, hopefully if they do he'll tell them where to stick it after their amazingly harsh treatment of him last time.

Amazing we got relegated with all these quality players. Shame none of them can pass or shoot straight.

Wheater, Holden, Mark Davies and Lee are top quality premiership players.

Bogdan, Ricketts, Warnock, Spearing, Eagles, Petrov and Kevin Davies are competent Premiership players.

Give over with the envy and worry about your own club's fortunes. Ballooning about being fourth not even a third through a 46 game season is asking for trouble.

I agree with this chap:

Palace have refused permission for Freedman to talk to Wanderers. Looks like a done deal then!

Doffcocker's worst nightmare....

I actually think Kevin Davies could do ok as manager, I certainly wouldn't complain. We wouldn't have to pay compensation, he's not that bad tactically (if you've watched him over the years, you'll notice that he was originally a very technical player) and as you said he pretty much owns the dressing room.

Another deluded Bolton fan:

Personally don't want Freedman, too early in his managerial career to judge whether he's good enough, seems to be doing good things with Palace. Bolton are fortunate enough that this league is so poor that 3 consecutive victories would put them up there near the top. With the quality Bolton have anyone should be able to get them promoted this season, so hopefully we'll stick with Jiminho.and co.

Zenith Data Systems! Now there's a blast from the past!

Palace fans thinking they are a "bigger" club than Bolton! Pah! A club whose only success is a Zenith Data Cup win. A club stemming from workers of a decrepid Victorian exhibition centre who have have spent most of their history in the lower echelons of the football league. You have no more to shout about than Vauxhall Motors!

The only Owen Coyle fan left in Bolton steps forwards....

Dougie Freedman has done a good job at Palace.

Personally I would have went for Billy Davies. Great record at Championship level and would get them into play-offs at the very least.

Still think they made a big mistake in sacking Owen Coyle and part of me hopes they get relegated due to this as that man was treated awfully.

This guy wants Alex Ferguson in the job:

I don't understand Bolton; the fans and players defended Coyle because he's a 'nice guy.' This seems more important to them than getting results and Coyle was a useless manager besides his 'nice guy' image. I'd take Fergie over 'Mr Nice Guy' any day.

Even Megson did better than Owen 'Messiah' Coyle.

So there you have it. We think we're a big club, but are we any bigger than Palace? Do we have something they don't?

Are we bigger than Palace? No.

We are bigger than Palace. No doubt about it.

Are we bigger, yes I believe we are......

Our history is longer.

We have won more prestigious cups.

We have more fans.

Our catchment area is far bigger than Croydon Palace's catchment area.

Our fans are definitely not as fickle as their - only end of august and beginning of September they were calling for the head of Freedman and now he is their god!!!

We haven't gone bust like Palace have - hence their true name being Crystal Palace 2010!

Yes we are bigger.

Founding member of the football league.

More than a decade in the Premier League.

More time spent in the top flight than out of it in our overall history.

Had one of England's most prolific strikers in history.

Played in Europe only five years ago.

3 times FA cup winners.


Palace? come on..

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Lofty_Love wrote:
3 times FA cup winners.

I have some good news for you. We've won it 4 times.

I went to Palace away in 2000 when they asked each fan to donate £1,000 at half time. It was quite comical. They are as embarrasing to southern football as Bury are to northern football. Of course Freedman is going to pick us over them! However, I reckon we should stick with Phillips & co for a few more games, see what happens. Why are we in a rush to appoint someone all of a sudden?

Lt. Boon wrote:However, I reckon we should stick with Phillips & co for a few more games, see what happens. Why are we in a rush to appoint someone all of a sudden?

Agreed, especially when just days ago Gartside came out and said that we were in no rush to appoint.

We beat Palace on history, attendances, major honours, facilities and in any other way you can think of. I can't believe it's up for debate to be honest.

We rarely are the bigger club in these sort of debates, but we certainly are this time!

Lt. Boon wrote:I went to Palace away in 2000 when they asked each fan to donate £1,000 at half time. It was quite comical. They are as embarrasing to southern football as Bury are to northern football. Of course Freedman is going to pick us over them! However, I reckon we should stick with Phillips & co for a few more games, see what happens. Why are we in a rush to appoint someone all of a sudden?

Hello and welcome Lientenant.

That was just after their owner Mark Goldberg blew his £40 million fortune on them in just a season on stuff like this -

Goldberg paid Ron Noades £22m for Palace in 1998, in a deal which included a £5m loan from the outgoing owner but did not buy him Selhurst Park, which Noades leased back him. When Steve Coppell was moved sideways to become director of football Goldberg puzzlingly appointed Noades as caretaker manager.

Then came the agents who took Goldberg for at least £1m in fees, and the three Argentinian players, Pablo Rodríguez, Cristian Ledesma and Walter del Río, who cost £187,500 though only the latter actually signed, and would make just one first-team start.

Then there was the hiring of Terry Venables, who left his post as manager after seven months in January 1999. Venables' deal had been memorable. He accepted a tax-free, £750,000 salary, impressive for a manager in the old First Division, and signed a five-year contract worth £3.5m. There was a £650,000 house, share options of £2m, along with a Mercedes car, a 10% pension contribution, and £20,000 relocation expenses.

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Oh and then they had this chap who took them into Administration!

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Does it matter?

wanderlust wrote:Does it matter?

To me, yes.

It's a redundant argument.
I think we're bigger than Palace (Lofty_love gave good reasoning) but not in any way that makes us a more attractive club to manage, particularly for Dougie Freedman who I suppose is the Kevin Davies of Crystal Palace.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

wanderlust wrote:Does it matter?

To me, yes.

Why?

Lyric Todkill wrote:

Why?

Because if it's proven we're a smaller club than Palace I'm off to support someone else. I'm only loyal to a point.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Lyric Todkill wrote:

Why?

Because if it's proven we're a smaller club than Palace I'm off to support someone else. I'm only loyal to a point.

Are we bigger, then?

Only Hipster seems to think Palace are bigger.

Or was that some of the famous HN humour?

Bernard Dennis Park wrote:
Or was that some of the famous HN humour?

Bolton Banter's Funniest Poster Of The Year 2010. Fact.

What awards have you two received on bolton message boards.

can't think of any....

Hipster_Nebula wrote:What awards have you two received on bolton message boards.

can't think of any....

I hope you're taking the piss, I won the poll to be Bolton's next manager.