Alan Smith was sacked within days of relegation from the Premiership, and
Steve Coppell returned to the manager's seat. Relegation also resulted in an exodus of players. The likes of
Chris Coleman,
Eric Young,
Richard Shaw,
Gareth Southgate,
Iain Dowie,
John Salako and
Chris Armstrong were all sold to other clubs and Palace's line-up in the first game of the
1995β96 Division One campaign was barely recognisable. The campaign went poorly, and Coppell's second spell was brought to an end after only seven months, with relegation looking increasingly possible.
Dave Bassett then joined the club for a second spell,[1] which proved to be far more productive than his first as the club embarked on a stunning run of form which took them to the play-offs. The Eagles beat
Charlton Athletic in the semi-finals to take them to the final against
Leicester City at
Wembley Stadium, in which they narrowly lost to the Foxes by a long range
Steve Claridge goal in the final minute of
extra time.
^Boxall was born in
Croydon,
England, but also qualified to represent the
Republic of Ireland internationally and would later represent them at
U-21 level.
^Quinn was born in
Bexley,
England, but also qualified to represent the
Republic of Ireland internationally and would represent them at
U-21 and
B level.
^Dyer was born in
Redbridge,
England, and represented them at
U-21 level, but played a friendly game
for
Montserrat against Ashford Town in September 2007.
^Ndah was born in
Southwark,
England, but also qualified to represent
Nigeria internationally and was called up by
Nigeria in 1999, but was prevented from playing due to injury.
^Taylor was born in
Weston-super-Mare,
England, but also qualified to represent
Wales internationally through his father and made his international debut for
Wales in 1995.
Alan Smith was sacked within days of relegation from the Premiership, and
Steve Coppell returned to the manager's seat. Relegation also resulted in an exodus of players. The likes of
Chris Coleman,
Eric Young,
Richard Shaw,
Gareth Southgate,
Iain Dowie,
John Salako and
Chris Armstrong were all sold to other clubs and Palace's line-up in the first game of the
1995β96 Division One campaign was barely recognisable. The campaign went poorly, and Coppell's second spell was brought to an end after only seven months, with relegation looking increasingly possible.
Dave Bassett then joined the club for a second spell,[1] which proved to be far more productive than his first as the club embarked on a stunning run of form which took them to the play-offs. The Eagles beat
Charlton Athletic in the semi-finals to take them to the final against
Leicester City at
Wembley Stadium, in which they narrowly lost to the Foxes by a long range
Steve Claridge goal in the final minute of
extra time.
^Boxall was born in
Croydon,
England, but also qualified to represent the
Republic of Ireland internationally and would later represent them at
U-21 level.
^Quinn was born in
Bexley,
England, but also qualified to represent the
Republic of Ireland internationally and would represent them at
U-21 and
B level.
^Dyer was born in
Redbridge,
England, and represented them at
U-21 level, but played a friendly game
for
Montserrat against Ashford Town in September 2007.
^Ndah was born in
Southwark,
England, but also qualified to represent
Nigeria internationally and was called up by
Nigeria in 1999, but was prevented from playing due to injury.
^Taylor was born in
Weston-super-Mare,
England, but also qualified to represent
Wales internationally through his father and made his international debut for
Wales in 1995.