Palace’s greatest-ever season had already encompassed a trip to Wembley – a 4-1 win over Everton in the Zenith Data Systems Cup Final – as well as wins over Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, and Ian Wright’s glorious hat-trick to shut down Plough Lane’s farewell.
Spearheaded by the goals of ‘Wright & Bright’ – who struck 25 and 15 goals respectively in all competitions – but boasting a plethora of promising talents across the entire pitch, Steve Coppell’s side grew into a top-flight force to be reckoned with.
“We had the mentality to a certain extent which was a little bit non-league - something to prove,” Coppell would later reflect. “We all appreciated we weren’t a bad side, which is not a bad starting point.”
That starting point swiftly developed when Palace opened their campaign with a 10-match unbeaten run, moving to the top spots almost instantly and staying there stubbornly.
The club would sit third from 16th December onwards – not dropping or climbing a single place throughout 22 rounds.
