Played For Both: Palace & Brentford

Club

24 Aug 2023

Little over 11 miles separates the home grounds of Crystal Palace and Brentford – at least, as the crow flies – so it will be little surprise to learn that there has been plenty of crossover between the two in terms of playing staff over the years.

Despite the Eagles and Bees meeting in the league on just four occasions since 1964 – all draws in the Premier League – there remain historical ties aplenty.

Our list, however, hones in on just five such players, who have made senior appearances for both teams in (relatively) recent times…

Jeffrey Schlupp

(Brentford 2011 (loan), Palace 2017-present)

While Palace’s current No.15 is more regularly deployed as a midfielder these days, the young Jeffrey Schlupp played in multiple different roles, including up-front in a goal-packed spell on loan at Brentford in early 2011.

The then-19-year-old scored six times in nine appearances for the Bees in the EFL League One, also starting in their defeat to Carlisle United in the EFL Trophy Final at Wembley, before returning to parent club Leicester City, from where he moved to Palace in 2017.

Schlupp celebrated 200 appearances in the red and blue during Monday evening's defeat to Arsenal at Selhurst Park.

Darren Powell

(Brentford 1998-2002 & 2009, Palace 2002-2005)

Current Palace Under-21s coach Powell was born in Hammersmith, west London, and joined Brentford when they played in the Football League Second Division (now EFL League One). The centre-back was named Brentford's Player of the Year at the conclusion of his first season with the club, having played a huge role in their league title win by a margin of four points.

Powell continued to impress thereafter, notably starting for Brentford in the 2001 Football League Trophy Final defeat to Port Vale, captaining the side during the 01/02 season, and helping the Bees to the 2002 play-off final, where they lost to Stoke City.

His talents were identified and recruited by Palace in the summer of 2002. The solid centre-back, battling through persistent injuries, proved an influential figure in the 03/04 First Division play-off winning side, memorably scoring a last-minute equaliser at Sunderland in the semi-finals to power the Eagles’ return to the Premier League.

Powell departed the club at the end of the 04/05 season and would later return to Brentford for a brief spell in 2009. After he retired from playing in 2014, Powell joined the Academy coaching team at Palace a year later, where he plays a huge role in developing the footballing talents of the future.

Clinton Morrison

(Palace 1998-2002 & 2005-2008, Brentford 2012 (loan))

Born in nearby Tooting, clinical striker Morrison burst onto the first-team picture in dramatic fashion for Palace, scoring an injury-time winner against Sheffield Wednesday on his senior debut in May 1998.

The pacey teenager quickly established himself as first-choice striker for Palace, scoring 13 goals in his first full season. In two spells in south London, either side of a four-year stint at Birmingham, Morrison netted 112 times in 315 appearances, also becoming a full Republic of Ireland international in the process.

After joining Coventry in 2008 and then Sheffield Wednesday in 2010, Morrison had a brief stint on loan at Brentford in 2012, where he made eight League One appearances. He concluded his Football League career with Exeter City in 2016 and now regularly appears regularly as a pundit on Sky Sports and Amazon Prime, becoming as popular off-pitch as he was on it.

Hermann Hreiðarsson

(Palace 1997-1998, Brentford 1998-1999)

A smart addition to Palace’s ranks upon their promotion to the 97/98 Premier League, solid centre-back Hreiðarsson – who could also fill in as a left-back – joined the Eagles after becoming a double Icelandic league winner with ÍBV Sports Club – the team of which he is now manager.

After a single full season in the red and blue, Hreiðarsson followed former Palace Chairman, the late Ron Noades, from south to west London, joining Brentford for a club-record fee of £750,000. He went on to play for Wimbledon, Ipswich, Charlton, Portsmouth and Coventry before his eventual return to his native Iceland.

John Salako

(Palace 1986-1995, Brentford 2004-2005)

A speedy and creative midfielder who also played up-front and out wide, Salako first burst through at Palace in the latter half of the 1980s.

He went on to make more than 200 appearances over nine years in red and blue, with highlights including stepping out at Wembley in the 1990 FA Cup Final; winning five caps for England in 1991; and playing a huge role in Palace's promotion-winning campaign of 98/99.

After spells at Coventry, Bolton, Fulham, Charlton and Reading, Salako’s final club in a celebrated playing career was Brentford in 04/05, where he made 35 appearances in EFL League One, scoring four goals. He was voted into Palace’s Centenary XI in 2005 and has since had spells coaching both Palace’s first-team and Academy sides.

Further connections:

While the list above (and indeed below) is by no means exhaustive, other players to have represented both clubs include:

Micky Droy
Tony Folan
Andy Frampton
Jamie Fullarton
Steve Kabba
Sullay Kaikai
Mark Lazarus
Tony Mahoney
Rob Quinn
Kenny Sansom
Neil Smillie

Further individuals to have represented both Palace and Brentford include current Palace coach Ray Lewington; the late, great former Chairman Ron Noades; former Palace managers Steve Coppell and Keith Millen; the influential, late former scout John Griffin; and current full-back Tyrick Mitchell, who was briefly a part of Brentford’s youth set-up before his graduation from the Crystal Palace Academy.

Related News

More News