Crystal Palace were placed into administration on January 27th, midway through the 2009/10 Championship season, which meant a 10-point deduction and the club being thrown into a relegation fight in the remaining months of the campaign.
The Eagles fought right up until the final week of the season, where they faced Sheffield Wednesday in a crucial match that would ultimately decide their fate. A win or draw would save Palace, whereas defeat would keep Wednesday up instead.
Palace secured a 2-2 draw in what was dubbed ‘Survival Sunday’ and therefore saved the club from relegation. The work on the pitch was done, though off the pitch negotiations continued to save the club from going out of business.
Following protests at Lloyds Bank and Selhurst Park in early June, the club and Selhurst Park were saved in the last minute by Steve Parish and the CPFC 2010 consortium.
The consortium consisted of four Palace fans: Parish, who was brought up in Forest Hill; Stephen Browett, from Upper Norwood; Martin Long, who grew up in Streatham, and Jeremy Hosking.
Along with their close proximity and support for the club, they had also previous business involvement with Palace as Parish and Long had sponsored the club’s shirts.
“The four of us just agreed to do it between us on a handshake, there was nothing written down,” Browett said in episode one of When Eagles Dare.
Each member took a 25% share each as the deals were rushed through to save the club, with Parish chairing the grueling negotiation process as a supporter protest helped swing the balance in Palace's favour.
With their collective input, the consortium saved Palace from likely collapse and also secured the ownership of both Selhurst Park and the training ground, allowing the club to rebuild ahead of the 2010/11 season.
You can read the inside story of the takeover here, find out more about the protest here, or brush up on all things When Eagles Dare here.
