Today (14th October) sees us wish Terry ‘Tel’ Byfield a very happy birthday!
With over 40 years of experience at Crystal Palace, Terry has kindly agreed to revisit some of his favourite memories in our new programme feature for 2026/27 – Tel's tales.
To celebrate his birthday, he's a recent edition of his column, in which dived he back into a classic encounter against Nottingham Forest.
This column was initially published in the Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest programme - you can buy the matchday programme by clicking HERE.
When we had our summer editorial and design conference to decide the matchday programme content for this season, one of the items on the agenda was this column.
I was pleased to accept but with an asterisk. I wanted an agreement that for certain editions, I could steer away from the 70’s and dip into other eras of us wearing the sash. Today is one of those days.
We are going back to January 1987, when we met Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup at Selhurst Park – a game not only remembered for the giant-killing we produced, but for the weather conditions that the match was played in.
The South was in the middle of a harsh spell of winter weather and the game was played in freezing conditions, with a rock-hard frozen pitch and ice-covered terraces. I am sure many of you can recall needing an extra layer of clothing, particularly those fans standing on the old Holmesdale Road terrace.
At this point, I had worked at the club for just over two years and I was manning the switchboard. I can still remember the phone lines asking non-stop whether this third-round tie was going to be played or not.
Full credit to groundsman, Len Chatterton and his team who managed to get the playing surface to a condition where it was passed fit and the third-round tie got the go ahead.
For fans of that vintage, I thought it would be good to take us back. As mentioned before, I had been working at the club since September 1984 and our offices were based up above the staircase next to the Sainsbury’s entrance. Can you remember what was below the office block, where the Club Shop and Box Office is currently based?
Many would have enjoyed fish and chips as a pre-match meal, as that location was home to the Seafarer Fish Restaurant. Steve Coppell still remembers it well, recalling in a previous interview: “My office was above a fish and chip shop! It’s the souvenir shop now but, back then, it was a chippy called ‘The Seafarer’.
“My office was baking hot because of the heat coming through from the fryers and it stunk of fish and chips!”
There was great excitement around this cup tie as Forest were in the old Division One. Their team, managed by Brian Clough, included players that Palace fans had only seen play by watching Match of the Day.
Building up to the match there was great excitement in the Box Office and Club Shop, as fans waited in anticipation for a special afternoon – and that’s exactly what they got. Fans will recall the classic image of Alan Irvine striking home the winning goal in front of an attendance of just under 12,000.
To get that attendance on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon in January was a bit special for us
—Terry Byfield
The average home attendance that season was 7,583, so you can only imagine how busy Beryl Whitfield and Maggie Thompson were in the Box Office leading up to the game!
To get that attendance on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon in January was a bit special for us Palace fans in the eighties.
It’s interesting to look back on that season when we think of a current matchday, especially for those of you who enjoy the hospitality facilities here at Selhurst Park. Both Jim Cannon and John Salako are two of the legends who join you each week.
Jim was our captain that season and John was named Young Player of the Year. The Palace family still together some 40 years on...