How Palace punches above its weight

Crystal Palace neat Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley almost 15 years to the day since the club was rescued from looming liquidation by a group of four local fans, its second escape from near-ruin in just over a decade. Now part-owned by Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, Blackstone executive David Blitzer and tech entrepreneur John Textor, it has held its place in the Premier League since being promoted 12 years ago, despite a budget dwarfed by many of those around it.

Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi, is the second-richest club in global football, with revenues last year of €838mn, according to a study by Deloitte that ranks all clubs in euros. Crystal Palace is 26th on the list with just €219mn.

So far, riches have correlated with trophies: during Crystal Palace’s 12-year Premier League spell alone, City has notched up seven Premier League titles, six League Cup victories, two FA Cup trophies and one Champions League. In contrast, this is Palace’s second cup final in a decade — and only the third in a history the club says stretches back to 1861.

The last time the two sides met, a month ago in the Premier League, City won a thumping 5-2 victory. Alongside the likes of Fulham, Brentford and Brighton, Crystal Palace is one of a handful of medium-sized, aspirational clubs seeking to loosen the stranglehold on success enjoyed by the Premier League’s “Big Six”: City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Besides them, only three teams have won the FA Cup this century. With league titles typically out of reach beyond an elite few, cup triumphs and qualification for European competition have become the prizes for English football’s emerging middle class.

“It’s a chance to win a first major trophy and qualify for Europe,” said Crystal Palace chair Steve Parish told the Financial Times. “For the club and the whole of south London it would be a huge achievement.”

The Crystal Palace squad has been assembled relatively cheaply, especially compared with clubs that have been in the Premier League for a similar stretch. The club’s recent approach to recruitment has been mixing emerging talent from England’s lower leagues, budget buys from Europe and a smattering of experienced veterans, often signed on free transfers.

Several team members are expected to be the subject of offers from bigger clubs this summer, which should improve Crystal Palace’s poor record at generating funds from player sales. Parish said the club’s finances had been run “prudently”, and put the over performance down to “stability of strategy, fantastic personnel and a shared purpose and positive culture that starts from the supporters and permeates the club”. The situation off the field has been less harmonious.

Textor — who bought a 45 per cent stake in 2021 — has since grown restless with his lack of influence over how the club is run, and told the Financial Times he has been trying either to sell his stake or buy out the other shareholders. So far no resolution has been found.

But progress has been made on club infrastructure. In 2021, a new youth academy was opened, key to long-term plans to develop local players from the talent hotbed of south London. Competition has become fiercer after Brexit, with English clubs no longer able to hoover up talent from across the EU, the battle for homegrown players has intensified.

The club has also been pressing forward with plans to upgrade Selhurst Park with a new main stand to replace the current one built in 1924. However, the proposals to increase capacity from 25,000 to 34,000 — first announced in 2017 — have run into several issues, including rising building costs. Executives hope work can finally begin this summer.

“We focus on continuous improvement so winning would be a high moment to enjoy and a springboard to the future,” said Parish. “It would show what is possible and encourage us to strive for more.”

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The Political Economy of Football V2

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