# 2004–05 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 2004–05 English football season, Crystal Palace competed in the FA Premier League, following promotion from the First Division (renamed the Championship) the previous season.

## Season summary

Despite the 21 league goals of striker Andy Johnson, and being just ahead of the relegation zone for most of the season, Palace were unable to remain in the top flight and were relegated on the last day of the season, following a 2–2 draw with fellow south-east London rivals Charlton Athletic at The Valley, combined with West Bromwich Albion's 2–0 win over Portsmouth. With relegation, speculation reigned over Johnson's future; Johnson even handed in a transfer request, but ultimately the striker would sign a five-year contract with the club with an improved wage, pledging to help the club regain top-flight status.
Young winger Wayne Routledge also impressed with 10 assists in the Premier League, making him more productive than the likes of Arjen Robben and Steven Gerrard in terms of creativity, but he was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur following Palace's relegation.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 39 | |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 34 | |
| 18 | Crystal Palace (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 33 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 19 | Norwich City (R) | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 77 | −35 | 33 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 20 | Southampton (R) | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 32 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |

## Kit

Italian company Diadora became Palace's new kit manufacturers, and introduced a new home kit for the season. The home kit featured red shorts and socks (dispensing with the navy attire of the previous two seasons) and predominantly red shirts with blue stripes. The away kit featured white shirts with blue arms.
Churchill Insurance remained kit sponsors for the fifth consecutive season.

## Staff

* Manager: Iain Dowie
* Player-coach: Kit Symons

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Julián Speroni |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Granville |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Hudson |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Tony Popovic |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Andy Johnson |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 10 | FW | HUN | Sándor Torghelle |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Mikele Leigertwood |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Tom Soares |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Darren Powell |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Emmerson Boyce |
| 22 | MF | FIN | Joonas Kolkka |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Wayne Andrews |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Fitz Hall |
| 26 | DF | URU | Gonzalo Sorondo (on loan from Inter Milan) |
| 27 | FW | ITA | Nicola Ventola (on loan from Inter Milan) |
| 28 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király |
| 32 | MF | GRE | Vassilis Lakis |
| 34 | MF | AUS | Anthony Danze |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry (to Leeds United) |
| 13 | GK | FRA | Cédric Berthelin (to RAEC Mons) |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black (on loan to Sheffield United) |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Darren Powell (on loan to West Ham United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | FW | WAL | Gareth Williams (to Colchester United) |
| 24 | FW | ECU | Iván Kaviedes (on loan from Barcelona) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Sam Togwell (on loan to Oxford United) |
| 34 | MF | AUS | Anthony Danze (on loan to MK Dons) |

### Reserve squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Sam Togwell |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Lance Cronin |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Tyrone Berry |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 33 | DF | WAL | Kit Symons (player-coach) |
| — | DF | ENG | Arron Fray |
| — | DF | ENG | Glenn Wilson (reserve-team captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Lewwis Spence |

## Statistics
### Player statistics

    as 16 May 2005
Source:
| No. | Pos. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Julián Speroni | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Danny Butterfield | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Danny Granville | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Shaun Derry | 1 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Mark Hudson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Tony Popovic | 21 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (2) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Wayne Routledge | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Andy Johnson | 37 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 22 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Dougie Freedman | 10 (10) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 (10) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Sandor Torghelle | 3 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 (9) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | Neil Shipperley | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Mikele Leigertwood | 16 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 (4) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Cedric Berthelin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Ben Watson | 16 (5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 (5) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Aki Riihilahti | 28 (4) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 (4) | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Tommy Black | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Michael Hughes | 34 (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 (2) | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Gary Borrowdale | 2 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 4 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Tom Soares | 16 (6) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 18 (8) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Darren Powell | 4 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 7 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Emmerson Boyce | 26 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Joonas Kolkka | 20 (3) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 (3) | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Wayne Andrews | 0 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (9) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | Ivan Kaviedes | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Fitz Hall | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Gonzalo Sorondo | 16 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 (4) | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 27 | FW | Nicola Ventola | 0 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | Gabor Kiraly | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Sam Togwell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Lance Cronin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | Tyrone Berry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | Vassilis Lakis | 6 (12) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 7 (13) | 0 | 0 | 1* |
| 33 | DF | Kit Symons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Anthony Danze | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* *= Second yellow card.

## Transfers
### In

* Mark Hudson - Fulham, 11 July, £550,000
* Emmerson Boyce - Luton Town, 12 July, free transfer
* Julián Speroni - Dundee, 13 July, £750,000
* Joonas Kolkka - Borussia Mönchengladbach, 22 July, undisclosed
* Sándor Torghelle - MTK Hungaria, 3 August, undisclosed
* Fitz Hall - Southampton, 12 August, £1,500,000
* Wayne Andrews - Colchester United, 1 September, six-figure fee
* Gonzalo Sorondo - Inter Milan, 31 August, season loan
* Nicola Ventola - Inter Milan, 31 August, season loan
* Vassilis Lakis - AEK Athens, unknown date, unknown fee
* Anthony Danze - Inglewood United, unknown date, unknown fee

### Out

* Julian Gray - Birmingham City, 23 June, free
* Curtis Fleming - Darlington, 31 July, undisclosed
* Shaun Derry - Leeds United, 23 November, £250,000
* Jamie Smith - Bristol City, August, free
* Ben Surey - Ebbsfleet United
* Gavin Heeroo - Billericay Town
* Tariq Nabil
* Cédric Berthelin - RAEC Mons
* Gareth Williams - Colchester United
* Iván Kaviedes - Barcelona Sporting Club, loan ended

## Awards

* Andy Johnson: Premier League Player of the Month, October
* Club Goal of the Season: Joonas Kolkka (vs. Liverpool, at Anfield, Premiership)