# 2000–01 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Crystal Palace F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Singapore financer Jerry Lim purchased an almost bankrupt Crystal Palace in July 2000, and immediately sold the club to mobile phone tycoon and lifelong fan Simon Jordan who, following defeats to non-league sides in pre-season, replaced Coppell with Alan Smith – who had previously been manager from 1993 to 1995. The takeover solved Palace's financial problems, but their on-the-field form slumped and despite reaching the League Cup semi-finals, Smith was sacked in April 2001 with relegation to Division Two looking imminent. With two away games remaining, at Portsmouth and Stockport County, Palace were in 22nd place, three points behind Portsmouth (with an inferior goal difference and had played the same number of games), and five points behind Huddersfield (who had a superior goal difference but played a game more). Long serving coach Steve Kember was put in temporary charge of the first team alongside Terry Bullivant, and after making changes to the playing side, Palace travelled to Portsmouth and came away with a much needed 4–2 victory. When the last day of the season arrived, Palace were in 21st place, one goal better off than Portsmouth. With 87 minutes of the game at Stockport gone, the score was 0–0, a result that would have resulted in Palace's relegation, but Dougie Freedman burst into the Stockport County penalty area and lashed a shot past Stockport 'keeper Lee Jones into the back of the net, triggering the relegation of Huddersfield Town and saving Palace. The goal was controversial, as there had been a clear handball by Palace midfielder David Hopkin just moments before, which the referee had not awarded a free-kick for. Still, the Palace fans didn't care, and many of the 3,000 who had travelled poured onto Stockport's Edgeley Park pitch, celebrating with the players.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 19 | Stockport County | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 51 | |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 47 | 59 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 49 | |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 48 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Queens Park Rangers (R) | 46 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 45 | 75 | −30 | 40 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Crystal Palace's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 2000 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–2 | 18,733 | |
| 20 August 2000 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 19,020 | Forssell |
| 26 August 2000 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–1 | 10,670 | Gray, Ruddock |
| 28 August 2000 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–3 | 18,865 | Black, Fan |
| 3 September 2000 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 13,980 | |
| 9 September 2000 | Burnley | H | 0–1 | 18,531 | |
| 12 September 2000 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 16,297 | Morrison |
| 16 September 2000 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 16,828 | |
| 23 September 2000 | Sheffield United | H | 0–1 | 17,521 | |
| 30 September 2000 | Preston North End | A | 0–2 | 13,028 | |
| 14 October 2000 | Birmingham City | A | 1–2 | 17,191 | Morrison |
| 18 October 2000 | Fulham | A | 1–3 | 16,040 | Ruddock |
| 21 October 2000 | Portsmouth | H | 2–3 | 15,693 | Black (2) |
| 24 October 2000 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–1 | 16,685 | |
| 28 October 2000 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 3–3 | 12,879 | Freedman (2), Morrison |
| 4 November 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–1 | 15,333 | Freedman, Morrison, Pollock (2) |
| 11 November 2000 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 3–1 | 17,658 | Freedman, Morrison (2) |
| 18 November 2000 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 3–2 | 14,221 | Staunton, Pollock, Morrison |
| 25 November 2000 | Stockport County | H | 2–2 | 18,819 | Forssell (2) |
| 2 December 2000 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–2 | 5,802 | Forssell, Morrison |
| 5 December 2000 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 16,699 | Forssell, Morrison (2) |
| 9 December 2000 | Watford | H | 1–0 | 16,049 | Morrison |
| 16 December 2000 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–1 | 5,752 | Freedman |
| 22 December 2000 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–3 | 15,010 | Forssell, Mullins |
| 26 December 2000 | Gillingham | A | 1–4 | 10,518 | Freedman (pen) |
| 30 December 2000 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 14,439 | Morrison |
| 14 January 2001 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–0 | 21,198 | Forssell (2), Freedman |
| 20 January 2001 | Gillingham | H | 2–2 | 18,823 | Freedman, Forssell |
| 3 February 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–2 | 16,692 | Forssell, Pollock |
| 10 February 2001 | Burnley | A | 2–1 | 14,973 | Forssell, Morrison |
| 17 February 2001 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | 16,417 | Forssell |
| 20 February 2001 | Barnsley | A | 0–1 | 12,909 | |
| 24 February 2001 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 18,924 | |
| 3 March 2001 | Preston North End | H | 0–2 | 15,160 | |
| 6 March 2001 | Birmingham City | H | 1–2 | 13,987 | Austin |
| 10 March 2001 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 13,167 | |
| 17 March 2001 | Fulham | H | 0–2 | 21,133 | |
| 31 March 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–0 | 20,872 | Austin |
| 3 April 2001 | Huddersfield Town | H | 0–0 | 15,324 | |
| 7 April 2001 | Watford | A | 2–2 | 15,598 | Austin (pen), Black |
| 14 April 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–4 | 19,877 | Morrison |
| 16 April 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 16,842 | |
| 21 April 2001 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–1 | 8,119 | Hopkin |
| 28 April 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 18,993 | |
| 2 May 2001 | Portsmouth | A | 4–2 | 19,013 | Forssell, Riihilahti, Freedman (2) |
| 6 May 2001 | Stockport County | A | 1–0 | 9,782 | Freedman |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2001 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | 30,908 | |
| R3R | 17 January 2001 | Sunderland | H | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | 15,454 | Morrison, Thomson |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 23 August 2000 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 5,983 | Morrison, Ruddock |
| R1 2nd Leg | 5 September 2000 | Cardiff City | A | 0–0 | 4,904 | |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 2000 | Burnley | A | 2–2 | 5,889 | Forssell, Black |
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | Burnley | H | 1–1 (won on away goals) | 5,720 | Linighan |
| R3 | 1 November 2000 | Leicester City | A | 3–0 | 12,965 | Morrison, Thomson, Rubins |
| R4 | 28 November 2000 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–0 (6–5 p) | 10,271 | |
| R5 | 19 December 2000 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 15,945 | Forssell, Morrison |
| SF 1st Leg | 10 January 2001 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 25,933 | Rubins, Morrison |
| SF 2nd Leg | 24 January 2001 | Liverpool | A | 0–5 | 41,854 | |

## 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 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Jamie Smith |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Matthew Upson (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Dean Austin |
| 5 | MF | CHN | Fan Zhiyi |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Neil Ruddock |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Simon Rodger |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Clinton Morrison |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray |
| 13 | GK | CAN | Hubert Busby |
| 14 | MF | SCO | Steven Thomson |
| 15 | FW | FIN | Mikael Forssell (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Andy Frampton |
| 17 | FW | LVA | Andrejs Rubins |
| 18 | MF | NIR | Wayne Carlisle |
| 19 | DF | ENG | David Woozley |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Richard Harris |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | GK | ENG | Matt Gregg |
| 22 | FW | WAL | Andy Martin |
| 23 | DF | WAL | Stephen Evans |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jimmy Hibburt |
| 25 | MF | IRL | Stephen Hunt |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Sean Hankin |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Steve Kabba |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Roscoe Dsane |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Jonathan Boardman |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Chris Sharpling |
| 31 | DF | USA | Gregg Berhalter |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Jamie Pollock |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Craig Harrison |
| 34 | FW | JAM | Ricardo Fuller |
| 35 | GK | LVA | Aleksandrs Koliņko |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Richard Howell |
| 38 | MF | SCO | David Hopkin |
| 39 | DF | BEL | Kenny Verhoene |
| 40 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti |

### 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Stuart Taylor (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Andy Linighan (to Oxford United) |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Paul Kitson (on loan from West Ham United) |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Leon McKenzie (to Peterborough United) |
| 3 | MF | SCO | Jamie Fullarton (to Dundee United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 31 | GK | WAL | Lee Kendall (to Cardiff City) |
| 34 | DF | IRL | Steve Staunton (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 36 | DF | SCO | Andy Morrison (on loan from Manchester City) |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Fraser Digby (Released) |
| 36 | DF | SVN | Amir Karić (on loan from Ipswich Town) |