# 2005–06 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 2005–06 English football season, Crystal Palace F.C. competed in the Football League Championship, following relegation from the FA Premier League the previous season.

## Season summary

Crystal Palace had been boosted by the decision by the Premiership's top English goalscorer of the previous season, Andrew Johnson, to remain with the Londoners to fire their bid for a return to the top flight. Although Johnson was less prolific this season, scoring only 15 goals, Palace reached the play-offs in sixth place – the position they had finished in the promotion season of 2004. Palace faced third-placed Watford in the semi-finals – they were comprehensively beaten 3–0 in the first leg, and were only able to draw the second leg 0–0, consigning Palace to another season in the Championship. Manager Iain Dowie was soon on his way out, leaving by mutual consent on 22 May. Dowie claimed he wanted to be closer to his family in the north; he would take up the vacancy at London rivals Charlton Athletic a mere eight days later. He was followed out of Selhurst Park by Johnson, who snubbed Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers to join Everton for £8.6 million.
In June, Palace appointed Hull City manager (and former Palace winger) Peter Taylor as Dowie's successor.

## Kit

Italian company Diadora remained Palace's kit manufacturers, and introduced a new home kit for the season. Unlike the previous season's kit, which was mainly red, the new kit was predominantly blue, complemented by a single thick red stripe down the centre of the shirt. For the club's centenary the club wore a commemorative kit on 27 July, 27 September and 22 October: the kit recalled one worn by the club in the 1970s, which featured white shorts and socks and a white shirt with two stripes of sky blue and claret (the club's original colours) in the centre.
Churchill Insurance remained kit sponsors for the sixth consecutive season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Preston North End | 46 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 59 | 30 | +29 | 80 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Leeds United | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 78 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 67 | |
| 8 | Coventry City | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 62 | 65 | −3 | 63 | |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 9 May 2006
    Players with no appearances not included in the list
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Championship play-offs | Championship play-offs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király | 48 | 0 | 43+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Granville | 1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Darren Ward | 46 | 6 | 42+1 | 5 | 2+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Hudson | 22 | 0 | 8+7 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Tony Popovic | 15 | 1 | 10+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | JAM | Jobi McAnuff | 47 | 8 | 35+6 | 7 | 2+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Andy Johnson | 39 | 18 | 30+3 | 16 | 3+0 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman | 41 | 8 | 19+15 | 6 | 3+0 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Jon Macken | 28 | 2 | 13+11 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | IRL | Clinton Morrison | 44 | 12 | 32+8 | 12 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ATG | Mikele Leigertwood | 30 | 0 | 18+9 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson | 48 | 4 | 40+2 | 4 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti | 20 | 2 | 9+6 | 2 | 1+2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Tommy Black | 6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes | 45 | 4 | 30+10 | 2 | 1+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale | 35 | 0 | 26+4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Tom Soares | 49 | 1 | 38+6 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield | 16 | 0 | 9+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | BRB | Emmerson Boyce | 49 | 1 | 42+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | GER | Marco Reich | 26 | 4 | 14+7 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Wayne Andrews | 31 | 1 | 5+19 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Fitz Hall | 44 | 1 | 39+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | ARG | Julián Speroni | 8 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Sam Togwell | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Arron Fray | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Lewis Grabban | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players left the club during the season: ||||||||||||||
| 22 | MF | FIN | Joonas Kolkka | 4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | AUS | Anthony Danze | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Tyrone Berry | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
Source:

## Results

Crystal Palace's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 6 August 2005 | Luton Town | H | 1–2 | 21,166 | Johnson |
| 9 August 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 24,745 | McAnuff |
| 13 August 2005 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 25,102 | Johnson |
| 20 August 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | 18,781 | Ward |
| 27 August 2005 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 17,637 | Johnson (2) |
| 10 September 2005 | Hull City | H | 2–0 | 18,630 | Morrison, Johnson |
| 13 September 2005 | Reading | A | 2–3 | 17,562 | Johnson, Morrison |
| 17 September 2005 | Cardiff City | A | 0–1 | 11,647 | |
| 24 September 2005 | Preston North End | H | 1–1 | 17,291 | Morrison |
| 27 September 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 17,413 | Morrison, Whelan (own goal) |
| 3 October 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 3–1 | 13,433 | Reich (2), Soares |
| 15 October 2005 | Coventry City | A | 4–1 | 24,438 | Ward, Morrison, Watson, Macken |
| 18 October 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–1 | 22,400 | |
| 22 October 2005 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | 20,127 | Morrison, Freedman |
| 29 October 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–2 | 6,766 | Freedman, Morrison |
| 5 November 2005 | Sheffield United | H | 2–3 | 20,344 | Hughes, Freedman (pen) |
| 20 November 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 3–2 | 7,067 | Freedman (2), McAnuff |
| 22 November 2005 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | 17,343 | Andrews, Boyce |
| 26 November 2005 | Luton Town | A | 0–2 | 10,248 | |
| 3 December 2005 | Millwall | H | 1–1 | 19,571 | Watson |
| 10 December 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 19,385 | Johnson |
| 17 December 2005 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–2 | 14,582 | |
| 26 December 2005 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | 27,392 | Macken, Hughes |
| 28 December 2005 | Derby County | H | 2–0 | 18,978 | Morrison, Ward |
| 31 December 2005 | Watford | A | 2–1 | 15,856 | Ward, Johnson (pen) |
| 2 January 2006 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | 20,089 | McAnuff, Johnson |
| 14 January 2006 | Hull City | A | 2–1 | 18,886 | Ward, Cort (own goal) |
| 20 January 2006 | Reading | H | 1–1 | 19,888 | Johnson (pen) |
| 25 January 2006 | Southampton | A | 0–0 | 24,651 | |
| 31 January 2006 | Preston North End | A | 0–2 | 13,867 | |
| 4 February 2006 | Cardiff City | H | 1–0 | 17,962 | Riihilahti |
| 11 February 2006 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 24,784 | |
| 14 February 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | 17,550 | Morrison, McAnuff |
| 18 February 2006 | Millwall | A | 1–1 | 12,296 | Watson |
| 25 February 2006 | Norwich City | H | 4–1 | 19,066 | Johnson, Watson, Morrison, Hall |
| 4 March 2006 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | 23,843 | McAnuff |
| 13 March 2006 | Stoke City | A | 3–1 | 10,121 | Sidibe (own goal), McAnuff, Johnson |
| 18 March 2006 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | 22,076 | Riihilahti, Morrison |
| 21 March 2006 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | 24,507 | McAnuff |
| 25 March 2006 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | 24,857 | Morrison |
| 31 March 2006 | Watford | H | 3–1 | 18,619 | Freedman, Stewart (own goal), DeMerit (own goal) |
| 7 April 2006 | Leicester City | A | 0–2 | 23,211 | |
| 15 April 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–2 | 18,358 | Johnson (2) |
| 17 April 2006 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | 11,449 | |
| 22 April 2006 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | 20,995 | Johnson, Morrison |
| 30 April 2006 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 27,120 | |

### Championship play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st Leg | 6 May 2006 | Watford | H | 0–3 | 22,880 | |
| SF 2nd Leg | 9 May 2006 | Watford | A | 0–0 (lost 0–3 on agg) | 19,041 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Northampton Town | H | 4–1 | 10,391 | Hughes, McAnuff, Johnson (pen), Freedman (pen) |
| R4 | 28 January 2006 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 9,489 | Johnson |
| R4R | 7 February 2006 | Preston North End | H | 1–2 | 7,356 | Ward |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 23 August 2005 | Walsall | H | 3–0 | 5,508 | Popovic (pen), Granville, Hughes |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 5,341 | Reich |
| R3 | 25 October 2005 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 19,673 | Freedman, Reich |
| R4 | 30 November 2005 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–2 | 10,791 | Queudrue (own goal) |

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | HUN | Gábor Király |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Danny Granville |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Darren Ward |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Hudson |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Tony Popovic (captain) |
| 7 | MF | JAM | Jobi McAnuff |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Andy Johnson |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Jon Macken |
| 11 | FW | IRL | Clinton Morrison |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Mikele Leigertwood |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson |
| 15 | MF | FIN | Aki Riihilahti |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Tommy Black |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Tom Soares |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Emmerson Boyce |
| 22 | MF | GER | Marco Reich |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Wayne Andrews |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Fitz Hall |
| 28 | GK | ARG | Julián Speroni |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Sam Togwell |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Ryan Hall |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Glenn Wilson |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Arron Fray |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Lewis Grabban |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | FIN | Joonas Kolkka (to ADO Den Haag) |
| 27 | MF | AUS | Anthony Danze (released) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | FW | HUN | Sándor Torghelle (on loan to Panathinaikos) |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Tyrone Berry (to Rushden & Diamonds) |

## Transfers
### In

* Jobi McAnuff – Cardiff City, £600,000, 31 May 2005
* Darren Ward – Millwall, £1,100,000,
* Jonathan Macken – Manchester City
* Marco Reich – Derby County

### Out

* Wayne Routledge – Tottenham Hotspur
* Darren Powell - Southampton, free, 1 July 2005
* Sándor Torghelle – Panathinaikos, season loan