As Crystal Palace chairman, he led them through their brightest period, which included promotion to the old First Division (1989), an FA Cup final (1990), a third-placed finish in the First Division (1991), and winning the Full Members Cup (also in 1991). He took the club over just after their relegation from the First Division in 1981, and after three difficult seasons where they narrowly avoided dropping into the Third Division, the turning point came in May 1984 when he appointed the former Manchester United and England winger Steve Coppell as manager following his retirement from playing through injury.