Articles
FYP Top 50 Players Countdown: No.27 - Julian Speroni
27. Julian Speroni
By Tom Hughes
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Clean sheets: 73 Failed attempts to beat Kevin Campbell with fancy footwork: 1 |
After the second Premier League game of the 2004/05 season against Everton you needed to be delusional to see past the long-haired Argentinean’s costly blunder. The home debut mistake, combined with Gabor Kiraly’s form, meant Jules had to wait until 07/08 for his next real run in the team. However, showing bouncebackability Dowie would have been proud of, eight years later the chant “Do do do, Julian Speroni” rings out around Selhrust with predictable regularity after yet after another feat of goalkeeping ingenuity. Like an anti-Samson, his powers seemed to grow once the ponytail was snipped from his head. 260 games for Palace and counting, Jules has shown dedication and loyalty through the darkest of administration spells to become an inspirational, defence-rousing ‘keeper, pulling off the miraculous and the unthinkable. He has even overcome his perceived shortcoming at corners through sharp reactions and agility. Time and again rescuing points, the bond between Speroni and the fans is plain to see in the sincere outpouring of emotion after he reached 250 appearances for the club. In fact, he is held in such high regard that it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him win player of the year a few more times yet.
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