A year after Dean Austin led a rag-bag mix of journeymen and kids to victory for Palace at Carrow Road in 2000, Clinton helped the Eagles do the same and Bryan Davies remembers it well...
Norwich City 0-1 Crystal Palace, Football League Division 1, Saturday 11 March 2000
Norwich: a fine city of 365 pubs and a controversially pedestrianised city centre; home to my alma mater, UEA, and a million happy memories; scene of many significant avian contests between the Canaries and Eagles, vividly reflected in vibrant yellow and green, red and blue.
Ignoring our last, turgid trip to Norfolk, Palace have a strong recent record at Carrow Road (there's a jinx): the Dean Austin administration win, consecutive 1-1 draws secured with Andrew Johnson equalisers, the raucous scenes of Shefki Kuqi's last-minute winner and bellyflop, and an unlikely midweek victory during George Burley's curious tenure, flavoured by the surreal sight of Andy Dorman and Edgar Davids sharing a midfield.
There was also a second 1-0 win for administration-ravaged Palace, on 11 March 2000. I was 15, girls were now on the scene, and UK garage was exploding. What a time to be alive. As adulthood loomed for me, the future for Palace was unwritten. The club had been cut to the bone, nobody had heard of Simon Jordan (how blissfully unaware we were), and Steve Coppell was in the saddle – just Imagine such a thing.
Relegation was on the agenda. Palace were massive underdogs, fielding a squad of journeymen, loanees, academy graduates (eight) and an eccentric Chinese defender. As with the previous season, it was backs-to-the-wall and smash-and-grab, chips and gravy heroes like Fraser Digby and Andy Linighan holding a threadbare group together. Stardust was provided by Clinton Morrison and Ashley Cole; the latter, on-loan from Arsenal and hitherto unknown, was sensational, his immense quality having been evident the moment he slipped on his TFG jersey.
It was an ugly, messy game, reminiscent of 22 labradors chasing a stick, coloured by a goal of genuine quality. On 79 minutes, Cole smashed a glorious cross-field pass to Steven Thomson. He fed Morrison, and Clinton did what Clinton always did, efficiently slotting the ball into the corner as he lost balance. Liquid football.
With A Little Bit of Luck, Palace held on to secure three valuable, galvanising points. The happy Palace hordes descended on the (sadly closed) Ferry Boat Inn, before heading back south for a Bacardi Breezer and a fumble at the (sadly closed) Blue Orchid. Heady days.
So often scheduled for sunny Saturdays, Norwich is always a popular away day. Rarely, if ever, have Palace headed into a new season with such confidence. Re-Rewind to East Anglian trips of the recent past, recall the starting XIs, and the progress is startling. This Saturday will have to go some to beat that early spring afternoon, though.
Palace team that day: Digby; Austin, Linighan, Zhiyi, Cole; Carlisle, Mullins, Thomson; McKenzie, Forssell, Morrison