Can you believe that 2025 will mark the first time that Crystal Palace have reached an FA Cup Final without the help of Alan Pardew?
Pards is best known as a manager and occasional pundit, having taken charge of no fewer than four Premier League clubs. Before that, he was an industrious midfielder, making up for any technical drawbacks with tenacity and good old-fashioned graft.
Before that, he was a tradesman, working full-time as a glazier while playing non-league football on the side, In fact, Pardew almost turned away from football entirely, with glazing a more secure (and initially lucrative) profession. He belatedly made his Football League debut with Palace at the ripe old age of 26 but quickly became an integral part of Steve Coppell’s squad.
In 1990, Palace reached the semi-final for the second time in the club’s history – but champions-elect Liverpool stood between them and a trip to Wembley. The tie was electric, one of the competition’s greatest semis, with six goals shared equally between the two. The game was heading for penalties before Pardew popped up in the box, arriving between Ronnie Whelan and Alan Hansen to power a header past Bruce Grobbelaar.
The final against Manchester United was another all-action goalfest, but Pardew wasn’t among the scorers. Instead, Ian Wright took the limelight, emerging from the bench to draw Palace level, then putting the Eagles ahead in extra time, only for Mark Hughes to force the replay. The second match was somewhat less noteworthy: United’s Lee Martin scored the game’s only goal, and Palace’s wait for top-tier honours went on.
Fast forward 26 years, and Pardew was back at Wembley with Palace, this time in the dugout. Once again, Manchester United were the opposition: and, again, it was a Palace substitute who made a notable impact. This time, it was Jason Puncheon. The winger stepped off the bench to volley Palace ahead from an acute angle in the 78th minute, beating De Gea at his near post.
The goal sparked jubilant scenes at Wembley – not least in the dugout, where Alan Pardew produced one of football’s greatest premature celebrations. His writhing, somewhat cringeworthy dad-dance was beamed out to millions of viewers, and perhaps would have gone down as a defining moment in Crystal Palace history for the right reasons.
Instead, Juan Mata pooped the Pardew party, drawing United level within three minutes of Puncheon’s goal. Then, in extra time, Mata’s replacement Jessie Lingard completed the turnaround (this was the pre-Milly Rock era, so the celebration was a more straightforward shirt twirl and slide).
Both the 1990 and 2016 FA Cup Final programmes are part of The Players Foundation collection. Find out more about their work via their website below.