'It's utterly indescribable' – Voices of Wembley: Ian Holloway

Today, we hear from former manager Ian Holloway, who led the Eagles to promotion under the famous arch in May 2013…

Holloway took the reins midway through the 2012/13 campaign, where the Eagles were flying high in the play-off places after a strong start to the season.

“We were fourth when I came in, and we won the first game I was watching against Blackburn Rovers, 2-0," Holloway reminisces. "It's a really unusual thing to take over a club who're doing really well!

“I was just in my fourth year at Blackpool, having managed them in the Premier League and taken them up through the play-offs, and I think a lot of people were shocked – but I wasn't. It was just a vastly different thing to pick up.

“So, when I walked in at Palace, I couldn't believe the set-up and the structure and everything that was there. It was quite a jolt for me – but I felt like the luckiest man in the world, to be honest.”

Holloway might describe himself as lucky, but there was no luck involved as his managerial reign got off to the perfect start to life in SE25, guiding his team to a resounding 5-0 victory against Ipswich Town to go top of the Championship table.

Their strong run of form continued, with the Eagles recording further victories against Peterborough, Derby County and an emphatic 3-0 thumping of rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

Going into January, form dipped a little, but Holloway and his side were still in and around the automatic promotion and play-off places come the winter.

The transfer window also offered an opportunity for Holloway to bolster his squad and secure a place within the top six of the Championship in the latter half of the campaign.

“We had a problem with Wilfried Zaha – there were rumours of moves, but we didn't really want to lose him," Holloway explained. "I said to the Chairman Steve Parish ‘we're losing him, but why don't we sell him and loan him back?’"

Palace did just so, as on the 25th January, 2013, Zaha's permanent transfer to Manchester United was confirmed – as was his immediate loan return to South London for the rest of the season.

"It brought him back to us in a way," Holloway recalls. "Did we want to lose him? No, but it was probably going to be inevitable. "We might not have been a success without settling him down, getting it done – and letting him get on.

“Bringing in Kevin Phillips was vital too. 'If anything happens to Glenn Murray, or if we're going to need a goal, I can guarantee you that the bloke's brilliant. I've worked with him before at Blackpool, he accepts everything I say. He'll do what I want. He won't moan.'

“I believed he'd get us the goals that we might need and, to be fair, would I have wanted anyone else apart from Glenn Murray to take that penalty in the play-off final?

"It fell to Kevin against his old club – I knew he'd score.”

Indeed, after the January transfer window and a stop-start second half of the campaign, Palace did go all the way to the play-off final, booking a date with destiny at Wembley. Phillips did, of course, get that goal.

But there were challenges along the way – not least two legs against bitter rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in the semi-finals, the latter of which – the 'Zaha, oh YES!' game – took place 12 years ago yesterday (13th May, 2013).

It was one of the most iconic wins in the club’s history.

“We go into the first game, draw 0-0 and who's carried off with a clearly bad injury? Glenn Murray!" Holloway recalls. "They [Brighton] were rubbing their hands together.

"But to be honest with you, could we have written a better script for us? We had a defensive mindset up front going into the secondleg, with Wilf still up there – with Yannick Bolasie and Aaron Wilbraham still ready to go – and I realised that we might need a little sucker punch, rather than start with everybody.

“And then on the night, Wilfried scored a diving header, and then another absolutely unbelievable strike with his left foot. They were dead and buried, and our fans were completely joyful.

"It felt like time stood still when we beat them. Those are the moments that you get in your life that you'll never, ever forget."

"There were two weeks until the play-off final after that, and we planned it all out.

"The day itself, how hot it was! Even with the injury early on to Kagisho Dikgacoi, we went like for like in replacing him with Stuart O’Keefe. We'd already planned what to do.

“The lads understood the game plan, they knew who was starting, they knew who were subs – all of that was ready...

"But what you can't prepare yourself for is walking out in your colours, seeing that whole half of Wembley in red and blue, with the joy on their faces.

“The responsibility that's on your shoulders is so immense. There's a lot of jeopardy – but what that then turns into when you're the winners is indescribable. Completely and utterly indescribable.”

Since the play-off victory under Holloway, Palace have enjoyed their longest-ever spell in the Premier League – 12 years now – and have also returned to Wembley on four occasions since, with the upcoming final being our fifth match at the venue in our modern era.

“I've got to pinch myself now because of how long ago it was, but it still feels like yesterday!" Holloway – now manager of Swindon Town – laughs.

"The club colours are so vibrant, and so memorable in your mind. The red and blue was everywhere. It was just incredible. I'm very, very thankful, and I'm very, very lucky to have been a part of the club at the time.

“I’m absolutely delighted to see the progress since, where Palace are going now – to Wembley, in another final. Absolutely crazy.

"I'm so proud of the club to see where it is now, and the longevity that is being given by very ambitious, forward-thinking owners, which a lot of people haven't got – so well done to Steve Parish and the board of directors.

"Well done to Oliver Glasner too. It’s absolutely fantastic to see the style he’s implemented there. One of my old boys, from when I was a coach at Millwall: Eberechi Eze, wow. You've polished him. What a joy it is that he's getting recognised for how good he is.

“If you can actually win this trophy, it's one of the big ones, if not the biggest one. It’s what we've all dreamed about when we were young, because there were two ways to play at Wembley when I was younger: you either made it to the FA Cup Final or you played for England.

“And Crystal Palace can win the FA Cup. They've just got one more game. Unbelievable.

"I wish you all the very, very best at Wembley. I'll definitely be watching and I'll be cheering on the Palace – the mighty Eagles.”

Match Details

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

• Saturday, 17th May
• 16:30 BST
• FA Cup Final
• Wembley Stadium
• Live audio commentary on Palace TV+