The Betfair Big Interview: Geoff Thomas on 1990 and Palace's chances this time

Ralph Ellis
17 May 2016

Former Eagles skipper Geoff Thomas hopes Palace can go one better than his team did in 1990

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It was the Cup Final that possibly saved Sir Alex Ferguson, and now another Manchester United manager faces Crystal Palace with his job on the line. Betfair asked 1990 Eagles skipper Geoff Thomas about the comparisons...

"United now are going through a changing of the guard, and Palace have got a few guys who can win a game, like Yannick Bolasie and Wilf Zaha."

Hi Geoff. So Palace, United, an FA Cup final, that must stir big memories from 1990.

Absolutely. You grow up dreaming about leading a side out at Wembley - listening to Abide with Me and then stood next to Bryan Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson, and with Steve Coppell in front of me. It was extra special because I'm a Manchester lad and, being a Blue, was against a side I was brought up to go totally against. Despite that I had so much respect for the size of the club, and the size of the chap I was next to. As a midfielder I think footballers back in that day looked at Robson and he was the number one player in the world at that position. I just felt very privileged to be putting myself up against him.

How close were you to beating United?

Very, very close. Seven minutes, but for Mark Hughes. He did it all his career, and he came up with that goal that just made the difference for Manchester United, as he did for all his other clubs. Ian Wright had done his magic to get us 3-2 up. I thought we had it. It was just one moment that Mark just buried his chance. We really enjoyed the day, the experience.

But you ended up losing. Has that pain gone away then?

The first game was a draw so I remember that as a great day. When we went back midweek and we lost I've just blanked that. It was a dire game anyway and to lose it to a guy who hardly scored a goal before or after (Lee Martin) was really hard to take.

How do you see Palace's chances in this year's final?

There are so many parallels. Sir Alex was under pressure then, and Louis van Gaal is this time. I'm not sure if winning the FA Cup will save him. But also United now are going through a changing of the guard, and they were rebuilding too in 1990. And Palace have got a few guys who can win a game, like Yannick Bolasie and Wilf Zaha, and we had that with Ian Wright and a few others.

This Palace side haven't got a standout goal scorer like Ian Wright though?

No, but they have got game changers, and they have players with pace who can do it on a given day. That's Bolasie's thing, he has to get on the scoresheet more, but I think he has the ability and so has Zaha to emulate what Ian Wright did. But they are a way off yet.

You played with Alan Pardew in that team and still know him well, tell us about him?

I think he's done ever so well. He's a brash, south-east London guy and always will be but he has been able to curb his nature a bit and he has learned. He has made mistakes, some of the incidents with other managers on the touchline have been well documented, he's made comments that he might regret in hindsight, but I don't think there's any doubt he is now one of the top English managers. He's already won manager of the year when he was at Newcastle. I think he learned so much there, he had success getting them into Europe but then also seeing that all fall around him. He was always brave enough to stand up to it and it was for them to get rid of him rather than him walking away, and he turned it round. Then when Palace came knocking it was a perfect opportunity and perfect timing.

Do you think he's taken Palace forward?

Yes. Tony Pulis did a fantastic job beforehand to keep the club up, but then with Neil Warnock there wasn't that excitement that everybody wanted. Alan has delivered that, brought back a few old faces that have gone well, and he has been quite cute with the crowd. He's let a few of the players lose their shackles as well, but at the same time I think he knows they are far from the finished article. The crowd have been fantastic, and really got behind him.

What can he achieve?

Well if they win the Cup it will make a big difference, it will help him attract better players with a place in Europe. I am sure he already has his little notebook of people he wants to bring in. I think win or lose at Wembley it has been a successful season. Alan will have another pre-season now, he'll think he can add to them and make some others better.

So will they win at Wembley?

I don't see why not. In my view it is a 50-50 game.

Thanks for your time and we've a free £50 bet with winnings for your favourite charity.

Great, that can go to cureleukaemia which does amazing work. And I fancy a high scoring game so I'm going to back a 3-2 Palace win which is paying a fantastic 70-1 on the Sportsbook.

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Betfair columnists Ed Malyon and Max Liu have given us the Palace and Man Utd fans' view on the Final.

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