Crystal Palace Football Club and their arch rivals

In an interview with Crystal Palace’s official website in September, two former Crystal Palace greats offered some unique insight into their experiences playing for Crystal Palace and discussed some of the clubs biggest rivals over the years. We are talking about none other than the formidable John Salako and Mark Bright. These two former Eagles legends have both not only played for Crystal Palace, but also had tenures at Charlton Athletic Football Club. Charlton Athletic is undoubtedly one of Crystal Palace’s main rivals. Having played for both South London clubs, Salako and Bright certainly know what it’s like to be faced with thousands of angry opposition fans. Even though they have hung up their football boots, both former Eagles are still highly involved in football. John Salako is one of the first team coaches at Crystal Palace working with Alan Pardew and Mark Bright is T.V. pundit that makes appearances on channels such as BBC, British Eurosport and Al Jazeera. Salako and Bright were not on the same page when it comes to who they thought were the clubs biggest rivals. The Nigerian born Salako ranked Brighton as the number 1 nemesis, and put Millwall and Charlton in second and third spot respectively. On the other hand, Bright put Charlton Athletic at second place and said that the rivalry sparked off in more recent times when the clubs had to share Selhurst Park for a brief period. Putting the views of the two legends aside, it is no secret that the four clubs (Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and AFC Wimbledon) are all bitter rivals of each other. Anytime two of these clubs play against each other, it is known as the South London Derby and you can expect a fierce game of football. However, the fact is that Crystal Palace has enjoyed more success in the recent past and is the only team among the four to be playing top division football currently.  In fact, they are not just surviving in the premier league but are even thriving. The club’s recent success also includes a new sponsorship deal with Mansion Group. Mansion Group is a reputed online gaming company that owns several online casinos such as Mansion Casino. The Eagles have set the benchmark for the other South London football clubs and the future looks promising for Alan Pardew and his boys. Visit the official Crystal Palace website here – http://www.cpfc.co.uk/