MY ACCOUNT
The future is bright at Crystal Palace — but club legend Geoff Thomas knows they must be at their best to cause an FA Cup semi-final upset.
Chelsea stand in Palace’s way at Wembley on Sunday as they bid to make it to the final for only the third time in their history, having also done so in 1990 and 2016.
Thomas’ optimism for the all-London affair was dampened slightly by the impressive displays Thomas Tuchel’s side produced against Southampton and Real Madrid in their last two outings.
But having captained the Eagles to a shock 4-3 victory over Liverpool at this stage 32 years ago, the 57-year-old former midfielder refuses to count out Patrick Vieira’s men.
Speaking exclusively to LiveScore, Thomas said: “I was buoyant after watching Chelsea lose to Brentford.
“They have come back stronger, they have bounced back and they are more determined — and that Champions League exit is going to make it tougher for Palace.
“But miracles happen in the FA Cup and you hope it is one of those days for Palace, that everybody kicks on and gives 100%.
“That is the only way in all likelihood that they can beat Chelsea. Everybody has to perform because they are a quality side, there is no denying that.
“They’ll be as determined as Palace — we just need to go a step further.”
Thomas sees plenty of similarities between Vieira’s squad and the Eagles team he was part of in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
When Connor Gallagher and Marc Guehi started for England against Switzerland last month, it was the first time since Thomas and John Salako lined up in a 4-2 friendly win over Malaysia in 1991 that two Palace players had started for the Three Lions, while Tyrick Mitchell also came off the bench.
Thomas added: “The recognition the Palace players are getting is justifiable.
“Individually they have had great seasons. I think when we were playing we had five — Nigel Martyn, Ian Wright, Andy Gray, John and myself — you can see some synergy in the two squads.”
Gallagher a big miss
Unfortunately for Palace, Chelsea refused their request to let loanee Gallagher play against them on Sunday.
Though not surprising on the Blues’ part given their desire to win the competition, it leaves Vieira without a vital cog in his midfield.
Thomas said: “Gallagher has been a brilliant addition.
“As well as making the breaks into the box, he seems to have gelled everything together. He is a hard-working midfielder and you need that, you need a good mix.
“That is what Palace have at the minute. They have got the flair and the determination as well.
“It’s going to be a big blow. He has been a standout player this season.
“But when we played in the semi-final, we were without Wrighty due to his broken leg and we managed to get through.
“Hopefully it’s another miracle day for Crystal Palace.”
French fancy
Whatever Sunday’s result, it is clear Thomas has been mightily impressed with the impact Vieira has had at Selhurst Park.
His appointment was not met with widespread enthusiasm after an underwhelming two years in charge of Nice in Ligue 1.
But Palace have become one of the better teams to watch in the top flight under the Frenchman — something that was not always the case under previous boss Roy Hodgson.
Thomas added: “You’ve got to give credit to Hodgson. He kept Palace in the top flight for a number of years and probably didn’t have any sort of a budget like the big clubs. He did a fantastic job.
“The frustration was there were enough flair players coming through the academy who could potentially do what they’re doing now.
“With Vieira coming in, he has just allowed everyone to have that little bit more freedom going forward.
“But we’ve been keeping it pretty solid and there’s a really good spine to the side now. I think that’s where their strength comes, with flair from the wide guys.
“I’ve heard people say that when he [Vieira] was a player, he wasn’t management material.
“You’ve seen it in the past where people with a great reputation on the pitch find it difficult to relate that to coaching and management.
“He went away from football and rather than trying to go straight into a big job, he took a couple of steps back.
“He worked with Manchester City and probably learned an awful lot there, watching how they run the club from lower levels all the way through to the first team.
“I think it has been a gradual education for him and you can see it has really worked.
“He’s got a wealth of knowledge, knows what it takes to win leagues and what sort of characters you need in the dressing room — that is massive.”
On Tour again
Thomas is hopeful the summer will see the likes of Wilfried Zaha stay at Selhurst as Palace look to push on under Vieira.
And while the Eagles go about their transfer business, he will be tackling the gruelling 21-stage Tour de France route for a sixth time.
After being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia and given three months to live in 2003, barely a year after retiring from football, Thomas made a full recovery and has gone on to raise huge amounts of money for Cure Leukemia, as well as starting his own foundation.
His 2021 Tour de France fundraising effort was meant to be his last.
But Thomas, who was awarded an MBE earlier this year, was tempted by a promise from a friend to raise £100,000 and the death of another close pal from cancer to tackle it one last time.
He said: “One of the guys who was sponsoring the Tour itself said he fancied doing it next year — he then went on to say the only way he would do it is if I would do it again.
“I said there is no way — then we got into a little bit of a bidding war. He committed to raising £100,000 for Cure Leukemia if I did it again.
“And another reason is I lost a really good friend to cancer. He was just about to come on board with the charity and had been battling his illness for a few years.
“He lost his battle just before Christmas and it really inspired me to go again and try to raise money in his name.”
Despite taking on the course on numerous occasions, Thomas is still expecting a struggle come June.
He said: “I’m always lastminute.com with training. I’m a typical footballer and think I can get really fit in six weeks.
“I always leave myself short and struggle up the climbs. I don’t think anything will be different this year.”
Nineteen years after Geoff Thomas was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia and given just three months to live, he will once again lead a team of 19 amateur cyclists as they take part in The Tour 21 from June 24 to July 17.
By cycling all 21 stages of the Tour de France, one of the toughest endurance events on earth, the team aim to raise more than the £1.1million they did last year for national blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia, the official charity partner of the Tour de France in the UK.
As part of their fundraising effort, the group are organising one of the biggest ever match-worn shirt donations. Numerous Premier League, Championship and European sides have gifted shirts and Thomas is donating a Didier Deschamps France jersey.
