Steve Coppell’s future as Crystal Palace manager was under severe threat as the south London club was preparing to play Chelsea that week. Chairman Ron Noades was anxious that 10 years of hard work was going to be wasted If Palace went down and indications were that he and Coppell may seek new directions soon.
Coppell was the third longest serving manager in the league at the time and had been the manager of Palace for nearly nine years. His well-built team had been slowly picked apart by big clubs with likes of Ian Wright and Mark Bright never properly replaced. Noades had already imposed a 10% wage cut to all administrative staff and was desperate to survive in the league.
Palace was in danger of getting relegated and a loss to Chelsea could make the matters even worse for the club and their manager.
