{"id":13493,"date":"2026-05-23T11:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13493"},"modified":"2026-05-25T01:59:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T00:59:30","slug":"goin-dahn-the-palace-to-lift-us-some-silvahwerr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=13493","title":{"rendered":"Goin’ Dahn the Palace to Lift Us Some Silvahwerr!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The premier League champions will travel south to Sunny Croydon to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as we conclude our league campaign on this sunny Bank Holiday weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it is fitting that we will lift the title at the ground where this journey truly took off on that magical summer\u2019s night almost four years ago. We had enjoyed an exciting preseason that summer and, despite missing out on the top four at the expense of Tottenham the previous season, spirits were high and there was real optimism that good times were on the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabby Jesus had elevated our attack beyond our wildest dreams, Zinchenko was popping up in all sorts of spaces, and William Saliba made his long-awaited debut after three seasons out on loan. In one summer it felt as though we were watching a completely new team. We won 2-0 and for the next eight months it felt like we were floating in the clouds. The football was mesmerising and we were daring to dream again. Unfortunately, we fell short at the final hurdle and that was the first of a frustrating hat trick of runner-up finishes and the \u201csecond again ole ole\u201d chant was sung at us wherever we went, often by fan bases who would sacrifice their first-born child to see their team finish second. But we were on an incredible journey, and it all began on that magical evening at Selhurst Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps, it\u2019s fitting that we shall lift the trophy south of the river where we were founded by Woolwich factory workers almost 140 years ago. Croydon is not quite Woolwich, but still. We\u2019ve certainly outgunned the rest of the league this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is custom, Arsenal will receive a guard of honour from Crystal Palace before the game.  Last May we were giving Liverpool a guard of honour at Anfield and who can forget giving RVP and United a guard of honour at the Emirates only 12 months after the scrote won the golden boot in Arsenal colours? It will be nice to be on the receiving end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Arsenal and Palace have European finals in the next few days so there will likely be heavy rotation for both. There should be a real end of season atmosphere for this one, both on the pitch and in the stands. Almost Carnival-like. But the real carnival will be 10 or so miles north in Finsbury Park, Holloway and the surrounding areas. given there were an estimated 100,000 outside the Emirates on Tuesday night and the fact that this is a weekend, it\u2019s 30 degrees and a bank holiday, I expect the number of supporters gathering in Islington will be significantly higher on Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the official parade next weekend, the Metropolitan Police have reportedly estimated well over a million supporters will line the streets of Islington to congratulate the boys. I suspect that number may be closer to two million if we do the business in Budapest and become immortalised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would like to point out that it is remarkable that we are able to draw these kinds of numbers in a city which is home to over a dozen other professional clubs. A half dozen of those are also in the top flight. Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and others are all two club cities broadly speaking. Yes, London is much bigger, but it does seem like we have got the run of the place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of team news, apparently Mikel Merino is available for selection. Amazing news for Budapest so let\u2019s hope he can get some minutes in the legs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My predicted lineup is as follows;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mosquera Saliba Hincapi\u00e9 MLS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

N\u00f8rgaard Zubimendi Eze<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madueke Gy\u00f6keres  Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still a strong side whilst still being able to rest several key players. I\u2019m going for a 1-0 win to see us finish on 85 points. But ultimately, tomorrow is all about the trophy presentation and celebrating what has been a truly wonderful season. The scenes on Tuesday night were incredible to be a part of, and it was moving, in many ways, to see such an outpouring of joy from so many happy people. I doubt any of us have ever seen so many happy people all in one place. Only football can make you feel like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it could be about to get even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHAMPIONS AGAIN, OLE OLE!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The premier League champions will travel south to Sunny Croydon to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as we conclude our league campaign on this sunny Bank Holiday weekend. Perhaps it is fitting that we will lift the title at the ground where this journey truly took off on that magical summer\u2019s night almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13493"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13498,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13493\/revisions\/13498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}