It was an amazing atmosphere, very loud, and to see each half of the stadium decked out in the two clubs’ colours made it very special, " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-203035" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=592%2C395&ssl=1" alt width="592" height="395" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?resize=1536%2C1025&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?w=2048&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Palace-fans-FA-Cup-semi-final-2025.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px">
Up for the Cup: ‘It was an amazing atmosphere, very loud… made it very special,’ said Palace boss Oliver Glasner of the Wembley experience at the FA Cup semi-final
FA CUP FINAL BUILD-UP: ‘We don’t know if we will win but we will show our personality’ – manager and club chairman embrace the south London spirit of Palace’s loud and proud fans
Embrace the moment: Palace boss Oliver Glasner is fulfilling a childhood dream " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-203030" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?resize=382%2C215&ssl=1" alt width="382" height="215" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Oliver-Glasner.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px">
Embrace the moment: Palace boss Oliver Glasner is fulfilling a childhood dream
Oliver Glasner will be fulfilling a childhood dream tomorrow, when he leads his Crystal Palace players out on to the hallowed Wembley turf for the 2025 FA Cup final.
And Glasner reckons that having more than 30,000 Palace fans providing their unique brand of loud and proud support could make the difference between his side and opponents Manchester City.
There are other numbers, too, which will provide all Crystal Palace supporters with some slim hope that they can overturn Pep Guardiola’s odds-on favourites (in case you fancy a flutter, Palace are 16/5 with some bookies today, an indication in a three-horse race – never forget the draw! – of how poorly their chances are rated).
To start, no club has ever made it to three FA Cup finals and not managed to win once. This, no Palace fan needs reminding, is their club’s third appearance in the final, following the heartbreaks of 1990 and 2016.
And then there’s the quirks of history. City rolled up to the Wembley final last year as record-breaking four-time-in-succession Premier League champions. Untouchable. Unbeatable. And then they lost to their less-fancied Manchester rivals on the day.
Shock result: City lost last year’s Cup final. Could they lose again tomorrow? " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Manchester-City-lost-2024-FA-Cup-final.jpg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Manchester-City-lost-2024-FA-Cup-final.jpg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1" class="size-full wp-image-203032" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Manchester-City-lost-2024-FA-Cup-final.jpg?resize=300%2C168&ssl=1" alt width="300" height="168" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Manchester-City-lost-2024-FA-Cup-final.jpg?w=300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Manchester-City-lost-2024-FA-Cup-final.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px">
Shock result: City lost last year’s Cup final. Could they lose again tomorrow?
Some pundits suggest that City have still not got over whatever malaise they were suffering that day – their constipated football, unable to score last Saturday against bottom-of-the-league Southampton, another signal that all is not well at the megarich Manchester megaclub.
And as Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman, remembered this week, Palace’s Cup final losses in 1990 and 2016 “stung for months”. But he added: “They taught me the FA Cup’s exhilarating power to inspire.
“Now, in 2025, we’re back, and I believe we can go one better.”
Glasner, approaching the end of his first full season in charge at Selhurst Park, has revived and lifted his squad, and is looking to the occasion to inspire them one more time.
“What is clear is that we should feel no burden,” Glasner says in an interview to be published in tomorrow’s matchday programme.
Fans’ victory: the Palace tifosi impressed with their own Wembley performance " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?fit=640%2C960&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-201473" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=320%2C480&ssl=1" alt width="320" height="480" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=100%2C150&ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG\_1653.jpg?w=1067&ssl=1 1067w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px">
Inspirational: the Palace tifosi impressed with their own Wembley performance at the semi-final
“Pressure comes when you are trying to avoid relegation, when you are playing for your future, the future of the football club and the club’s employees.
“But playing in a Cup final means that you can achieve something incredible. This is what we are all playing for, this is the childhood dream!
“When these players were kids, I’m sure they all watched the Cup finals and dreamed of one day being involved in one.
“Now, everyone has the chance to fulfil that childhood dream.”
The Austrian manager admits his own surprise at the impact the Palace fans have had, both when playing at home in south London, but also with the “takeover” that they staged at the national stadium last month for the 3-0 semi-final win over Aston Villa – another side who the bookies reckoned were a shoo-in before the game.
“It was an amazing atmosphere, very loud, and to see each half of the stadium decked out in the two clubs’ colours made it very special,” Glasner said.
“It was an incredible experience for all of us. To have more Crystal Palace fans here than we can fit inside our own stadium is very unique.
“I definitely expected to be more nervous on the day, but instead I was very calm. I had such a positive feeling from the players in the pre-match meeting in the hotel.
“In particular, I had to tell two players they weren’t going to start the match. These were two players who have played a lot of matches, and it is never easy, but their reaction was superb, and from that moment I had a very good and positive feeling that gave me a calmness throughout the day.”
“After the game, I was able to take in the energy from the supporters. You could feel the emotion, and that emotional reward is something that you can’t buy. You have to earn it, and those players with their performances, and you – the supporters with your noise – everyone earned it.”
Parish, too, is looking at the opportunity presented by tomorrow’s big match. “This FA Cup final is a historic opportunity to elevate and inspire our community,” he said this week.
“The journey to this moment feels like a miracle. With two administrations, the future of the club has often been uncertain. It was the fans’ refusal to let their club die that pulled us through. From those desperate days to reaching our third FA Cup final, we’ve rebuilt with patience and pride, staying true to our south London roots.
“Our supporters have been the backbone of this run. I’ll never forget the semi-final against Aston Villa… The Holmesdale Fanatics’ incredible display, ‘Take my hand, take my whole life too’. That day, we saw what Oliver Glasner has done: instilled a belief that unites fans and players.
Key figure: at 21, Adam Wharton is the cog that make’s Glasner’s Palace machine work most sweetly " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-203037" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?resize=366%2C243&ssl=1" alt width="366" height="243" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?resize=768%2C510&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Adam-Wharton-Crystal-Palace-May-2025.jpg?w=1232&ssl=1 1232w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px">
Key figure: at 21, Adam Wharton is the midfield cog that makes Glasner’s Palace machine work most sweetly
“This team feels ready to seize the moment. As Oliver says, ‘We don’t know if we will win but we will show our personality’.”
For Glasner, his plan is straightforward: “The message will be to stick to our strengths, stick to the way we want to play and stick to what has worked.
“Our approach was successful in the win against Fulham, and again against Aston Villa, so we don’t change anything.
“Of course, we will have analysed Manchester City, but we know what we can do, and what we want to do, and we’ll try and adjust what we feel we need to in order to get the right result.”
“We have played Manchester City three times since I have been at the club and we have always scored two goals, but so far we have only managed to draw one of those games. We conceded twice at home, then four, and five times at the Etihad Stadium. It shows that we are able to score goals against them, but that we need to be more consistent in our defending.
“That will be one of the main topics in our preparation. When you concede four or more goals against a team like City, it is very hard to win the game.
“However, when you score two goals against them, you also should have the chance to win.”
Read more: Palace fans asked to avoid Trafalgar Square on Cup final day
Read more:Parish’s position in jeopardy as Textor stages a Palace coup
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Read more: Palace record-breaker Joel Ward: This is merely ‘See you later’
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