The Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust has kindly written to Palace season ticket holders enclosing a statement of claim form and a proxy form for completion. The Trust has indicated that it is willing to act as proxy for supporters unable to attend the meeting. Alternatively, the Chairman of the meeting may be named as proxy holder. The forms however need to be returned to the administrator by 12 noon on 24 June 2010. It is therefore suggested that those who have not already done so should if possible fax the forms to ensure they reach the administrator in time – Fax No. 0114 276 8556

For Palace supporters who believe they may be creditors and have not seen details of the CVA proposal or received a letter from the Trust, if a season ticket holder, please check the following websites for information:

• Crystal Palace website Click on www.cpfc.co.uk where the announcement is given about the CVA on 25 June by Brendan Guilfoyle; there is a link to the administration documents Click on www.cpfc.pandareports.com The proposal for the CVA includes the proxy form and explains the proposal. The Joint Administrators’ document dated 30.4.2010 also includes at the latter part a list of season ticket holders who are creditors.
• Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust has produced information and provided some Questions & Answers, which may assist with any queries, and the required forms, Click on www.cpstrust.org.uk

New Crystal Palace Manager
A welcome to George Burley, who was announced on Thursday of last week as the new Crystal Palace manager, with Dougie Freedman continuing his Palace association as his assistant. George has indicated his interest in the development of young players and that he is looking forward to working with the young talent at Palace, but significantly that he aims to improve players whether starting out on their professional careers or at the tail end.

Match Fixtures for Season 2010/11
The fixture lists for the 2010/11 season were published last week and Palace supporters will be pleased to see Crystal Palace FC amongst the list of Championship teams, especially with all the uncertainty around the club’s future. The first game of the season on 7 August 2010 starts with a tough match against Leicester City. September will also be tough with matches against last season’s Premiership clubs, Portsmouth and Burnley. Boxing Day brings Norwich to Selhurst, and New Year’s Day is away to another promoted team, Millwall at the New Den.

Thank you – Selhurst Clean Up
Followers of the BBS messageboard will be aware, with the new sense of optimism and goodwill, with the expected takeover of the club by the 2010 consortium that a number of Palace fans, lead by ‘Coulsdon Eagle’, have volunteered their time and effort to clean up the Selhurst Park stadium before the start of the new season. This is a great gesture of support for the club and for fellow fans –so a big thank you to all those involved in this work, and to the club for permitting their involvement in the spirit intended.

Come on England
Just has to get better! Fingers crossed!

Palace Fans on the Road
As we approach this important Easter weekend there is news for Palace supporters travelling away to the matches at Doncaster and Hull. The club wish to show their appreciation to Palace fans for their great away support this season with a gesture of thanks with these vital away matches.

There are at least 1,500 Palace fans expected to travel to Doncaster, and to make a real colourful ‘Palace’ occasion the club will be providing balloons, clap banners, and bam bam sticks. Palace supporters can also take along their hand held flags. (Unfortunately, the free entrance for Donny supporters, which is a special promotional scheme for home supporters, cannot be extended to Palace fans.)

For the Hull match, the club have responded favourably to a letter from PISA raising concern about the cost of coach travel for supporters to the Hull match. Thanks to the club for responding by providing free travel for Palace fans that have travelled on the coaches on three occasions or more, and for reducing the cost for all other travellers to a charge of £10. Supporters who have already bought coach tickets will be refunded. Hopefully, this will encourage supporters to make the journey to Hull to cheer the team. Tickets for the match are £23 adult, £13 for seniors 60+ and 16-22 year olds, £11 for juniors 11-15 and £8 for 10 and under. Please note tickets for 16-22 years old (£13) and 10 and under (£8) have to be bought in advance.

Fans’ Forum – Great Chance for your Palace Questions
On Friday 20 May 2011 at 7pm the club will be holding a Fans’ Forum in the marquee on the pitch which will feature members of the 2010 Consortium, Steve Parish, Martin Long and Steve Browett, plus members of the club management team, Dougie Freedman and Lennie Lawrence. There is an entrance fee of £5 in advance and £10 on the night, the proceeds of which will go towards the Academy.

PISA is pleased that the club has responded to its request earlier in the season for a fans’ forum. Although advocating a ‘free’ forum for fans, Palace supporters will doubtless understand the charge as supporting the Palace players of the future.

Fans’ Parliament
The Football Supporters’ Federation Fans’ Parliament 2011 will take place on Saturday 9th July 2011 from 10am at Imperial College, Huxley Building,
180 Queen’s Gate, London. The Fans’ Parliament is free, and open to all and helps in setting FSF policy and campaign focus for the coming year. The event will include break-out sessions covering:

Club Ownership and Governance
Policing and Stewarding
Fan Activism – How to get your point across
TV Contracts and Scheduling
Safe Standing
Refereeing

The topics will be of interest to many Palace supporters including the safe standing and with recent chants at matches – refereeing!!

Registration details and further information can be found on the FSF website at: http://www.fsf.org.uk/fans-parliament/2011/index.php

The football season is coming to a critical point and Saturday’s match versus Scunthorpe United is the proverbial ‘six pointer’. Following the support shown at the Barnsley match it is hoped that Palace fans will again make their way to Selhurst Park to cheer the team on for this important match, albeit without the family day benefits.

The club are keen to encourage any new comers to the Barnsley game to return to Palace for the Scunthorpe match. Some people may have received an email from the club but had difficulty reading it – it was expected to be re-sent. This was a ticket offer for the Scunthorpe match, open to those who purchased discounted tickets for the Barnsley match ie Schoolbook Challenge, Kids for a Quid and the £10 Fill Up Selhurst ticket. Also season ticket holders who bought discounted tickets for others could also get the same ticket offer for those people. The Palace box office staff should be able to assist if there are any queries concerning this offer.

FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS’ FEDERATION – SOUTHERN DIVISION AGM

The FSF Southern Division will be holding its AGM from noon on Sunday 17 April 2010 at The Brewer Hall, St Mary’s Church, Putney High Street, London, SW15 1SN.

A key discussion point will be the FSF Safe Standing petition, (the website is: www.fsf.org.uk/safestanding) which may be of particular interest to Palace fans who favour safe standing. Another topical issue for discussion will be ticket prices, both for home and away matches.

If there are any points or issues Palace fans wish to have raised at the meeting please email through the PISA website email address.

Hope you have an enjoyable Christmas. Lets hope Boxing Day goes well.

May we remind you to renew your season ticket before the end of the year to benefit from the discount.

Tickets are still available for home areas, subject to availability until 5pm on Friday 15 October 2010. However, tickets will only be available to Palace supporters with a recent booking history.

Travelling
A large crowd is expected for this match. There are also road works and traffic diversions around and about the Selhurst Park area, which may contribute to traffic hold ups and delays. The club will be advising supporters to arrive early. Supporters may therefore wish to consider allowing additional time when setting out for the match and taking additional care approaching the stadium.

FOCUS GROUPS
Ticketing
A ticketing focus group was held recently at the club, at which PISA was represented. It was raised at the meeting that some supporters were unaware of some of the ticketing arrangements already in place. Key for supporters to note are:

• Long term season tickets will be honoured for their duration.
• The 6 and 12 match packages available, are usable for any home match.
• Concession season tickets can be used by adults for the 4 evening matches.
• Membership cards can be used when purchasing tickets including the 6/12 packages.
• Season ticket sales for 2011/12 will start in November 2010.

The club’s ticketing operations and software are run by Ticketmaster. The trend is for more on-line ticket sales, which currently account for around 15-20% of sales. A new marketing manager was due to start and would cover Group Ticket Sales eg to local groups, charities, schools etc. The club are also planning a coach service to home games from various areas, provided a trial is a success.

Points to be explored included:

• Review of booking fees.
• A user-friendly on-line ticket site.
• Away season tickets and similar options.
• Travel deals/discounted rail tickets.
• Additional ticket selling outlets around the ground.
• TV on concourses advertising ticket deals and promotions.
• Ticket concession for the unemployed.

Merchandise
A Merchandising Focus Group has also met. Palace have a contract with Just Sport, which ensures Palace benefits from merchandise sales. However, the Sash ‘away’ shirt is a bespoke shirt, and 5000 were ordered, but only a 1000 have sold, so it may be extended into next season as a ‘third’ shirt. Just Sport will have access to Umbro and Nike off-the-peg designs for next season.

There is the prospect that the club shop may be extended in the future and fans’ views sought before ordering certain items. On-line sales were around 20% and increasing, but greater publicity might be given to current merchandise, and to the sales kiosks in the Holmesdale. Merchandise might also feature in promoting the club to children.

A DVD covering recent years, and the feasibility of producing an annual season handbook and a history book would be explored and may involve fans’ input.

The FSF have been asked to assist in tracing witnesses to this arrest and would be pleased to hear from anybody who may have seen what happened. Even if you did not witness this arrest specifically but would like to comment on any aspect of the day, the FSF would still be pleased to hear from you as your information helps build up a picture of events throughout the day that culminated in this young man’s arrest. To contact Amanda Jacks at the FSF click on amanda.jacks@fsf.org.uk

Can you help to give a final Palace farewell to a longstanding Palace fan?

Carol Penn has asked that Palace fans come along to Selhurst Park on Thursday 2 September 2010 for 12.15pm, in their Palace attire and with their flags to give her Mum a Palace style send off.

Marjorie Penn, a lifelong Palace supporter, recently passed away, and the club have given permission for her funeral cortege to pass through the private road, Centenary Way, at the back of the Palace Main Stand. The club have also confirmed that they have agreed that Palace fans can line the route at the back of the Main Stand in tribute.

We send condolences to Carol Penn and her family and hope that Palace supporters who can make it to Selhurst Park on Thursday, 2 September for 12.15pm will respond to the request of Carol and her family. Thank you.

Carol Has Written:
“Mum was born Marjorie Burrows on the 30th December 1926, at 91 Woodland Road, Upper Norwood, which was just across the road from the original glass Crystal Palace, that Mum watched burn down on 30th November 1936. Her Father, George Alfred Burrows, was also a lifetime supporter of the Palace, having gone to the very first match in 1905, when he was just 10 years old. Mum was also a season ticket holder, in the family enclosure for many years, enjoying all the home games, and many of the away ones as well, culminating in being at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Manchester United. The first game on Saturday we drew, so back to Wembley we went on Thursday, only to lose by one goal! But what an experience, the Palace fans were spectacular, and surprisingly got on very well with the Manchester United supporters.

“As a family we thought it would be fitting for her last journey to be a drive through her beloved Palace grounds. I hope that if any Palace fans could come to the ground on Thursday, 2nd September at about 12.15, and give us a wave, wearing their Palace hats, scarfs, and waving banners, that would be a great tribute to Mum, and how she would have enjoyed the procession.”

Welcome to the new additions to the Palace team announced today, and to those players signed for the new season. Hopefully, both club and Palace fans can now look towards a brighter future.

Away Travel to Portsmouth
Palace play Portsmouth away in the Carling Cup on Tuesday 24 August 2010, kick-off 7.45pm.

Supporters that are not regular travellers on the club coaches may wish to take advantage of booking a coach seat for this match. This is because the train times may make the return journey uncertain. The box office has indicated that it will book the number of coach places needed for those fans wishing to travel by coach. There are the usual restrictions though such as no smoking, no alcohol and no stopping to pick fans up on the way to a match.

As this is school holiday time too, some younger supporters may be thinking it would be good to travel to Portsmouth for the game. However, young Palace fans should note that Portsmouth FC do not permit young people under 14 years to be admitted without being accompanied by an adult.

Details on the cost of tickets and coach travel for the Portsmouth match can be found on the Crystal Palace website Click here

West Country Eagles
Hello to all West Country Palace fans.

Have the recent friendly matches in the West Country, and the prospect of a brighter future for the club. helped revitalised your interest for Palace. Ron Gadd hopes so and that a renewed enthusiasm for Palace will lead to more visits to Selhurst Park. He has set up a new website with the help of fellow fan Ash Babbs aimed at encouraging more West Country Eagles to swell the Palace crowds, for further information Click on www.westcountryeagles.co.uk

As the West Country covers a large and diverse area it would be great if West Country Eagles can help spread the word about the website and let their local media sources know so it can be publicised throughout the South West, giving more Palace fans the chance to know about it. Eagles!

The evening started with Phil Alexander welcoming representatives from various fans groups including PISA. On the Club’s side were also Terry Byfield, Chris Powlson, Kevin Corner and Mandy Anderson-Myers, the Box Office Manageress, along with Cheryl Wiseman taking minutes.

Phil stated that the meeting was not restricted and nobody could dictate the Agenda. The Club was not yet out of administration, which was not ideal, but it was hoped that everything would be sorted out by the end of this week.

Various Fans’ Groups were formed to look at various sides of the Club. Mervyn Pierce representing PISA volunteered to look at the ticketing-side of things with Mandy.

The Nike contract on marketing has two more years to run, this year and next. Ticketing is one year into a five year deal. Catering is a five year contract with Lindley Catering. Global Infusions is looking after the Corporate Catering.

With regard to access to the Red and Blue Bar in the Holmesdale Stand, it cannot have more people in it than there are seats in that area. This is a licensing requirement.

The Supporters’ Forum will have by-monthly meetings with the various Focus Groups having the same in the intervening months.

As the season ticket holders in the Arthur Waite stand have already been informed, there will be various seating changes for certain matches. There is a new disabled section being constructed in the same stand.

The meeting closed at approximately 9.30 pm.

Season Tickets
Many supporters will have received their season tickets this week, but PISA is aware that some supporters are still waiting for their season tickets to arrive.

The club’s box office will remain open until 7pm tonight, Friday 6 August, and will accept personal callers to the box office and telephone calls.

The box office are encouraging supporters to collect their season tickets tonight from the box office if possible.

However, for Saturday, 7 August, arrangements have been put in place for a collection point located in the main car park, this will open at 12.30pm.

PISA has been advised that a notice will be placed on the club’s official website with tomorrow’s arrangements.

For those supporters wishing to contact the box office by telephone to check on the position with their season tickets, the telephone number is 08712 000 071

If you have any particular difficulties with obtaining your season ticket please let PISA know – a contact point is available through the website. Thank you