Despite it being one of the worst away section views in the Premier League the trip to Selhurst Park has always been popular with Saints supporters, so it was wrong of the club not to take the full allocation.
The Stadium
Selhurst Park is a mixture of the old and the new, the bad news is that Saints fans are in the old, apart from that its a decent enough ground and its usually had good memories for Saints including that great win against old tenants Wimbledon, when so many Saints supporters attended that it was dubbed Delhurst Park.
Dont forget to get there early to watch their Eagle swoop across the pitch, a trick they borrowed from Benfic and of course there is the spectacle of their Ultra's, some would say criticise them, but I am not one of them in that they have galvanised the Palace support in recent years and created a focal point and in doing so have made Selhurst Park an atmospheric ground to visit, something it never was in the past, love en or hate em, we could learn a few things from them.
Getting There
By Train
The normal route is to get a one day travelcard (around £40 or £30 with network railcard) and go on South Western Railways (Formerly the South West Trains routes) to either Waterloo or Clapham Junction.
From Waterloo East you can get a train to Norwood Junction, whilst from Clapham you can go to Selhurst, both stations are around a 5-10 minute walk to the ground.
An alternative route is to use Southern trains and go via the Gatwick line, this takes longer but you can get substantially cheaper fares, by booking via the Southern Trains website and getting off at East Croydon and changing to go one stop to Selhurst. This route is around £16 or £12.80 with a network card.
This is simpler than it sounds but its half the price of Southwest trains.
Its best to note that Crystal Palace station is nowhere near Selhurst Park.
By Car
Its fairly easy by car, simplest way is to take the M25 east bound and then at Junction 7 and then haed towards London on the A23, Palace play just north of Croydon and the ground is well signposted, alternatively you could leave at Junction 10 and then take the A3 north and cut across, although shorter as the crow (or the Eagle) flies it is a little bit harder to navigate.
Parking
Not a lot of parking around the ground with lots of regulations, as normal though the farther you are away the easier it will be to find somewhere, not being a town centre location there arent a lot of car parks.
The Away Section
As has been the case for a number of years we are in the Arthur Waite stand, a big side stand with a roof that enables you to make a lot of noise, however the view isnt great and the leg room of the seats a little cramped, not that anybody sits.
There are the usual fare in there including beer, however the concourse is cramped and its not a pleasant place to eat and drink, also for high profile games beer can be suspended by the police and that could be the case on Saturday.
Eating Drinking Etc
If you are coming from Clapham, you could get off at Thornton Heath, apparently the big Weatherspoons opposite is now shut, although there are a few other pubs in the area some will be home fans only its about a 10-15 minute walk from there to the ground.
If you get off at Selhurst there is little to choose from, the one pub between the station and the ground is home fans only.
Norwood Junction has more choice on the main road just by it, but these pubs get busy quickly and it may be hard to get a drink.
If you choose to drink away from the ground, you may have a chance for a quicky before heading to the ground, Clapham Junction has a few pubs outside the station and plenty of trains to get you there on time, from Waterloo East you could get off at London Bridge as there are a plethora of pubs there by the Market, there is a train about every 10 mins from London Bridge to Norwood Junction and they take around 13 mins on average.
If you have any tips for fellow Saints fans travelling on Saturday then feel free to add them in the comments section below.
Crystal Palace
Selhurst Park
Capacity: 26,309 (all seated)
Address: Selhurst Park, London, SE25 6PU
Telephone: 0208 768 6000
Fax: 0208 771 5311
Ticket Office: 0871 2000 071
Pitch Size: 110 x 74 yards
Club Nickname: The Eagles
Year Ground Opened: 1924
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Home Kit: Red and Blue
Official Web Site:
www.cpfc.co.uk