I remember when he did his knee cartilage in which eventually ended his career.We were right behind the goal at the Whitehorse end and he went up with the keeper from a corner kick and landed on his knee clearly in agony.Both me and my mate looked at each other and had the same thought,cartilage that's bad!

This caused him to have a long lay off and we bumped into him at Aldershot.As some may remember their ground,Recreation Ground,had nissan huts for changing rooms.I was walking underneath their stand as the players were running onto the pitch as as they passed me Dave walked past wearing his blazer with the Palace badge on looking well smart.
I just said - not playing Dave - he replied - no son never again.I was gutted but he never did play again and he was such a lovely guy.As you say he was almost a mentor to Johnny Byrne who he looked up to and held him in high regard.
Did well in coaching and managerial work afterwards.

........................Then along came Johnny Byrne! and the rest, as they say, is history.....................

I recognise quite a few names there - can't believe Hugh Brophy, Stuart Shaw & Bobby Goldthorpe only played 1 game each. Brophy was quite a talented little player, Shaw we got from Leeds or Everton I think & Goldthorpe came up through the youth system. Frank Parsons went to the same school as me - not a bad keeper - think he went to Cardiff after leaving us.

Bobby Goldthorpe, now there's a name to conjure with! You're right he was a young hopeful being primed for Palace stardom, allegedly. Unfortunately the not so astute Bert Head decided, in the temporary absence of John McCormick, to give him his first game at Selhurst against Wolves.

I remember it vividly. It was Saturday 18th March, 1972, a beautiful warm spring day. I lived close to the Queen's Hotel in Upper Norwood and on my way to the ground I saw the entire Wolves team walking from the hotel along Church Road and down South Norwood Hill towards the ground (imagine that now). Bill McGarry, their manager, had wisely decided that a gentle stroll to Selhurst would be good pre match exercise. Among them I could see the unmistakeable bald head of the prolific and wily Derek Dougan. I knew Head was proposing to give a debut to Goldthorpe and felt it was a big mistake.

Sure enough Dougan destroyed Goldthorpe in a really embarrassing fashion and we lost 2-0. Goldthorpe never played again for Palace and left for Charlton in the December. How to destroy a career in one game! I'm sure he never really recovered from that experience although he did go on to play a lot of games for Charlton and on one occasion I remember him playing annoyingly well against us in a painful defeat at Selhurst.

lo Selhurst silva felix, lo Selhurst cara nutrix, viget, vigeat, vigebit! Best team:- Jackson; Gilbert, Evans, Cannon, Sansom; Hughes, Kember, McNichol; Byrne, Holton, Wright.