Highs and lows of Palace’s year at the top

SP: Andrew Johnson 21 Premiership goals and an England cap need I say more?

Johnson has taken the step up to Premiership life with ease and was the major reason why Palace came so close to staying up. But AJ's game is not just about goals, he is without doubt the hardest working Premiership striker and he weighs in with his fair share of assists. The complete team player and thoroughly deserves all the plaudits he has received this season.

NM: Andrew Johnson Without AJ's 21 goals Palace would have been dead and buried much earlier. Went from a makeweight in the Clinton Morrison deal to an England call up and a place in the top 10 of European strikers. On course to have a greater impact in English, and world football, than that other Palace old boy, Ian Wright. Fairytale stuff if he makes it all the way with the Eagles.

Best team performance of the season?

SP: Arsenal (home) People may argue that Palace played Arsenal at the right time, as the Gunners had recently lost their unbeaten run to Manchester United.

But they were still the Champions and full of world class players, which makes the Eagles comeback from a goal down to come a Lakis open goal away from a famous win even more impressive. Palace were defensively brilliant that day and showed dogged determination throughout, they were so good Dowie did a mini punch afterwards, which he has never done after getting a draw before!

NM: Manchester United (home) To all intents and purposes, Alex Ferguson's men had to win this game to have any chance of snatching the Premiership title.

A swaggering arrogance as the Red Devils rolled into town suggested Fergie already had the three points from this game marked down as his. Five strikers on the pitch, Palace down to 10 men it was backs to the wall stuff as Dowie's men clinched a well earned point.

Most improved Palace player over the last 12 months?

SP: Mikele Leigertwood Brought in as a centre back last season, Leigertwood was forced to play in a defensive midfield role after injuries to key midfielders this campaign.

Granted he's not the Premieriship's most gifted player ball player, but he's got all the attributes to play that role effectively, which he did and even kept his place when Riiihilahti returned to fitness.

NM: Emmerson Boyce Went from playing in the third tier of English football with Luton to a permanent right back spot with Palace in the top flight. Not once did Marlene look out of place. Boyce's injury was a contributing factor in Palace's relegation how we missed his assured defending and the pacy attacking option that he afforded Dowie.

Goal of the season?

SP: Michael Hughes v Norwich (home) 3-1 down with 17 minutes to go and Palace's Premiership survival hopes looking all but over, until the Eagles skipper scores the epitome of captain's goals. The Ulsterman dived low among a tangle of legs to bravely head home Johnson's cross to spark Palace's comeback and re-ignite the Eagles season.

NM: Andrew Johnson v Birmingham (away) In isolation, AJ's strike away at Birmingham was pretty good. Breaking from midfield, Johnson appears to go too wide before slotting coolly underneath the advancing Blues keeper.

Add in the fact that this was against the still maligned Steve Bruce's Birmingham, AJ's much lauded restrained celebration in front of the home fans and the three points that came from this, our only away win of the season, dragging us away from the bottom, this goal has it all.

Young player of the season?

SP: Wayne Routledge Due to his level of experience you can easily forget that the Palace winger is only 20, but like Johnson, Routledge adapted to the Prmeiership from the word go and did not look out of place. Suffered a dip around Christmas, which was compounded by unsettling transfer talk, but returned to form and made a big impact towards the end of the season. Has the ability to play a greater role in the future, but is unlikely to do that with Palace.

NM: Wayne Routledge Behind AJ, Routledge is our most exciting and creative player. Some of his wing play this season has been fantastic and the lad is simply fearless when it comes to taking on the established superstars of the Premiership. OK, he doesn't always beat his man and the on-off transfer to Tottenham meant his mind wasn't always on the job, but the tears he shed at the Valley were heartfelt. Palace is in his blood, it will be a shame to lose him.

Unsung hero of the year?

SP: Emmerson Boyce No-one really knew too much about him when he signed from Luton in the summer, but the 25-year-old was a solid performer all season and made the right back spot his own.

Has the necessary pace needed to be a Premiership full back and his distribution is also impressive. His importance to the team was clearly evident when he was ruled out for the final months of the season. Palace missed him.

NM: Mikele Leigertwood The former Wimbledon man doesn't get the plaudits he deserves from the Palace fans. Disappointingly, only his mistakes get noticed and he would be the first to admit there have been a few this season, but look at the stats.

Leigertwood showed his flexibility when he filled in for Sorondo in the home draw against Arsenal and kept his place in the midfield. Expect Leigertwood to improve in leaps and bounds next season.

Best signing?

SP: Fitz Hall Dowie made him his top priority when the Eagles gained promotion and you can see why. After a couple of early outings in centre midfield, Hall reverted back to his accustomed position of centre back and went from strength to strength as the season went on. Formed a formidable partnership with Sorondo, it's a pity those two didn't start the season together as it couldn't have been a different campaign altogether.

NM: Gabor Kiraly When Speroni had his early season wobble, Dowie replaced him with what had always been his first choice keeper. Several world class performances later and Arsene Wenger is sniffing about as Lehman and Almunia flatter to deceive. If only Kiraly had kept his lucky grey jogging bottoms on against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Worst signing?

SP: Ivan Kavides Due to limited money available, Dowie had to look far afield for the player who could provide that extra bit of class and quality needed for life in the Premiership. But unfortunately the Ecuadorian was the right player for Palace at the wrong time. Given a run in a team not scrapping for every point, Kaviedes would probably have excelled, but Palace couldn't afford to give him time to acclimatise.

NM: Kaviedes Dowie maintained Kaviedes was an "icon of Ecuadorian football". He may have been hot in South America, but in south London he only blew cold.

Worst performance?

SP: Blackburn Rovers (away) Never looked like creating anything, let alone getting crucial points. Palace were simply not at the races that day and having one shot on target was a poor return.

NM: Blackburn Rovers (away) Palace were never outplayed this season, but did have a horrible habit of making average opposition look world class. Pompey away was so bad it was pivotal in prompting Dowie into recalling Michael Hughes and plumping for 4-5-1 when called for. But Blackburn away was much, much worse, as there was no silver lining.

Best goal against Palace?

SP: Thierry Henry at Highbury After a receiving a short corner, the Frenchman cut in from the left and fired an unstoppable shot past Kiraly from the corner of the box. Pure class.

NM: Thierry Henry at Selhurst Park The World's Best Striker ( A Wenger) came to Selhurst one misty Saturday evening under the floodlights. The Gunners were in full pomp and Monsieur Henry applied a trademark finish to a flowing move.

Best performance against Palace?

SP: Arsenal (away) The Gunners showed their class with a mesmerising performance full of pace, power and clinical finishing.

NM: Arsenal (away) Chelsea may have won the league but didn't overly impress against Palace in either the home or the away fixture. Arsenal came the closest to humbling Palace this season. St Valentine's Day at Highbury, and Wenger's men dished out five of the best.

Best player to play against Palace?

SP: Wayne Rooney Rooney's performance against Palace at Selhurst Park was the biggest impact a single player has made for an opposition side this season.

The game was evenly placed at 1-1, but Rooney was brought on from the bench to inject some life into a subdued United. He completely changed the game and immediately made United more dangerous, a huge contrast to what they looked like before his arrival.

NM: Thierry Henry That man again. At his best he is unplayable as the whole of the Premiership has found at one point or another. Top scorer in the English league and on course to win Europe's golden boot, Henry notched in both fixtures against us this season. Testing ourselves against opposition of this quality is one reason why we need to bounce back into the top flight.

Who would you most like Iain Dowie to sign this summer?

SP: Kevin Kyle (Sunderland) He's a big, awkward, ugly centre forward who has scored goals in the Championship and would provide be a great foil for Andrew Johnson. Doubts over his injuries may be a worry, as he missed practically the whole of last season, but if Sunderland do choose to let him go, he could be worth the gamble.

NM: Leroy Lita (Bristol City) Released by Chelsea, Lita was snapped up by the West Country outfit in 2001 and fast-tracked into the starting eleven. Congo-born but called up for England U21s, he grabbed a goal on his debut in the February match against Holland. Far too good for League 1, Lita could be the new Andrew Johnson.

Which Palace player do you tip for next year?

SP: I'm going to be bold and predict Sandor Torghelle to shine next year (providing he isn't sold). The Hungarian is a talent, but a raw one, so he needs to be nurtured and given a run of games he wouldn't have got in the Premiership. He showed signs this season, but I think with an extended place in the side, he'll be a handful in the Championship.

NM: Tom Soares Has nudged ahead of Ben Watson in Dowie's eyes, this monster of a man will tear it up in the Championship next season. Big, strong, pacy Soares has it all. If he improves his shooting expect at least ten goals from midfield next season If Tom Huddlestone was the midfield find of last season's Championship campaign, Soares will surely be the next.