Ian Wright is a club legend for Crystal Palace. But his rise to stardom wasn’t a straight-forward one at all.
Today, Ian Wright is best known for his punditry work. Wright often talks about Crystal Palace and is often full of praise for the likes of Oliver Glasner, and rightly so.
Despite Crystal Palace’s 2-1 defeat against Everton last time out, the Eagles sit in 6th place of the Premier League table, having just been on a 19-game unbeaten run.
Back in Wright’s day, Crystal Palace were a second tier side. But his 24-goal haul in the 1988/99 campaign helped the Eagles to win promotion to what later became the Premier League.
That 88/89 season was only Wright’s fourth at the club. He signed in 1985 and in unusual circumstances to say the least.
Crystal Palace swapped a set of weights to sign Ian Wright in 1985
Wright played Sunday league football throughout his teen years. He then signed for semi-pro side Greenwich Borough in 1985 and was earning £30-a-week. But after one season there he was tipped off to the Crystal Palace scouts, with the Eagles then managed by Steve Coppell.
A previous article on The FA’s official website says that rumours from the era claimed Coppell gave Greenwich Borough a set of weights in exchange for Wright. The striker was just 21 at the time when he signed his first professional contract for Palace.
In 94 total games for Crystal Palace, Wright went on to score 37 goals, moving to Arsenal in 1991 where in seven years he made 288 total appearances and scored 185 goals for the Gunners, winning a Premier League title and two FA Cups.
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Do Crystal Palace have another Ian Wright on their hands?
Footballers often have varied stories and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s story is certainly an interesting one. Like Wright, Mateta started late. He was playing in the French third tier just nine years ago, but is now regarded as one of the Premier League’s best strikers.
Paul Merson has even suggested Mateta would be perfect for Man United, and to summarise his progress in the last few years, Mateta has been called up to the French national side this month.
He’s still rough around the edges, though. Last time out, Mateta had a stinker against Everton missing multiple chances to score, with only two goals in seven Premier League games this season, which by his recent standards is poor.
Palace return to action against Bournemouth next weekend.
