Not dead yet

Not quite off the life support machine yet, but maybe you can hold that coffin for now

Not that I ever want to be accused of getting carried away or anything, but Tuesday 30th March could prove to be a very important day in shaping both the short and long term future of Crystal Palace football club. On the pitch, a 3-1 win away to fellow relegation strugglers Watford hauls the club to within one point of safety. However the biggest potential victory from yesterday centres on matters conducted in the board room.

The club have been in administration since the 26th January. In the period between that Tuesday and last night the club has lost its best player, lost its manager, lost 10 points, lost a play-off push but perhaps more significantly the club had appeared to lose the one thing that football fans treasure the most, that being the hope that things can always get better in the future.

Yesterday was the first step towards securing the club a future. 'Preferred bidder' status has now been granted to a consortium of businessmen who have declared their intent to want to buy the club. The CPFC 2010 consortium as they are calling themselves is believed to be headed by millionaire Palace fan Steve Parish, who is chief executive of advertising design and production company, Tag Worldwide. Churchill Insurance founder Martin Long and former chairman Ron Noades are also rumoured to be involved.

The group have been able to convince the administrator Brendan Guilfoyle that they have the necessary funds to complete a takeover, although matters are still far from cut and dry. As continues to be the case, the chances of a deal being successful continue to rest on the group’s ability to purchase the freehold to Selhurst Park.

As Guilfoyle himself stated yesterday; "The key to the proposed sale is the stadium and I am hopeful that the CPFC 2010 consortium can have constructive negotiations with the stadium administrator, Laurie Manson. However, time is of the essence, I think everyone knows that I am not currently funded beyond the last game of the 2009/10 season."

The future of the ground, which the club have not owned themselves for over a decade, is integral to the future. Without assets and without the ability to redevelop, a club can never truly move forward; their future never secure. Talking to the BBC last night, the words of former Palace striker Mark Bright emphasised this; “The party of people getting together numbers about three, four, [or] five and they're trying to get the money together. This bid is the only one on the table. They have the money, they want to do it, but it's conditional only with the ground. The ground is crucial, without the ground it's a no go.”

It’s now wait and see, cross your fingers and hope time. Until all the I’s have been dotted and the T’s crossed the status of Crystal Palace football club still lies firmly in the balance. Following the events of yesterday however, the interest of the consortium and a welcome win away from home, at least a little bit of hope has been found once again.