There were many Crystal Palace fans in tears at Wembley on Saturday. At the final whistle, people were hugging whoever was around them, whether they knew them or not!
Oliver Glasner’s heroes won the FA Cup not just for themselves, but for everyone associated with the club for 120 years.
We have come so close before, not least the team I led that were seven minutes away from glory in the final against Manchester United 35 years ago.
I must admit waking up on Sunday morning with a renewed tinge of sadness that we had not got over the line, but at least we can now say we were part of a journey that has finally seen Palace lift the silverware they deserve.
I feel extremely privileged to have been there to witness it. Chairman Steve Parish made sure I had a place in a box behind the goal at Wembley and also invited my wife, so we could enjoy the occasion together. It was a class act from someone who must have had a lot of arranging to do.
It was amazing to be interviewed on the pitch before the game in front of Palace fans, the best in the country.
From the moment I arrived at Selhurst Park as a 19-year-old from Crewe, I’ve regarded it as home. I stayed six years and they were the best times of my career. People assumed I was a south Londoner until I opened my mouth and they heard I was a Mancunian!
Palace have a great team worthy of their supporters. Everyone deserves credit, the chairman, sporting director Dougie Freedman and manager Glasner. They have a group of fantastic players. I keep a close eye on midfielder Adam Wharton because he plays in my position. He will eclipse anything I achieved, however — what an amazing talent.
When I looked down at the elation on the pitch on Saturday the contrast with 1990, when Mark Hughes took our dreams with his late equaliser, could not have been greater.
It has been a long wait for the club to win a trophy. Our team, with Mark Wright and Nigel Martyn in it, broke up because the club could not afford to keep us together.
I hope history doesn’t repeat itself because this Palace team is capable of winning more.