CRYSTAL Palace midfielder Barry Bannan believes the club's home form will indicate whether they stay up or not this season.

The Eagles grabbed their first win in SE25 against Tottenham on Saturday since beating Liverpool at the end of November.

Bannan started the game after an impressive display in the FA Cup at Dover Athletic the previous weekend and admitted Palace "sussed" Spurs' style of play out fairly quickly to stop them.

"It was a great three points and what we went out to go and do," he told the Advertiser.

"We really needed it with the teams below us picking up points too, and that put pressure on us.

"But we played brilliant out there and everyone was delighted with the new gaffer.

"We tried to play a bit more – it probably took us around 20 minutes to get going.

"Spurs are a top, top team and dominated possession but we sussed them out and got used to what they were doing.

"Harry Kane is in form, and when strikers are like that, everything they seem to hit goes in.

"That the type of form he's on and it was hard to play against. One shot on goal and he's scored it, but apart from that I thought we kept them quiet.

"We had the best chances in the end. I felt we got crosses into the box and put them under pressure too.

"With Glenn Murray in the middle, you know he's going to be battling for it.

"The defence was OK before anyway but we hadn't conceded in three games either and knew we had to start winning our home games.

"With the Palace fans behind us, we can turn Selhurst into a fortress. The home games will be important whether we stay up or go down."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

POLICE have appealed for information about a stabbing in New Addington where a 16-year-old boy was attacked by a 'group of six youths'.

Officers were called to Walton Green shortly before 7pm on December 30, after reports the boy had suffered stab wounds.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the boy was taken by London Ambulance Service to a south London hospital, though he has since been discharged.

He said: "It is believed that the boy was assaulted outside the address in Walton Green by a group of approximately six youths.

"Officers from Croydon CID are investigating and enquiries continue. No arrests have been made at this stage.

"Police are appealing for anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident to contact Detective Constable Martin O'Neill at Croydon CID on 020 8276 2269 or call Crimestoppers, which is completely anonymous, on 0800 555 111."

YAYA Sanogo says he hopes his loan move to Crystal Palace will help him "adapt" to the Premier League.

The striker has struggled to get into Arsenal's starting XI this season but the move south of the Thames may help him improve with much-needed game time.

Sanogo will stay at Selhurst Park for the rest of the season and goes straight into the squad to face Burnley on Saturday at Turf Moor.

Speaking of the move to the Eagles, the 21-year-old has high hopes for himself and for Palace.

"It feels good to have signed a six-month deal at Crystal Palace, so I am happy," Sanogo said.

"Last week I watched the game against Tottenham and it was a good game, performance and result.

"It was also a very good atmosphere with the fans. I was very happy when I was watching the game.

"My ambition is to keep on and every day work hard on the training ground, and try to always play.

"It would certainly be good to play (more) for my adaptation of the league.

"I have spoken to the manager (Alan Pardew) and he says if I work hard, I will play, and to improve every day after training.

"When the Arsenal manager spoke with me about Crystal Palace I was very happy because I want to play more games. I think Palace are a good team.

"I hope I can help the club have a successful second half of the season."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

THERE could be snow overnight in Croydon, according to weather reports.

Weather forecasters have suggested there could be snow showers in the south-east tonight, which could lead to small accumulations of snow tomorrow.

There may also be hail and sleet, while patchy ice could build due to a slight frost.

Temperatures are expected to fall throughout the day, with possible hail, thunder and sleet.

AROUND 20,000 bus workers are on strike across London this morning in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

Many commuters faced travel chaos across the borough this morning as most of the buses which serve the borough are not running a normal service.

The disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day, with the strike due to end at midnight.

A picket line has been set up at South Croydon bus garage where many of Croydon's bus services are run from.

The garage is run by Arriva, one of 16 bus companies involved in the dispute.

Staff at Abellio and Go-Ahead which run bus depots in Beddington, are also striking.

For TfL's full list which shows how many buses are running on each route today, click here.

Unite, the union which called the strike, called on Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport for London to sit down with bus companies to address pay inequality between employers.

Unite says drivers' pay varies from £9.30 to £12.34 an hour depending on the company.

Unite regional officer Wayne King said: "TfL and the mayor need to take a look at the streets of London today and bang the bus operators' heads together to end the pay inequality on London's buses.

Transport for London said the walk-out was "disappointing".

Mike Weston, TfL's Director of Buses, said: "I am very sorry that the leadership of Unite have chosen to disrupt the journeys of bus passengers.

"As in all professions, bus drivers have different skills and experience and it is only right that this can be reflected in pay.

Former Crystal Palace midfielder John Bostock has hinted he would like to return to the club in the future.

The Englishman, who made his debut for Palace in 2007 as a 15-year-old, became the youngest to play for the first team in the Eagles' history.

Bostock moved to Tottenham in 2008 but hardly featured – and since then his career has nose-dived.

Several years later and he finds himself in the second tier of Belgian football at Oud-Heverlee Leuven.

And in an interview with The Guardian, Bostock says "football is an unpredictable game" when it comes to his future in the game, which could, of course, lead to a dramatic return to Selhurst Park one day.

Sometimes you have to take a step back or down in order to move forward or up again, and the player knows himself he needs to continue progressing his game.

"I'm just taking every game as it comes, I'm really enjoying my time with Leuven," Bostock said.

"I'm adding different parts to my game, improving on a daily basis.

"I guess the most important thing for me is to keep pushing forward towards fulfilling my potential.

"I love Palace. I've got nothing but kind words to say about everyone from the youth coaches to the people that work behind the scenes.

"Football is an unpredictable game, but I'm just focusing on playing in Belgium and just continuing to progress.

"Every week you are playing against young players who are all hungry to achieve just like I am, so you can see why Belgium do produce a lot of talented players.

"In the second division, there then is a lot of interest in them from the first division and Europe's top clubs."

A BURGLAR was caught red-handed with a haul of stolen watches, jewellery and laptops in Thornton Heath thanks to quick-thinking members of the public.

Richard Taylor, 49, was given a 12 month sentence, suspended for 18 months at Croydon Crown Court yesterday (January 12) after pleading guilty to burgling a house in Redford Avenue.

Detective Constable Kim Lim, from Croydon CID, said the case was a "great example of the public and police working together".

Taylor was caught on October 20 after people had called police reporting they had witnessed somebody breaking into a house.

They said they had seen the man get into a vehicle and make off. Police traced the vehicle to Taylor's address in Loughborough Park, Lambeth.

Police found Taylor inside along with the watches, jewellery and laptops that were stolen in the burglary.

DC Lim said: "Thanks to the quick thinking of the public, who had seen Taylor acting suspiciously and the swift work of the uniformed officers attending his address, he has been caught whilst still in possession of the items he'd stolen, which have since been returned to the victim."

I GOT myself into trouble once when writing about football on this website.

But this time, Palace fans, I hope and think you'll like what I have to say.

On Saturday evening, I set off for Selhurst Park to watch my beloved, but perennially unreliable, Tottenham take on Crystal Palace.

Yes, I edit the Advertiser but, as I think we've all established by now, I'm a Spurs fan (my dad's fault, no 'glory hunting' here)

I should also state, from the outset, that I was supporting the away team from the home stand. I'm everything that is wrong with modern football…

In fairness though, I drew the line at buying a half and half scarf.

I'm not going to talk about the game – Palace won, Tottenham lost, the referee was dreadful, and Andros Townsend put the 'dross' into, er, Andros.

But the overriding emotion I had on leaving the Arthur Wait (apart from what is the point of Etienne Capoue) was that Palace is a proper, proper football club.

The ground is proper, the atmosphere is proper, everything about it feels authentic and real – something you don't hear often associated with the Premier League.

Yes the stands could do with a bit of TLC, and yes the pitch isn't great but, in a way, that just adds to the attraction.

In recent seasons, I've been to grounds such as The King Power, in Leicester, and The Ricoh, in Coventry, which are just a bit too comfortable. If I wanted comfort and generous legroom, I'd go to the cinema.

But football, by its very nature, should be a bit rough and ready, a ramshackle experience. I don't even want the food to be tasty, I want it to be greasy and hearty. Just as well, as the burger I had was one of the less memorable parts of my evening.

My dad told me recently he'd prefer to go to a Palace game now because the atmosphere reminds him of when he went to football as a teenager in the 70s.

That's not bad thing.

In fact, it's a great thing.

POLICE have said a man reported missing yesterday has been found.

The Met police this afternoon said Edward Bailey, 45, had not been seen since he left his home yesterday (January 12) at 4pm.

They have since said he has returned home.

Crystal Palace are being linked with a double raid on Swansea City for playmaker Jonjo Shelvey and left-back Neil Taylor.

Rumours online believe a bid of around £9m will take Charlton academy graduate Shelvey to Selhurst Park, and it's not the first time the Englishman has been linked with the Eagles.

Palace have been on the lookout for a left-back for some while too, with Taylor the latest named to be linked from south Wales.

The likes of Joel Ward and Martin Kelly - both right-backs - have been utilised on the left this season, while Zeki Fryers has failed to make an impression.

ELEVEN Croydon businesses have made it on to a new list of the top 500 companies in the region.

The Top 500 Companies in the South list, issued this week by IT services firm Taylor Made Computer Solutions, factors in a host of data relating to sales figures, pre-tax profit, net asset value, number of staff and average salaries.

The 11 companies with links to Croydon and the surrounding area (including their annual turnover) are listed below:

Mott MacDonald Group Ltd £1,214,513,000

Superdrug Stores plc £1,010,212,000

Mansell Construction Services Ltd £738,600,000

Chanel Ltd £440,700,000

Day Lewis plc £240,830,000

Harris Federation £159,796,000

AmicusHorizon £159,009,000

Park Garage Group plc £150,069,000

Officeteam Ltd £137,660,000

Interport Ltd £121,130,000

Parabis Law LLP £101,571,000

Tim Walker, managing director of Taylor Made Computer Solutions, said: "We are very proud to present this list, which is the result of months of painstaking research and provides a definitive and very clear picture of the performance of businesses in the south."

The full list of 500 companies can be viewed at www.tmcs.co.uk/top500

WE LOVE a poem here at the Advertiser so thought we'd share one sent to us today, by reader John Oludotun Showemimo.

John, who says he has a "God-given gift" for verse, has penned this ode to Croydon and its many strengths, though we're not too sure about the "three feet" high buildings.

Croydon is a great place to live and work

The Whitgift and Centrale centres are close by

With good transport links and other shopping stores

See for yourself, come down and give it a try

The buildings dominate Croydon's skyline

Some of them are over three feet in height

From office blocks to multiple retail floors

This is what I call an amazing and pretty sight.

So much transport in the Borough of Croydon

Buses, National Rail, Overground and Tramlink

Getting around is very convenient and simple

It is much easier than you really think.

Let me tell you about the surrounding areas

Including Addiscombe and Gravel Hill

The Heathfield Centre is a magnificent place

The exotic flowers could certainly make you stand still.

Croydon is a great place to live and work

The Whigift and Centrale centres are close by

With good transport links and other shopping stores

See for yourself, come down and give it a try.

Think you can do any better? Please send your Croydon-related rhymes to newsdesk@croydonadvertiser.co.uk

FIRE crews from Croydon were sent to Harrow today to help with a garage which collapsed in high winds due to a mini-tornado.

London Fire Brigade, whose firefighters described the incident as like "a scene from the Wizard of Oz", said the tornado had levelled a garage and damaged cars. No-one was injured.

Watch manager Mark Ritson who was at the scene, said: "The weather was quite severe leading up to it. It was sunny but then the sky went black, there was thunder and lightening, hailstones and strong winds. By the time we turned up to the address it was blue sky and sunny again.

"The tornado whizzed through the area, some roof tiles were blown off and caused minor damage to properties and cars in nearby roads but fortunately nobody was injured."

Specialist crews from Croydon fire station, on Roman Way, were sent to help with the incident.

Twitter user @MarkMobile68 posted a picture of the destruction:

Lucky no one was near the garage when the tornado struck in #Harrow this afternoon. Picture thanks to @MarkMobile68pic.twitter.com/Iays9ZzrCI

— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) January 13, 2015

U21 Development League

Colchester United 4-2 Crystal Palace

AFTER thrashing Queens Park Rangers 7-2 the week before, Crystal Palace's U21 side were brought back down to Earth on Monday when they lost at Colchester United.

Gary Issott's youngsters found themselves 3-0 down at one point before Kyle de Silva pulled one back.

The Eagles got off to a slow start and nearly conceded to Dion Sembie-Ferris' shot, which hit the woodwork.

However, it didn't take long for the player to make up for it when he struck the opening goal, volleying home after Palace thought they had cleared their lines.

Shortly before the half-hour mark, Colchester doubled their lead when Anthony Jeffrey headed the ballot Jack Curtis to fire in.

On the stroke of half-time, the hosts made it number three. And it was through Sembie-Ferris again, this time with a lovely solo goal which started from his own half before finishing past Chris Kettings.

But Palace were given a lifeline moments later when de Silva got a goal back.

However, Colchester made the game safe just after 60 minutes when Macauley Bonne got on the scoresheet after good work from Curtis and Marley Andrews.

Hiram Boateng, who has featured for Palace's first team squad, pulled the Eagles back once again with a fine finish of his own.

He grabbed the ball through the middle, went past five Colchester players and found the bottom corner to the delight of his team-mates.

Palace U21s are next in action on Tuesday next week when they host Charlton Athletic (1pm KO). 

ALMOST 2,000 extra school places will be created in Croydon over the next three years as part of the latest efforts to meet growing demand, though several major proposals have been dropped or delayed. 

The plans no longer include opening a school in a prominent town centre office block, after idea was scrapped because of the costs involved.

But they will see, for the second year in a row, schools open in temporary accommodation because their permanent sites will not be ready.

Two primary schools opened in interim classrooms - one in an office block - last September. Building delays connected to the council's major expansion programme also meant 1,500 pupils across the borough started school late. 

The latest plans to create extra places - due to be approved by the council at a cabinet meeting on Monday – have been revised because demand has not been as high as feared.

Two of the three new schools due to open in September this year - Oasis Fairfield and Heathfield Academy – will do so in temporary arrangements.

Fairfield will be houses in Oasis Shirley Park and Heathfield pupils will be taught in Aberdeen Road, South Croydon, because its building in Spices Yard will not be completed until 2016. Pupils will be provided with free minibus transport to the new location.

A three-form entry school, run by academy group Glyn Learning Foundation, is due to open in St James' Road, Croydon.

West Thornton Academy will expand by two forms of entry under September's plan and Heavers Farm, South Norwood, St John's Primary, Shirley, and Chipstead Valley in Coulsdon, will take "bulge" – or one year group only – classes, which are expected to become permanent expansions in 2016.

The council, however, has dropped plans to open a primary school in Segas House, a vacant office block in the town centre.

Oasis Community Learning, which has academies in Croydon, was selected by the government as the preferred provider for the school in Katharine Street in December 2013. Tim Pollard, then Conservative schools chief and now leader of the opposition, posed for pictures outside the building after the announcement was made.

But, according to this week's cabinet report, the plan has been scrapped because buying the site, which is owned by St George's Walk landlords Minerva, would be too expensive. A report, due to be discussed at Monday's cabinet meeting, says an alternative location in Fiveways, Waddon, will be more "cost-effective" and offers access to green space and sports facilities.

The council will not also proceed with efforts to expand St Joseph's nursery, infant and junior schools in Upper Norwood, which it hoped would ensure sufficient reception places in the north west of the borough.

A consultation process met with "very strong" opposition, including a petition organised by a residents' group and signed by 125 people, which expressed concerns about traffic congestion.

The final decision was delegated to Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, families and learning who decided to reject the expansion.

The council plans to create 960 primary school places by 2017/18. 

Demand for places at primary schools across the borough is expected to grow over the next three years but at a slower pace than thought when the estimates were last made in July 2014.

New analysis suggests 11 additional permanent forms of entry will be needed in September, rather than the 17 it was feared could be required. 

The council has also revised its estimates of the extra classes needed in 2016/17 from a worst case scenario of 16 down to 11. A slowing of the increase in birth rates means it is currently thought that only five extra classes will be needed in 2017/18.

Plans to open a free school in September run by the Ark Trust, the organisation behind what was formerly Oval Primary School in Cherry Orchard Road, have been deferred for a year, the report said.

While demand for primary places is slowing, years of school expansions will soon transfer pressure to the borough's secondary schools.

Harris Invictus Academy opened in temporary buildings on the former General Hospital site in London Road last September, creating 180 extra places.

A further 180 will be created this September by the new Oasis Community Learning school at the Arena and, 12 months later, 60 more will be provided through the expansion of Archbishop Lanfranc, now being run by the Coloma Trust.

A secondary free school run by Ark is due to open in September 2016 and the council said it is "aware of a number of high calibre educational providers with serious intention of providing secondary free schools in Croydon".

As a result, it says, it has put on hold other plans to expand local authority secondary schools until it knows more about those applications.

Monday's meeting will also see plans outlined for 106 extra places for children with special educational needs between the ages of four and 11.

In a press release, missing much of the detail of the report it refers to, Cllr Flemming said: "With Croydon set to get even bigger thanks to major regeneration projects, we are planning ahead so our booming borough has enough places school places for every pupil."

The school expansion plan will cost £135.17 million over the next three years, with £32 million per year provided by the Department for Education. The council is to meet the shortfall by borrowing. 

A FORMER Crystal Palace winger who chose the club so he could further his building career has passed away.

Geoff Truett, who lived in Purley, died on January 5 aged 79, following a short illness.

A winger on the pitch and a builder by trade, Mr Truett joined the Glaziers in 1957 from Wycombe Wanderers because the club was owned at the time by Arthur Wait.

Mr Wait was a local builder who could offer footballers jobs outside of the game, something Mr Truett's daughter Jane Owens said was always at the forefront of his mind.

"He always stressed the importance of having something outside of football," Mrs Owens said. 

"He didn't want to fall back on it so he worked outside of it all his life."

He stayed at Selhurst Park for five years and made friends with Palace legend Johnny Byrne, who took Mr Truett to his home for some food on the night Jane was born. He had been plucked from the lower leagues by Palace after a sensational spell with Wycombe Wanderers in which he scored 63 goals in 114 games.

When he left in 1972, he joined Tonbridge and also played for Hastings before retiring from the game aged 38 in 1973.

Although he ended up a sports fan, Mr Truett was a "huge" sports fan who competed in the All England Championships at shotput and javelin in his youth.

Born in Forest Gate, in east London, his football career started to take off when he and his family were bombed out of their home and moved to Amersham, in Buckinghamshire.

He married his wife Jose, 78, in 1957 and had two children, Jane, 56, and Daniel, 55.

Mrs Owens said: "He was a fantastic father, he just believed in living life to the full. He was a fairly quiet man but could be the life and soul of the party.

"But he could be quite strict and he was a strong character."

After retiring from the game, Mr Truett worked as a buyer for a number of building firms including Higgs and Hill.

Mr Truett, who enjoyed a flutter on the dogs and the horses, lived with his family in Croham Valley Road, in South Croydon, and in Gravel Hill, Addington Village before moving to Purley.

He spent the last few months of his life with his daughter in Copthorne, West Sussex, after his wife had to move into a home.

Mr Truett is also survived by five grandchildren Alice, 26, Elizabeth, 24, Faye, 21, Will, 21, and Nick, 19. Will and Nick are huge Palace fans – a legacy of their grandfather as they were apparently "edging towards" choosing Manchester United as their team.

Mr Truett's funeral, to which all are welcome, takes place on January 21 from 2.15pm in the East Chapel at Croydon Crematorium.

THE snow may have stayed away from Croydon, but it seems we are in for a bleak period of weather. 

A dry Wednesday morning and afternoon will give way to rain in the evening, according to forecasts, with the wet weather set to continue overnight and into Thursday.

A drier Thursday is likely to be followed by more rain showers on Saturday, though temperatures should stay between 8 and 10 degrees, relatively mild by usual January standards.

A GIRL reported missing from Coulsdon has returned home.

Surrey Police launched an appeal last Saturday (January 10) to find Charmaine Wilkinson, 16, who had not returned home after leaving to see friends on January 3.

The force issued an update this morning to say she returned home last night and thanked the public for their help.

TWO burglary suspects were arrested and police seized jewellery after a 20 minute car chase through Croydon and Sutton.

Police cars, helped by a dog unit and a helicopter, chased the suspects from Sutton, through Croydon along the A23 to Hooley yesterday (January 13).

The two men abandoned their car in Dean Lane, but were tracked by the helicopter and found hiding nearby at 3.20pm.

The chase started when police responded to a report that four men had broken into a house in Plough Lane, Wallington.

The suspects tried to kick their way back into the house when police arrived, but failed as they had shut the front door behind them.

They then garden hopped and two of the men got into a car parked nearby, driving off towards Croydon which started the chase. The other two men, who escaped on foot, are still at large.

After the chase one of the men, 24, was arrested for burglary and dangerous driving and after further enquiries was also arrested on suspicion on a burglary in Newham on January 6.

The other man caught, 24, was arrested for burglary.

A police spokesman said both men are being questioned at a South London police station.