Tony Pulis: I will give youth a chance at Crystal Palace
Beloved New Addington doctor remembered at service
A DOCTOR who 'went the extra mile' and was "a very good friend" to his patients was remembered at a packed memorial service.
Fulsome tributes were paid to Dr Richard Bamgboye in front of around 80 friends, family members and colleagues at the service on Wednesday.
Known to his patients as Dr Richard, the senior partner at Fieldway Medical Centre died suddenly in late October aged 56, leaving the local community shocked and saddened.
A married father-of-three, Dr Bamgboye lived in South Croydon and had worked at the practice for around 20 years.
Roy Simpson, chairman of the practice's patient participation group, told the service at Fieldway Community Centre: "He was not only a marvellous doctor, he was a very good friend to me.
"I miss the times he used to come in and have a cup of tea and a chat.
"He was the same at the surgery whether discussing the patients' group – we would have a very good chat.
"He was always there when you needed him. And before I start crying, that is all I have to say."
Celestine Short, a patient, described a compassionate doctor who was highly dedicated to his work and had a strong faith in God.
She said: "He was patient, he was wise. He used his wisdom in many things, because some of us would go to him not only with our ailments, but also with our family problems."
She added: "He was a humble man, a very humble man, and in fact it was after he died some of us got to know [that] other side of things.
"He was a dignified man. You would see Dr Richard from day to day; he carried that air of dignity around.
"He was a carer. He was in there doing the doctor's job, doing the carer's job, doing everything.
"He was compassionate. He tried to understand what you were going through."
Former patient Claudette Brown told how Dr Bamgboye was the only doctor she could find willing to take the time to help her.
She said: "He talked to me on the phone to ask me what I was experiencing, and he really took time out to find out what was going on, not only with my symptoms, but holistically."
The centre's reception manager Chris Heryett added: "He was like a member of our family.
"Since his passing the amount of people that have come into the surgery and told us little stories that we never knew about – he was just more than a doctor."
The patients and colleagues who organised the service thanked others who had contributed: Ifesi Anyamere, Fieldway Pharmacy; Aumex Pharmacy; Martin McColl's, Fieldway; Stanley Kelly, patient; Andrew Turner; Vanesssa Barnett at Waitrose in Biggin Hill; Joy Simpson; and Mrs Grady at the Fieldway Community Centre.
Crystal Palace chief: 'I wanted right decision on manager, not a rushed one'
EAGLES chairman Steve Parish says he does not care what everyone away from Crystal Palace thought about their manager search, which took a month to conclude.
Ian Holloway departed the club on October 23 – and exactly a month on, Tony Pulis was announced as the new boss ahead of last Saturday's 1-0 win at Hull City.
Parish said he always felt "comfortable" with Keith Millen taking charge of the squad in a caretaker role.
"Did it take so long? What's the right amount of time to get it right?" said Parish.
"If you're hiring a manager for two or three years, hopefully they will stay longer than that and help us build the club.
"We weren't expecting Ian [Holloway] to go, so you've got to look at who is available, have discussions and see what the right thing is for the club now and in the future.
"We all want to stay in this division, it's the best place to be, but if we get relegated we need the right man to bring us back up.
"We had the luxury of the international break to search for someone as players are away, and also Keith [Millen] was doing a great job.
"He took the squad back to where they wanted to be in a playing sense and where they were comfortable. I didn't think there was any desperate need to get somebody in as we were ticking over quite nicely.
"It's all worked out quite well, and four points from the last two games; not many people thought we'd achieve that. It's a great platform for Tony to come in on."
There have been suggestions Pulis was pushing for transfer-window activity in January as a condition of coming to the club.
But for the time being he will have to work with what he's got, including the glut of summer signings brought in by his predecessor.
Parish added: "You won't find a football club where everyone in the squad is vying for a position in the first team all of the time.
"You will always have players who are out injured or off-form, so we'll see. But I am happy with the players we've brought in and I'm not looking to discard them yet."
Norwich City vs Crystal Palace preview
WHAT a week it has been at Crystal Palace.
A new manager, a win at Hull City and renewed optimism that the Eagles could start to climb the Premier League table, especially in the next three matches.
And Palace should, indeed, head to Norwich City tomorrow feeling confident of getting another win under their belts.
Tony Pulis will take his first match for the Eagles at Carrow Road and he would certainly have stamped his authority in training this week alongside Keith Millen.
It looks as if he will work with what he's got for the time being, but when the January transfer window opens, it seems we can expect a number of new players arriving to bolster the club's survival chances.
One man who will miss tomorrow's game – and the following two – is winger Yannick Bolasie, who starts a three-game ban after his red card at Hull City last week.
Palace appealed the decision, but the Football Association turned it down on Tuesday afternoon.
And vice-captain Mile Jedinak said it was not a red-card offence either, admitting he spoke to Hull midfielder Jake Livermore about it after he was on the end of the tackle.
"I saw Yannick slip – he's not one to go out and do it intentionally," he said.
"I spoke to Jake Livermore after the game and he had told the referee not to do anything and it wasn't intentional. The referee made a decision a little bit too quickly without sort of seeing it. We will now cop that.
"Yannick was, I thought, hastily sent off."
Bolasie's absence gives a chance for someone else to come in, and that could be Jerome Thomas, who missed last weekend's game through injury.
However, Jonny Williams made his return to the squad and he will certainly be pressing for a starting position. Adlene Guedioura is still a long way off from returning.
Palace look set to keep the same backline that has kept two clean sheets in a row, while Cameron Jerome impressed immensely last weekend in front of Pulis and could start.
Marouane Chamakh could either make way or partner the on-loan Stoke City man after going off with a head injury at the KC Stadium, but Dwight Gayle will be vying for a spot in the starting XI too.
In terms of the opposition, Norwich have been struggling and it is arguably a very good time to play them.
And Palace have been boosted by the news that dangermen Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass are both out injured for the game.
Snodgrass did not feature in last Saturday's match at Newcastle United, while Pilkington was substituted just after half-time on Tyneside, suffering a hamstring strain.
Canaries boss Chris Hughton said: "Anthony has had a scan which shows a grade two strain, which usually means five or six weeks out.
"Robert came back from international duty with Scotland and felt his knee at the beginning of training last Friday.
"He could be out for a few weeks, but not as long as Anthony."
Furthermore, striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, midfielders Alex Tettey and Elliot Bennett, plus Mark Bunn are also all ruled out through injury.
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Riesco collection sale misses Croydon Council's minimum target
THE controversial sale of a Chinese ceramics collection has fallen short of the minimum figure anticipated by the council.
A total of 24 items from the Riesco collection went up for auction in Hong Kong on Wednesday but only 17 were sold, bringing in a total of £8.2 million.
Before the auction the council's was putting a figure on the sale of between £9 million and £14 million.
What is still not clear is how much commission will be charged by auctioneers Christie's and by how much the final figure will therefore be reduced.
But Councillor Tim Pollard, the cabinet member with responsibility for culture, remained relatively upbeat about the success of the sale.
He said: "We have come close to the £9 million and we still don't know what the final figure will be."
It was expected, he said, the total would increase following negotiations with potential buyers whose original offers fell below the reserve price.
Cllr Pollard said: "We have always tried to avoid laying down definite figures because you can never tell what the value of the works is going to be.
"The intrinsic value of the items is low, it is what people are prepared to pay for the scarcity value which counts."
Cllr Pollard said the proceeds would play a considerable part in reducing the borrowing required for the £33 million refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls.
He said it had been his hope to reduce the burden of borrowing on council taxpayers by £1 million a year and the lowest estimate of £9 million "should achieve that."
Cllr Pollard added: "We were in a position of having to borrow £33 million to refurbish Fairfield and anything we can do to bring that figure down has got to be positive.
"We are now in a position where we can do the most important things with real confidence."
He added: "Funding the refurbishment was never going to be easy but our reading of the situation is that the people of Croydon value Fairfield and want us to keep it."
Councillor Timothy Godfrey, the Labour shadow cabinet member for culture, said: "The council was talking about using the proceeds to fund a large part of Fairfield refurbishment, now it is not going to even be able to fund a third of it."
Charlotte Davies, who led an abandoned residents' campaign for a judicial review of the decision to see the collection, said: "This is a debacle. What a mess."
She said the sale price had reinforced her belief that the council had compromised itself morally by agreeing to the sale in the first place.
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Man appears in court over road death of Purley mum-of-two
A 26-YEAR-OLD man has appeared in court charged with killing a mother-of-two by driving dangerously.
Thomas Lee, of Money Road in Caterham, faces once count of causing death by dangerous driving over the death of Kremena Mersinkova, 40, in Godstone Road on February 16.
He appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday where he spoke only to give his name and address.
His case was sent to Croydon Crown Court, and he did not indicate how he planned to plead.
The highways maintenance worker was granted conditional bail by district judge Teresa Szargun.
He must live and sleep at home, not contact Emma Nelson or Adam Christian, nor drive.
He is due to appear next at Croydon Crown Court on December 11.
Dressed in a suit and black jacket, Mr Lee was accompanied at court by his mother, with whom he lives.
Court listings show he was represented by Tuckers solicitors, but his defence lawyer refused to give his full name to the Advertiser.
Mrs Mersinkova's husband, Plamen Mersinkova, sat at the back of the court. Prosecutors say Mr Lee hit Mrs Mersinkova, from Whyteleafe, while driving a Citroen Saxo.
She and her husband were walking home in the early hours after working night shifts as cleaners at University College London hospital.
Mr Lee was charged earlier this month.
After Mrs Mersinkova death, her husband spoke of his painful loss.
He previously told the Advertiser: "She was the perfect mum, the perfect wife; she was a perfect human being."
He added; "It's the biggest loss for us as a family that we could possibly suffer. Nobody could ever replace her in our hearts."