BY ALESSANDRO SCHIAVONE

Crystal Palace legend Andy Gray might have represented 11 different clubs during his career but it’s the Eagles who still occupy a special place in his heart.

The 55-year-old from Lambeth is one of the top players to come through the Crystal Palace academy in the early 1980s as he bounced back from early rejection to being a household name in SE25 today.

Gray was the heart and soul of the club’s midfield that defied the odds by reaching the FA Cup final in 1990.

In the 1990-91 campaign they finished third in Division One – only Liverpool and Arsenal above them in the standings.

Unfortunately English clubs were banned from competing in Europe at the time, denying their supporters and squad a chance to test themselves against elite overseas opposition.

Never before had the club hit those remarkable heights in the top-flight – and they have never repeated the feat since.

Even those who were not born when Gray was playing know who he is because of the legacy he left at the club. Gray was an example of making the impossible come true.

A local lad from a working-class family, Gray made the big time thanks to his dedication, professionalism and unshakeable self-belief.

The likes of Ian Wright, Wilfried Zaha and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were all influenced by Gray’s rise and success and followed suit, going on to represent the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.

Gray said: “Crystal Palace is the club I love the most of all the clubs I played for because I joined them when I was 10. I have got a lot of history there, like reaching the FA Cup final in 1990.

“Of all the clubs I have played for, Palace has always been in my heart.”

Football has changed beyond recognition since the days Gray kicked a ball and set Selhurst Park alight.

He has run an oil importation business and is now a scout and agent in football Gray claimed that he did not envisage transfer fees that resemble telephone numbers becoming normal.

He said: “The Premier League has changed a lot since my days, but money is the biggest difference.

“These days you’ve got average players becoming multi-millionaires without actually playing 20 or 30 games in a season. The Premier League has turned into lots of money.”

Gray is critical of clubs offering youngsters lavish contracts before they have actually proven that they can cut it over the long haul.

“I do not know how long this can be sustained for because the quality obviously is not there,” he said. “The priority is the squad but I cannot comprehend how clubs can continue paying this sort of money for players who don’t make a difference.”

Zaha handed in a transfer request in the summer as he eyed a summer exit to Arsenal or Everton.

But Palace chairman Steve Parish has always stood firm on his £80million valuation for the Ivory Coast international, whose huge wages make him an outlay only the elite clubs in Europe can afford.

Zaha has come in for criticism by some fans and pundits after scoring three goals and setting up five in 27 league appearances.

Gray, who forced through a move to north London outfit Tottenham Hotspur in 1992, believes that it is completely normal for a player to go through patchy spells in a long season.

He said: “There are 38 games in the league and you are not going to play well in every one.

“I wouldn’t say that he is struggling, he is doing okay.”

The transfer saga might resume and drag on for another summer, yet it would not come as a surprise to Gray if the club’s hierarchy finally decide to cash in on Zaha.

He said: “Listen, if someone comes in and offers a mad amount of money for their players then the club’s going to listen.

“But if they offer money that the club don’t really need to take, then no.

“But money talks – whether that’s Zaha at Palace or Harry Kane and Dele Alli at Spurs.”

Gray hung up his boots in 1998. But does retirement lead to unhappiness?

“At the end of the day I was not born with a silver spoon, but I was born where you had to work hard and football is just football,” said the South Londoner,who had a brief spell as Sierra Leone’s head coach in 2006.

“Players have to get on with life outside of football. Do I look like I am struggling? No, not at all – because I am a happy person.

“I just look at life positively.”

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