At the start of season Glenn Murray was on the fringes of the palace set up as new signings Yaya Sanogo, Marouane Chamakh and Shola Ameobi joined the already large attacking force of, Murray, Dwight Gayle, Frazier Campbell, Wilfred Zaha and Yannick Bolasie. With limited chances in the first team Murray took the opportunity to go out on loan to Championship side Reading in the summer transfer window, where he scored 8 goals in 18 games for the Royals, before returning back to Palace in January.
Murray returned to Palace to find a new face in the dugout as Alan Pardew took over the reins after the sacking of Neil Warnock after just 18 games at the helm of the Eagles. Since Pardew took the team Murray began becoming a regular feature in the team playing in 9 Barclay Premier League games, including 3 of Pardew’s first 4 games, and also starting to score goals again, the latest in the clubs 2 – 1 defeat to Stoke at the weekend. Murray will hope to find the form he showed in the 2012/13, the season Crystal Palace secured promotion to the Premier League, with Murray pivotal to this, even though he missed the Playoff Final through injury, scoring 31 goals in 45 appearances, becoming only the 7th Palace player to ever surpass the 30 goal mark in one season. Murray has recently signed a new contract with Crystal Palace which will see the striker stay with the Eagles until 2017, continuing a remarkable career.
Glenn Murray is one of only a handful of players in the Premier League who has played, and scored, in every tier of professional football in England. Murray started off his career at Conference North side Barrow AFC, just 30 minutes away from his home town Maryport, in which he scored 6 goals in 6 appearances for the Bluebirds gaining the attention of Carlisle United. Murray joined Carlisle in 2005 and was part of the Conference Playoff winning side the same year. Murray again won more accolades with Carlisle the following year earning back to back promotions after winning the League two title.
Murray stayed at Carlisle until 2007 but had two successful loans with Stockport County and Rochdale, signing for the latter for the 2007/08 season. Whilst at Rochdale Murray began finding his goal scoring form scoring 21 goals in 42 games in the one season with the club. Murray then joined at the time League 1 Brighton and Hove Albion making a real name for himself in the 3 years at the club scoring a respectable 52 goals in 118 games, 22 of them coming in the 2010/11 season in which he finished 2nd top goal scorer in League 1. Murray left Brighton in 2011, even with Brighton trying their hardest to keep the striker at the club, signing for Championship side Crystal Palace, Brighton’s rivals, for a free transfer. Whilst at Palace Murray has experienced his greatest scoring season to date, 31 goals in the 2012/13 season, 22 of these being before the Christmas break which is a Championship record Murray still holds, helping Palace to promotion to into the Premier League.
Although Murrays time with Palace in the Premier League has been hampered by injury and lack of playing time he is a prime example of how hard work can take you from the lower levels all the way to the top.
