Player Profile - Mark Bright

The Dream Team; Mark Bright, Steve Coppell and Ian Wright

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of player and fan profiles on the blog. 

Mark Bright

Mark was kind enough to kick things off by answering the best questions posed by the Twitter followers of @TheEaglesBeak. May I begin by thanking Mark very much for his time. 

It was Steve Coppell that signed Mark for Palace from Leicester City in November 1986. A snip of a transfer fee at £75,000 he went on to form a formidable striking partnership with Ian Wright. In his Palace career spanning almost seven years he scored 92 goals in 227 appearances before leaving for Sheffield Wednesday in September 1992 in a deal that brought striker Paul Williams to the club ... 

TEB; It is no secret that you follow Palace closely with more than a passing interest so where do you hope to see the club in five or ten year’s time?

MB; It’s hard to say, we are a yo-yo club, hopefully if (when) we get up we can stay up like Fulham and get some consistency going, so hopefully the EPL ...

TEB; Who was the most underrated Palace player that you played with?

MB; Phil ‘Fizzer’ Barber. He could and would play anywhere, either wing, up front or in midfield. Never complained, a proper team player ...

TEB; Who did you room with on away trips and did you have a choice?

MB; Once I roomed with Wrighty that was it. We roomed together all the time, plotting and thinking our way around the next day’s opponents ...

TEB; If you could have your time again now, which team would you ideally like to play for & why?

MB; I would do it all the same, but Don Howe told me he tried to buy Ian and me but the Arsenal board wouldn’t allow it. That could have been interesting ... 

TEB; If you were stuck on a desert island and you could choose three songs to have on your iPod, what would they be?

MB; Sounds of Blackness - Optimistic, Ashford & Simpson - Its seems to hang on, John Legend - Save Room ...

TEB; What was the best game you played in for Palace and why?

MB; Swindon Town at home in the 1989 play-off game. The crowd were amazing that night. Or the FA Cup semi-final in 1990, an incredible day ...

TEB; Who was your favourite coach to work with at Palace?

MB; Toughie, Ian Evans, he was there when it came together and we clicked as a team, he gave us the hairdryer at Brighton away one time when we were losing at half time, every player got some ...

TEB; Can you remember the best atmosphere that you have experienced at Selhurst Park?

MB; Blackburn Rovers at home and Swindon Town at home, both in 1989 the play-offs. Proof that the crowd are always the 12th man ...

TEB; Will you be continuing your work with the Palace Academy or is it a temporary gig?

MB; I hope to continue coaching the strikers 10-16yr olds at the academy ...

TEB; Who was your footballing hero and which modern day footballer do you admire?

MB; Footballing hero, you won’t have heard of him. George Fryer, player for The Galley, and Kidsgrove athletic. My hero. I llove watching Jack Wilshire ...

TEB; And finally, I have to end with a seasonal question so if you could have anything in the world, what would you want for Christmas?

MB; There is nothing I desire, health, and a good time over Christmas ...

Since retiring from football, Mark has made a successful career working in the media on both BBC TV and BBC Radio but also coaches at the Palace Academy. He can be found on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/mark.bright.986 Twitter; @Mark__Bright