Alright, let’s dig into how I tackled putting together that Crystal Palace versus Spurs timeline. Wanted something simple but packed with the drama – goals and red cards obviously.
Where it all started…
Honestly, the idea popped into my head after seeing that crazy end to last season’s match. You know the one. Needed a proper overview though, not just the latest scrap. So, I grabbed my laptop, fired it up, and hit the Premier League’s official website first. Figured that was the most solid place to start digging for past results.
The messy digging phase
Man, pulling this data is always a bit of a chore, never clean. Started punching in season after season, year after year. Clicking on each fixture one by one. My goal? To spot every single time these two teams smashed the ball into each other’s net and, even more importantly, when the referee reached for that red card.
Kept hitting bumps though:
- Different websites, different stories: The PL site was okay, but I cross-checked on a couple of big sports news ones. Annoyingly, sometimes they didn’t agree! Like, one site said a red card was straight, another said it was second yellow. Had to go back to the PL site or reliable match reports to settle it.
- Going way back? Finding reliable info for really old stuff, like early 2000s or before, started getting fuzzy. Decided to stick mostly to Premier League era where records are clearer. Didn’t want to guess.
- The fine print: You gotta read the match reports, not just the stats. Sometimes a goal gets marked as an own goal, you miss that if you just scan the scoreline. Same goes for red cards – was it a professional foul? Violent conduct? Tried noting down any spicy details if I saw them.
Building the actual timeline
Okay, once I felt like I had a decent pile of info (goals and sendings-off confirmed!), the real work began. Fired up a simple text file. Listened to the fan forums buzzing in the background for mood!
My method was straightforward:
- Most Recent First: Started with the latest season at the top and worked backwards down the page. Feels more natural, right? Shows the current state of the rivalry first.
- Season Label First: First thing on each line is the season – like “2023/24” – so you instantly know the timeframe.
- The Meat: Then, just listed the date, who won (or drew), the final score, and BANG! the important bit: Goalscorers (trying to be clear if it was a penalty or own goal) and Red Cards (which team, which player). Kept it punchy: “Palace win 2-1 (Mitchell, Édouard; Son). Red: Davies (TOT).”
- Focusing on the Drama: Any season where nothing major happened – no goals in a bore draw or games with no reds – I might skip entirely or just mention “Drew 0-0” if it was a particularly infamous snoozefest. The timeline’s about fireworks, not drizzle.
Wrapping it up and double-checking
After adding all the notable clashes I could reliably confirm, I scrolled back to the top. Re-read the whole thing from bottom to top this time (oldest to newest), checking dates against my notes again. Cross-referenced the goal tallies for key players against their overall PL records on the club sites quickly.
Finally, saved it as a clean text file. Patted myself on the back. It’s not fancy stats, just the raw, memorable bits: when the net bulged and when players saw red. Job done for this piece of the football history puzzle!