Supporters of English Premier League football club Crystal Palace have launched a petition to reinstate the stadium announcer at Selhurst Park.
Mike Rankine, a lifelong fan of the club, was replaced at the start of the current season and many Palace supporters feel the atmosphere has suffered as a result.
The petition has been launched by ‘Fans of Crystal Palace Football Club’ and has more than 1,000 signatures at the time of writing (Monday afternoon).
A message accompanying the petition reads: “Shortly before the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season lifelong Crystal Palace fan Mike Rankine was removed from his position as the club’s official matchday announcer. His subsequent replacements have – with all due respect – fallen way short of the standards Mike set during his time in the role, with many supporters commenting that the overall matchday experience has worsened significantly over the past five months in his absence.
“I have spoken with Mike and he has made it clear that he would consider returning to the role should the opportunity ever arise. He is a devout, knowledgeable Palace fan who took immense pride in his role as the ‘Sound of Selhurst’ since 2009.”
Following his dismissal, Rankine posted on Twitter that the club was “looking at a number of new things for the matchday experience this season and a new voice on the PA was one of them”.
Fan group the Holmesdale Fanatics last week posted a message to its Facebook and Twitter pages lamenting the club’s changing attitude towards the fan experience at Selhurst Park.
The message read: “The club is in danger of being blinded by the bright lights of the Premier League and our culture is being sold out in the process. NFL-esque light shows, Selhurst referred to as a ‘stadium bowl’, t-shirts thrown to away fans, their anthems played in the concourse to create a ‘welcoming environment’.
“This is everything our club should stand against and all contributes to alienating our fan base and turns supporters into passive customers.”
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