The year is 2008. Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Manchester United are the English and European champions; the collapse of the Lehman Brothers has triggered a global financial crisis, heaping pressure on prime minister Gordon Brown; and the first iPhone has been released in parts of Europe.
Meanwhile, down in south London, Nathaniel Clyne is establishing himself as Crystal Palace’s right-back.
Today, Clyne is part of a remarkable statistic which goes some way to demonstrating the lack of vision and investment at Palace which has pushed fans to the brink: in the 16 years since his breakthrough in 2008, the club have had three right-backs.
Clyne held down the position until 2012, when he was sold and replaced by Joel Ward. Aside from 2018-19, when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was first choice, Ward has been the mainstay ever since, with Clyne returning to the club as competition in 2020.
Clyne, now 32, started on the right of a five-man defence as Palace slumped to a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday, leaving manager Roy Hodgson under mounting pressure and fans venting at both coach and board, led by chairman Steve Parish.
“Wasted potential on and off the pitch. Weak decisions taking us backwards,” read the most eye-catching banner from a mutinous away end.
There was a poignancy in witnessing 76-year-old Hodgson, who saved Palace from relegation last season, facing such open hostility, but it is now obvious that the decision to hand him a further year in charge, driven by Parish, was a mistake.
Since September, the Eagles have beaten just Burnley and Brentford, and their football has been woeful.
Hodgson did his job last season and did it well, but he was never likely to “take this club to the next level”, as Parish promised supporters on the pitch after the final game of the campaign.
Hodgson’s football at Selhurst Park has rarely been pretty but now the wins have dried up, there is a hollowness to this Palace team. It offers nothing palpable for supporters to get behind.
Though fans have questioned Hodgson’s tactics, rhetoric and substitutions, the former England boss is not solely to blame for the malaise.
Right-back is not the only position which has been left to fester and Palace are paying for their lack of investment in the squad.
Injuries to key players Michael Olise and Cheick Doucoure, who is out for the season, as well as Jordan Ayew’s absence at the African Cup of Nations, has underlined the lack of options available to Hodgson, who has appeared to see little choice but to flog senior players.
The upshot is that not for the first time in their 10-year stay in the top flight, Palace are muddling through, unlikely to be relegated, but equally unlikely to do anything of note.
Supporters long for some excitement, an identity and a vision - all too briefly provided by Patrick Vieira, who led the Eagles up the table and to an FA Cup semi-final before his side stopped playing and the Frenchman was replaced by Hodgson in March.
Palace’s latest slump is particularly frustrating for fans because they have the nucleus of an excellent squad.
Joachim Andersen is a fine centre-half, and Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Sam Johnstone are jostling to be in Gareth Southgate’s European Championship squad. Olise will surely earn a senior cap for France before long, while Doucoure was valued at £70million in the summer.
With greater depth and a more progressive coach, Palace could be looking ahead with optimism but, as it stands, many of their stars face uncertain futures.
While the Eagles tread water, clubs of a similar stature are taking advantage of the Premier League’s position in football’s food chain.
Brighton have thrived under Italy’s best young coach, Roberto De Zerbi, and Bournemouth are transformed by the latest progressive tactician from Spain, Andoni Iraola. West Ham and Aston Villa are eyeing European glory and a place in the top six, while Fulham, Brentford and Wolves all have a clearer identity than Palace.
"Not for the first time, Palace supporters have been accused in some quarters of not knowing how good they have it"
Not for the first time, Palace supporters have been accused in some quarters of not knowing how good they have it.
True, there is still a question over what constitutes success for a club which has never won a major trophy nor competed in a European group stage.
Inherently cautious and burned by the experience of appointing Frank de Boer and, to a lesser extent, Vieira, Parish - who maintains the leading voice on football decisions, despite owning just 10 per cent of the club - has often appeared content to simply exist in the Premier League.
Many supporters now want something more but they are not asking the world, just an ambitious signing or two, some attacking football, the occasional proactive substitution. Oh, and perhaps a new right-back.
