Dowie backs Jordan's Selhurst Park bid

Crystal Palace boss Iain Dowie claims chairman Simon Jordan’s attempt to buy Selhurst Park from Ron Noades would transform the club.

Dowie hopes owning their stadium would lead to an increase in revenue for Palace and allow the Premiership strugglers to sign better players.

But Dowie would also welcome a move to a new ground if Jordan fails in his bid to buy their current stadium off former chairman Noades.

Dowie said: “Any investment in the infrastructure of the club will be a help. It will help raise money and with the emergence of that goes an increase in the wage budget because the two go hand in hand.

“The revenue will increase if we are at a new state-of-the-art ground or a refurbished one and we are hopeful of that.

“If the infrastructure is better elsewhere I would have no problem in going to a new ground, but I would not want to go too far away from our catchment area.”

Meanwhile, Dowie will have top scorer Andrew Johnson – who pulled out of England’s squad for their world Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan – back from a foot injury for Saturday’s home game against Middlesbrough when Palace will be hoping to secure a vital victory in their bid to avoid relegation.