Born in Caernarfon, North Wales, Ernie’s footballing career began as a wing-half with Tottenham Hotspur in the early 1950s, before joining Middlesbrough and – in the summer of 1961 – Crystal Palace.
While he only made six appearances for Palace’s reserve side before moving elsewhere, Ernie would return to Selhurst Park in a different capacity: following a lengthy spell of coaching at Arsenal, Ernie moved back to South London in 1967, taking up a similar role for the reserves and junior players.
Ernie was thrust into the limelight when Terry Venables departed the club in October 1980, being made caretaker manager in his place. At the time, the club was anchored at the foot of Division One but, knowing many of the players well, Ernie was able to inspire them to three victories and a draw in the next five games.
When Malcolm Allison arrived at the club at the beginning of December, Ernie became his assistant, a role he served in until the mid-1980s, when he moved on to become assistant manager to John Hollins at Chelsea.
The club are deeply saddened by Ernie’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.