All paths led back 'home' for Palace Women's Amber Stobbs

<html><head></head><body>We spoke to Stobbs for the Derby County programme, at a time when Stobbs had capped off her first start for the club with, unsurprisingly, a goal. Below you can read, in Stobbs&#39; own words, how the move to Palace came about for the in-form striker.
I’d played against Palace for the last two seasons, both times with different clubs – West Ham and Charlton Athletic – and I always got a good feeling from the squad. I am delighted to have now re-signed for my local club after representing them as a youngster.
I suppose, when I think about it, all signs were always leading to me returning ‘home’. I’m a local girl from Croydon, and my friend, Andria Georgiou - who I used to play with at West Ham - plays for Palace. In fact, my last football game back in May was against Palace, at Selhurst Park, before I took a break from football and left Charlton.
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75 mins | a corker from outside the area 3-0 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cpfc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cpfc</a> <a href="https://t.co/bwPK0cjToR">pic.twitter.com/bwPK0cjToR</a>
— Crystal Palace F.C Women (@cpfc_w) <a href="https://twitter.com/cpfc_w/status/1224038686850981893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2020</a></blockquote>

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After the game, Andria passed on my number to Dean Davenport and he text me basically saying: ‘I hear you’re taking a break from the game. If you ever want to just train or get back involved, let me know.’
That itch to start playing again returned. Therefore, when I moved back to Croydon I dropped Dean a message and came along for a couple of training sessions. After that first training session I knew this was just right; I came away extremely excited.
My mum used to work at Selhurst Park as she did finances for the club – her office used to be the new Palace for Life Foundation offices. We actually had a young Palace player, Stephen Evans - who played for Wales Under-21s - as a lodger. I have these memories of going to my mum’s work during the school summer holidays and hiding under the desk when Simon Jordan would come in - I was worried I wasn’t supposed to be there! The office knew I loved football and someone suggested joining in the Soccer School which were held in what’s now called the Fanzone.
I joined the Soccer School the next day and from there my passion for football was ignited. I was invited down to the Palace girls’ football session and ending up joining their team. The picture on the page opposite is actually one of me aged seven on a matchday! I have great memories of going to Selhurst park for games, being a mascot and playing on the pitch at half-time.
It’s great to be back here playing as a senior pro. I got some minutes under my belt in the recent Conti Cup clash against my former club, West Ham – it’s always a great feeling to play your old club.
And then I started against Durham in our final league game of 2019, which was really surprising as I’d just joined. I’d been feeling sharp in training but I was only anticipating getting just a few minutes in the second-half! When I heard my name in the starting lineup I must admit the nerves hit me. It was amazing to get my first start.
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Great solo work from Stobbs for <a href="https://twitter.com/cpfc_w?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cpfc_w</a>! They&#39;ve pulled one back 👏 <a href="https://t.co/N8IS93GJMh">pic.twitter.com/N8IS93GJMh</a>
— The FA Women&#39;s Championship (@FAWC_) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAWC_/status/1206223012053299200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2019</a></blockquote>

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Despite the defeat, to score on my first start capped off what has been a great first few weeks at Palace. It’s clear that everyone is a team player, everyone is willing to do what is required to help the team and I’ve never felt so welcomed, so quickly, into a squad. I feel extremely lucky to be able to say that and I’m excited to see what we can achieve in the second-half of the season.
You can watch Stobbs and Palace Women in action this Sunday in their FA Cup clash v Brighton &amp; Hove Albion. Click the banner below to purchase tickets - Under-16s go free and discount offered to Season Ticket Holders!
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Crystal Palace Women striker Amber Stobbs has made an exceptional start to life with the Eagles, finding the back of the net four times in her first five games.

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