Whilst many Eagles fans will be sporting the name Andy Johnson on the back of their shirts, for Palace fan Karl Cresswell it’s the name of a Northern Ireland international that he always looks for on the team sheet. Michael Hughes is the latest fans favourite.

My favourite player is Michael Hughes and I like him because he is fiery. He’s a classic midfielder who always gets yellow carded, for example in that game against Wales when he squared up to Robbie Savage. He can stand up to the most provocative of them and he likes to get stuck in so I like him for his tenacity.

Other than that he is a skilful midfielder as well, he is one of those players who can pass the ball about. He’s the sort of player who if ever I could be a player it would be him. He’s a bit of a journeyman, he’s not a primadonna, if your are playing on a cold January day in Preston then he would be the type of player to turn up, unlike some of these European players.

He scores some cracking goals and I remember him scoring one at Liverpool in the Premiership at Anfield last season. I went to watch it and he scored the equaliser with a header to make it 2-2. He’s one of those players who has been around the Premiership for a long time, he played at Wimbledon, Birmingham and also a spell at Manchester City, so he’s been around but he has never played for a big club. He’s the type of player that would work for you whatever side he was in.

My favourite goal from Michael Hughes would be the one he scored at Anfield. We were up there and they were playing really well and we were 2-1 down and the ball got swung in, he’s not a big man, but he scored a really powerful header running onto it from about the penalty spot. It was a good header and it summed up what type of player he is, making late runs into the penalty box.

The thing at Selhurst is that the fans favourite is always going to be Andy Johnson, but I think Hughes is a player who doesn’t always start but when he is fully fit he will get a game, a lot of time he will come on as a sub and get a yellow card. I would say that Hughes is a fans favourite because he gets stuck in, he works hard but he is also a clever player. The thing with Palace is that their midfield is full of young kids who are full of energy but they can’t put their foot on it and pass it, they tend to hit the ball away a lot which he doesn’t.

If I had to compare him to a better know player I would say that he’s a bit of a Robbie Savage or a Roy Keane, maybe a more skilful version, Hughesy can take free-kicks though, he’s a very clever footballer.

Karl Cresswell