He helps ensure Selhurst Park is packed out every week and finds his name echoing around the ground, but for some reason Crystal Palace stopper Julian Speroni thought he could just about fill a pub function room for his testimonial talk.

Eventually he was persuaded to go into the Fairfield halls for the event about his life and history at the Eagles.

The event proved so popular that Mark Williams, a close friend to Speroni and co-organiser of the night, said: “We have had to put on extra seating.”

More than 700 people found themselves with the Palace legend on Tuesday night in the Ashcroft Theatre, with four lucky members of the audience getting a signed glove from the man himself, including the man that dresses up as Pete the Eagle.

Speroni, who was joined by Paddy McCarthy and James Scowcroft, went on to announce that his testimonial match would be at Crystal Palace in May against Scottish side Dundee - the club he first played for when he came to the British Isles.

Current Palace star Jonny Williams even got in the action by cheekily asking as a member of the audience, after buying his own ticket as a fan: “I was just wondering how much would you say you loved me out of 10?”

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Cheers: Julian Speroni's May testimonial will be against his former club Dundee

Speroni used his goalkeeper lightning fast reactions to reply: “A 10, of course. He is the nicest guy in football.”

After witnessing a shy, timid and down to earth Speroni on Tuesday night you could say nothing tops him as the nicest guy in football especially when McCarthy revealed he believes he is the only person to have ever argued with Speroni.

McCarthy gained much laughter when he said: “Afterwards Neil [Warnock] came up to me and asked what I had done. I said I was just being me.”

The night also revealed that Speroni did not know if he was going to be here this season and at present he still has not met the clauses in his contract to extend it to next season.

It suggests his chances of getting another player of the season award, to add to the four he already has, could be running out.

Speroni revealed he puts his player of the season in pride of place at home and that he went home one day and found his wife, who was in the audience with their three-month old daughter Isabella, using it as a doorstop because it was the only thing to hand.

As a man who has stayed at Crystal Palace despite offers to move to other clubs during their administration, when he wasn’t getting paid a wage and seeing team-mates and staff leave, he has also gained much respect from fans at the club - especially the Holmesdale Fanatics.

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Fans' favourite: Speroni signs the forehead of Palace fan Sam Regan

They were out in full force and many implied if there was an away leg of the testimonial they would be willing to travel.

And for anybody concerned about if Dundee can sell their away ticket allocation the club has promised they will get 1,000 supporters down, though I doubt they will take the plane to Stanstead and train there and back in quite the same fashion as a staff member did on Tuesday after realising they still had not delivered a Dundee goalkeeper shirt for the event.

But either way Speroni will be looking forward to the atmosphere to the match as Selhurst Park certainly has that old stadium feel.

He said: "New stadiums all feel the same. I was really looking forward to going to Old Trafford, but the atmosphere was terrible. It is a lot better at Selhurst Park."