debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 4–0 loss against Jönköpings Södra in a friendly match on 24 July 2003. Hall was involved in a number of friendly matches throughout the club's pre–season tour. However, he did not manage to break into Southampton's first team on a regular basis, due to competitions and his own injury concern. As a result, Hall had to wait on 16 December 2003 to make his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Bolton Wanderers in the quarter–finals of the League Cup. He made his Premiership debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal on 29 December 2003. In his second league Premier League appearance against Birmingham City on 10 January 2004, however, Hall scored an own goal, as Southampton lost 2–1. By April, he received a handful of first team appearances for the rest of the 2003–04 season. By the end of the 2003–04 season, Hall had made 12 first-team appearances in all competitions. Crystal Palace Due to his lack of first team opportunities, Hall was linked with a move to newly promoted Premier League club Crystal Palace, where his former manager Iain Dowie was the manager and made a bid for him in late July. He joined Crystal Palace at the beginning of the 2004–05 season for a reported transfer fee of £1.5 million. Hall made his debut for Crystal Palace, starting a match in a midfield position and played 78 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City in the opening game of the season. Since then, he went straight into the first team for the club's first season back in the Premiership, playing in the midfield position. At times, Hall rotated into playing in the centre–back position. He then scored his first goal for Crystal Palace, scoring from a header, in a 3–0 win against West Brom Albion on 23 October 2004. However, Hall suffered a knee injury that saw him miss two matches. It wasn't until on 20 November 2004 when he made his return to the starting line–up in a centre–back position, as Crystal Palace lost 2–0 against Newcastle United. Since returning from injury, Hall continued to regain his first team place, forming a centre–back partnership with Gonzalo Sorondo. He then scored his second goal for the club, "strucking an unstoppable 20-yard shot", in