A Historic High Followed by a Sudden Decline
What has happened to Crystal Palace?
The question everyone is asking. The club achieved its first-ever major trophy last season with the stunning FA Cup victory over Manchester City. Despite the win that earned them a place in the Europa League, they were denied access because of rules on multi-club ownership, a problem the owner admitted they knew about as they lifted the FA Cup at Wembley.
As a result, they were instead handed a spot in the Conference League. Although there was much disappointment with this decision, they still secured European football for the first time since 1998. Expectations rose, and fans hoped the trophy would be a springboard to a more ambitious era, with greater funding and stability. Instead, the campaign has unravelled into inconsistency, tactical confusion, and a sense of regression. The extent of their regression doesn’t just come on the pitch; it also comes off it.
A Winless Run and a Manager at Breaking Point
Let’s start with their current position. They sit in 14th position in the Premier League with their last win coming away at Fulham on the 7th of December! Two months later, they are still searching for their next three points. Now it’s not just their winless run that has Palace fans worried; January was quite possibly the worst month in recent Palace history.
It all started when Oliver Glasner said he “felt abandoned” by the club hierarchy after achieving the historic FA Cup win. He has been left with an ageing core of players and no depth, despite the additional fixtures on their schedule this season.
But his comments don’t just touch on the players themselves; they attack the deeper structural issues of recruitment, ambition, and communication between himself and the board. Glasner has previously hit out at the board, saying if they were to sell Marc Guehi without a replacement, he would quit there and then.
It’s two weeks now since that explosive press conference after Palace’s loss to Sunderland; some expected him to walk away, but it now seems that he will be there until his contract runs out at the end of the season.
But where next for Oliver Glasner?
A man who was a nobody before he got to Palace, but maybe now the next Manchester United manager?
Chaotic Recruitment and a Squad Losing Its Core
It should come as no surprise that Palace’s transfer recruitment is completely built on the money they bring in from outgoing transfers. The Palace very rarely spends more than it makes. Firstly, they lost their star man in their FA Cup run: Eze to Arsenal in the summer.
With those 65 million pounds, they spent 30 million on Yermey Pino and 20 million on Jaydee Canvot, both in the summer, and 40 million on Brennan Johnson this window.
The acquisition of Jacub Strand-Larson from Wolves for 48 million pounds is a great purchase; however, two players in and one out. With the one out being their long-term club captain, Marc Guehi, for 20 million pounds, those purchases suddenly don’t seem as impressive.
The captain’s departure reinforces the manager’s sense of abandonment; he’s losing leaders rather than gaining reinforcements. And to top it off, their leading scorer for the past two seasons, Jean-Philippe Mateta, actively sought a move away from the Eagles and seemed to be heading to the San Siro; however, he failed his medical twice, and the transfer fell through.
Mateta is now back at Palace, facing new competition for his place, but also with fans who will not be best pleased with his actions over the last month. Through all these sagas, it works out that Palace’s net spend is about the price tag of Strand-Larson, which they would have expected to be halved with the sale of Mateta.
Cup Humiliation Adds to the Turmoil
Transfers aside, though, Palace were also on the wrong side of this season’s first FA Cup magical upset. The holders were beaten 2-1 by the lowest side still in the competition, Macclesfield. The worst possible defence of their cup, they will sit and watch the rest of the competition unfold from home.
Supporters feel the club has wasted a rare opportunity to push forward. The FA Cup win should have been a platform; instead, it feels like a peak followed by a slide. This only added fuel to the fire from the fans’ perspectives, leaving them with just the Conference League to chase this season, but knowing they must first come through the Playoff round.
A Crucial February That Could Define Their Season
So, where do the Palace go from here?
They have five games in February, including their two-legged Conference League playoff series against Zrinjski Mostar. In the league, they have favourable fixtures with both Burnley and Wolves after their rivals Brighton this weekend.
Glasner will be hoping to get at least 6 out of a possible 9, as well as making it to the round of 32 in the Conference League, before entering a tough start to March, which sees them travel to Manchester United and Tottenham in succession.
A Derby Test and a Fight to Stop the Slide
First, though, the Eagles face their rivals, the Seagulls, on Saturday and will be desperate to build on their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forrest last weekend. With their new man up front, it will be interesting to see if he can hit the ground running and halt Palace’s winless streak. Despite their woes, Palace still have the opportunity to limit the damage from losing their captain, knowing their manager is leaving.
They still have to be among the favourites for the Conference League, with each stage providing more financial support. Glasner’s main issue will be what it has been all season, the lack of depth. He needs his players to stay fit and be available for every opportunity. But the question on every Crystal Palace fans lips… is this a temporary wobble or the start of a much deeper decline?