Ollie must be the priority signing

[madcap_v2]

He, isn't, but we had the greatest squad, don't get confused about the two, Roy Hodgson did a remarkable job, from 2017/21 keeping us in the Premier League, and then returning after Vieira had made a complete Pigs ear of everything, Pardew got us to 10th, and the final, Coppell our greatest manager by far, got us third in the top division, and got us into Europe, that was taken away from us, OG has a lot to do to claim he is number 1,

That's your opinion but none of the above got us a FA Cup or Europe qualification/actually playing in Europe 🙂. Also remember we had Zaha, Eze, Olise, Guehi and Mateta under Roy too.
So Ollie is number 1 for me.

 

[SurbsEagle]

Some good points but a few questionable ones too.

Why did OG join us if as we are not a big club? Firstly, he wasn't in work so that is always a motivation to get back 'in the saddle' and earn some money.
I believe he saw potential in us, it would give him Premier League exposure and most crucially he only signed a 2.5 year contract to ensure he wasn't over committing.
Essentially he saw Palace as a potential stepping stone. In that respect it has worked out very well for all parties.

I agree he probably won't get a top 4 club offer, however, you are limiting your view to the Premier League. We know Bayern were previously interested.

Regarding the transfer activity surely he has a strong point. The front 3 and back 3 pick themselves so any injuries would be significant.

As for your 3 examples for Sarr replacements OG clearly doesn't rate them. Franca seemed to be a panic buy with no logic to it, Esse was a Dougie choice who has struggled to adapt to the way we play (still time etc) so Uche is perhaps the only surprise. Clearly we don't see what goes on in training but he doesn't appear to be trusted/rated etc. I was hoping Uche would be an upgrade on Ayew, someone who could play anywhere across the front 3.

We knew we would 'lose' Sarr in Dec/Jan for the Afcon and with only 2 strikers (Mateta and Eddie) to not get another striker in was poor. A young(ish) lower league player who would sit on the bench and play 20 minutes here and there and a few cup matches would have been ideal (essentially what Plange was bought in to do until we realised he wasn't actually very good).

I think my point was that fans see us as "little old Palace" and we should be so lucky to get a manager in like Oliver Glasner. However, if we are looking to build as a club both on and off the field then OG was the perfect manager at the perfect time. I don't buy for a second that he felt he was taking a backwards step in joining us as manager, which is what seems to be a lot of posters narrative. 2.5 year deal worked for perfectly for both OG and the club - if he was successful, we have a while to organise a renewal (which for the record I still believe he signs). If he fails, it's not a massive payout for him. Given that he had never managed in the prem before, he was a risk when he came in so I'm not surprised it was only a 2.5 year deal.

In terms of Bayern - they won't get rid of Kompany so that isn't an option for him anymore. The reason I didn't suggest any teams on the continent would be interested is because he's not going to the likes of PSG's, Madrid's or Barca's. Therefore, he is left with a lesser club in said league with a smaller budget trying to take on the big boys - surely that's pretty much where he's at now?

Your last 2 paragraph's contradict each other in the sense of suggesting Romain Esse has struggled but the solution is to go and sign a player from the same place we signed Esse, in the hope they would be successful. My original point was that it feels like any young/fringe player should have been getting more minutes, especially in games where we're out of sight or against lesser opponents but they simply are not getting those minutes. Replacing our current fringe players with other fringe players is a pointless exercise if neither of them is going to play!

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

That's your opinion but none of the above got us a FA Cup or Europe qualification/actually playing in Europe 🙂. Also remember we had Zaha, Eze, Olise, Guehi and Mateta under Roy too.
So Ollie is number 1 for me.

Roy only ever bought 3 players over 3m, Eze, Sorloth and Kouyate

 

[madcap_v2]

Roy only ever bought 3 players over 3m, Eze, Sorloth and Kouyate

Roy is a certified Palace and Croydon legend, but the football was dire during this time!

 

[NMPalace]

That's your opinion but none of the above got us a FA Cup or Europe qualification/actually playing in Europe 🙂. Also remember we had Zaha, Eze, Olise, Guehi and Mateta under Roy too.
So Ollie is number 1 for me.

Under Coppell we finished 3rd in 1991. We were prevented from a European place only because there were less places and Liverpool were allowed back in at the last minute.

I'm not knocking OG's achievements, but you are not comparing 'apples with apples' . In 1991 only 1 team got into the European cup/Champions league - it is now 4.

 

[NMPalace]

I think my point was that fans see us as "little old Palace" and we should be so lucky to get a manager in like Oliver Glasner. However, if we are looking to build as a club both on and off the field then OG was the perfect manager at the perfect time. I don't buy for a second that he felt he was taking a backwards step in joining us as manager, which is what seems to be a lot of posters narrative. 2.5 year deal worked for perfectly for both OG and the club - if he was successful, we have a while to organise a renewal (which for the record I still believe he signs). If he fails, it's not a massive payout for him. Given that he had never managed in the prem before, he was a risk when he came in so I'm not surprised it was only a 2.5 year deal.

In terms of Bayern - they won't get rid of Kompany so that isn't an option for him anymore. The reason I didn't suggest any teams on the continent would be interested is because he's not going to the likes of PSG's, Madrid's or Barca's. Therefore, he is left with a lesser club in said league with a smaller budget trying to take on the big boys - surely that's pretty much where he's at now?

Your last 2 paragraph's contradict each other in the sense of suggesting Romain Esse has struggled but the solution is to go and sign a player from the same place we signed Esse, in the hope they would be successful. My original point was that it feels like any young/fringe player should have been getting more minutes, especially in games where we're out of sight or against lesser opponents but they simply are not getting those minutes. Replacing our current fringe players with other fringe players is a pointless exercise if neither of them is going to play!

i only mention Bayern as they approached OG before Kompany got the job. It proves big clubs were/are interested in him.
I can certainly see other big Germany clubs looking at him - e.g. Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, both of whom are in the champions league.

In terms of Esse or an.other, i'm merely repeating what OG said on Sunday - we needed more players in the summer and they weren't purchased.
Clearly what OG means (and therefore me) is that we needed 1 or 2 extra players that OG likes/rate/trusts.
I do agree with you to an extent that he bemoans lack of options yet rarely plays say Uche, who could be an option, but we don't see what is going on at training.
It was so obvious that Kamada would get the Sarr role last night, despite the fact that he has been underwhelming in the more advanced role since day 1.

 

[NMPalace]

That's your opinion but none of the above got us a FA Cup or Europe qualification/actually playing in Europe 🙂. Also remember we had Zaha, Eze, Olise, Guehi and Mateta under Roy too.
So Ollie is number 1 for me.

In Roy's first stint as manager (2017 to 2021) he really only had Zaha from the above although Eze was bought in 2020, but needed time to adjust to the Prem and then got his achilles injury.

When he came back for a season in late 2023 to 2024 we did have the above listed players but Olise was out for nearly 1/2 a season with his hamstring injury and Zaha left that summer. When we played a number of games without both Eze and Olise we were woeful and lacked all creativity. Any manager would have struggled with that situation.