Since that sunny day in May, Palace have lost Eze, their most talented attacking player and deliverer of that glorious moment, to Arsenal; their place in the Europa League, earned by the players and anticipated their fans, was taken away after a breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules; Guehi, the man who picked up the cup alongside Joel Ward as captain, is off to the club they defeated in the final; and their manager decided months ago that he was out, too, and has spent most of the last few days lobbing hand grenades at his employers, casting doubt over whether he will even see out the season....
In isolation, all of those things are relatively normal and predictable: Eze went to his actual boyhood club for a good fee; the Europa League thing was a harsh implementation of a problematic law and, while there is tremendous sympathy for the fans and the players, there’s much less for the club’s hierarchy; Guehi’s contract is up and has more money and trophy opportunities on the table elsewhere; and Glasner tends not to spend more than a couple of years at clubs before blowing up. But when bundled together, it’s something more. It’s as if football, as a collective and hierarchical organism, has reacted with horror at one of the smaller clubs experiencing some joy, decided this simply will not do, and has slapped them down with extreme prejudice. No more enjoyment for you. Sit down. Back in your box. Know your place. It’s the perfect meal that gives you food poisoning, the dream job that turns out to be a career dead end, the beautiful house that has chronic damp and subsidence. The universe telling you that you can’t have nice things — or, perhaps more accurately, that you can have nice things, but there will be consequences. This isn’t a new thing. Smaller clubs that punch above their weight are picked apart all the time. But that doesn’t make it good or right. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t lament that this is what the game is. And it doesn’t mean Palace fans have to accept it, smile and make some wry comment about market forces. But this goes beyond Palace. It’s not just a vicious slap to one club in south London, but a message to others who support small-to-medium-sized clubs: sure, dream of success, hope for a little glory amid the mediocrity, but know that you’ll be smacked in the face soon enough....
England