I don’t think this is a huge shock, to be honest. Glasner feels like one of those managers who makes a strong impact quickly, and to be fair he and the squad did exactly that. But was he ever going to build a five- to ten-year dynasty? Probably not.
If you look at his career pattern, it’s familiar. Goes into a club, has success, hits certain targets, then things start to plateau. The football gets found out, transfer disagreements creep in, and eventually there’s friction with the board. There’s a bit of history there now, and it feels like we’ve reached that point again.
Football runs in cycles, and Palace are no different. When Roy came back, we played some excellent attacking football for about 8-10 weeks before everything reverted back to type. It feels similar now. OG’s system looks like it’s been worked out in some respects.
We’re a very good counter-attacking side. Always have been. But we’re not particularly strong playing on the front foot, breaking teams down week after week. I don’t think OG is the manager to fundamentally change that if that’s the direction the club wants to go.
I’ll be honest, I’d be slightly worried about Gareth Southgate coming in. I’m not convinced he has the tactical plan or club-level philosophy that fits what we need right now. That said, there are plenty of good managerial options out there.
I also can’t really see OG settling into a long spell anywhere else either. He feels like an “impact” manager rather than someone who embeds himself for multiple seasons. In that sense, he’s a bit Roy Mark II. Roy was brilliant at organising teams and tightening things up, but once the opposition sat deep, we often ran out of ideas - and that was a pattern in his career (see England)
None of that takes away from what OG gave us over the last 12 months. He delivered moments and performances that most of us never thought we’d see at Palace. For that, he’ll always be welcome at Selhurst Park.
But if you look at the parallels with the end of the Patrick Vieira era, you can see the same patterns starting to form.
Recruitment goes in cycles too. The last major reset was around five years ago under Vieira, and it feels like we’re heading into another one now.
The next manager will get a summer window, some backing, and the chance to reshape the squad where it’s needed. For now, the rest of the season is about consolidation. Get through it safely, maybe push on in the Conference League if possible, and reset properly in the summer.
Will we miss OG? Possibly. But this feels like one of those moments where the timing was just right. Right club, right manager, right moment. Those things don’t last forever, and we can’t really ask for more than what we got.
And finally, from the club’s perspective, £20m for Guehi is very good business when he is going anyway
It was a chapter worth having. Now it’s closing, and it’s probably the right time to turn the page.
USA
England
Ireland
