We need to be realistic, last season is blinding us

[NEILLO]

This is a post copied from BBS, which hits the nail squarely on the head regarding our situation.

One of the hardest truths to accept in modern football is that unexpected glory isn’t always a launchpad. For clubs like Palace, it’s often a stress test.

Winning the FA Cup feels like it should be the beginning of something bigger, but in today’s game that’s rarely how it plays out for clubs outside the elite. Leicester are usually held up as the dream scenario, but their story actually underlines the risk rather than the reward.

Leicester didn’t just win the league and ride off into sustained success. Their title season blew apart their cost base, inflated expectations, and set off a cycle of spending and recruitment designed to “stay at the table” rather than consolidate safely. They won an FA Cup later, played in Europe, and still ended up relegated. Their moment of greatness didn’t insulate them from reality, it accelerated the pressures that eventually caught up with them.

That’s the modern paradox. Success doesn’t suddenly make a club rich enough to behave like a superpower. It makes you expensive without making you secure. Revenues rise a bit, wages rise a lot, and every transfer miss becomes more damaging. At the same time, the players who delivered the success get picked off by bigger clubs, often leaving you trying to replace irreplaceable chemistry with pricier, riskier alternatives.

For a club like Palace, that creates a brutal crossroads. Push too hard to capitalise and you risk destabilising the entire operation. Pull back and you’re accused of lacking ambition or wasting the moment. Fan expectations rise faster than the club’s actual capacity to meet them.

That’s where Parish’s current approach makes sense, even if it’s deeply uncomfortable. Sticking to the same recruitment strategy that’s been used over the past few years, focusing on value, character, and sustainability rather than chasing the moment, is probably the best defence against falling into that trap. It’s an attempt to absorb success without letting it fundamentally change the club’s risk profile.

But it’s still fraught with danger. Because maintaining discipline after glory is hard. The pressure to “do more” is relentless, and the margin for error is thin. You can make the right decision in principle and still suffer for it in practice.

It’s the Icarus problem. You fly higher than you ever have before and for a brief moment everything feels within reach. But the sun doesn’t care how special the flight felt. Without restraint, the wings start to melt, not immediately, but gradually, until gravity does the rest.

So moments like an FA Cup win aren’t about becoming something else overnight. They’re about navigating the aftermath without losing the fundamentals that keep the club alive. For Palace, progress has always been about survival first, growth second, and glory as a rare and precious by-product.

In modern football, achieving the dream is only half the challenge. The harder part is surviving what comes after it. I think virtually everyone has said at some point that they’d take an FA Cup win if it meant relegation as a trade off. Being in the PL is incredibly important but there’s nothing permanent or invincible about it. But your name on the cup is for all eternity. Now I am not saying that we should make that trade and still think we’ll survive this season etc BUT it’s a signpost of how the goalposts shift. When we were promoted the goal of goals was ‘if we can stay in this league and maybe win a trophy then we really cannot ask for anymore than that as we will have something to show for it’. That mission has been achieved yet it feels like some sort of failure to many.

Thats a shift in expectations rather than a necessary failure of the club.

I'm in agreement with bits of this - well written by the way Mr. Parish, wondered what you had been up to lately 😀 - but parts of it don't resonate with me. In fact some of it downright annoys me.

Let's put aside the fact that we won the FA Cup last season. We finished 12th in the League but with a record number of points. What are my expectations for the next season ? Well, it's a given that Guehi would need to be sold, we have the whole summer to identify and sign a replacement. And therefore that should be a priority. Then you would expect an assessment of the squad and plans to strengthen where possible. I realise that's a simplification of that window and other factors do come into play.

Instead we wound up with some underwhelming purchases and a loan. And then Eze's release clause was triggered.
We also nearly lost Guehi on the last day of the window. Now - forgetting the Cup win - ask yourself if you would be happy with that. Has the squad been beefed up a bit or is it actually looking weaker ?

I was disappointed. And when you bring the FA cup win back into the equation it becomes worse given the known challenges that European competition brings. Certainly the club did not meet the managers expectations. Which, to be fair, probably had been influenced by our success.

As I wrote earlier, my hope and expectation was for a good season with the added bonus of European games that I never thought I'd get to see. I didn't see the Cup win as the springboard to fundamentally change the way the club operates. You only have to understand the way that Parish runs things to get that. I did however see it as an opportunity to ' release the handbrake ' to an extent. And yes, I do know we've just broken our transfer record ! Would have been money better spent in the summer I think.

The recruitment that he mentions...I'm not sure what '' chasing the moment '' actually means. And it hasn't been a consistent or even consistently good strategy. Has there ever even been a strategy ?? Sakho, Benteke and latterly Nketiah didn't and haven't delivered against the fees we paid for them. Pino could possibly go the same way. Our best signings have come from the Championship - Olise, Ebs, Wharton.

As for that '' goal of goals '' piece, I don't recall that as a mission. And to say it was and has now been achieved begs the question - what next then ?

I would be interested to see how the players would react if the post was pinned up at the training ground.

To sum up then,

* An underwhelming transfer window last summer
* A manager that handed his notice in three months ago
* A player signed for £35m for that manager - very early days yet but not off to a flying start
* Our captain effectively sold TWICE this season with no replacement onboard

The Media revel in shitshows of course. And we are providing them with plenty of material at the moment.

My personal point of view is that the FA cup win did not give me any delusions that Palace had broken into the big time overnight. I don't think being able to navigate the additional competition we are in is an impossible ask. We've just made it look that way.

 

[HKOwen]

On 19th May 2024, we finished the season with the most attractive attacking run that I have ever seen at Palace. 19 points from 7 games with 21 goals for and four against.
The starting lineup was
Olise
Andersen
Eze
Guehi
Mateta
Munoz
Wharton
Henderson
Mitchell
Richards
Clyne
There is little doubt in my mind that the first eight could be starters for a Champions League team
Since then, the first four have left, Mateta is on the verge of departing and there has been a lot of talk about Munoz and Wharton moving on in the summer. The only replacements that bear comparison have been Lacroix and Sarr - and he is not the same class as Olise or Eze
Whatever the reasons, it is an enormous drop off in quality in such a short time. Even if we survive this season, we are likely to be heavy favourites for the drop next year

Andersen not in same class as other three. Of course would depend which Champions league team, do you mean English teams currently in Champions league

 

[Stirlingsays]

On 19th May 2024, we finished the season with the most attractive attacking run that I have ever seen at Palace. 19 points from 7 games with 21 goals for and four against.
The starting lineup was
Olise
Andersen
Eze
Guehi
Mateta
Munoz
Wharton
Henderson
Mitchell
Richards
Clyne
There is little doubt in my mind that the first eight could be starters for a Champions League team
Since then, the first four have left, Mateta is on the verge of departing and there has been a lot of talk about Munoz and Wharton moving on in the summer. The only replacements that bear comparison have been Lacroix and Sarr - and he is not the same class as Olise or Eze
Whatever the reasons, it is an enormous drop off in quality in such a short time. Even if we survive this season, we are likely to be heavy favourites for the drop next year

Are you available for parties? 🙂

 

[pssguy]

Andersen not in same class as other three. Of course would depend which Champions league team, do you mean English teams currently in Champions league

Yes, I meant English teams. I think Andersen is a similar standard to, say, Chalobah. Had a good assist at the weekend

 

[crvenaeagle]

If we managed three more wins for the rest of the season we'll have passed the "magical 36 points" which even with our current awful form I am certain we can manage.

 

[Painter]

I'm in agreement with bits of this - well written by the way Mr. Parish, wondered what you had been up to lately 😀 - but parts of it don't resonate with me. In fact some of it downright annoys me.

Let's put aside the fact that we won the FA Cup last season. We finished 12th in the League but with a record number of points. What are my expectations for the next season ? Well, it's a given that Guehi would need to be sold, we have the whole summer to identify and sign a replacement. And therefore that should be a priority. Then you would expect an assessment of the squad and plans to strengthen where possible. I realise that's a simplification of that window and other factors do come into play.

Instead we wound up with some underwhelming purchases and a loan. And then Eze's release clause was triggered.
We also nearly lost Guehi on the last day of the window. Now - forgetting the Cup win - ask yourself if you would be happy with that. Has the squad been beefed up a bit or is it actually looking weaker ?

I was disappointed. And when you bring the FA cup win back into the equation it becomes worse given the known challenges that European competition brings. Certainly the club did not meet the managers expectations. Which, to be fair, probably had been influenced by our success.

As I wrote earlier, my hope and expectation was for a good season with the added bonus of European games that I never thought I'd get to see. I didn't see the Cup win as the springboard to fundamentally change the way the club operates. You only have to understand the way that Parish runs things to get that. I did however see it as an opportunity to ' release the handbrake ' to an extent. And yes, I do know we've just broken our transfer record ! Would have been money better spent in the summer I think.

The recruitment that he mentions...I'm not sure what '' chasing the moment '' actually means. And it hasn't been a consistent or even consistently good strategy. Has there ever even been a strategy ?? Sakho, Benteke and latterly Nketiah didn't and haven't delivered against the fees we paid for them. Pino could possibly go the same way. Our best signings have come from the Championship - Olise, Ebs, Wharton.

As for that '' goal of goals '' piece, I don't recall that as a mission. And to say it was and has now been achieved begs the question - what next then ?

I would be interested to see how the players would react if the post was pinned up at the training ground.

To sum up then,

* An underwhelming transfer window last summer
* A manager that handed his notice in three months ago
* A player signed for £35m for that manager - very early days yet but not off to a flying start
* Our captain effectively sold TWICE this season with no replacement onboard

The Media revel in shitshows of course. And we are providing them with plenty of material at the moment.

My personal point of view is that the FA cup win did not give me any delusions that Palace had broken into the big time overnight. I don't think being able to navigate the additional competition we are in is an impossible ask. We've just made it look that way.

The last 3 teams to win the FA Cup before Palace outside the big 6, Wigan, Portsmouth and Leicester all got relegated within a few season of winning it.

 

[NEILLO]

The last 3 teams to win the FA Cup before Palace outside the big 6, Wigan, Portsmouth and Leicester all got relegated within a few season of winning it.

To which I say “ so what “ ?

Wigan and Portsmouth were both pre PSR and both clubs spent like drunken sailors.

I haven’t checked but I think Leicesters win was also pre those laws

 

[farrell]

I get the frustration, I really do — the form’s been awful and nobody can pretend otherwise. But I do think this reads a bit like full-on panic mode.


Yes, we’ve been poor and Glasner deserves criticism, especially if he’s not changing things when it’s clearly not working. But sacking him right now, mid-run, with this squad, isn’t some magic fix either. We’ve seen enough at Palace over the years to know a managerial change doesn’t automatically mean a bounce.


I also think some of the takes on players are a bit harsh. Mateta isn’t world class, but he’s hardly useless — we’ve seen what he can do when the team actually creates for him. Same with Wharton, he’s young and off form, not suddenly a bad footballer overnight.


We’re in a scrap, no doubt, but this league swings fast. Even looking at CafeScore, a lot of our games have been tight margins rather than us being completely outplayed every week. One win changes the mood, two wins and everyone’s talking about momentum. It’s bad, but it’s not hopeless yet. What we need now is everyone pulling in the same direction, not writing the obituary in January.

 

[Davepalace707]

To which I say “ so what “ ?

Wigan and Portsmouth were both pre PSR and both clubs spent like drunken sailors.

I haven’t checked but I think Leicesters win was also pre those laws

Leicester won the league cup. It’s still a valid point. Outside of the big six and Newcastle last year, the only winners of the FA and league cups this century have been Wigan Portsmouth Leicester Birmingham Swansea. And Palace.

 

[Dogburger]

You are giving Parish too much credit. Looks to me like he is in a complete muddle and it has smothered the whole club. Add to that Glasner has lost the plot with his tactics/ team selection and here we are. Staring relegation in the face.

Its the only thing that makes any sense to me that Glasner wasn't sacked after his outburst . If as you say Parish is in a muddle , hasn't been able to sound out a new manager since last October then yes we have a problem .

 

[MrRobbo]

Sorry in advance for this long post but as a passionate Palace fan, it’s hard to accept how things are at the moment. We are in a mess. A proper relegation mess.

On current form, West Ham and Forest are better than us. Simple as that. If nothing changes, Championship football next season is a very real possibility. 11 games without a win is beyond unacceptable, it’s sackable form at most clubs.

Yes, it’s easy to point fingers at the board for lack of signings or for selling Eze and Guehi, but the responsibility has to sit with Glasner. He shows zero adaptability. Same shape, same patterns, same substitutions, week after week. We are completely predictable now and teams don’t even need to be good to play against us, just organised.

Most clubs would have pulled the trigger weeks ago. The fact we haven’t either suggests:

1. The board are scared they can’t find the “right” replacement, or

2. Typical Palace indecision and lack of bravery

Neither is comforting. At this point, even McCarthy as interim could spark something. It genuinely could not be worse than this.

I’ve lost a lot of respect for Glasner, and for a few players too. The FA Cup win feels like a curse. It papered over cracks and inflated egos, including the manager’s. His mid-season announcement that he’s leaving is still baffling. That should never have come out when it did. All it’s done is create uncertainty, kill motivation and drain belief and you can see it every single week.

I see comments on here suggesting we shouldn’t accept anything less than £50m+ for Mateta, those people need to give their heads a wobble. Anyone who’s played football at even a half-decent level can see it: technically, he’s very limited. His first touch is inconsistent, link-up play is poor, and he’s not clinical. He thrived early under Glasner because we were unpredictable, a honeymoon period. That’s gone.
He also clearly thinks he’s better than Palace now, with one eye firmly on a France call-up at the World Cup. Let’s be serious, he’s got no chance. There are at least four French strikers comfortably ahead of him. Maybe Zaha was right to laugh (if you know, you know).

If the reported £30m offers from Juventus or Atalanta were real and we turned them down, that’s madness. With Sarr back, he can play centrally. Uche is technically better than Mateta. We are not limited without him, if anything, we’re limited with him.

Wharton has been painful to watch for months. His head has clearly gone. He’s already mentally at a “bigger club”. The England call-up came far too early and his weaknesses are now obvious: positional discipline, decision-making under pressure, and switching off defensively. I hate to say it, but his big move will end badly.
Pino looks completely checked out too. Whether that’s down to Glasner, the mood around the club, or both, who knows but his body language says everything.

The most worrying thing? There is no clear direction. Palace are not a club that bounces straight back from the Championship. We don’t have the infrastructure, the ambition or the ownership mindset for that. The next few months are absolutely massive.

The idea that we could be FA Cup holders and relegated in the same season no longer feels unrealistic, and that should terrify everyone associated with the club.

We need change. Now. Not in the summer, not after it’s too late. Small steps immediately, starting with the manager.

There is a lot said, by fans and Glasner about kicking on after the FA cup win, and/or lack of ambition. But what does it actually mean? What’s possible, realistically achievable and what’s commercially sensible?

We know that many teams that have achieved Europe (for the first, or first in a long time) have struggled. Squad depth, different type of games, volume of games, lack of training. Regardless of some of the noise, this season was going to be tricky.

I think though the fans eye, this just boils down to buying a few more expensive players.

But it’s never that straightforward. Who do you buy for a start? Winning a cup for the first time in our history doesn’t hugely change the appeal for players IMO. Yeah, they might get to play in the conference league, but it’s not the champions league, and only guaranteed for a season.

We also cannot attract the Eze’s, Guehi’s and Olise’s as they are now. We can attract solid pros, or kids with promise. Hoping that for one Eze sale you can find 3 kids of which 2 are decent and one ends up being the next Eze. Initially they are going to be worse than the player sold, but progress isn’t always linear and all.

It’s also hard to recruit in certain positions where we have a nailed on starter, e.g. RWB. What calibre of player is happy to come knowing they are likely to be sat on the bench. Not a very good one. Hence why we got Sosa, cheap and happy to sit on the bench. And hence why it makes more sense to keep Clyne, and just hope that we don’t need to use him very often.

We also need to be aware of signing players with the hope of jumping a couple league places, is worth it? You only get a mil or 2 per league place jump. And by the time you ,for example, sign someone for 25m and put them on an average wage, that’s 40m over 5 years.

We also know that if you want any chance of a deep cup run, or a European jaunt, you need to be in the premier league. So sustainability has to be first priority.

To loop back round, personally, I think the kicking on is much more subtle, and slow.

We’ve had 3 cup final appearances in our history, 1 last year, another 10 years ago and the first 25 years ago. Wouldn’t a more reasonable objective be to get to another FA Cup final in 5 years?

 

[Eaglecoops]

This is a post copied from BBS, which hits the nail squarely on the head regarding our situation.

One of the hardest truths to accept in modern football is that unexpected glory isn’t always a launchpad. For clubs like Palace, it’s often a stress test.

Winning the FA Cup feels like it should be the beginning of something bigger, but in today’s game that’s rarely how it plays out for clubs outside the elite. Leicester are usually held up as the dream scenario, but their story actually underlines the risk rather than the reward.

Leicester didn’t just win the league and ride off into sustained success. Their title season blew apart their cost base, inflated expectations, and set off a cycle of spending and recruitment designed to “stay at the table” rather than consolidate safely. They won an FA Cup later, played in Europe, and still ended up relegated. Their moment of greatness didn’t insulate them from reality, it accelerated the pressures that eventually caught up with them.

That’s the modern paradox. Success doesn’t suddenly make a club rich enough to behave like a superpower. It makes you expensive without making you secure. Revenues rise a bit, wages rise a lot, and every transfer miss becomes more damaging. At the same time, the players who delivered the success get picked off by bigger clubs, often leaving you trying to replace irreplaceable chemistry with pricier, riskier alternatives.

For a club like Palace, that creates a brutal crossroads. Push too hard to capitalise and you risk destabilising the entire operation. Pull back and you’re accused of lacking ambition or wasting the moment. Fan expectations rise faster than the club’s actual capacity to meet them.

That’s where Parish’s current approach makes sense, even if it’s deeply uncomfortable. Sticking to the same recruitment strategy that’s been used over the past few years, focusing on value, character, and sustainability rather than chasing the moment, is probably the best defence against falling into that trap. It’s an attempt to absorb success without letting it fundamentally change the club’s risk profile.

But it’s still fraught with danger. Because maintaining discipline after glory is hard. The pressure to “do more” is relentless, and the margin for error is thin. You can make the right decision in principle and still suffer for it in practice.

It’s the Icarus problem. You fly higher than you ever have before and for a brief moment everything feels within reach. But the sun doesn’t care how special the flight felt. Without restraint, the wings start to melt, not immediately, but gradually, until gravity does the rest.

So moments like an FA Cup win aren’t about becoming something else overnight. They’re about navigating the aftermath without losing the fundamentals that keep the club alive. For Palace, progress has always been about survival first, growth second, and glory as a rare and precious by-product.

In modern football, achieving the dream is only half the challenge. The harder part is surviving what comes after it. I think virtually everyone has said at some point that they’d take an FA Cup win if it meant relegation as a trade off. Being in the PL is incredibly important but there’s nothing permanent or invincible about it. But your name on the cup is for all eternity. Now I am not saying that we should make that trade and still think we’ll survive this season etc BUT it’s a signpost of how the goalposts shift. When we were promoted the goal of goals was ‘if we can stay in this league and maybe win a trophy then we really cannot ask for anymore than that as we will have something to show for it’. That mission has been achieved yet it feels like some sort of failure to many.

Thats a shift in expectations rather than a necessary failure of the club.

Didn’t Leicester immediately after winning the league have its best and most influential players bought by the top teams to try and stop them gaining a seat at the high table? It’s what the top clubs do, they do it to us all the time.

Leicester tried to replace those players and failed. Thats the reason they went downhill. I understand the general thrust of that post and how success can lead to changes in the dynamic of a club that’s not ready for it, however I’m not convinced by the facts related to Leicester.

I would go more down the road that individual players rather than clubs have an inflated opinion of their own ability and want to move somewhere where there is continued success.

I certainly don’t see Palace as a club striving to up the ante, but I do see players wanting to leave and our best players constantly poached.

 

[doombear]

Leicester won the league cup. It’s still a valid point. Outside of the big six and Newcastle last year, the only winners of the FA and league cups this century have been Wigan Portsmouth Leicester Birmingham Swansea. And Palace.

They won the FA Cup with a Tieleman's screamer against Chelsea in 2021.

 

[Faz]

My bad , I’m the cause!
I place my bets wi,wo on Us winning & we lose.

Nothing to do win OG true to form quoting before things go off the boil
Nothing to do with OG spitting the dummy
Nothing to do with MH not winning players to come
Nothing to do with SP Not answering emails , being distracted & Having to cap the buy price with billionaire mates in the books.

So my disposable income of £2 will now go to a bet on us losing every week & seeing our form turn at Notts Forest , I will put £2 on JP scoring a hat trick too as a side bet for Shits & Giggles

So problem solved-OG continue as you are , MH take a seat , SP go back to driving cars with Brown leather gloves on

 

[The Heath Eagle]

The last 3 teams to win the FA Cup before Palace outside the big 6, Wigan, Portsmouth and Leicester all got relegated within a few season of winning it.

Ironclad logic of the highest order. No other variables involved.

The FA Cup-non big six-"relegation certainty"-curse.

Leicester won the league before going down as well. So, I am looking forward to seeing the Prem at Palace before we get relegated. Can't wait.

 

[JessieJ]

Didn’t Leicester immediately after winning the league have its best and most influential players bought by the top teams to try and stop them gaining a seat at the high table? It’s what the top clubs do, they do it to us all the time.

Leicester tried to replace those players and failed. Thats the reason they went downhill. I understand the general thrust of that post and how success can lead to changes in the dynamic of a club that’s not ready for it, however I’m not convinced by the facts related to Leicester.

I would go more down the road that individual players rather than clubs have an inflated opinion of their own ability and want to move somewhere where there is continued success.

I certainly don’t see Palace as a club striving to up the ante, but I do see players wanting to leave and our best players constantly poached.

This is exactly my point that I've made on other posts. The "top" clubs i.e.for the "big six" it's almost as if it's policy. Group together to stop any darned interlopers crashing their party. Modern football and fun are no longer really compatable. Of course the whole circus is stoked up by the Media with such comments as "he's too good for Palace/Bournemouth etc. and must go to Arsenal, Liverpool etc.". Mere slightly above average players & agents read this and suddenly they are all Messi reincarnated and want off to greener pastures even it's only to sit on the bench but still possess a EPL gold medal. I think, frustrating as it is, the overall business policy of Mr Parish is sound in that it is designed not to overspend but the selling without replacements is the part where it falls apart. Admittedly we can never buy a direct replacement (**) and there will be any number of misses before we strike gold again but at least show that there is plan in place.
(**) well maybe, if, Strand-Larsson does come he'll directly replace JP. Currently one can't hit a cows arse with a banjo whilst the other doesn't even play!

 

[elgin eeagle]

My bad , I’m the cause!
I place my bets wi,wo on Us winning & we lose.

Nothing to do win OG true to form quoting before things go off the boil
Nothing to do with OG spitting the dummy
Nothing to do with MH not winning players to come
Nothing to do with SP Not answering emails , being distracted & Having to cap the buy price with billionaire mates in the books.

So my disposable income of £2 will now go to a bet on us losing every week & seeing our form turn at Notts Forest , I will put £2 on JP scoring a hat trick too as a side bet for Shits & Giggles

So problem solved-OG continue as you are , MH take a seat , SP go back to driving cars with Brown leather gloves on

Its an act of God I reckon.

Dougie assembled a group of deeply religious players, who crossed themselves at every opportunity. God was Pleased, and as a reward finally let us win something and gave us the FA Cup and Charity Shield.

We then sold Eze for much cash, to Arsenal of all people. God was Confused. We replaced him a midget heathen from Spain, the land of cheats. God gave us the benefit of the doubt and allowed us to stay unbeaten for a while but kept His eye on us in case he was being swindled by Parish.

His man on earth told him Parish was trying to sell the Priests son next. God was beyond Angry and took away our FA Cup in the most embarrassing way possible, and cursed us to return back to mediocrity evermore, installing a family of protected bats into the Wooderson Close houses as vengeance.

 

[cryrst]

Its an act of God I reckon.

Dougie assembled a group of deeply religious players, who crossed themselves at every opportunity. God was Pleased, and as a reward finally let us win something and gave us the FA Cup and Charity Shield.

We then sold Eze for much cash, to Arsenal of all people. God was Confused. We replaced him a midget heathen from Spain, the land of cheats. God gave us the benefit of the doubt and allowed us to stay unbeaten for a while but kept His eye on us in case he was being swindled by Parish.

His man on earth told him Parish was trying to sell the Priests son next. God was beyond Angry and took away our FA Cup in the most embarrassing way possible, and cursed us to return back to mediocrity evermore, installing a family of protected bats into the Wooderson Close houses as vengeance.

They say fact is stranger than fiction 😁

 

[Eaglecoops]

This is exactly my point that I've made on other posts. The "top" clubs i.e.for the "big six" it's almost as if it's policy. Group together to stop any darned interlopers crashing their party. Modern football and fun are no longer really compatable. Of course the whole circus is stoked up by the Media with such comments as "he's too good for Palace/Bournemouth etc. and must go to Arsenal, Liverpool etc.". Mere slightly above average players & agents read this and suddenly they are all Messi reincarnated and want off to greener pastures even it's only to sit on the bench but still possess a EPL gold medal. I think, frustrating as it is, the overall business policy of Mr Parish is sound in that it is designed not to overspend but the selling without replacements is the part where it falls apart. Admittedly we can never buy a direct replacement (**) and there will be any number of misses before we strike gold again but at least show that there is plan in place.
(**) well maybe, if, Strand-Larsson does come he'll directly replace JP. Currently one can't hit a cows arse with a banjo whilst the other doesn't even play!

Which is normally preceded by, “without being disrespectful”, which is exactly what they are being but it’s supposed to be ok if they say that first.

 

[MancunianEagle]

Sorry in advance for this long post but as a passionate Palace fan, it’s hard to accept how things are at the moment. We are in a mess. A proper relegation mess.

On current form, West Ham and Forest are better than us. Simple as that. If nothing changes, Championship football next season is a very real possibility. 11 games without a win is beyond unacceptable, it’s sackable form at most clubs.

Yes, it’s easy to point fingers at the board for lack of signings or for selling Eze and Guehi, but the responsibility has to sit with Glasner. He shows zero adaptability. Same shape, same patterns, same substitutions, week after week. We are completely predictable now and teams don’t even need to be good to play against us, just organised.

Most clubs would have pulled the trigger weeks ago. The fact we haven’t either suggests:

1. The board are scared they can’t find the “right” replacement, or

2. Typical Palace indecision and lack of bravery

Neither is comforting. At this point, even McCarthy as interim could spark something. It genuinely could not be worse than this.

I’ve lost a lot of respect for Glasner, and for a few players too. The FA Cup win feels like a curse. It papered over cracks and inflated egos, including the manager’s. His mid-season announcement that he’s leaving is still baffling. That should never have come out when it did. All it’s done is create uncertainty, kill motivation and drain belief and you can see it every single week.

I see comments on here suggesting we shouldn’t accept anything less than £50m+ for Mateta, those people need to give their heads a wobble. Anyone who’s played football at even a half-decent level can see it: technically, he’s very limited. His first touch is inconsistent, link-up play is poor, and he’s not clinical. He thrived early under Glasner because we were unpredictable, a honeymoon period. That’s gone.
He also clearly thinks he’s better than Palace now, with one eye firmly on a France call-up at the World Cup. Let’s be serious, he’s got no chance. There are at least four French strikers comfortably ahead of him. Maybe Zaha was right to laugh (if you know, you know).

If the reported £30m offers from Juventus or Atalanta were real and we turned them down, that’s madness. With Sarr back, he can play centrally. Uche is technically better than Mateta. We are not limited without him, if anything, we’re limited with him.

Wharton has been painful to watch for months. His head has clearly gone. He’s already mentally at a “bigger club”. The England call-up came far too early and his weaknesses are now obvious: positional discipline, decision-making under pressure, and switching off defensively. I hate to say it, but his big move will end badly.
Pino looks completely checked out too. Whether that’s down to Glasner, the mood around the club, or both, who knows but his body language says everything.

The most worrying thing? There is no clear direction. Palace are not a club that bounces straight back from the Championship. We don’t have the infrastructure, the ambition or the ownership mindset for that. The next few months are absolutely massive.

The idea that we could be FA Cup holders and relegated in the same season no longer feels unrealistic, and that should terrify everyone associated with the club.

We need change. Now. Not in the summer, not after it’s too late. Small steps immediately, starting with the manager.

Absolutely bang on