Why Crystal Palace Have Shattered Under Oliver Glasner

Dan Tracey

Editor

Last updated: Fri 16 Jan 2026 15:45

Dan Tracey 16 Jan 2026

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What has gone wrong at Selhurst Park this season?
Coach Oliver Glasner will not sign a new contract
Palace's Premier League form raises concerns

Oliver Glasner is leaving Palace at the end of the season (Getty Images)

From the highs of winning the FA Cup just six months ago, the lows of being dumped out as holders six days ago. Crystal Palace’s road to Wembley was paved with gold last May, but it has now been closed off for repair for the next 12 months.

Their defeat to Macclesfield last weekend is arguably the greatest FA Cup upset ever, one that will be mentioned every time the Third Round of the competition comes around at the start of each year.

Palace fans will have wanted to look away at full-time last Saturday and they may want to look away every January.

Although it is not just the cup exit that has been a point of contention for Eagles fans in recent weeks, it is the fact that they have not won any of their last six Premier League matches - collecting just two points from the last 18 on offer.

The kind of run that asks questions of manager Oliver Glasner, the kind of questions that did indicate whether he will still be in South London by the start of the next season. Those questions answered with an announcement on Friday.

It was an announcement that confirms what most people in football already knew. The Austrian will not be signing a new contract at Selhurst Park, and Palace will now have to find a new manager to lead them into the 2026/27 season.

There was a real feelgood factor enveloping Selhurst Park just a few months, but a lack of form and now a lack of long-term manager has sucked the joy out of SE25.

The mood is likely to worsen with the impending sale of Marc Guehi to Manchester City with the defender not playing in Palace's trip to face Sunderland on Saturday.

Crystal Palace Broke The Ceiling

Not only was their success in winning last season’s edition of the FA Cup, but Palace’s love affair with Wembley was extended just a few months later in the most recent staging of the Community Shield. Two pieces of silverware collected in no time at all, the sky was very much the limit.

A limit that at one stage looked set to be the Europa League. That was until Nottingham Forest raised a complaint surrounding their multi-club ownership model and after a protracted tussle in boardrooms and courtrooms, the Europa League became the Conference League instead.

Did this burst Palace’s balloon somewhat? Perhaps. At the same time, a first foray into Europe is still a first foray into Europe. The night of the trips to the continent unchanged, just the name of their battle on different borders sounding different.

While it must also be noted that their battle in UEFA’s third-tier club competition has been more bruising than first envisaged. A 2-2 draw with Finnish minnows KuPS meant they finished outside the automatic berths for the knockout brackets.

What that means is two extra games in order for Palace to get there. Not what they had in mind, not what you would expect from an English representative when you consider both West Ham and Chelsea have previously got their hands on the trophy in recent years.

Another sign where things are not quite clicking at present, is this a sign of a club running out of steam under its present management or are we expecting too much from a side that is not part of English football’s true elite.

When you consider Palace’s final league positions in the 12 consecutive years that they have been in the Premier League, they have never finished in the top half of the table. At the time of writing, they currently find themselves sitting 13th.

Therefore, it may be fair to suggest that the current run of form is nothing more than true regression to the mean. Palace largely operating as Palace always operate, what is all the fuss about? A fair statement but one that comes with a slight caveat attached to it.

Had Guehi never lifted the FA Cup, any European woes would be a non-factor due to non-participation, their current league position enough to keep their heads above water and more importantly, continue in the top tier.

Raising The Bar at Selhurst Park

The caveat is that now Palace’s incredibly loyal support have had the delicious taste of success, they want more. In football as in life, the Rolling Stones once said, “you can’t always get what you want”, that statement is incredibly true.

Because of the highs that come with winning silverware, just bobbing along is not enough anymore. In a perverse way, the slight improvement that comes with success than creates a larger disappointment if it is not sustained.

At the same time, it is not all doom and gloom and with mid-January serving as a fork in the road for Palace, we could be discussing their Conference League final win in Leipzig. May 27th 2026 might be another historic outing for the club.

It could also serve to be Oliver Glasner’s last piece of business as Crystal Palace manager. The Premier League finishing three days prior in what will be his last domestic task to carry out. Manchester United may still need to announce a permanent successor to interim Michael Carrick.

There was always a sense that the Palace board could never keep Glasner for too long, it felt like an incredible coup to get the services of the 51-year-old in the first place and with the job market being as fluid as it is right now, South London is not the best place for him.

Even if Palace’s results do not pick up between now and May, there is no danger of the club being relegated due to how bad the three teams in the relegation zone are. Glasner’s own stock still paying a good dividend after that FA Cup win in 2025.

Which means he has every right to bide his time and not rush into a commitment when it comes to new contracts. Plenty of other outfits would be keen to have him in their technical areas at the end of the summer, the technicalities of any deal, anywhere are still to be hammered out.

A tough period for Palace now seemingly tougher. Yes, they will have a fee to collect after selling Marc Guehi and yes they have their current manager for another four months but after that, things are going to get rather uncertain for the now former FA Cup holders.