19th Sep 2024 • Written by Haris Armstrong

Confused Palace paying the price for changes to squad make-up, but patience is needed

It has been just over a month since Palace’s opening day defeat at Brentford. The frustration felt by fans in the immediate aftermath of the trip to West London was a direct result of the form shown by the Eagles at the end of last season. Optimism was high and fans wanted more. 

Beaten by a well-drilled and resilient Brentford outfit, Palace were unlucky not to take anything from the game. 

Defeats always bring disappointment, but with the best part of two weeks left of the transfer window, there was genuine hope that Glasner’s winning machine had merely hit a minor blip. 

Fast forward four weeks, and the disjointed, imbalanced aspects of Palace’s opening performance have been present - in some guise - in every subsequent outing. 

Palace have been flat, uninspiring and incohesive, with the free-flowing penetrative football seen throughout April and May now a distant memory. 

In many ways, it is an unusual situation for the club to be in. Fan disgruntlement is usually heightened by a spate of poor results and although Palace would have hoped for more from their opening four Premier League matches, they remain unbeaten in their last four encounters in all competitions. 

The opening day disappointment at Brentford and the subsequent limp home display against West Ham have been the club’s sole defeats. 

Since then, a valiant point away at Chelsea and a comeback draw at home to Leicester have been sandwiched by Carabao Cup victories against Norwich City and QPR. 

A run of results like this is not ‘untypical’ of Palace, especially at the start of a campaign. What is most unsettling, is the marked drop-off in performance from one season to the next. Fans are left wondering why and how could this have happened. Has the recruitment been adequate enough? Does the system suit the current crop of players? Has Glasner made tactical errors? Have Palace just been unlucky? 

As so often is the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of all of these questions, and valid insight can be gained from the answers they elicit. 

Square pegs do not go into round holes

When Oliver Glasner took charge in February, he brought with him a unique philosophy that once fully instilled into the squad, worked extremely well. 

Palace were incisive and direct and the 3-4-3 setup enabled the creative talents of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise to orchestrate and impact attacking play from more central areas. 

For a two month spell, everyone appeared to excel. Jean-Phillipe Mateta hit goal scoring form hitherto unseen, Olise and Eze were unplayable and Adam Wharton’s performances earned him an unexpected spot in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad. 

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In defensive areas, Mitchell and Munoz were adapting to their new wing-back roles with consummate ease whilst Nathniel Clyne, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Chris Richards all enjoyed excellent spells as part of a back-three. 

The system suited the players and the players suited the system.

This season, Palace have looked disjointed and slow and have been unable to progress up the pitch as quickly. Attacks are stagnant, with lack of creativity being an apparent issue. 

The simplistic reason behind this is purely personnel based. Palace have lost Michael Olise, one of the greatest and most creative players to have ever played for the club, and have failed to find a direct replacement. 

Scoring ten goals and registering six assists in just 19 Premier League appearances positioned Olise as one of the best attacking performers in the league last season. 

The relationships that he forged with both Eze and Mateta played a significant role in Palace finishing the season as one of the most in-form attacking sides. 

To lose quality of this nature is naturally hard to recover from, not least because of the immediate loss of attacking output. But, it has also impacted the performances of Eze who now seems shackled by increased responsibility and attention from opposition defences. 

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Instead of recruiting a creative, left-footed wide player capable of operating as a attacking midfielder in Glasner’s system, the hierarchy at Palace opted to prioritise replacing Olise's numerical output. 

By signing a technical advanced midfielder in Daichi Kamada, an athletic and versatile winger in Ismaila Sarr and a clinical frontman in Eddie Nketiah, the club felt that Olise’s attacking impact could be replicated. 

In practice, this has shown few signs of working as planned. What exists instead is a situation in which Palace’s attack looks disjointed as a result of players not quite fitting the desired system. 

Sarr has struggled for consistent minutes and, although bright when he has featured, is not a natural attacking midfielder. 

Kamada has featured both in Olise’s former role as well as further back in Palace’s double pivot. He has shown glimpses of his technical ability but has struggled to show the levels of creativity the Olise produced so regularly. 

Nketiah’s arrival, although a significant coup for the club, adds further confusion to the mix. In his first two appearances, the 25-year-old has operated in the right-sided attacking midfield role. He has looked sharp, busy and dynamic but it is evident that his main skill set is suited to playing as a central striker. 

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Therein lies the main problem. Three talented attacking players have been recruited, but none can fill the void left by Olise. 

To counter this by saying that Olise’s talent is “irreplaceable” is to fundamentally miss the point. Palace should have actively pursued a  player who could operate in a similar fashion.

Few if any, especially those willing to join Palace, could match Olise’s quality but there were a number of players considered by the club that would have slotted into Palace’s successful system seamlessly. 

There is considerable frustration that the club did not act on tangible interest in former Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa. He appeared to fit the age and technical profile that Palace were searching for. 

Others such as Emile Smith Rowe, Jaden Philogene, James McAtee and Matias Soule were all considered but not fully pursued. 

It can not be claimed for certain that these players would have solved Palace’s current attacking problems, but they were definitely closer matches to the departing Olise’s profile. 

Sarr, Nketiah and Kamada could all turn out to be excellent acquisitions and Palace could still make significant strides this season. But, it feels at the moment as if they are being shoehorned into a system that does not suit their attributes. 

Glasner may need to be adaptable 

Arriving at a club and attempting to drastically alter the pre-existing style of play is not an easy thing to achieve in a short timeframe. For the squad to adapt to Glasner’s dynamic 3-4-3 setup, a significant physical as well as tactical transformation was needed.

The Austrian’s meticulous nature was an essential asset in bringing about this rapid change - with a lot of the initial groundwork being undertaken during a mid-season training camp in Marbella. 

Players, when coached in this detail-driven way, can become so familiar with a tactical setup that operating within it becomes like second nature. No matter the starting XI selected to play, each player’s role is clearly defined and understood. 

This was exemplified by Clyne’s incredible end-of-season form playing out of position in a back-three. His integration into the role was seamless.

When watching Palace play four months ago, it was clear that the system was enhancing the performances of every individual. 

That has not happened so far this season, with the makeup of the squad undergoing a marked transition

Altering the approach or even the formation is something that has not been ruled out by Glasner. He has hinted on more than one occasion that switching to a back four may provide Palace with the answers they are looking for, whether in-game or from the outset. 

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With Wharton seemingly struggling with fitness and Doucoure still getting up to speed after a long-spell on the sidelines, Palace have at times this season found themselves lacking physicality in midfield. 

When things are not flowing in an attacking sense, having a midfield that is easily overrun and too easy to play through is far from ideal. Having an extra man present in that area may help. 

Switching to a variation of a 4-3-3 would not only benefit Wharton while he returns to full match sharpness, but it would allow Kamada and Sarr to potentially be deployed in more suited positions. 

The large number of centre-backs in Palace’s squad as well as the obvious selection issue that will arise between Mateta and Nketiah may prove obstacles too difficult to overcome. But, being tactically flexible is an essential skill in the modern managerial game. With the changed nature of the squad at Glasner’s disposal tactical alterations of some form must not be ruled out. 

Luck always plays a part 

Fortune is a massive factor for mid-table clubs in the Premier League. In tight affairs when there is little to separate two evenly matched sides, specific moments of the game need to go your way in order to get over the line. 

Palace have undoubtedly been on the wrong side of these moments so far this season. 

In all four of the Eagles’ league outings so far, any one of the three results could  have feasibly occurred. 

In the defeat at Brentford, If referee Sam Barrott had delayed blowing his whistle by a fraction of a second, Eze’s outstanding free-kick may have given Palace a game-changing early lead. 

If the array of first half chances were taken against West Ham, Palace could have been out of sight by the time Tomas Soucek fired in the Hammers’ opener. 

The same can be said of the first half against Leiecster and the second half against Chelsea. 

Of course, fans of clubs up and down the country can point to specific situations in which their team could and should have taken missed chances. Football, especially in the Premier League, is about seizing individual moments. 

Palace’s performances could and should have been better, that much is undeniable, but they have not been completely wide of the mark. Tactical flexibility, patience and a little bit of luck could prove key to getting the season up and running. 

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