Oliver Glasner had always been steadfast in his view that Crystal Palace did not back him enough in last year’s summer transfer window, the squad was not sufficiently bolstered in those months and the signings the club did make were not completed early enough.
The Palace manager has an unwavering belief in the way he wants to operate, whether that be on the pitch or in man-management.
His previous complaints are warranted, and Palace’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday was another example of the problems caused by a perfect storm of a lack of depth and a relentless schedule denying them an opportunity to rectify familiar failings with work on the training pitch.
This loss was their 32nd game in all competitions this season, and was contested with a threadbare squad.
The signing of forward Brennan Johnson from Tottenham Hotspur two days into the winter window has gone some way to alleviate some of the pressure on the first-team player pool. The Wales international looked promising in his 72 minutes on debut at St James’ Park after he arrived for a club-record £35million fee, proving the value of making additions in the market.
While not perfect, Johnson was involved in many of Palace’s best attacking moments and brought directness and purpose, qualities that have been lacking in their game since Ismaila Sarr left just before Christmas to play for Senegal in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations. The 24-year-old carried some threat, although he did also give the ball away more frequently than was optimal.
Perhaps his anticipated signing was partly why, on New Year’s Day after a 1-1 draw with Fulham, Glasner softened in his criticism of Palace’s recruitment and said he too had made mistakes in the summer, conceding he had misjudged the squad’s size. He was more contrite than at any other point this season.
“I have experienced when a team plays international (European) football, but not with this intensity and no break over Christmas. It’s different,” Glasner said, before adding that though five or six Palace players were currently unavailable, “nobody is to blame”.
“I should have had a better evaluation of the situation than I had in summer,” he continued. “Wherever I have managed (in his native Austria and then in Germany), we’ve never had many muscle injuries. We have quite a good strategy to avoid it. The size of the squad is enough. But I didn’t consider that you can also have an issue with your knee, your foot, your ankle. All these situations where you don’t have an influence.
“The intensity in the Premier League, especially in duels, is higher than the other leagues. That causes more injuries like this. I should have considered more of these injuries, then I would have been harsher on getting one or two more players in.”
It was an indication that he was satisfied with the size of his squad, as long as everyone remained available. That was never likely to be the case, and he has found that out the hard way in the past few months.
Glasner also remains partially responsible for his lack of rotation or minute-management to give his key players some rest, and had previously indicated his willingness, or preference, to not work with a large squad.
Oliver Glasner reacts during Sunday’s loss to Newcastle (George Wood/Getty Images)
Johnson appears to be what Palace need. His directness, speed and goalscoring ability will help compensate for Sarr’s absence and when he returns from AFCON, mirror him on the other flank, should Yeremy Pino be dropped or rested.
It was after a 5-0 thumping in this same fixture last season, in the middle of April, that Palace turned their 2024-25 season around, embarking on a 19-game unbeaten run which took in the FA Cup final and Community Shield wins and led them to finishing with their highest Premier League points total, 53.
A repeat of such form feels further away than ever after four defeats in five Premier League outings (to go with that draw against Fulham), with yesterday’s loss offering few reasons for optimism. Yet they had 21 points after 20 matches last season, six fewer than the same stage this time.
Glasner has become more conciliatory, but he will still expect further signings to go with Johnson imminently. There is some hope that things will be different in that regard over the coming month than during the summer.
“It’s going to be hugely helpful having everyone on the same page,” chairman Steve Parish said during an interview with The Athletic in December. “We’ve got one club, and there are no distractions. We had a lot of distractions in summer.”
The acknowledgement and acceptance from all parties that mistakes were made is helpful, a sort of reconciliation, and while Johnson’s signing is a strong start to January that will go some way to rectifying some of Palace’s problems, it must be swiftly followed with more arrivals.
Only then, along with the returns of Sarr and currently injured players, will they be able to stabilise their season and look to push on again, just as they did after the corresponding fixture on Tyneside last year.
By the time that happens, the hope must be that they have not already wasted a golden opportunity.