One win in 11 games for Crystal Palace leaves relegation a serious prospect unless Oliver Glasner can find the spark he ignited last February.
Things are not going well for Crystal Palace.
After the incredible heights Crystal Palace reached at the back end of last season under Oliver Glasner – living up to those standards would always have been tricky.
However, nobody could have expected this season to start so poorly – apart from Paul Merson who warned of relegation. The Eagles have unfortunately lived up to this and currently sit 18th in the table.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 10 |
| 17 |  IpswichIpswich | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 8 |
| 18 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 7 |
| 19 |  WolvesWolves | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 6 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 4 |
After last weekend’s defeat against Fulham, Crystal Palace’s relegation chances have shot up. So unless things change, the Eagles could be destined to be relegated this season.
Now, Glasner’s answer to this poor form could actually lie in his message to his team last February.
Chris Richards on what Oliver Glasner told the Eagles squad
When Glasner took charge last season, Crystal Palace went from relegation candidates to a 10th-place finish. This season, the Austrian will be hoping for a similar turnaround at some point.
The secret to this excellent form could sit in Chris Richards‘ words on Glasner while speaking with club media over the international break.
“The manager’s initial message to us was that we needed to play more aggressively. We have the players and the quality for it, but it was almost like we were scared of letting ourselves go. Especially after our trip to Marbella, everybody could see that we were flying.
“It’s testament to him: he didn’t change the players, he didn’t change this or that, he just changed our mentality. That went a long way.
“We’re able to play aggressively, we’re able to win the ball higher up the pitch. Like against Manchester United [4-0 win], being able to play in Jean-Philippe [Mateta] – they gave me the assist for it, but I played him a three-yard ball and he beat Jonny Evans one-on-one. He padded my stat book! It’s good to get those guys the ball higher up the pitch because then they have less work to do.”
Crystal Palace need Glasner to return to his roots
With Glasner winning just one game in 11 this season, he will be under pressure.
It has been reported that Glasner is still backed by Crystal Palace chiefs, however, the Austrian will not be afforded an unlimited amount of time to get things right.
So therefore, Glasner needs to take his own comments into account and set up his team to defend on the front foot and be aggressive once again.
Coming up next Saturday, Crystal Palace will look to repeat their win from earlier this season against Aston Villa at Villa Park and by being aggressive this could happen.
- Premier League
-
Aston VillaAston Villa
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace
-
A revival for the Eagles does not look impossible, however, we need to see a change soon otherwise belief will definitely be lost.
