Crystal Palace is a unique club, rooted in one specific type of player: mavericks. Any generation of Palace supporters would say that is why they love watching them.
From Vince Hilaire to Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze – not forgetting John Salako – Palace have long fielded attackers who get onlookers on their feet.
Yet that unpredictability has evaporated in Oliver Glasner’s final season, leaving supporters bored as exhausted groans and boos become a matchday staple.
Glasner believes the criticism, after Palace fans enjoyed a taste of success with silverware last season, is unfair. Expectations have risen unrealistically, he argues, and Palace must remember their place in the pecking order.
But that is not why supporters are fed up. What hurts most is not recognising their team. There is little flair, no attacker brimming with the confidence to beat a man. The absence of magic, in favour of functionality, does not live up to the elation Palace fans expect from their frontline. The club’s identity has been blurred.
Palace failed to muster a shot on target in the goalless draw with Leeds United, who played 45 minutes with 10 men on Sunday. There was little invention and limited progressive passing. Palace had plenty of possession – too many sideways passes – but no means to score a goal.
This has been the story of the season at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles scoring just 14 goals in 15 home games. Supporters rock up expecting a boring game, and invariably, they get one.
“Do you know what you’re talking about?” Glasner quipped when asked whether his team lacked a maverick.
“Have you watched how many goals Crystal Palace have scored in the Premier League? Do you know it? I know it. 57 in our first season was by far the best. Usually, they scored between 35 and 45.”
Palace are missing their famous maverick forwards (Photo: Getty)This season, Palace have scored 33 goals in 30 games – hiding behind last season’s numbers seemed odd when Glasner had already acknowledged that Palace have not been good enough in front of goal. Of course, last season Palace also had Eze at their disposal.
What followed were strange remarks about Palace’s tradition of rousing crowd-pleasers in attack, with Glasner demonstrating his inability to understand the identity of the football club.
“I’m sitting here because Crystal Palace were playing against relegation,” Glasner added. “Roy Hodgson was sitting here because the year before, Crystal Palace were playing against relegation. If all these top stars you are talking about have been here, why are they always playing against relegation?”
“I always respect the opinion of the fans. You should know much better than me: this is still one of the best seasons in Crystal Palace’s history. It’s Crystal Palace, we have to accept who we are and where we are. We know we can be very competitive. We are in a very good position in the Premier League. We are close to the top 10. We’re playing European football. We know we have topics to improve, but I don’t like that everybody is so critical.”
Palace fans don’t expect their team to win every game or even consistently play scintillating football, but they want to know that when they get the ball to one of their attackers, they are going to be entertained.
Ismaila Sarr can be exciting to watch, but more often than not, it is in games where he has space to run in behind. Yeremy Pino and Brennan Johnson have both shown little signs of promise, while Evann Guessand is more Palace coded with an element of chaos and has the capability of taking a man on.
It is a one-dimensional front line that lacks spontaneity, and that is the aggravation. Whenever Palace play a defensively disciplined side, particularly a low-block, they do not have the innovators required to unlock backlines.
Perhaps that is a theme of modern football, with functionality preferred, but Palace are a club that thrives off unpredictability. Attendances have dropped off in Palace’s last two home games, and that is not a surprise – watching them has become a chore.
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