'Palace's best chance of staying up is moving on from Glasner'published at 11:23 GMT
11:23 GMT
Media caption,
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes Crystal Palace should part company with Oliver Glasner, given his recent criticism of the club's hierarchy and news he will leave at the end of the season.
"I've got a feeling Palace are going to get dragged into this," Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.
"I think they need to make a decision on Oliver Glasner. With every press conference there is always a jibe in there.
"They know he's away at the end of the season. I think their best chance of staying up is moving on from Glasner.
"He's going anyway in the summer. I think they need to make a move and get someone in now."
'Final week of the transfer window doesn't come with many expectations'published at 08:10 GMT
08:10 GMT
Alex Pewter Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
As far as Premier League records go, Sunday's match didn't bode well for Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace on paper. After that 3-1 loss, the team is now winless in eight league games, 17 against Chelsea, and 13 when officiated by Darren England. Not quite a recipe for success for those desiring a change in fortunes.
The late Chris Richards goal softened what could have been a tough full-time reaction, but the pressure to get a result next week against Nottingham Forest has only increased - even Opta's supercomputer predictions have seen Palace's relegation chances move from a near-impossibility to a lofty 1.75% in recent weeks.
The returns of Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz added much-needed energy to the right-hand side of the pitch, even in defeat, which hopefully will translate into results in time. However, with no changes to the depth behind them, the squad is an injury away from being in the same predicament that plagued December and most of January.
The final week of the transfer window doesn't come with many expectations, unless you are an eternal optimist. The managerial insecurity, or at least the long-term future of who will occupy that role, and the fall in the league table have likely lessened the appetite to spend and push for European places, which now seem now out of reach.
With record-signing Brennan Johnson largely anonymous across his first five Palace appearances, and Marc Guehi now competing for title honours with the blue half of Manchester, perhaps the agency that represents both players is the real winner from the window so far, rather than Palace.
Johnson will hopefully improve with time, but lost amongst Glasner-gate last week, the departure of Guehi is worrying. Even if the sale was financially necessary, the lack of immediate replacement has hamstrung the team.
Unless a deal can be done to strengthen the position well before the Nottingham Forest game, the club has elected to play 8% of their fixtures without a starting-calibre option alongside Maxence Lacroix and Richards. Palace fans may be used to such circumstances at this point, but it doesn't make the task any easier for the team.
Gossip: Forest make £35m Mateta bidpublished at 07:14 GMT
07:14 GMT
Nottingham Forest have made a £35m bid for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, but the Eagles want a £40m package and will only let the 28-year-old leave if that price is met and they are able to bring in a replacement. (Athletic - subscription required), external
Is it time for the club to cut ties with Crystal Palace boss?published at 18:52 GMT 26 January
18:52 GMT 26 January
Image source, Getty Images
Crystal Palace's winless run continued at the weekend with their defeat by Chelsea at Selhurst Park, and when looking at the past six games, they find themselves bottom of the Premier League form table.
It has been a turbulent couple of weeks for the Eagles and, with Oliver Glasner scheduled to see out the rest of his contract and leave in the summer, we asked you whether boss Oliver Glasner is still the man to turn the season around or should the board cut ties now.
At the time of this post, the poll suggested a close split among supporters:
Yes, it's too much distraction so the board should cut ties now (51%)
No, he is still the best for us right now and then start afresh in the summer (40%)
Palace on the slide - but is Glasner still the person to turn it around?published at 14:25 GMT 26 January
14:25 GMT 26 January
Bobbie Jackson BBC Sport Journalist
Just 254 days ago Crystal Palace were flying high.
Captain Marc Guehi held the FA Cup aloft at Wembley - the club's first major trophy after upsetting Manchester City in the final - and Oliver Glasner was already making plans for a European campaign.
But so much has changed since that glorious afternoon.
Results have also taken a downward turn, with Palace failing to win any of their past 11 games across all competitions - the longest current winless run of any Premier League side - including losing at non-league Macclesfield in the FA Cup.
Sunday's 3-1 home loss to Chelsea extended their winless league run to eight matches, with six ending in defeat, and left them 15th in the table and eight points clear of third-bottom West Ham.
Palace ended the match with 10 men after midfielder Adam Wharton - another player linked with an exit - was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.
"Confidence is what you get from results," Glasner told BBC Match of the Day.
"It is my job, my responsibility, with my staff, my group, to get this confidence back. I saw a lot of positives, but when you are losing 3-1 and have not won for 11 games then it's completely right to say, 'where are the results?'
"That's what we have to get. It is up to us to find these puzzle pieces. There's no magician. I always believe in this group, these players, that we will turn it around."
Despite Palace's poor form, they are still one point better off than at this stage last season and can book a spot in the last 16 of the Conference League if they come through a two-legged play-off against Zrinjski Mostar from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"These are tough moments, tough games," added Glasner.
"I look at the team and 3-0 down, a red card, you can go out five or six-nil, but we came back, scored a goal and made a fight of it, so that shows the great character of the group and that gives me a lot of confidence this group will turn it around."
With Palace enduring a difficult spell - on and off the pitch - is Glasner still the best person to turn things around? Or would it be best for the Eagles' season if the board cut ties before the end of his contract?
Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea - the fans' verdictpublished at 09:57 GMT 26 January
09:57 GMT 26 January
Media caption,
We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Here are some of your comments:
Palace fans
David: Relegation is now a distinct possibility unless Steve Parish wakes up and realises investment in the team is more important than a new stadium.
Mike: We were just not good enough, Mateta is just not consistent as a striker - he lacks the anticipation that all good strikers have and misses too many one-on-one chances. Sadly we are in the relegation fight and I'm not sure we are good enough to avoid the drop.
John: Glasner has to go now. Appoint Paddy McCarthy until the end of the season and if he is successful, give him the job. Bring back Shaun Derry as his assistant so we have people who are 100% Palace.
Ron: Hard to watch now. I've never seen a team disintegrate so quickly. Second time Jaydee Canvot has cost us points. Glasner has to go now and quickly for we are heading for the relegation zone. I think he has lost the squad. He keeps playing Mateta, I don't know why. Not a lot to look forward to.
Chelsea fans
Keith: Score line doesn't reflect the game. Chelsea are still very inconsistent at the back and got away with it a couple of times. Plenty of work to do but three points in the bag is welcome.
Steve: Nice to win but still feels like 11 players thrown together rather than a team with a style and a plan. The defence looks like it will let us down more often than not.
Kevin: Estevao brilliant. A good all-round performance though I still think we need an experienced striker like Victor Osimhen, a world class goalkeeper like Mike Maignan and an experienced centre-back. Looking forward to this team maturing.
Rohan: Good overall performance. Estevao was brilliant once again. Still some defensive frailties. Hopefully this win will give us confidence to secure top eight in Napoli.
Could Palace find themselves 'looking over their shoulder'?published at 09:57 GMT 26 January
09:57 GMT 26 January
Sami Mokbel Senior football correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
Crystal Palace are on an alarming slide. Their form is terrible.
As we know there are issues there behind the scenes; they have just lost their captain and their star striker wants to leave.
That won't help morale one iota and the 3-1 defeat at home to Chelsea certainly won't either.
They will probably have too much to be dragged into a relegation battle but it only takes another couple of poor results and a couple of victories for West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds and they could find themselves looking over their shoulder.
If you look at the team, even without Marc Guehi, they should have enough, especially if they make another couple of additions between now and the end of the transfer window.
Analysis: Time to look over the shoulder for Palacepublished at 17:01 GMT 25 January
17:01 GMT 25 January
Nizaar Kinsella Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Crystal Palace's supporters began the afternoon by showing their backing for the team and manager Oliver Glasner. They will have ended it worrying about relegation.
Chairman Steve Parish was watching on as Glasner was cheered on to the pitch before kick-off. It was the manager's first home match since announcing he will leave Palace when his contract expires in June.
Glasner had confirmed what many had long suspected, with his contract nearing its end and open criticisms of the south Londoners' transfer policy dating back to midway through the summer window.
He complained when losing Eberechi Eze to Arsenal and Marc Guehi to Manchester City - sales that have brought Palace back down to earth after winning the FA Cup and qualifying for Europe at the end of last season.
Yet the atmosphere inside the stadium remained upbeat, with supporters getting behind their team regardless of the off‑field turmoil. There was little difference between the two teams in the first half but Chelsea took their first big chance - and Palace didn't - and the visitors pressed home their advantage after half-time.
Palace striker Jean-Philipe Mateta, who wants to leave and has been linked with Aston Villa and Juventus, was the one who squandered their big chance. Meanwhile, Guehi's replacement Canvot cost Palace with a poor backpass for the opener and a handball for the third.
Making matters worse, Adam Wharton's poor decisions led to a sending off, and he will now miss a key trip to Nottingham Forest, who sit just below Palace in the table.
Palace are without a win in eight league matches - 11 in all competitions - with only Burnley currently on a longer streak in the top flight. They should, therefore, be looking over their shoulder at Forest and West Ham, the latter having won their past two home games, in an increasingly competitive battle to avoid relegation to the Championship.
Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea: What Glasner saidpublished at 16:52 GMT 25 January
16:52 GMT 25 January
Media caption,
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, spoke to BBC Match of the Day after his side's defeat by Chelsea: "Disappointing and frustrating. It looks like, right now, we are not good enough to win the game but we created our chances, we didn't take them and then we made too many mistakes to give the opponents the chances and they took it.
"When you've not won in 10 games the nerves are very thin and then you are 1-0 down and the players are frustrated. They feel we are in the game but 1-0 down again. These are tough moments, tough games. I look at the team and 3-0 down, a red card, you can go out five or six nil, but we came back, scored a goal and made a fight of it so that shows the great character of the group and that gives me a lot of confidence this group will turn it around.
"Confidence is what you get from results. It is my job, my responsibility, with my staff, my group, to get this confidence back. I saw a lot of positives but when you are losing 3-1 and have not won for 11 games then it's completely right to say 'where are the results?'
"That's what we have to get. It is up to us to find these puzzle pieces. There's no magician. I always believe in this group, these players, that we will turn it around."
Did you know?
Palace conceded a penalty, received a red card and conceded 3+ goals all in the same Premier League game for the first time ever.
Palace have now failed to win any of their last 11 matches across all competitions (D4 L7), which is both the longest current winless run of any Premier League side and the Eagles' longest winless run since a run of 13 between January and March 2023.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Crystal Palace v Chelsea" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Arsenal v Manchester United", for instance.
Sutton's predictions: Crystal Palace v Chelseapublished at 10:00 GMT 25 January
10:00 GMT 25 January
The wheels seem to be coming off in a big way at Palace. Marc Guehi has joined Manchester City, Oliver Glasner has hit out at the club's owners after announcing he will leave and now Jean-Philippe Mateta wants away.
It feels as if Glasner does not want to be there and although he seems to have been forgiven for his outburst about the club's hierarchy after defeat at Sunderland last weekend, I just don't think he is going to be around much longer.
Things are far from rosy for Chelsea at the moment either, and I feel a bit sorry for their manager Liam Rosenior. He is getting a kicking in certain places for some of his techniques and because he has come from Strasbourg, and I think that is unfair.
He's an innovative young manager who has done well for himself, and is hungry and ambitious.
If he was a young continental coach, we would be saying this guy is marvellous. Let's give him a chance.
I don't see everything going smoothly for Rosenior this season, but Chelsea got over the line in the Champions League in midweek and I think they will do the same at Selhurst Park.
I just don't know where Palace go from here, and it is really sad.
Maybe the end will come quickly for Glasner, but he cannot continue to show his frustration publicly every week or two, because that is not going to move the club forward.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 13:08 GMT 24 January
13:08 GMT 24 January
Matthew Hobbs BBC Sport journalist
Crystal Palace will attempt to end a 10-match winless run in all competitions against a Chelsea side playing their first Premier League away game under head coach Liam Rosenior.
BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of their meeting at Selhurst Park.
Palace in crisis mode
The month of January is in danger of becoming a full-blown crisis for Crystal Palace.
First, head coach Oliver Glasner announced that he would be leaving south London in a news conference last Friday and although he denied his decision was anything to do with player sales, the £20m departure of captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City was confirmed later that same day.
Then, following Palace's 2-1 loss at Sunderland on Saturday, Glasner said his squad had been "abandoned completely" by the club's hierarchy.
And then on Wednesday, the Eagles' downward spiral took another twist, with key striker Jean-Philippe Mateta informing club officials that he wants to exit Selhurst Park this month.
For a stretched squad currently missing seven players because of injury, including defender Daniel Munoz, Mateta's announcement is a bitter blow.
The 28-year-old forward has been transformed under Glasner, with only Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scoring more than Mateta's 29 non-penalty Premier League goals since Glasner's arrival, form which led to his first caps – and goals – for France in October.
Six of Crystal Palace's last seven Premier League goals at Selhurst Park have been scored by Mateta – and the other was a Nathan Collins own goal.
The last Palace player other than Mateta to score at home in the league was Eddie Nketiah against Liverpool in September. Since then, 17 other Palace players have had a combined 83 shots without netting.
Palace have failed to win any of their past 16 Premier League games against Chelsea, while only Burnley are currently on a longer losing run than Palace's sequence of seven top-flight matches – dual factors that may mean Mateta features on Sunday, whatever his wishes.
Image caption,
Crystal Palace have not won in the Premier League since 7 December
Kings of the capital
Chelsea are playing their first Premier League away game under Rosenior, who has won three of his opening four matches in all competitions – most recently a narrow win against Champions League minnows Pafos FC on Wednesday which kept hopes alive of automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
Attention now turns to domestic matters and a local rivalry in London. Chelsea have already beaten West Ham United, Fulham, Tottenham and Brentford this season to continue a strong record in derbies in recent seasons.
Image caption,
Chelsea have already triumphed in four London derbies in the Premier League this season
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, only Arsenal (97) have won more points in London derbies than Chelsea's 73, while only West Ham (38) have picked up fewer than Crystal Palace's 45 during this period.
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer both netted in Rosenior's first Premier League game in charge in a derby against Brentford last weekend and the duo will be attempting to emulate the four Blues players who have scored in a manager's opening two fixtures in charge.
They are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink under Claudio Ranieri, Deco under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Diego Costa under Antonio Conte and Pedro under Maurizio Sarri.
Glasner on Guehi fallout, Mateta transfer and being himselfpublished at 15:27 GMT 23 January
15:27 GMT 23 January
Melissa Edwards BBC Sport journalist
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Selhurst Park (kick-off 14:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Glasner said last week he "felt abandoned" by the club after their 2-1 loss to Sunderland on Saturday, and explained it was because he is "attached" to Crystal Palace: "I was quite emotional after the game, which I think shows how much the players and Crystal Palace means to me. Some could say 'why do you care you're leaving', but this is how I am. I am attached to the club but it was all the circumstances. It's not that we sold him [Marc Guehi] - I agreed one year ago in February to sell Marc - it's all about timing and replacement."
He continued: "I know that Crystal Palace will always sell players if they have big offers from other clubs. It's just the situation of telling a team 28 hours before a Premier League game that their captain is leaving. This was my feeling at that moment and this is what I tried to express. It feels like criticism but it was just me telling the emotions I and the team had."
On whether he regrets his comments: "No I don't regret. Do I think it was the best way? No, I don't think so - but that's Oliver Glasner. I've always told you that's Oliver Glasner. It's a part of what we achieved together that I'm emotional. It helps to create spirit, togetherness and belief. I don't say I'm perfect - I would like to be. I never attacked anyone personally, I just explained my feelings."
After Guehi's move to Manchester City, Glasner announced he would also be leaving the club at the end of the season. When asked whether the announcement took the board by surprise, he said: "No, never. To be honest, I planned to say it by the end of December because I wanted to avoid anybody saying, 'Oliver is not pleased with the transfer window and that's why he's leaving'. It's nothing to do with it. But then there were all these reasons and a lot of games, and we decided to wait three game weeks."
Glasner also revealed he met club chairman Steve Parish earlier in the week to discuss the situation and concluded that the pair are "100% committed" to the rest of the season. He added that while the whole saga "was a thunderstorm", the "sun is shining" for his team again.
Glasner also said striker Jean-Philipe Mateta will play on Sunday despite reports that he wants to leave the club and added: "[It's] very clear. He didn't hand in a transfer request and we have no bid received right now. That's the situation."
On facing Chelsea: "Enzo Maresca did a great job and now Liam Rosenior continues the job. A great team, fantastic players and the structure also didn't change massively. I watched the Brentford game back and I think Brentford could have won that game. But on the other side, Chelsea were very efficient and punished every mistake Brentford made, and that's the quality of the team and players."
Putting a foot in!published at 13:21 GMT 23 January
13:21 GMT 23 January
Is there a more wholesome sight than one of your players flying into a tackle?
For all the creativity, smart finishing and wonder goals the Premier League can offer, few such joys would be possible were it not for those feisty fellows charging around to win the ball back for the cause.
This season, those in the graphic above top the charts for putting their foot in.
Tottenham's Joao Palhinha was seemingly born in a pair of shinpads and primed to launch in on someone, while Everton's James Garner continues to impress this season in various areas of his game - underlining why talk of an England call-up continues.
Keep an eye out for these men this weekend. Their opponents will almost certainly end up seeing more of them than they'd bargained for.
