Oliver Glasner needs Crystal Palace backing after transfer frustration | OneFootball

Palace listened to Glasner over Marc Guehi but now must keep him happy

In a summer as chaotic as Crystal Palace’s, it felt inevitable that there would be one last twist on Deadline Day.

Chairman Steve Parish had said Palace needed to sell Guehi this summer as they did not risk losing him on a free when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The deeply ambitious and increasingly agitated Oliver Glasner, who has also entered the final year of his contract, felt differently. He was clear that his captain had to stay and, at the 11th hour, he got his wish.

Right up until the end of the window, Palace seemed unsure of what they wanted to do. It has been the story of a summer dominated by worry about which European competition they would play in.

Marc Guehi’s move to Liverpool collapsed on deadline day after Palace failed to line up a replacement

Action Images via Reuters

But Palace fan Bruno Collingridge, founder of the Palace Way (@ThePalaceWay), says that situation should not be used as an excuse for the struggles in the transfer market.

“It took a lot of steam away after having won both the FA Cup and the Community Shield,” he says. “It ruined what should have been a very enjoyable summer.

“Should it (Palace’s demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League) have hindered us? The answer is no. We knew we wanted an attacker and a defender regardless, and yet we only signed that defender (19-year-old Jaydee Canvot) on the final day of the window, and we never got that extra forward in. It's not like we didn't know we were going to need those players regardless of what competition we were in.”

There is some sympathy for Parish, who Collingridge describes as the “club’s greatest ever chairman” but says the club have failed to match Glasner’s ambition.

“Oliver Glasner is the only person at Crystal Palace Football Club who knows anything about playing in Europe or European football, and we didn't listen to him until the final minute,” he says.

“I think most Palace fans will support Oliver Glasner, but feel very, very sorry for the uncertainty that Marc Guehi had because the club should have made up his mind and listened to his manager much, much sooner, or signed a player much earlier in the window.

Glasner’s future should be a concern to Palace chairman Steve Parish

The FA via Getty Images

“Either way, it's on Parish that this situation ever happened.”

Many Palace fans ultimately believes Parish came to the right decision in keeping Guehi, but they want to see Glasner backed.

“Every Palace fan wants to see Glasner backed,” says Collingridge. “We've never had a manager this good and he worked two miracles in the last 12 months with a threadbare squad, an injury crisis and not being backed in the last window.

“Palace fans want to see him stay for as long as they can imagine. And from our point of view, from the way he talks about what he wants and the way the media has reported his situation, we think, why can't you just back the manager and give him what he wants so that he's more willing to stay here?”

Indecision in the transfer market has left Palace, who have already lost Adam Wharton (adductor) and Ismaila Sarr (hamstring) to injury, with a threadbare squad who must juggle European football.

Palace are feeling the impact of a summer of uncertainty, and while they have proven in their first three games of the season that they have the quality to have another strong season, their lack of depth is a very real concern that could hamper their ambitions.

“This is a golden era for the club, so why not make the most of it when you're in Europe, because you know you're going to need the players to sustain it,” says Collingridge.

“It really is quite upsetting because every fan was saying for the entire window that this is what we need to do.”

Glasner can push Palace to greater heights, but his patience appears to be being tested.