Oliver Glasner and his club Crystal Palace are simply not getting off to a good start in the new season. Monday night’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest is already their fifth loss in eight games this season. The Eagles are still waiting for a win. A new negative record that is also increasingly increasing the pressure on the Austrian coach.
Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace are still waiting for their first success of the season in the English Premier League. In their eighth appearance, the team of the Upper Austrian coach conceded their fifth defeat with a 0-1 loss at Nottingham Forest on Monday evening, with only three draws. The last three games have all been lost. Crystal Palace are therefore only in a disappointing 18th place in the table.
“The players tried everything to win the game and score the equalizer in the end. But right now, we have to be honest, it’s not enough. Everyone is frustrated, everyone is disappointed. And yes, it is our responsibility, especially mine, to lift the heads of each individual player to support them. At the moment, I don’t think it’s a tactical problem, it’s a mentality problem. There is a lack of self-confidence, we can see that, and we have to change that. And of course, when you don’t win, it’s not that easy,” said the coach after the game.
Despite the current plight and the weak start to the new season, the Upper Austrian is confident: “I saw the passion, the hard work and the mentality today. The players were very disappointed in the dressing room, but no one blamed each other. Now is the time to support each other. The team’s reaction gives me a positive feeling for our next games.”
New negative record
His team did anything but well when the decisive goal was conceded. Chris Wood scored decisively for Nottingham in the 65th minute with strong help from the guests. A weak headed ball defense fell at the striker’s feet, who was last in the English team goal Dean Henderson let the shot pass. Palace continued to play with too little urgency even after the setback in a largely even game. The final offensive remained without a goal. After eight league games, the Eagles have scored a mere five goals. That is the lowest goal tally of any team in the Premier League. Only Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently further down the table behind Glasner’s side with just one point each.
The defeat also saw the Eagles set an inglorious negative record: for the first time in the club’s history, they went eight Premier League games without a win. The previous negative record was from the 2017/18 season, when Frank de Boer and Roy Hodgson failed to win in their first seven matches. Last season, Glasner took over Crystal in 15th place, close to the relegation zone, and led them to a strong tenth place with seven wins in their last 13 games – including a 4-0 win over Manchester United and a 5-0 win over Champions League participants Aston Villa.
In the summer, however, Glasner had to accept the departure of winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, who was one of the absolute key players last season with 16 points in 19 games. In addition, defensive mainstay Joachim Andersen also left the club, as did veteran Jordan Ayew. New signing Eddie Nketiah, who came from Arsenal for around €30 million, has not yet been able to prove himself as a reinforcement and is still waiting for his first goal in the current Premier League season. Daichi Kamada, with whom Glasner worked very successfully at Eintracht Frankfurt, is also still struggling with teething problems in the new league.
After the two opening defeats to Brentford (1-2) and West Ham United (0-2), it looked as if Glasner and his team were stabilizing after three draws against Chelsea (1-1), Leicester City (2-2) and Manchester United (0-0). Recently, however, they have suffered three painful defeats against Everton (1-2), Liverpool (0-1) and now Nottingham, which have also increased the pressure on the head coach from Upper Austria. He and his team need to turn things around quickly to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle. But with Tottenham Hotspur, the next difficult test awaits in the next home game, where the “Eagles” will finally have to show that they are capable of winning. Otherwise, it could be uncomfortable for Glasner and his time in the Premier League could be over sooner than planned. His contract with the London club runs until the summer of 2026.
