Just four months ago, Crystal Palace thumped Manchester United in a 4-0 victory. Their performance then was full of vigour, vibrancy and energy. It was a captivating 90 minutes to make it four wins from five games after a barren spell following Oliver Glasner’s replacement of Roy Hodgson as manager. They felt borderline invincible, not intimidated by any opposition, and there was a real sense of positivity.
The contrast with Saturday’s goalless draw could not have been starker. The moans and groans at Palace’s ponderous build-up play grew louder as the first half wore on. Even Glasner lost his cool, launching his water bottle into the ground after another pass towards their own goal.
Glasner complained post-match about how in each of their 10 free kicks, they passed back to goalkeeper Dean Henderson rather than forward.
There is no doubting his passion. On the touchline he is animated, frustrated, occasionally elated, always energetic, usually turning and looking to his coaching staff, full of emotion, unable to hide his feelings.
But the intensity of his emotions in the dugout is not yet translating onto the pitch for Palace, who are 16th in the table, with just three points and no wins so far this season.
Glasner has, on several occasions, already felt it necessary to try to manage expectations. It is something he did while manager at Eintracht Frankfurt, often offering a different perspective.
The trouble is that the horse has already bolted. After the miserable, dull style of play mixed with poor results that Palace supporters endured under Roy Hodgson for much of the season, the swashbuckling football with exciting patterns of play and rhythm were a huge relief. It is natural for fans to want a return to that entertaining style.
“Expectations were wrong,” he said. “Just because you win two doesn’t mean you win the next two. Just because you lose two doesn’t mean you lose the next two. It doesn’t mean now it continues like the last seven games because it was just 20 per cent of the season. We didn’t expect to go, ‘Wow, we’ll win every game’.
“The first goal has always been to not get relegated. Now there is a different view of Palace in England — 49 points was the highest amount since promotion and the 58 goals was the highest Palace ever scored in the Premier League. If that was the best, then to expect (better still) is maybe too much to expect from the players.
“The last seven games were great, but the first 31 weren’t great — it doesn’t mean it continues like the last seven. It hasn’t worked yet, but that doesn’t mean we say, ‘Oh shit, we’ve failed’, because it is only September.”
But it was not just six victories from the final seven games that galvanised the fanbase. It was the manner of those victories that created such excitement and anticipation.
Many Palace fans appreciate it is unlikely to be the same as last season, but there is a middle ground between expecting comfortable, consecutive victories and simply wanting better than what has been demonstrated so far this season.
The speed of thought, of play, and the directness are not what it was at the end of last season. Michael Olise’s departure to Bayern Munich is the main reason for that, but not the sole one. Palace may have sought to replace him with different profiles rather than a like-for-like one, but it is not yet clicking.
Daichi Kamada, be it in the double pivot or as a No 10, is not an energetic, rapid forward who revels in taking players on. His game is more subtle and he has struggled in both roles to adapt to the Premier League since his arrival on a free transfer from Lazio after his contract expired in the summer.
Eddie Nketiah is not a natural No 10 but has looked bright and sharp to date, yet his game is not as direct either.
Despite the lack of intensity and rhythm for much of this early part of the season, there were some signs of progress for Palace in the final 20 minutes against United.
The introduction of Ismaila Sarr as a striker provided pace and width, two things Olise used to offer even in the narrow No 10 role.
Sarr is the most direct of their new arrivals and ought to have scored after Andre Onana made a spectacular double save first from Nketiah before denying the substitute.
The summer signing from Marseille has made a difference in each of his appearances so far, but he is likely to be used from the bench rather than the start — Glasner heavily implied that he wants his front three of Mateta, Nketiah and Eberechi Eze to become accustomed to each other.
Yet Palace seem desperate for that directness to help them transition into this new normal.
Even if performances like at the end of last season are too much to ask for, something better is needed soon.
(Top photo: Ismaila Sarr after a missed chance against Manchester United; by Jacques Feeney/Offside via Getty Images)
