Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace masterplan will take time – but the signs are encouraging

“I don’t know what the Oliver Glasner picture of Crystal Palace is.”

The new Palace manager had been asked when fans could expect to see his version of this team and when he might put his stamp on it, but even the man himself isn’t sure what that looks like.

In the 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, there was some evidence of Glasner’s vision. Palace played in a similar style to that of his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, against teams with stronger squads, defending doggedly without offering much threat before collapsing late on.

But even though the pattern was similar, there were still some notable differences — even if they were far less pronounced than in the previous week’s 3-0 win over Burnley in Glasner’s first game in charge. 

Palace, unsurprisingly, sat deep in a low block, but they tried to exploit Spurs on the counter by continuing to push their wing-backs up high — as illustrated by Palace’s average positions on the right side of the graphic below.

Daniel Munoz, in particular, tried to get forward at almost every opportunity, albeit with limited success. It comes more naturally to him than it does Tyrick Mitchell, who offered less in attack on the left, but defensively he is less vulnerable.

Palace’s pressing was more pronounced than it has been this season, trying to close down their opponents but maintaining a compact, organised shape. For most of the opening hour, they were successful, but individual mistakes once again proved to be their downfall.

“It’s tough, but the intensity that we’re playing at is so much higher than we’ve done before, so to maintain that for 90 minutes is not easy,” said Eberechi Eze, whose brilliant free kick had put Palace ahead. “I’m sure we’re going to get there over the next few weeks. We’ll be putting in better performances, we feel a lot stronger, so it’s building more than anything.”

Daniel Munoz was pushed high up the pitch (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Glasner is only two weeks into managing Palace and, even if he says he does not yet know what he wants his team’s identity to be, there are some signs of how he wants to change things.

It will be a team capable of playing at a higher intensity and doing so for longer, with high wing-backs and diagonal switches of play. He gave no clear answer to the question of why he believed that intensity was lacking, but there had been questions raised over training under the previous regime.

That would seem to be a part of it, but it is not something that can be addressed so late in the season.

“Intensity doesn’t mean that we press them 90 minutes in their own box,” he said before the Burnley game. “You can play very intense with a lower block. When you win the ball and you try, in transition, to play vertical passes, to sprint into space, this can be very intense.”

Although one game against superior opposition is not representative, there does appear to be pragmatism, just as there was under Hodgson. The difference between how Palace played against a poor Burnley side and a Spurs side with quality all over the pitch was stark, though. Glasner’s instructions about overloading the penalty area, for example, would have been impossible to replicate in this game.

Eberechi Eze scores Palace’s goal at Spurs (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

He had made a point of saying his priority was for his team to create opportunities and to score goals, suggesting there will, where possible, be more of a focus on attack.

Inevitably it will take time to make amendments, however minor. His first week was dominated by light sessions due to having played on Monday night at Everton. He has already made a point of referencing the two-week international break as a jumping-off point to make some changes. That now effectively extends to three weeks given the match with Newcastle United has been postponed.

One key difference is the attitude before games. Instead of focusing on how strong Tottenham were before the game and effectively suggesting any positive result would be a surprise, Glasner tried to instil confidence that at their best it would be possible. Playing things down does not appear to be his style: as Eze said, Glasner’s style has been “super positive”. 

The win over a poor Burnley highlighted changes made in a week, but Tottenham, a far sterner test, was always going to be more enlightening. There was no major divergence, just a slightly more positive approach in pressing and attacking the flanks.

“We can be more confident with the ball,” he said. “You must also give problems to the opposite team. They have to think about it and at that time the pressure increased and increased and this time they scored the goal.”

While Glasner is keen to score goals, he has recognised this team still needs defensive structure and a balance, with that pragmatism becoming apparent. Without a fully fit Eze and Michael Olise, there are limits to what can be achieved, particularly in a short space of time. The squad lacks strength in depth, particularly in attacking areas — one of the reasons Palace concede so many late goals.

There is evidence of some change at Palace already, but Glasner’s full intentions will only become clear in time.

(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)