Manchester United and Crystal Palace are tipped to be entering transfer talks this summer.placeholder image
Manchester United and Crystal Palace are tipped to be entering transfer talks this summer. | Getty Images
Crystal Palace have established themselves as a top half Premier League team and have been used as the benchmark for one under-pressure boss.
Crystal Palace are in good shape in the Premier League this season as Oliver Glasner continues to punch above his weight against clubs with significantly deeper pockets.
A 0-0 draw with Sunderland could have been three points on another occasion. Had a second-half penalty been awarded, the visitors would have had to open up more, the same could be said of the chances that were missed by the hosts though with the Eagles boss content, if not quite happy, with how his team is playing.
Pundit uses Crystal Palace to criticise Ruben Amorim
Glasner has been pigeon-holed as a system manager given his adherence to a 3-4-3 formation that is uncommon in the Premier League with only Manchester United consistently adopting the same sort of shape. United boss Ruben Amorim hasn’t managed to get a similar level of stability with his team with BBC Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy using Palace as an example of what he is getting wrong:
"I'm not a fan of the shape, but after the first four games I think it has improved - they look like they know what they are doing more. Their bigger problem has been the individuals he has been playing in that system. Bruno Fernandes has been one of the best number 10s in Europe, Amorim wants him to play as an 8 and do defensive work, which he does not do well.
"Amorim cannot put round pegs in square holes. You have got to have players who understand their role. If you are a holding midfielder in that role you have got to be able to track runners and spot dangers. The manager has to take responsibility, but in terms of just blaming the system? No. Palace play it well."
The big difference between Glasner and Amorim
Glasner might be a system manager, but what he has also shown is that he can be flexible and make adaptations within the shape. A post-match interview after beating Fredrikstad showed how the Austrian’s ability to be creative is something that the more stubborn Amorim could learn from via the Palace website:
“We expected them [Fredrikstad] in a 3-5-2, or 5-3-2. No, it was more 5-4-1 – very deep. And then I think after 15, 20 minutes, we changed a little bit. We wanted Justin Devenny, like a No. 10, playing more in a 3-1-6, and Will Hughes overloading the left side and then getting more players in the box. It was difficult to find space in the pocket.
“There was no space, so it means you have to come from the wing, and this then worked better. We had a big chance with Ismaila Sarr. And then when they dropped with all their nine or ten players into the box, then we have Marc [Guéhi], who can play great crosses. We had Adam with a few good crosses. We had finishes, but we didn't score.
“Then we said: ‘OK, stay patient, keep going’. And at the end, JP's head was somewhere in the way and deflected the ball.”
Murphy is right. United aren’t struggling under Amorim because of the shape or system, it is because players are being asked to do things that go completely against their natural games whereas Glasner gets the best out of players and improves them. If Amorim is sacked, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Glasner’s name is on the shortlist to replace him such has been his impact since arriving in English football.
Continue Reading