Romain Esse was handed a rare chance by Oliver Glasner in the Carabao Cup clash between Crystal Palace and Millwall.
The England U21 international had been left on the bench in six out of seven games so far this season before Tuesday’s south London derby at Selhurst Park, but wasted his opportunity to impress in what was a miserable performance against his old club.
Esse was even hauled off at the interval in place of Christantus Uche, but not before Millwall fans aimed a pretty cold chant towards the 20-year-old.
Millwall fans call Romain Esse a “waste of money”
During his difficult 45 minutes on the pitch, the Crystal Palace No.21 misplaced a number of passes, failed to hold the ball up and generally looked well out of his depth.
Esse can be forgiven for his display, as he is surely rusty with just 24 minutes of football under his belt this season, but Millwall fans were ruthless towards their own academy graduate, with cries of “what a waste of money” ringing out from the away end.
The chant says it all about that fanbase, who fail to see the irony in calling their own academy product a waste of money.
£14.5m was spent to take the winger from Millwall back in January.
Since then, Glasner has handed Esse just two starts, one of which came in an insignificant 4-2 win over Wolves in the Premier League days after winning the FA Cup, and the other coming against Millwall, lasting just 45 minutes.
The Austrian expressed his dissatisfaction after the game, telling reporters: “I don’t want to talk about a single player but of course if you sub somebody at half-time you are not pleased with his performance. I will talk to him in person and then it’s up to him to show improvement. That’s it.”
Glasner – who was surely pleased with Daichi Kamada – could also be seen reacting furiously after Esse spoiled a promising attack, ripping his jacket off and throwing it to the ground.
On the basis of how the 51-year-old has treated Esse so far, it would not be outlandish to say that he probably agrees with those Millwall fans at this moment in time.
Something is just not clicking between Glasner and Esse, to say the least.
How Romain Esse performed statistically during Carabao Cup win
We have a lot of faith in Esse – who ought to have been loaned out – and feel he could become a key man for Crystal Palace in future, but he is undoubtedly struggling right now.
Category Statistic
Top stats
Goals 0
Assists 0
Total shots 1
Accurate passes 12/17 (71%)
Chances created 0
Dribbles 1/2
Attack
Touches 30
Accurate crosses 0/0
Possession lost 12
Defence
Tackles won 1
Clearances 0
Interceptions 0
Dribbled past 0
Duels
Ground duels won 4/6
Aerial duels won 0/0
Was fouled 2
Fouls committed 0
(Sofascore)
The man born in Lambeth lost possession 12 times against Millwall, failing to complete a key pass or a cross, and recording just one successful dribble.
It was sad to see the first half pan out, as nothing Esse attempted seemed to come off.
Hopefully, Glasner can help the Londoner realise his potential in training at Copers Cope, as there is definitely a talent in there somewhere.