Crystal Palace are expected to spend big on reinforcements this summerplaceholder image
Crystal Palace are expected to spend big on reinforcements this summer | AFP via Getty Images
Oliver Glasner pulled off one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history with Crystal Palace, but what makes him tick?
The 2025/26 season is nearly upon us and it is Crystal Palace who might be the team kicking the first competitive ball of the season for those in the Premier League.
Oliver Glasner, the right man at the right time for Crystal Palace
Leading them out will be Oliver Glasner, the unassuming Austrian who knows what he wants from his players, and when he gets it, success usually follows. A high intensity, high running, aggressive style of play has seen players like Michael Olise go onto bigger things with Eze the next to be tipped to benefit from having the right manager at the right time.
Had a defence-minded coach been appointed, there are no guarantees that England caps would have been his reward for his performances over the last couple of seasons.
If a Europa League win is the most prestigious trophy in his cabinet, the FA Cup win that he guided Palace is one that sees him become immortal after winning the first major trophy in the club’s 164-year history. Nobody will remember the battering that Palace took off Man City on that famous day in the Wembley sun, with a squad of players who had completely bought into a manager’s philosophy and trusting every instruction that he gave them.
What makes Oliver Glasner tick?
It might be too early for talk of statues, but regardless of how he leaves Selhurst Park, Glasner will always be welcome back and will always be that manager, Palace’s version of the Special One. The perfect fit for a club that needs an identity and needs to work harder than the teams they face because of the differences in budget. Beating three Premier League sides on the way to winning the FA Cup shows it wasn’t a fluke and they couldn’t have a better manager for their first foray into proper European football.
As for the man himself, in his own words, he doesn’t complicate things. It is all about running further and faster than your opponent with one sole purpose whenever his team takes to the field.
“My philosophy is very easy: it’s scoring goals because that’s why, as I tell the players very often, we all started playing football,” Glasner told Palace TV after being appointed. “Nobody went on the pitch when he was a young kid to defend.”
“When we enter the final third, I don’t like to play possession there,” he added. “Sometimes you need a lot of effort to come into the final third. So let’s get numbers into the box and the ball into the box and try to score. When we are there, let’s try to go for a goal, not stay in possession.” Simple, but as shown by his tenure so far, incredibly effective.
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