Oliver Glasner is dreaming of a title-winning finish to his Crystal Palace tenure, having been drawn against AEK Larnaca in the last 16 of the Conference League.
In 2025, Palace beat Manchester City to lift the FA Cup and then Liverpool in the Community Shield. For this, the Austrian coach has immortalised his name in south London, but having declared he will be leaving the club in January and made some comments which haven't sat well with the fanbase, some have called for him to be sacked.
Regardless, the Eagles have the chance to fashion something special from this testing season, but they need to plan for the future and find a manager worthy of taking the reins from Glasner.
The latest on Crystal Palace's manager search
Chairman Steve Parish has already earmarked a number of coaches to replace Glasner at the helm. Robbie Keane is emerging as a candidate, the Ferencvarosi boss doing fine work for the Hungarians.
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The truth is that Palace are an attractive outfit whose soon-to-be-vacant seat will interest any number of managers, but it's crucial that they make the right pick.
According to GIVEMESPORT, Crystal Palace have shortlisted several names, Keane joined by the likes of Rayo Vallecano's Inigo Perez and Getafe's Pepe Bordalas.
However, former PSV and Benfica boss Roger Schmidt could be the best bet, having been earmarked as Parish considers his options.
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Unemployed, Schmidt was dismissed from his last role, but he's got the perfect profile to succeed Glasner and maintain the 51-year-old's style in south London.
Why Roger Schmidt could be Glasner 2.0
Schmidt won the Primeira Liga in his first season at the Benfica helm but was sacked in August 2024 after a run of poor performances and results.
Even so, he's a progressive tactician whose gegenpressing focus, taken from the German handbook, would see Parish change the managerial hands at Selhurst Park without taking the attacking essence that Glasner has created over the past few years.
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The 58-year-old has never dropped beneath a 50% win rate at any of his eight senior roles, and with the Eagles in Portugal, his record stood just below 70%, and his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation would dovetail into Crystal Palace's system.
Glasner often operates with a three-man defence, and though that has been a bona fide success, it's one of the more controversial line-ups in football, and Schmidt bringing his own flavour could actually benefit the fluency of Palace's system.
While Keane is a promising young manager, a tactical idealist, Schmidt has more experience and a playing style that would see him welcomed warmly by the Palace supporters.
He demands high-octane football, and thus requires elite fitness from his players. Glasner's Palace have only averaged 45.1% possession this season, but that doesn't matter. They work hard and press high, and in that, Schmidt could really enjoy working with these title-winning players.
His forward-focused football would bring the best out of forwards such as Ismaila Sarr and Jorgen Strand Larsen, who joined the club from Wolves for a club-record £48m in January,
Glasner's Top Scorers at Crystal Palace
Player
Jean-Philippe Mateta
Ismaila Sarr
Eberechi Eze
Eddie Nketiah
Daniel Munoz
There is a lot of uncertainty at Crystal Palace right now, and while it would be good for Glasner to see out the season and secure some more silverware, Parish and co do need to plan ahead, and with Schmidt currently out of work, the pieces might just fall into place for a new chapter that could be just as successful as the last one.
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