There are not many world class managers in the game anymore. This is a topic that needs its own article, but one that has to be respected is Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace. When Glasner was appointed 18 months ago to take over from Roy Hodgson it felt like a solid move from the Eagles. Glasner had won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt but in all honesty fans would not have expected anything extraordinary- but that is what Glasner has given them. Not only did Palace in his first full season end up with record season points (53) they also won the FA Cup beating Manchester City 1-0. Incredibly this was the clubs first ever major silverware, historic doesn't even come close. Palace then beat Liverpool to win the Community Shield and have gone their last 19 games unbeaten. It is quite simply staggering. After 6 games of the season Palace are in 3rd place and many fans will be pinching themselves. Let's not forget that Hodgson is a legendary figure in the game but the club always looked limited under him with the Austrian Glasner they look free.
When Eberechi Eze left Palace this summer it did feel that we have seen all of this before, a smaller club gains some success and then loses their best players, but in fact at least for now the Eagles are flying high and certainly not missing arguably their best player from last season. So what is Glasner doing and how has he been able to get so much out of the team?
It may feel ironic that we can praise Glasner and see positive results from his side but see the opposite from Ruben Amorim at Manchester United because both managers play 3 at the back which seems to have been the real Achilles heel with Amorim. There have been two main differences, the first has been simply Palace's players have been able to adapt to the system, they believe in it and whisper it have more respect for the guy in charge. Also Amorim rarely plays the same defence whilst Glasner does, so communication and an understanding has felt more natural. Perhaps long term there should be caution with 3 at the back given in recent times only Antonio Conte when in charge at Chelsea four years ago had any real measure of success with it. Glasner has also adopted an intense pressing game, and while in general the Premier League witnesses a fast paced game Palace have become one of the best at playing out from defence to attack although it should also be noted that we may have seen a shift in the league and more long balls are being used. The Eagles have just handed Liverpool their first defeat of the season and while the Reds did equalise late on a victory for Glasner's side was well deserved, even Arne Slot said this. Of course good managers need good players and despite the loss of Eze Jean Mateta is a real quality find, Ismaila Sarr is consistent and the club can boast an England international in defence in Marc Guehi. No doubt this is Palace's best ever moment in their history and it will be fascinating if they can keep up their brilliant start to the season.
Another team that has impressed so far has been Sunderland. The club have won 50% of their games and if they keep that up then they will be playing European football next season. Of course the league is still young but the Black Cats are clearly not reading the recent scripts which has seen the three promoted sides go down the following season. This past weekend Sunderland underlined they mean business by going to Nottingham Forest who have a new manager in Ange Postecoglou and beating them 1-0. When we mention Sunderland it's difficult not to talk about Newcastle who have had the opposite start to their city rivals despite having a bigger budget and better quality players. It really feels like the departure of Alexander Isak has hurt the club badly, not just on the pitch but in a psychological sense too. Here was a club a couple of seasons ago who had Saudi money injected into them and were thought to be the new Chelsea the new Manchester City in waiting however then the Premier League stepped in. The PSR in an ideal world works but in the Premier League it stops investment in mid table clubs by billionaires because their hands are tied. It means whilst Newcastle have made some progress they are very unlikely to win a league title even with billionaire ownership. Newcastle's initial bounce seems to have been busted and manager Eddie Howe is cutting a solemn figure on the touchline. All is not lost of course but with just 1 win and four goals to their name after 6 games played the focus will turn on Howe himself if he can't find positive results in the next four to six weeks.
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