U-turns, tension and trophies - inside 12 glorious months of Glasner
When Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish first met Oliver Glasner in late 2023, he had no idea it would be a meeting that would change the course of the club’s history.
It was then sporting director, Dougie Freedman, who had set up the get-together in south London. Freedman had tracked Glasner’s career trajectory in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt and was impressed with what he saw.
Roy Hodgson was in charge at Selhurst Park at the time but there was pressure on the club to make a change. Parish would have usually preferred to appoint a manager with some Premier League history, but there was something about Glasner that impressed the businessman.
By the time Hodgson departed the following February, the wheels were already in motion towards the Austrian’s appointment.
Wind forward two and a half years, and Glasner has just led Crystal Palace to Conference League glory with a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig.
It will be his final game in charge - but it comes at the end of a scarcely-believable 12-month period of unprecedented success.
“He has got to be one of the best managers Crystal Palace have ever had,” said Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.
“He has made a massive difference for how the club looks at competitions. We are not just looking to stay in the Premier League and be in Europe, we are looking to win and be as high as possible.”
So how did Glasner lead Palace - without a major trophy in their history at the start of last season - to the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League all within the space of 375 unforgettable days?
Palace had barely stopped celebrating beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley when they were hit with a devastating sucker-punch.
It was early July and south London was eagerly anticipating the prospect of Selhurst Park hosting Europa League football for the first time.
But after Uefa deemed Palace to have breached its multi-club ownership rules - with American businessman John Textor holding stakes in both the Eagles and French side Lyon, who had also qualified for the Europa League - Glasner’s team were demoted to the Conference League.
The shock verdict threatened to suck the life out of Palace’s success before the new season had even began, with Parish describing it as “probably one of the greatest injustices that has ever happened in European football” before an ultimately unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
After a 120-year wait for a first major trophy, however, it was going to take more than that to dampen Palace’s spirits.
The Eagles showed no signs of feeling sorry for themselves when starting the new season by defeating Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield in the now-familiar surroundings of Wembley.
But the turbulence resumed with the departure of talisman Eberechi Eze, who left for a record fee to join Arsenal after five years, and they nearly also have had to cope with the loss of star defender and captain Marc Guehi had Glasner not intervened.
The England international was all set to rubber-stamp a move to Liverpool until Palace pulled the plug late on deadline day after a move for his intended replacement - Brighton’s Igor Julio - failed to materialise.
After Guehi’s move fell through - which would have brought Palace a fee in excess of £35m for a player in the final 12 months of his contract - the lines between Glasner and Parish appeared to blur.
It was reported that the Austrian manager, also in the final year of his own deal, had threatened to quit if Parish had sanctioned Guehi’s move to Merseyside.
Glasner was left frustrated that Palace, preparing for their debut European campaign - which would include at least six additional games in the league phase of the competition - seemed willing to sanction departures rather than retain and strengthen the squad they already had.
It was clear tensions were rising behind the scenes at Selhurst Park.
By the time the season reached the midway point, Palace were in crisis. Only this time, the finger could not be pointed at anyone else but those within the club.
During a wretched run between December and January, Palace’s season threatened to unravel, both on and off the pitch.
Palace were in the midst of a 12-game winless run across all competitions, which had seen them slip out of the Premier League’s top five and plummet towards the relegation zone.
And their hopes of winning the Conference League were left in the balance as they entered the play-offs after failing to finish inside the top eight.
But the lowest moment of a woeful month came in early January when they were involved in the biggest shock in FA Cup history when they were knocked out by non-league Macclesfield.
Less than two weeks later, Glasner appeared intent on adding more drama to Palace’s season by unexpectedly announcing he would leave the club at the end of the campaign.
The Austrian’s decision came after Palace agreed to sell Guehi to Manchester City, with Glasner later hitting out at Parish and the club’s other decision-makers for “completely” abandoning his side.
“The way in which his departure was announced - and his attitude in those weeks - put a slight grey cloud over my feelings towards him,” says Ellie Killick from Crystal Palace fanzine Eagle Eye View.
“In January, it was a tough time to support Palace.”
At that point, it seemed improbable that Glasner would even see out the season, having effectively sparked a civil war at Selhurst Park.
But Parish accepted Glasner for who he was - a manager capable of letting his emotions get the better of him at times, but also the most successful the club has ever had.
It is understood that the idea of sacking the former Wolfsburg and Frankfurt manager rarely entered Parish’s mind.
It has proved to be a call that has changed the trajectory of Palace’s history.
When Glasner bid farewell to Selhurst Park on Sunday following the final Premier League game of the season, the Austrian made sure he had time to poke fun at his past disagreements with Parish.
“Now I’m leaving, I don’t have to agree with the chairman,” he said with a smile. “He said the best day was the FA Cup final, but I don’t agree. The best day is still to come in Leipzig.”
It was a light-hearted exchange that underlined Palace’s confidence as they prepared for a first European final - a far cry from where they found themselves at the start of the year.
The Conference League final victory - which guarantees Palace a spot in next season’s Europa League - is the final chapter of Glasner’s career with the Eagles.
“Right now I can’t even believe it is the last game,” said Glasner after full-time on Wednesday. “It is a good chapter to read in the Crystal Palace book but other good chapters will follow.”
“I said to the players after the FA Cup, go and get what you deserve - the Europa League.”
“Now with a one year delay, the club, fans, players, sometimes you have to take a road around and now Crystal Palace is where it should be.”
Killick added: “Glasner has completely changed the trajectory of Crystal Palace Football Club.”
“Before he came, we were content with finishing mid-table and having half decent cup runs but never going all the way.”
“Now in the past 12 months, we’ve won three cups and been on a European tour, something that was a distant dream 18 months ago.”
“We’ve had plenty of managers over the past decade, but none has reached the heights Glasner has taken us to.”
“The next person to manage Crystal Palace will have big shoes to fill, and I just hope the ambition doesn’t depart with him.”
Crystal Palace supporters have never had it so good.
