Crystal Palace came back to earth with a shock. They are running out of energy, luck and players.
Heavy defeats to Manchester City and Leeds United in the Premier League and a draw against Finnish side KuPS in the UEFA Conference League last week revealed that they are a team ill-equipped to handle the rigors of their busy schedule and underlined just how important the January transfer window is. This could define their season.
Palace compete in three competitions and are set to take part in a fourth with the FA Cup kicking off next month. Although the starting XI enjoyed a week’s break before the 4-1 defeat to Leeds, the performance was lethargic and short on ideas in attack.
Even after a relatively promising start, Palace had no answer when their defense allowed two set-piece goals in each half. In mitigation, it was their 28th game of the season. But that should not be an excuse.
Palace are still eighth in the Premier League table, three points behind fourth, and that presents an opportunity. Palace will need to buy early in the transfer window as it usually takes players time to adapt to Oliver Glasner’s system. Get it right, and they can still build on last season’s remarkable success.
The club are looking to sign attackers, primarily a number 10 and a striker, but a right back is also likely to feature on their list given Knee injury to Daniel Muñoz.
Earlier this month, President Steve Parish said Athletics “Maybe we need to do something in January”citing the number of matches, competitions and the presence of Ismaila Sarr at the African Cup of Nations.
For all the valuable experience Nathaniel Clyne still offers, at 34 years old he is not as dynamic as Munoz. Without Sarr, absent until probably the end of January, and now the injured Daichi Kamada, this palace the right side is much less threatening.
This means teams can stifle Tyrick Mitchell on the left when he is tasked with the more attacking winger role, snuffing out Palace’s threat – as Leeds did on Saturday night.
Tyrick Mitchell’s attacking threat was snuffed out at Elland Road (Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
Glasner may put a positive front on the return of Munoz and Sarr in February, but Palace play plenty of games before then and it may still take time for those two to get up to speed.
The fact that they had to rely on 16-year-old Joel Drakes-Thomas – who became the youngest Premier League player in the club’s history when he was introduced in the 86th minute – as an option on the substitutes’ bench is symptomatic of how few options Glasner has. He’s talented and injuries are often the way for young players to make their mark, but Glasner made it clear more needs to be done.
“He did very well on Thursday (against KuPS)“, the coach said in his press conference after the defeat against Leeds. “I also wanted to take Yeremy (Pino) out because he is playing again in three days. If we depend on Joel Drakes-Thomas, he’s not the best we can have.
Christantus Uche has made his mark of late, scoring against Shelbourne and KuPS in the UEFA Conference League and winning a late penalty against Leeds, but it’s it is unclear whether he fully gained Glasner’s trust.
The pressure on the regular starters has been felt recently. Reinforcements are needed, especially since the manager uses his options from the bench sparingly.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll have one or two signings in January,” Glasner said after the KuPS draw. “The club is working very hard to get these deals done.”
It was not a subject he wanted to return to after the Leeds defeat, however. He said his part and has already put pressure on the board of directors to deliver the right players. There is no need to reinforce this message, at least not publicly.
But just as the Premier League’s tight standings provide opportunity, they also present risk. If Palace don’t strengthen their squad enough, they could spoil their excellent start to the season.
It’s been a trying week; the cracks have deepened considerably. There’s no guarantee that whoever arrives in January will be the answer, but the lack of summer additions has put Palace in an unenviable position.
