Oliver Glasner has endured a tough start to life at Crystal Palace since replacing Roy Hodgson on Monday 19th February.
The Austrian oversaw a comfortable 3-0 win against Burnley in his opening game, albeit against ten men for over 55 minutes of the match after Josh Brownhill’s 35th minute red card.
A 3-1 defeat to Spurs followed, on an afternoon where Ebere Eze put us 1-0 ahead before Tottenham’s individual quality shone through.
Then, a gutting 96th minute equaliser from Luton prevented back-to-back wins at Selhurst Park before underwhelming performances in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest and Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.
However, there is reason for Crystal Palace fans to be optimistic about the future under Oliver Glasner…
Why Crystal Palace fans should be optimistic under Oliver Glasner
Well, when you compare the 49-year-old’s start to life at Eintracht Frankfurt, it makes us feel a little better about the current situation at Selhurst Park.
Glasner was obviously a huge success in Germany, winning the UEFA Europa League in 2022 and securing UEFA Champions League qualification as a result.
The man from Salzburg then took Eintracht Frankfurt to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 – where Italian champions Napoli knocked them out.
However, that memorable 2021/22 campaign was not built on a particularly good start.
Eintracht Frankfurt did not win any of their opening six Bundesliga games in that 2021/22 season.
Interestingly, there were four 1-1 draws, a scoreline Glasner has already witnessed twice in five games at Crystal Palace.
Eintracht Frankfurt, ironically nicknamed the Eagles too, then took off, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Allianz Arena to kickstart a run of seven wins in 11 Bundesliga outings.
Therefore, it can be argued that Glasner needs at least six or seven games until we start to see his tactics come across.
Patience is needed
Nobody wants to be patient in football – it is a form of escapism in which many yearn for success immediately, but Crystal Palace fans will need to be exactly that.
Glasner has not had the luxury of a transfer window yet, nor has the mercurial Michael Olise been available for selection – the France U21 international may return against Manchester City, however.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s aforementioned 2021/22 campaign also came after Glasner had an entire pre-season with his side, so that must be taken into account.
As this stage, Crystal Palace just need to get to the summer as a Premier League outfit, and then efforts can be made to ensure this miserable season is never repeated.
The post How Oliver Glasner's first five games at Eintracht Frankfurt compare to Crystal Palace start appeared first on We are Palace.