THE SECRET REASON BEHIND OLIVER GLASNER’S DECISION TO LEAVE CRYSTAL PALACE THIS SUMMER
Oliver Glasner will remain Crystal Palace manager until the summer. Discover why he feels abandoned after Guehi’s move to Man City.
Crystal Palace have made up their minds about Oliver Glasner—he’ll stay in charge until his contract runs out this summer, despite all the talk about a possible sacking. Glasner himself has already said he’ll walk away once his deal’s up. You can tell he feels let down, especially after seeing Captain Marc Guehi sold off to Manchester City and constant rumours swirling around Jean-Philippe Mateta. “Abandoned” – that’s the word he used.
But here’s the thing: Glasner actually brought Palace their first-ever major trophy in the 2024-25 season. They won the FA Cup—a huge deal for the club—and then beat Liverpool in the Community Shield. That run even got them into the Conference League in Europe. Not bad, right?
Still, the club hasn’t exactly backed him. They sold Eberechi Eze to Arsenal in the summer of 2025. Then Guehi left too, heading to the Etihad since he was out of contract at the end of the season. Now Mateta, who just made the French national team in a World Cup year, is drawing interest from Juventus. Glasner can’t help but feel like he’s fighting an uphill battle with hardly any support from the top.
He vented before a trip to Sunderland, saying, “Your heart gets torn out twice in a season, one day before a game. It’s tough to survive. That’s how it feels right now. We feel that we’re being abandoned. There’s no support. Everybody’s disappointed. We’ve been playing with 12 to 13 players for weeks now. On the bench, I had just kids.” You could tell the whole situation was wearing him down.
That outburst didn’t sit well with chairman Steve Parish, who was already weighing up a change in the dugout. After a 2-1 loss to Sunderland, Parish met with Glasner but decided to let him finish the season. The club’s in a rough patch—no wins in 10 games—, but they just brought in Brennan Johnson from Spurs for a club-record fee. They still expect Glasner to pull things together before he leaves.
After that Sunderland defeat, Glasner sounded fed up. “I don’t need any support. Crystal Palace needs it. Crystal Palace are fine to end the season like this – with Oliver Glasner, with another manager, I don’t know, I don’t care. They are fine with this,” he said. He seemed resigned, just waiting for the season to end. “It will be OK, 42 points at the end, it’s all good, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter how we are acting. It’s just my feeling.”
Palace, for their part, think they did the right thing selling Guehi instead of letting him walk for nothing. They’ll get about £20 million, which softens the blow a bit. Glasner won’t be sticking around for the rebuild—that’ll be someone else’s problem this summer. Funny enough, he might end up facing Palace next season. Manchester United are looking for a new manager, and Glasner’s name is on their shortlist after Ruben Amorim got the boot. So, who knows? Maybe this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him in English football.
TOTTENHAM CRISIS: THOMAS FRANK FACES THE SACK AFTER NINTH PREMIER LEAGUE DEFEAT
Thomas Frank faces the sack at Tottenham after a 2-1 loss to West Ham. Discover why Michael Carrick's United success adds pressure.
Michael, what have you done? Every old Spurs legend—Hoddle, Ardiles, Klinsmann, Ginola—just about everyone except Tim Sherwood, is probably waiting by the phone, half-expecting a call from the club. All of them feel like a better fit for Tottenham than Thomas Frank and his mind-numbing football.
Honestly, after watching what Carrick has sparked at Manchester United, even the most patient Spurs fan is dreaming of a miracle at home. United just outplayed City with all the passion and style we keep saying we want. Meanwhile, Tottenham lost at home again—this time to West Ham, who have their own problems. It’s not just another defeat; it happened the same day United reminded everyone what a little belief and flair can do. You can almost hear the board thinking, “Why not us?”
Frank’s numbers look as bad as they feel. When Spurs lured him from Brentford, the idea was to bring some excitement back—make matchdays fun again after the grind under Postecoglou. But look where we are. Out of both cups. Nine league defeats, and it’s still January. If Frank sticks around, he could even break Big Ange’s record for losses in a season. Fans are already dreading what comes next. When West Ham scored the winner in added time, the groans said it all. Spurs can’t even hold on for a draw these days.
It’s been eleven weeks since that moment when Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven just ignored Frank after the Chelsea loss. Who can blame them? Faking gratitude for fans after rolling over in a derby? No thanks.
Frank’s style—so neat at Brentford—just crashes and burns at Spurs, a club built on the idea that football should be bold and beautiful. Go back to Arthur Rowe in the fifties, pushing and running, setting a standard for English football that still haunts the place. It’s not nostalgia—Spurs fans really want a team that’s fun to watch. Sure, there’s value in Frank’s discipline and organisation, but not when it sucks the joy out of the game.
At Brentford, Frank had a manageable environment. Tottenham is a different beast—a bigger club, bigger expectations. Mid-table isn’t good enough. Frank knows his football, but he’s out of his depth here. His methodical, stripped-back approach just doesn’t fit, no matter how sharp he looks on the touchline.
Look at United. Sticking with a failing coach only dragged things out. Amorim got another year when everyone could see it wasn’t working. Carrick, on the other hand, just put players where they belonged, tightened up the defence, and—most important—gave them a reason to care. He reminded them of what it means to play for a club with real history. That bit of pride brought them together for the derby and made them believe they belonged on the same pitch as City.
Spurs have none of that right now. There’s no sense of unity, no mission. Frank never tapped into what makes this club tick, and now he’s lost the dressing room and the fans. It’s obvious to everyone—the owners included—that it’s time for a change.
THE HEART STOPPING MOMENT MARC GUEHI’S PRIVATE JET ABORTED ITS LANDING IN MANCHESTER
Marc Guehi’s flight aborts landing in Manchester as he arrives for a £20m City move. Plus, Glasner’s furious Palace reaction.
Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi had quite the morning flying up to Manchester to seal his move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Just as his private jet was about to land, a larger plane suddenly rolled onto the runway, forcing Guehi’s pilot to pull up at the last second and circle over the city. Not exactly the calmest way to start a new chapter. Still, they landed safely, and Guehi headed off to finalise his £20 million January transfer to the Cityzens.
Guehi touched down in Manchester early Sunday, but not without that bit of drama. The Sun reported how close his jet came to the ground before being forced to abort. After the scare, he made it to the city to wrap up the deal.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner isn’t taking the news well. Guehi’s contract was running out, and Palace didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season. He almost went to Liverpool last summer, but that fell through. Now, with City swooping in, Palace cashes in, but Glasner feels blindsided. He told Sky Sports he only found out about the sale the morning before their game against Sunderland.
Glasner didn’t hold back: “I heard yesterday at 10:30 am we were selling Marc. Negotiations probably took days, but I only got told at the last minute? Then we have to handle it and head to Sunderland, already struggling with injuries, and now we’re selling our captain. No team does this. Other clubs let players play and leave the next day. We’re selling the day before a match?”
After his outburst, Glasner’s own Palace future looks shaky. Earlier in the week, he said he’d leave at the end of the season, but after publicly venting and claiming “we’ve been abandoned” following the Sunderland match, he could be out even sooner.
For Manchester City, Guehi’s arrival comes at the right time. Guardiola’s squad just lost 2-0 to Manchester United, and with John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol all injured, City have been forced to start youngsters like Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne in defence. Guardiola admitted his team fell short against Michael Carrick’s United.
“They were better,” Guardiola told reporters. “They had something we didn’t. I’ve been here a lot, but today we weren’t at the level to win. Four days ago, against Newcastle, we had the energy, but not today. It wasn’t a bad performance, just not the result we wanted. That’s football. They have a new manager, a derby, all that energy. We’ve changed a lot of players over the last year. The spirit’s been great, but today we just weren’t there. Against Sunderland, we were great, but we didn’t finish our chances against Brighton and Chelsea.”
With Guehi on board, City hope to steady the ship and get back on track.