'We have to question if Glasner is a magician'
One of the first interviews with Oliver Glasner when he arrived at Selhurst Park to take charge of the Eagles was the Austrian making it very clear that he was not a magician.
Having witnessed such a dramatic transformation of squad on the brink of being sucked into a relegation scrap to ending the season on a run of title challenging form, we have to question how it has all come about if Glasner is not actually a wizard.
Everyone talks of a ‘new manager bounce’ but Palace did not have that with Glasner. However, those who watched games regularly saw an immediate improvement on the pitch. Then, during the end-of-season run of six wins and one draw, he put his philosophy into place with the way players have responded making it hard not to imagine what may have happened had he taken the role sooner.
Joachim Andersen was very clear about the impact. Ahead of the Liverpool game at Anfield, there was no talk of defending for the duration of the match and hope for a point - Glasner told the players they go there to win.
This run to the end of the season has been simply outstanding and a real pleasure to watch. It is not teams at the lower reaches of the table that have been beaten, and beaten soundly in most instances. Most of the games have been against teams above Palace in the table.
Ending the season in 10th place, equalling the highest Premier League finish by the club does give us a glimpse of what could be achieved under Glasner. He has already stated the club are doing everything to keep all the key players and, while that will be difficult, if Palace can succeed and then make a few alterations to the squad over the summer, next season could be a whole lot of fun.
Jason Crame can be found at the Eagles Beak
