Palace under Glasner
Palace have seen an upturn in form after the Austrian joined them. Is this solely due to "new manager bounce"?
Crystal Palace have to be considered the most stable mid table side in the Premier League. They often flirt with relegation but always have enough to stay up. In the last 10 seasons of the Premier League, the Eagles have consistently hit the 40+ points mark.
Ever since Palace got promoted in 2013 they have never breached the top half of the table. Coming closest in their second season when they finished on 48 points. They have slowly established themselves as a Premier League side. There were some ups and downs. Looking at you Frank De Boer. They’ve tried moving to a more possession based style with Viera which worked for some time but eventually lost momentum.
Then came in Oliver Glasner. A gritty 1-0 win against Liverpool, a 5-2 smashing of West Ham and a comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle indicate a team on the rise.
Below are two tables which show the change after Glasner replaced Hodgson. They have not only improved at keeping the ball but also have started to increase the amount of chances they create. A good indicator for this is the difference between their xG created and xG against.
(Glasner’s first 10 games)
(Hodgson’s last 10)
Which begs the question is this just “new manager” bounce?
The 'new manager bounce' is a phenomenon in football where a team drastically improves shortly after hiring a new boss. Factors that can cause this spike can range from bringing a fresh perspective, increased motivation, tactical changes and psychological impact.
Oliver Glasner
Oliver Glasner is an Austrian football manager who has had a wide variety of success in his native country before moving to Germany to do the same. His rise to fame was his Europa League win with Frankfurt in the 21/22 season where he outsmarted Barcelona in the semis over two legs.
He found lots of success at LASK in Austria which enticed Wolfsburg to take a punt on him. His principles at Wolfsburg were on a rock solid back 5 and a dynamic attack with Wout Weghorst allowing them to shoot up the table and finish in a Champions League position.
Glasner is an outspoken manager and expects a lot from his peers, something that eventually led to him leaving for Frankfurt. His outspoken nature can be interpreted as volatile but his words still hold weight. He famously said, “It’s a question of quality, you can’t coach quality” after a poor defensive performance in a 2-0 loss to Union Berlin.
Keeping his volatility aside there are very few managers in the world who are able to get the most out of a team without spending a lot of money. Another great quality of Glasner is he has left teams always in a better position than which he started in.
Tactics
Out of Possession
The stats indicate an upward rise in challenges attempted and won. Which shows that they are winning the ball much more frequently in the middle third of the pitch.
(After Glasner)
Before when they were set up to defend deeper in their half they were forced to block more shots, now the responsibility is to prevent such an action from happening. Which is indicative in the drop off in the number of shots blocked.
(Before Glasner)
They settle in a 541 shape out of possession which can vary from game to game depending on the game state. If they play a team more comfortable with the ball who set up in a 3-2-5 they sit deeper and reduce the spaces between the lines which force the opposition to go wide where they can be outnumbered.
Against a 2-3-5 or a 2-2 box set up they become a bit more adventurous. Keeping slight pressure on the ball while forcing the opposition to try and play through them. Once they turnover the ball, their wingers are placed perfectly for the counter.
Something that was evident in the game vs Spurs. With no clear passes available the ball is rotated to try and create some space. However, a sloppy pass allows Palace to break and without Van de Ven’s pace Mateta would have been in a 1v1.
In Possession
Something that has improved drastically under Glasner is their in game management which is visible through their ability to pass more accurately(indicated by the increase in their short pass completion). They have also increased the number of direct vertical passes through the lines.
After Glasner
Before Glasner
Vertikalspiel
A great feature about Dortmund in the Klopp era was the usage of verticality to their advantage. Klopp later explained it further in his title winning season with Dortmund stating, “We’ve started putting a much, much greater focus on vertical passes”. Something that was evident with the way that Klopp viewed his wingers.
Klopp viewed his wingers in Großkreutz and Błaszczykowski as wide midfielders and played them a lot more centrally with an emphasis on them making off the ball runs into the space vacated by the opposition full backs. Creating a lot of vertical passes. With the evolution of football the role of wingers in the Klopp era of 2009-13 has been changed with that of wing backs and full backs.
Klopp revolutionized German football and his impact is readily visible in how Glasner sets his teams up.
(Notice the position of the wingback on the opposite flank)
A common theme for Glasner’s teams in the Bundesliga was finding players in the final third as quickly as possible. As soon as Hinteregger picks up the ball he looks up to try and play the ball beyond Barcelona’s high line.
This is something Glasner has recreated at Palace using Andersen as a CCB with his diverse passing range and ability to break lines.
Again receives the ball with the intention to go forward as fast as possible.
(With a scan he sees that Mateta is in acres of space as he has pulled away from his CB)
(Takes out 6 rushing Newcastle players with 1 pass)
Synergy
A huge emphasis has been brought on in recent times to combine the attacking and defensive phases of the game. Something that is evident in how Glasner wants his teams to set up. Talking in a post match press conference, “I’m not happy talking about one, two or three players here,” said Glasner. “This is the job of the offensive players; they should score goals. They see now that when they work together, in offence and defence, they create chances. When you are connected, you can play together. That’s our headline.”
They press high to remove any lingering space from the opposition and prevent them from creating any meaningful chances with their out of possession structure.
(Average Positions of Players and a Pass Map courtesy of The Athletic)
This is a stark contrast to the reverse fixture where Palace were promptly put to the sword with 4 goals.
The synergy in attack has improved massively which was caused by allowing technically smart players like Eze and Olise to play in the half spaces. The first goal against West Ham showcases the talent of all these brilliant individuals in this Palace team.
(Eze first delays the ball to Wharton to drag the second West Ham player towards him)
(Then releases the ball to Wharton who takes a brilliant first touch to create space between him and the incoming defender)
(Plays it back into Eze who controls the ball superbly)
(Plays a smart 1 2 with Olise to create space on the opposite side)
(Performs an unbelievable pirouette to get away from his players and release Andersen who is free)
(Olise recognizes that there is space to run into makes a wonderful off the ball run)
(Receives the ball from Andersen and dispatches it to make it 1-0).
Adam Wharton
I brought myself to write this piece after watching him play against Liverpool. At 20, he has taken the league by storm and has added another dimension to how Palace play. He is another in the list of the new generation technically secure and press resistant England midfielders(Archie Gray, Kobbie Mainoo).
While his passes attempted and completed are understandably lower because of the way Palace have to set up against technically stronger teams. Something that stands out for him are his defensive numbers.
Meanwhile his passing style and his way of playing are even more highlighted with the number of key passes he makes per 90.
As per the stats, we see a hardworking individual capable of winning the ball back. Since he joined, only Munoz and Mitchell have made more tackles than him. However the stats only paint half a picture.
As an inexperienced youngster in the Premier League he made his share of mistakes(The giveaway in the 4-1 defeat to Brighton stands out). However, he took those mistakes on his chin and has looked like a player possessed to make things right.
He looks right in as a Premier League midfielder since always looking to be progressive and proactive. His former Blackburn manager praised him for the same, “I don’t want passes sideways or backwards, we need to score goals and entertain, If you play too many sideways and backwards it’s too slow and not entertaining. He’s one of those players who plays forward passes and impacts the game.”
Something he had to adapt to was the pace at which the top division is played at. Where you’re expected to take decisions in a split second and any uncertainty is punished ruthlessly.
(This graph courtesy of The Athletic shows how progressive Wharton was in his first 5 games at the club)
His proactive ability has been displayed in these two games against City and Forrest.
( A giveaway by Stones)
(Ward finds Ayew who plays a pass to Wharton)
(Wharton aware of the pace of Mateta releases it first time)
(Who beats Stones for pace and finishes it off to give Palace a lead)
It was again at display versus Forest when he received the ball in the middle of the pitch and sprayed a beautiful ball to Eze who was unable to finish.
(Mateta drags the defender away, Wharton spots the run of Elise)
(Threads it through the Forest lines for Eze who is unable to finish)
Finally it was against Liverpool where we see a young man showing unbelievable maturity and finding his feet against top opposition.
(With his first touch sets himself up and scans immediately)
(Just before playing the ball he notices Elliot stepping away from Eze)
(Plays a lovely disguised pass to Eze)
(Here he teams up and steals the ball from Diaz)
(Clyne eases Diaz off the ball)
(Gets pressed immediately as Liverpool try to win it back)
(Olise and Munoz combine and relieve the pressure on the ball)
(Takes a touch to compose himself, sees Macalister trying to win the ball lays it off to the unmarked Hughes)
(Receives the ball at an uncomfortable height)
(Shields it perfectly to avoid the Liverpool player from winning it back)
(Gets entangled because Jones is a relentless presser)
(Relieves the pressure with an outside foot pass to Clyne)
(Receives the ball from Eze and is immediately put under pressure)
(With his weaker foot plays a simple pass to the rushing wide player.)
Press resistance at such a young age is rare. This is another in a long line of smart recruitment from Palace and Dougie Freedman. He never shies away from the ball and is calm even when pressed. Wharton is just starting his career and there are signs that with the right developmental path he could become an elite player.
So is this just New Manager Bounce?
The answer is no.
A huge part of management is allowing your best players to play in positions that maximizes their ability and allows them to express themselves. Glasner has allowed the likes of Andersen, Eze, Olise and Wharton to play in roles that they are comfortable in and which maximizes their output.
While Eze and Olise are two extremely talented players who are more than capable of covering holes of tactical deficiencies, Palace’s out of possession shape and their in possession principles have improved massively.
With one of Eze and Olise sure to be lured out Palace have a tough task to try and replace them. There is a massive drop off when the likes of Guehi and Ward get injured. Glasner has done well with turning Lerma and Clyne into makeshift defenders but will need considerable backing to try and ensure that Palace finally break the 50 point mark.