Crystal Palace starts 2026 with question marks after a historic year
London – United News Network – UNN Arabic: After what was perhaps the best year in the club’s history, Crystal Palace will head toward 2026 in a good position but steeped in an atmosphere of doubt.
The club’s manager, Oliver Glasner, achieved historic victories in the FA Cup and the Community Shield, in addition to the club’s first-ever participation in the main Europa League and recording its best-ever points total in the Premier League, all since his appointment in February 2024.
However, his team completed 2025 with three consecutive defeats in the Premier League after a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park, marking the record for the longest league losing streak under Glasner’s leadership.
Glasner and his players seem reluctant to blame their decline in performance on the extreme exhaustion of the match schedules, despite playing eight matches in December while trying to balance their domestic and European goals.
But, after publicly criticizing the lack of activity within the club’s ranks during the summer period, Glasner clearly expressed his desire at the end of the match to add new players to the club in the January winter transfer window.
This will provide additional incentive for the board of directors to do so, as Glasner intensifies his thinking about staying at the club with his contract nearing its end at the conclusion of the current season.
“We need support,” said Glasner, whose team has not achieved a victory in five matches across all competitions.
“We know we are short of some players who are always involved in achieving our goals – Daniel Muñoz, Ismaïla Sarr, Daichi Kamada,” Glasner continued in his interview with BBC Sport.
Reflecting on 2025, he added: “I think it was significantly the best season in the history of Crystal Palace.
“It feels like we are not far behind from reaching a stable situation in the championship zones. We are falling short in some small things that are important to where we are.”
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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