Crystal Palace’s Monday night defeat to Nottingham Forest summed up perfectly what has been a dire start to the 2024/25 Premier League season for the Eagles.

Competitive and threatening for the entire 90 minutes, they simply didn’t click in the moments when it mattered most, and just when neutrals thought they may be able to pick up their first win of the season, goalkeeper Dean Henderson let a tame Chris Wood attempt crawl underneath his outstretched arm into the corner.

Winless, lying 18th and in the relegation zone, Palace’s campaign so far has been a far cry from last season, when after the arrival of new manager Oliver Glasner, they earned 25 points in 14 games to rise from 15th to 10th in order to confirm their Premier League status for another year.

Nottingham Forest are up to 8th in the table ⬆️

Crystal Palace are in the bottom three and remain winless this season 😬#BBCFootball #NFFC #CPFC pic.twitter.com/peklCOryDn

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) October 21, 2024

As a result, they were tipped for this season as dark horses for a European place, but they have so far looked a long way off realizing that ambition. So what exactly changed over the summer? And is it simply a tactical problem, or is personnel as well?

Palace’s Summer Transfer Window

The root of Crystal Palace’s current problems stem from the summer transfer window. The Eagles’ sold star French winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, center back and captain Joachim Andersen to Fulham, and starting goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to Wolves, while also letting talented backup striker Odsonne Edouard leave on a season long loan.

Give Michael Olise the Ballon d'Or based on Palace's performances since he left.

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) October 21, 2024

They earned over £100 million from these particular moves, and on paper, reinvested the funds well, bringing in Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, Marseille winger Ismaila Sarr, and Wolfsburg center back Maxence Lacroix to plug the holes left by their sales.

However, eight games into the season, they have accumulated just three points, coming from draws against Chelsea, Leicester and Manchester United. They have also scored just five goals, the worst goalscoring record of any side in the league this season despite the obvious talent they have up top.

It’s a real surprise to see Crystal Palace in this list among some of the league’s worst teams. pic.twitter.com/4MMiQF80Hc

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) October 21, 2024

It looks to be a case of certain players adapting to the nature and pace of English football. Summer signings Chadi Riad and Daichi Kamada are yet to find their feet in the Premier League, and on multiple occasions have looked off the pace, unprepared for certain situations.

Maxence Lacroix, who played under Glasner at Wolfsburg, seems to be the only signing who has landed on his feet so far, but with little help around his, excellent performances have so far been in vain.

Maxence Lacroix has had a very good start at Crystal Palace, easy to forget he’s only 24 years old as well. #CPFC pic.twitter.com/JVcN9DoW55

— Luke Weaser-Seychell (@Luke_Seychell) October 7, 2024

It is up to coach Glasner, undoubtedly an immensely talented manager, to coach into them the decision making and decisiveness required by any team with ambitions to finish in the top half. While it may be early in the season, the Palace hierarchy will be looking at alternative solutions behind the scenes, and will not hesitate to make a change if this goes on for much longer.

Crystal Palace’s Defeats

However, despite how it looks in the standings, Crystal Palace are not simply handing wins out to their opponents. In their unfortunate defeat to Nottingham Forest, both sides had 20 shots apiece, in a game that was a wide-open, end-to-end spectacle that either side could have won.

Don’t think there’s ever been a Palace player to make as angry as Dean Henderson does.

I cannot believe we signed him for £25 million. Terrible every week.

— Harvey 🦅 (@Wheddsta) October 21, 2024

Palace hit the woodwork twice, and forced Forest keeper Matz Sels into further flying saves to maintain his clean sheet. And this seems to be a recurring theme. In their defeats to Everton and Brentford, they were the better team, and based on stats alone, deserved to win both games.

However, they appear to have lost some of their killer instinct in front of goal. The trio of Olise, Ebere Eze, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, which contributed 31 goals and assists in the last 14 games of last season has been broken up, and it appears Glasner is still trying to pick up the pieces.

Without Olise’s service and dynamism, Ebere Eze is having to do a lot of the creative leg work by himself, and it has become evident in recent months that he thrives when alongside a player with similar traits. Daichi Kamada may be an excellent signing on a free transfer, but he simply does not have the same skill set that saw Olise and Eze gel so well together.

Ebere Eze in:
22/23 23/24 24/25
pic.twitter.com/SvZsy9ckic

— aaron (@aaroncpfc) October 21, 2024

At striker too things have taken a turn for the worse. Nketiah is yet to show any return on the £30 million invested in him, and has just one goal to his name so far, a first half finish in a rare win against QPR in the Carabao Cup.

And then we come to the defense. On paper, a back three of Marc Guehi, Trevoh Chalobah and Maxence Lacroix should be one of the most intimidating in the division, providing a good mix of pace, experience and international pedigree.

However, that has so far not been the case, and the highly rated trio have kept just one clean sheet in the Premier League, the 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United.

Palace have a massive pool of talent: Nketiah, Guehi, Mateta, Eze, Chalobah, Lacroix, Wharton, Sarr, and even wing-backs Tyrick Mitchell and Daniel Munoz have shown they are more than capable of succeeding at this level.

However, to get the best out of his squad this season, Glasner may need to shift away from his trademark 3-4-3 formation. A manager would have to be mad not to change something after a run as poor as Palace’s.

Crystal Palace are in a particularly bleak period right now.

Understandably, with results, recruitment & performances, there is an overriding feel of despair & hopelessness for this season.

There are serious question marks over Oliver Glasner, and rightfully so, but he has all… pic.twitter.com/9JnlEyiWDm

— CounterPressers (@CounterPressers) October 21, 2024

What should Oliver Glasner do?

The primary focus for Glasner should be playing his men in their natural positions. Kamada simply should not be playing as an inside forward off the right if his natural position is as a central attacking midfielder.

Ismaila Sarr, who remember is Premier League proven after his time at Watford, is the natural choice to replace the presence of Michael Olise. And yet he has started just one game so far this season, the 1-0 defeat away to Liverpool where he was bound to struggle in his first 90 minutes in the Premier League since the end of the 2021/22 season.

Sarr is also a man in high demand, and given his lack of playing time so far at Selhurst Park, the rumors linking him with January loan moves away don't seem unrealistic. Glasner needs to use him if he is to keep him onside.

AC Milan are considering a January move for Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr, who only joined them in August. (Gazzetta dello Sport) pic.twitter.com/5xRyrJDBXg

— Transfer News Central (@TransferNewsCen) October 12, 2024

Palace could also shift to a back four to provide an extra man attack. It would mean that Glasner would need to drop one of Guehi, Lacroix and Chalobah, a difficult choice for even the most experienced managers. However, the extra midfielder he would gain from this sacrifice would allow them more control in the middle of the park, and would also create more channels for defense splitting passes.

Now, I am in no place to be recommending tactics to Premier League managers (though I am a Football Manager 24 fanatic), but it is clear their current strategy isn’t reaping the same rewards as last season. If I was Oliver Glasner, I would experiment with a lineup that looks something like this.

                                 Mateta/Nketiah

    Eze                            Kamada                          Sarr

                  Lerma                                 Wharton
                
   Mitchell              Lacroix               Guehi               Munoz       

                                    Henderson (GK)

Though this is unlikely to materialize, Palace would benefit from two midfielders dropping a little bit deeper to help out the defense when required, as well as from Kamada supporting either Mateta or Nketiah up front, amplifying the goal scoring threat.

The Eagles are too good to be relegated this season, and it would be a shock to the whole English Football pyramid if they did, but to avoid it, Glasner needs to show bravery and make a change. I understand that he wants to stick to his guns, but the best managers realize when something is wrong, and more importantly, know how to fix it.

For the first time in the history of English top-flight football, four different teams have now gone eight games into a season without a single win 😳

Wolves, Ipswich, Southampton and Crystal Palace are all still seeking their first victory... pic.twitter.com/lcvwfbJYbS

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 22, 2024

If he just slightly tinkers with his tactical shape, he could finally see his summer purchases come into their own, which in turn will hopefully kickstart the electric form of Eze and Mateta that saw such success last campaign.