Guehi, Glasner and now Mateta: Are Crystal Palace on the brink of disaster?

Oliver Glasner will be following Marc Guehi out the Palace door at the end of the season. (Picture: Getty)

After a week where Marc Guehi left the club, Oliver Glasner doubled down on his anger at the board and Jean-Phillipe Mateta decided he wants out too, Crystal Palace feel like they could be on the brink of imploding.

That doesn’t sound good.

Well, it’s not. Glasner ’s side haven’t won in 10 games in all competitions, a run that includes a home draw to Finnish champions KuPS, a loss away to sixth-tier Macclesfield and just seven goals scored.

That alone isn’t necessarily enough to start ringing the alarm – Palace won only one of their first 13 league games last season and look what they ended up achieving – but it’s a symptom of what’s happening off the pitch, which is a real cause for concern.

So what is happening?

A lot. Palace completely rebuilt their squad over the past four or five years, transitioning from an older, more traditional style to having a younger squad that can compete with the top teams.

Roy Hodgson ’s Palace team were difficult to beat and were full of Premier League experience. The likes of James McArthur, Jeffrey Schlupp and Jordan Ayew all made over 190 appearances in the league for the Eagles.

But since 2024, they’ve lost plenty of experienced players and sold Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen, Eberechi Eze and Guehi, with the latest rumours suggesting Adam Wharton and Mateta will be following them, maybe sooner rather than later.

@metrosportuk Too expensive at £20m 🤨 Following Marc Guéhi’s move from Crystal Palace to Manchester City, it’s been revealed that Liverpool didn’t challenge Pep Guardiola’s side because they branded his total package as too expensive, despite him costing just £20m. #guehi #mancity #liverpool #transfertalk #premierleague ♬ original sound – Metro Sport

Consistently losing your best players is part of the game for mid table clubs – you buy low, develop talent and sell high – but there’s only so much you can lose before relegation comes calling, just ask Wolves fans, who are watching their side stuck to the foot of the table after selling their best players year on year.

It requires the replacements and squad players to step up in the event of a sale, something that is yet to happen at Palace. Yeremy Pino is young and still adapting to the league, Eddie Nketiah is still trying to live up to his Arsenal potential and Ismaïla Sarr is an effective player who is unlikely to make the step up to stardom any time soon.

There have been successes. Daniel Munoz is one of the best fullbacks in the league and Maxence Lacroix could easily make a move to a bigger club, but that in itself is part of the issue.

The Palace legend spoke to Metro after a chaotic week. (Picture: Getty)

But Palace won the FA Cup last season!

Which is what makes the past eight months all the more difficult for fans to take. The club that are perpetually twelfth were dreaming of regular European trips and a Champions League push.

Instead they’ve got a manager who’s feeling ‘abandoned’ announcing he’s jumping ship and, while relegation isn’t a realistic proposition this season, a squad that will be looking down rather than up the table for the next few months.

Crystal Palace’s new main stand will provide ‘a stadium the whole of south London can be proud of’ in Chairman Steve Parish’s words. (Picture: Crystal Palace)

The bright side for Palace fans? They’re still in the Conference League and the club’s owners have been making long-term decisions to improve the chances of future success.

Funds are there for new players, while construction on a new main stand is finally set to begin after a nine-year wait since plans were originally unveiled.

It’ll boost capacity by over 8,000 and hopes to make one of the best atmospheres around even louder – fans will just hope they are welcoming Arsenal and Liverpool when it’s completed, instead of QPR and Derby.