Replacing Oliver Glasner is a tough task for the Crystal Palace board, given the Austrian’s success. He oversaw the best season in the club’s history, which resulted in FA Cup glory.
Glasner has confirmed that he is leaving Palace when his contract expires in June. It’s a massive headache for Steve Parish, who was prepared to offer the 51-year-old a new deal.
The Eagles have stuttered this season amid speculation about Glasner and the loss of two star players. Eberechi Eze left for Arsenal last summer, and Marc Guehi headed to Manchester City last month.
Crystal Palace in three-club battle for ex-Spurs boss
Glasner arrived at Crystal Palace in February 2024 with no Premier League experience. He was a bold appointment, but the higher-ups got their decision spot on.
The Austrian built a star-studded squad that was hugely impressive throughout the 2024-25 campaign. It will be crucial for the club to retain other top performers to help the new boss build on his predecessor’s work.
According to TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey, the man for the job could be Thomas Frank. It’s said that the Eagles have informed the outlet that he features “prominently in their thinking.”
The South Londoners aren’t alone in their interest in Frank, who endured a nightmare reign in charge of Tottenham Hotspur. Bournemouth and Fulham also have the Dane in mind should Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva depart their managerial roles.
Frank’s stock at Spurs plummeted, and he was dismissed last week after a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United. He oversaw just 13 wins in 38 games across competitions, losing 15 of those matches.
The former Brentford boss has the worst win percentage of any ‘big six’ manager in Premier League history. That is a damning statistic and is why he finds himself no longer in the Lilywhites’ dugout.
On the flipside
Frank’s ceiling appears to be mid-table competing clubs, and that was displayed during his impressive Brentford reign. The Danish tactician led the Bees to promotion in 2021 and solidified the west London outfit as a Premier League club from there on out.
Frank is said to be someone all three clubs, including Palace, ‘admire greatly’ and are ‘actively assessing.’ It’s wrong to ignore his success at the Gtech and his ability to work on a tight budget.
The Dane helped develop top Premier League talent, including Ivan Toney, now in the Saudi Pro League, Manchester United winger Bryan Mbeumo and Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. His brand of football was the perfect fit for Brentford.
That wasn’t the case at Spurs, where he failed to understand the attacking style of play that their fanbase was accustomed to. He was the complete opposite of Ange Postecoglou, and appointing a pragmatic coach as the Australians’ replacement didn’t make sense.
