Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves: Oliver Glasner responds after Eagles fans taunt him with banner claiming he is ‘finished’ after he told them to ‘stay humble’ – as his side win to ease relegation fears
Crystal Palace supporters could not resist taunting under-fire manager Oliver Glasner – even after a vital 90th-minute winner to move 10-points clear of the relegation zone.
Evann Guessand may have bought the FA Cup-winning boss another week in the job, turning in Tyrick Mitchell’s pinpoint cross with his right foot from inside the area to beat ten-man, all-but-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But the damage has already been done as far as Palace fans are concerned. Glasner’s rhetoric – throwing himself, his players and the fans under the bus – has exhausted the Palace faithful.
The supporters who travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday for their 1-1 draw with Zrinjski Mostar demanded that Glasner be sacked after just one win in 15.
Three days had passed, but they were in no forgiving mood – unfurling a banner inside the first minute describing the Austrian as ‘finished’ while he passively looked on.
Glasner was not helped by a downbeat press conference on Friday morning, where he urged the fans to stay humble. Those remarks were thrown back in his face with several goading chants, including ‘1-0 to the humble boys’.
Crystal Palace beat Wolves 1-0 thanks to Evann Guessand’s first goal for the club
But Palace fans still taunted under-fire manager Oliver Glasner after his recent comments
Glasner said he had no problems with the banner and didn’t mean to disrespect anyone
‘The fans can express their opinion with banners otherwise they can’t tell me what they think,’ Glasner said after beating Wolves. ‘It was my 102nd game today, I was applauded after 101 and today I was booed – which is completely fine.
‘I will always say what I think and believe. I never disrespected anyone. Everyone who knows me knows that I have huge respect for everyone. If they feel disrespected, they can feel it, but I didn’t mean to disrespect anyone.’
Wolves created the better chances in the first half. Tolu Arokodare leapt to meet Hugo Bueno’s corner but nodded his free header agonisingly wide from a close range.
The afternoon was dominated by squandered opportunities from Arokodare. He missed a penalty – which he won after Adam Wharton lunged in from behind following Yeremy Pino’s loss of possession – with his weak effort low to the goalkeeper’s left was saved by Palace captain Dean Henderson.
As Palace struggled against the Premier League’s rock-bottom side, Glasner’s future was in the balance. Yeremy Pino had Palace’s best chance after Yerson Mosquera underhit a pass back to Jose Sa in the fourth minute. With Sa off his line, Pino rushed and lobbed over from midway in the Wolves’ half.
A moment of petulance from Ladislav Krejci, who kicked the ball away in the 61st minute and was sent off for a second yellow card, offered Glasner and Palace hope.
The noise ramped up, but Palace struggled to create anything of note. It felt as though Glasner was getting closer to the sack.
Dean Henderson saved a first-half penalty from Wolves forward Tolu Arokodare
Parish, a Palace fan, tends to follow the consensus in the stands. Similar happened when Roy Hodgson left the club in February 2024, weeks after there were protests against Hodgson and the ownership during an away defeat to Arsenal.
A toxic night also brought down Patrick Vieira’s reign, following defeat away to rivals Brighton and Hove Albion. Parish pulls the trigger when the fans turn.
Although they let it be clear there was little love left for Glasner, fans stood by their team. Palace were at their best when trying to get in behind Wolves’ fragile backline, but a lack of final third quality limited their chance creation.
The relationship between Glasner and the supporters is broken, but Guessand’s winner should see him survive the pressure and take the second leg of their Conference League play-off on Thursday.
