Time to Call BS On Crystal Palace Home Form Stories?

How could anyone ever think our special Selhurst Park is a barrier to success?

And yet, the facts and results have created a persistent nagging question… our away results so far this season would qualify us for the Champions League, while our home results would have us struggling to stay up. Why? As my favourite aunt would say, what’s afoot?

Well. We all know what Selhurst can be. A hostile fortress. Bursting with passion. Crackling with electricity. And never more so than under the lights.

Selhurst gives us moments that last in hearts and minds for decades. I can still feel United at home, a bad season, but a good night going well that got even better when Richard Shaw found a way inside Eric Cantona’s head. Even a parky, murky night when Crewe thrashed us in the fog, and the crowd pleaded in song for the fast falling clouds of mist to stop the game. Selhurst stands may creak, and we love it!

So we can’t blame the ground for poor results. Or can we?

Stepping back and looking at the big picture, one cold fact stands out.  Since promotion in 2013, Palace’s home record has always been poor. In fact, in our 11-season residence in the top flight, Palace are THE NO. 1 WORST PERFORMING HOME TEAM IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.

So…. Poor home form is not the problem!  Because, by definition, form comes and form goes.  “Worst performing home team over 11 years” is much more permanent.  Having this information, however, does instantly eliminate some potential reasons for our poor home results this season:

1. It tells us we can’t blame the manager, because over 11 seasons, there were too many to blame one.
2. Same goes for the players. They can’t all be poor at home and brilliant away, year after year.

Anyone blaming Glasner or this team for the home results this season is clearly failing to address the real problem.

OMG, is it the fans?

Before the Aston Villa game, there was endless talk among media and fans about the contrast between away form and home form.  It was the hot topic.

If our home results harvested points like recent away games, we would all have a very different feeling walking up to Selhurst before a match. You know it’s true.

The last 7 away PL games, we’re unbeaten, 6 wins, 12 goals for, and the only one against was Guehi’s meaningless own goal at Brighton. The last Premier League goal scored by a home player against Palace was Ross Barkley for Villa on 23 November. Do you even remember that goal? I don’t. But I bet Dean Henderson does. Away from Selhurst, he’s become Palace’s master miser between the sticks. Tuchel was at both the last two home games and – if he’s picking on form – Henderson must be ahead of Pickford and Pope.

Now, here’s the trick

Away from home, our fans are super patient. By contrast, just before we scored the first goal at home to Millwall, we could all feel the tension rising.  Suddenly, we could hear Glasner’s lone voice screaming for patience. The manager was talking to the players. But he might just as well have been talking to us.

Maybe patience is all we need.

Returning to the last three months, away from home, every Palace fan is super happy. Watch their faces, smiling as they’re filing out of silent stadiums where Glasnerball has strangled the life out of a home team. If that long string of comfortable victories had happened at home, we’d all be wearing our red’n’blue giggle goggles and there’d be no need for articles like this.

I Love It When Palace Attack But…..

It’s certainly an over simplification but…..in Glasnerball you only win the match when you have beaten the opponent. Ipswich was just one more example. It’s a process that can take time, and it involves keeping the ball far from our goal, absorbing opponents’ energy and strangling the life out of their attacks, all to dispirit them. Outrun them to exhaust them. Attack wise, at the very worst, the objective of Glasnerball is to worry opponents that you could score any minute. At best, doubts about the entire outcome of a match can be removed by speed of our attacks and accuracy of our shots. It’s a process where patience is essential before victory.

The question is: do we all have enough patience now to win with Glasnerball at home? Against Villa, performance and points were both everything we could hope for. For the first time this season, it felt like last Spring was back.

In fairness, having Wharton, Mateta and Eze all feeling fit and playing freely together was a key factor in the Palace performance against Villa. Following near decapitation, we all very much hope JP makes a full recovery. Nevertheless, we are still left with one burning question that demands we answer.

At Selhurst, do these players on the pitch have what it takes, does the manager in the dugout have what it takes, do we fans in the stands have what it takes, TO LET PALACE BE SUCCESSFUL?!

I’ll leave the last words on this issue to Pudding Pete, who’s red n blue through n through. “Glasnerball can be so good, it can squeeze winning football out of a struggling team. Glasner’s done it twice at Palace already, and he’s only been here a year.  These players have proved they can produce. If it really is down to all of us, we can do it. Do Palace supporters want Wembley, Europe and beyond? Of course!  My message to fans is this:  Stay patient while we’re all waiting for Palace to win at home like we’ve won away!”

Stick or Twist?

Few mid-table teams look forward to the season’s end with anticipation, but Palace fans stand to learn a lot from our close to 2024/25. After Southampton, the fixture list has given us a challenging run-in.  9 more matches – including no fewer than 8 against teams pushing to play in Europe next season.  Only Wolves at home pitches us against a team who are struggling this year.  Plus Fulham in the Cup and maybe a trip or two to Wembley?

Our remaining matches may well reveal….. exactly how good is this group of players? How good is Glasner? With relegation risk already removed, Palace have the chance to play Glasnerball without fear in order to stretch and test the Premier League’s best with dangerous, free flowing football that might stretch and test even the Premier League’s most formidable giants.

This season, while acknowledging the damaging loss of Olise, Glasner has honed for the club some remarkable talents who produce outstanding moments for us all – there are many, including Sarr and Lacroix, both now settled and (thanks to coaching from Glasner and his staff) both look like they’re playing the best football they’ve ever played – and having a good time. Long live confidence – it makes such a difference!

Let’s enjoy the fun.  This squad might look very different in August as major questions hang over the future of no fewer than 12 of the current first team squad.

Will Parish stick, twist or just cash in on the star players Dougie Freedman has found us?