Oliver Glasner did his bit. The team did theirs. We’re not just Palace any more. We’re the FA Cup holders. We’re in Europe. Time to update the identity.
As Glasner said recently:
“With no disrespect to Crystal Palace, they have wonderful fans, but they have never had that sense of greatness and being on top and then losing that.”
New identity needs building. How best?
The window’s open. Glasner, his coaches and his players are all hot to trot. But it’s August already. And July brought zero incomings. Imagine Glasner’s reaction. Where’s the Board?
If you’re an American owner of Crystal Palace, this should be your very favourite investment. Ever. Even with all their billions, all their power, all their years of investing and hoping, not one of the three Americans has a team that’s won anything, in over 50 seasons across 5 teams and 3 sports! Crystal Palace were the first. Lifting trophies should be something they, like us, crave repeating. Quickly.
Many fans might think these owners would now be falling over themselves to wave the cheque book to the maximum legal level. We’re not a club where owners can be blamed for liking profits more than points. At Palace, performance and points are all that really count. So, let’s go!
Glasner delivers, in Frankfurt as well as SE25, and he is the manager we are lucky enough to have. We have more chance of winning than ever before. Glasner will deliver again – if not here, then somewhere else.
In their weekly Zoom, Steve Parish and the other 3 Palace owners have much to discuss.
Why Would Woody Want Palace?
Stumping up £190m for diminished voting rights in an English football club, Woody Johnson’s first concern will have been how much he could lose. As the investment was made, he must be satisfied that Steve Parish, with full focus on avoiding both relegation and financial ruses, will provide safe hands for his huge investment.
Next, Woody will have looked for what’s in this for him. Palace make regular losses, so he won’t be expecting an income. That leaves two possibilities – a jump in share price or just the glory from a winning team. To get a meaningful jump in share price, Woody could buy more shares to get control and step into the shoes of Ron Noades, Simon Jordan and Mark Goldberg. Controlling our club. But hang on, is there another way Woody could expect to increase the value of his expensive toy? Perhaps he’s expecting a transformation in how much money Palace make.
A New Way To Watch Football On TV
The present structure for showing matches on TV was invented when the Internet was almost unheard of, before smartphones, before streaming became real, 30+ years ago. Time for change! How about a new share-out?
Currently, who sits at the negotiating table for sharing out TV rights? The clubs and the TV companies. But now….. clubs ARE TV companies! Maybe Woody sees a future where the cake is bigger (more fans paying more) AND the TV companies’ fat finger has been successfully removed for good. All the more for owners to share!
Now, Woody’s chunky cash payment really might make more sense after all. Even for no control where the bloke in charge not only does a great job for his fellow owners, he’s a fan!
When Johnson sat on Parish’s right hand for the Forest home game (in Mark Bright’s seat!), he looked at us fans and he saw future income. It’s an income that will leap when club owners are selling us our TV football, not Sky and the other tv broadcasters. When Johnson eyed 40,000 Palace fans at Wembley, his financial projections increased, and no doubt his smile got wider.
When will this happen? Soon, because Johnson is 78. He won’t want to die without seeing this one pay off.
Obviously, questions arise.
- Why does Sky’s share have to go to the owners? Why not some for us? I guess I’ve been around footy too long to think the “savings” will be shared in any meaningful way.
- If the future is so rosy financially, why are Palace currently bottom of the summer spending table? Even more, when we’ve just won the Cup and we have Glasner. As the person with more money to lose than anyone in the club, Woody Johnson might appreciate (quickly) that this summer is our one and only chance to make Glasner stay. Especially as the final year of his contract has already begun.
Harris & Blitzer
Not seeking to criticise, but it does look like at least twice now Harris and Blitzer have turned down the chance to increase their stakes in Crystal Palace. In 2021, when John Textor’s shares were newly created, Harris and Blitzer sat on their hands while an outsider bought the giant holding.
In 2025, with the for sale sign hanging over Textor’s stake, again they preferred welcoming a new partner to taking control. They have the money, so they could invest if they wanted to. But it seems that, while they don’t necessarily want to leave, Harris and Blitzer are just showing us they’re happy with Parish in control.
Put Parish In Bubble Wrap!
This all begs the question: Parish is clearly a valuable player for Palace, so what happens if anything happens to Parish? What’s the succession plan? If Parish hasn’t learned it in 15 years running Palace, life can and does deliver the unexpected.
Of the many issues on his plate right now, the stand looms large. I’m not aware of Steve running a construction project before with a 9-number price tag that’s still climbing. Unless we’re on the brink of Palace becoming the new Liverpool, the economics look dubious. The figures only make real sense if we have more “matchdays”. For these to feature football (rather than boxing or concerts, for example), Palace need a winning team – and right now, that means keeping Glasner.
Meanwhile, the Doog has left the building. A couple of key people followed. The last thing Steve now needs is to hear Glasner bending ears back in Austrian media about Palace breaking promises. But the owners are giving Glasner good reason to see his future really should be elsewhere. It might not be anywhere near the front of Glasner’s mind right now but we all know that, come autumn, several big clubs across Europe will be checking out his happiness factor in SE 25.
The Fans Can Only Do So Mmuch
We’ve shown how we feel, even the ones who don’t say much. We love Ollie, and I cannot believe there’s one Palace fan that doesn’t want him to sign a contract extension. At The Eagles Beak, we’ve been calling for this since last October.
