Would Glasner tarnish Palace legacy with move to new enemies Forest?

5 hours ago 4

Crystal Palace fan Alex Pewter

With managers in football, it's often a case of "the King is dead, long live the King" as you trade one man at the helm for another. In this instance, Crystal Palace fans are shocked to find that the old King is very much alive, and to complete the questionable analogy, has popped up at a rival castle.

With Oliver Glasner set to be the latest in the succession of Nottingham Forest managers, the reaction from Palace fans has skewed negative, to say the least.

Fundamentally, it is because people care deeply. When they are indifferent to exiting coaches or players, they are unlikely to be troubled by their next destination.

Forest as Glasner's next club does carry more of an edge, and it's not because Palace fans have any particular aversion to Morgan Gibbs-White or Chris Wood.

It's centred entirely around their club's owner, his links and transfer dealings with former Palace investor John Textor and the Uefa melodrama last season that saw the club demoted to the Conference League - even if that worked out fine in May.

On a personal level, I am happy to separate the most successful manager in Palace's history from whatever he does next. For some, there is likely to be anger or disappointment, which hopefully time will heal, as it often does.

Recent history suggests that, despite any fractious dealings he may have had with Steve Parish, Evangelos Marinakis is unlikely to be quite as forgiving of runs of poor form or news conference outbursts.

Forest, as they have in repeated seasons, are likely to outspend Palace. Perhaps they will be able to outperform them in the league next year, but for those who are believers in Glasner's ability as a manager, Forest do seem more of a lateral move than the next step up in his career.

After all, it is more palatable to wave goodbye to players of the calibre of Marc Guehi or Michael Olise when they are ascending to the top of the game. It is the same with managers.

Nottingham Forest fan Pat Riddell

If anybody thought it was going to be a normal summer at Nottingham Forest, then they weren't really paying attention. It turns out Vitor Pereira, who arrived in February with a contract until next summer, had a clause allowing either party to end it before the end of June.

Given that the rumoured new contract for Pereira in May hadn't emerged, with further rumours of a move to Saudi Arabia, it did beg the question: What's going on?

Well, Oliver Glasner is the answer. In some ways it's understandable - numerous top managers were available this summer and while it seemed as though Forest had accidentally found themselves a head coach for the near-future, it was not a long-term plan by design.

Who's to know what would've happened with Pereira - he certainly earned his chance at a full season. Picking up the pieces of two disastrous managerial appointments, the Portuguese steered us to Premier League safety and a Europa League semi-final. And he did it with grace, charm and humility.

However, Glasner is a proven winner - and took Crystal Palace to hitherto unseen heights. A Europa League trophy with Eintracht Frankfurt and then an FA Cup with Palace and last season's Conference League is quite the record.

The strange beef between the two clubs will no doubt continue now, although ultimately Palace's Uefa demotion saw them clinch a European trophy and we haven't exactly poached an incumbent manager.

There is a fear that Glasner has a habit of falling out with club hierarchies - and Evangelos Marinakis will not take kindly to a manager who thinks he calls the shots. But equally, the owner wants the club to have a winning mentality - which is precisely why he's brought in Glasner.

As usual, Forest are box office - even if it's just for the controversy. With Elliot Anderson expected to complete a £116m move to Manchester City, the transfer window will no doubt be an interesting one too.

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