Crystal Palace

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

Which player is flying?: Ismaila Sarr might be playing the best football of his career and he has already reached the 20-goal mark for the club. At his best, his direct and athletic approach can cause defensive issues for any team.

Which player is floundering?: Romain Esse. Sadly, for last winter's attacking signing, Esse has struggled to find his way onto the pitch. He has played almost as many minutes in the under-21 side as he has in the first team and he is not seen as a viable option for Oliver Glasner.

Tactically I think we... need to improve against teams that play a low block. The reality is that the team is extremely well-coached but, when put in the position of dominating a match, the players struggle to do so without the counter-attacking option.

I want my manager to give me more... seasons because this is the peak of Crystal Palace's history and Oliver Glasner is a massive part of that. The longer he stays at the club, the better. Whether that is possible or not, I am choosing blind faith for now.

Our fans seem obsessed with... the Conference League. Obsessed might be too strong a word, but our fans are very focused on it. We all want to win it, so it is understandable, but there are no guarantees the team will make it to Leipzig.

My expectations for the season: Palace should remain thinking about the Premier League, where the bread is buttered, so to speak. It is essential that the team maintains a position in the top half of the table given their start.

Season rating so far: A good 8/10 - not perfect, but very high by the club's standards. It would be 9/10 if they'd drop the Elvis song, please.

One sentence on how you're feeling right now: I am cautiously optimistic about the team's progress. The looming threat of Afcon is a concern regarding its impact on squad depth, but the team is well on course so far.

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Barcelona are closely monitoring Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, 25, but Liverpool are still favourites to sign the England international. (Cadena SER), external

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Over the past week, we have been asking you to send in the best Premier League XI your club could have put together.

We know football existed before 1992 but as a Leeds United fan asked our experts on the club to name theirs - using the Ask Me Anything form on the Whites - we stuck with their parameters.

Here's BBC Sport's Crystal Palace fan writer Alex's effort.

And you can ask us about the Eagles using the Crystal Palace Ask Me Anything form at the top of this page or here

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Manchester United will not strengthen their midfield in January and will hold out until next summer when they follow up on interest in Brighton's Cameroon international Carlos Baleba and Crystal Palace's England international Adam Wharton, both 21, as well as Stuttgart's 24-year-old Germany international Angelo Stiller. (ESPN), external

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We have, roughly, run the numbers and here is the XI your submissions have produced.

There is a familiar look to the Palace backline you have chosen, with the current crop superceding fine players from the past such as Joel Ward and Scott Dann.

Plenty of creativity in the middle with Adam Wharton being reunited with Eberechi Eze alongside the steel of Mile Jedinak who squeaked in.

As for the forward line, pace, goals and plenty of threat through Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Stick Oliver Glasner in the dugout and this team is going places.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The statistics might say playing at home is an advantage - but what happens when it is not?

So far this season, 53% of Premier League matches have been won by the home team - the highest ever rate in a single campaign.

On the flip side, just 26% have been won by the away team - the lowest rate since 2010-11.

However, this has not been the case for all teams.

For some, being on the road has been more favourable. Tottenham are perhaps the most contrasting example having the joint-most points away from home with 13, but the second-worst in front of their own fans with just five points.

In the second part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "With crowds when playing away from home, there is a reduced scrutiny as a whole for away teams in that those crowds expect the home team to be the ones in charge. The players feel less judged. The pressure is on the other side.

"Another reason could come down to something in psychology I like to call simplification of the task. The team has a better collective identity when they are away.

"The human brain still goes back to the cavemen days. We have to, as a collective, fight for something. We have to protect our name. It goes back to that hunter-gatherer-against-danger mentality.

"When players are in front of a home crowd, there can be a bit of playing up to the individuality.

"I really do believe that collective identity has a strong enough influence because it amplifies the purpose and the belonging - let's belong together, let's be stronger together."

The focus might be on the players' performances being impacted by being home or away, but what about the managers?

Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest make up three of the bottom four for their home records so far this term, and all have changed their manager in recent weeks.

"100% managers and coaches can be affected, and sometimes even more so because there is so much riding on that one person," Cartwright said.

"The decision-making is the main thing. The crowd is chanting - 'take this player off, do this' - and it can lead to rushed decisions, particularly when the noise becomes relentless.

"Then there is the emotional regulation and touchline behaviour. A manager is pacing up and down, mirroring the stress state, and players see that. It can lead to mimicking and players feeling that stress too."

The impact on teams psychologically playing home or away is apparent, so how can they make the most from these different conditions?

"Our brains are wired to think negatively - it's a protection mechanism," Cartwright said.

"So when it comes to performing home and away, those players and managers who deal with it best are those who know how to use the noise and scrutiny and move on quickly from it - an ability to have a reset routine and regulate their emotions in these pressurised situations."

Read more from Marie in part one of her chat around the impact of playing at home here

Tasnim Chowdhury
BBC Sport journalist

Where Crystal Palace's nickname comes from has been the subject of several questions sent in via our 'Ask about Crystal Palace' form and BBC Sport has taken a look at the history behind the name...

Crystal Palace's nickname became the Eagles in the 1970s when then-manager Malcolm Allison was inspired by Portuguese club Benfica.

Palace were relegated to the second division months after Allison took charge and before the 1973-74 season, the manager set to rebrand the club.

At the time, Benfica were one of the top teams in Europe, their nickname was 'aguias' which translates to eagles.

Allison was inspired by their success and wanted a strong name for his side to replicate the performances.

The eagle represents strength and power, something Allison wanted for the club.

As well as a new nickname, Palace changed their kit colours from claret and blue to red and blue, reportedly inspired by Barcelona. The crest was also changed to an eagle to reiterate the new name.

However, despite the rebrand, Palace faced relegation again, from the second division to the third.

Palace are also known as the Glaziers, this is because the club were named after The Crystal Palace exhibition building in South London. The building was mostly made of glass, which is where the name 'glaziers' originated from.

The club also had a real eagle mascot – Kayla, the eagle, flew around Selhurst Park before matches between 2010 and 2020.

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Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson says it was "an honour" to make his fourth senior England appearance against Albania, adding that it would be a "dream come true" to make Thomas Tuchel's finalised England squad for the 2026 World Cup.

The Three Lions rounded off a flawless World Cup qualifying campaign, winning all of their eight fixtures, by hitting two goals past their opponents at at Arena Kombetare.

"I was delighted to be back in the team," said Henderson, who was making his first international appearance since June. "It is always an honour and you just have to be ready when you're called upon.

"You have always got to be ready and be prepared to chip in during training, day in day out. You have to be up to speed when you get your opportunities, and thankfully I had a good night out there.

"I knew about the clean sheet record and I didn't want to be the one to step in and concede, so that was good motivation.

"Our current record is down to an incredible level of togetherness. Everyone comes in and does their job. Everyone is together throughout our training camps. You can see all of that in our games.

"It would be a dream come true [to represent England at the World Cup]. There is nothing I would love more than to be on that plane.

"So I have to put pressure on Jordan [Pickford] but also support him as well. He has earned the right to be on that plane. He's had that shirt for a long time now and he's been putting in good performances, which makes it difficult for me to break through.

"I just have to be ready and available so that when an opportunity comes by, I can be ready to take it with both hands."

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Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

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"Home advantage gives you an advantage."

It is a quote - among many - attributed to the famous former England manager Sir Bobby Robson - a simple, yet fair reflection of a historical format of football.

For as long as teams have played in leagues, games taking place home and away has been the norm, with the idea that playing at home will be to the benefit of that team.

But what is the impact of playing at your own ground in front of your own fans?

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "Home impact can be viewed in two ways. Sometimes it does have a positive impact, and what happens is there is an elevated motivation.

"What that means is the crowd energy increases adrenaline and that creates a momentum in effort and intensity in the players. It is also a familiar environment for the players, so that means it reduces the cognitive load. They don't have to think as much about anything else other than their play because they know the pitch, they know the routines, they feel settled.

"However, there are a couple of potential negative impacts as well, with the potential intensification in pressure in the home fans, most times, expecting dominance from the home team. That can lead to mistakes from players feeling bigger to them.

"There can then be what we call a threat state. The players might perceive consequences as high, so they feel they might be facing more criticism when they are at home."

While those who watch football know there are more factors than just where the match is being to take into consideration, the statistics do suggest the influence is there.

Since the Premier League started, the home win percentage has outweighed the away win percentage in all bar one season - the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign in which fans were largely not allowed admission saw a 38% home win rate compared to 40% away win rate.

So how a team handles this additional crowd pressure seems to be a key factor.

"In psychology, there is something called the challenge and threat theory," Cartwright said.

"In reality what that means is a 'challenge state' can push the player into thinking, 'I've got this, I've got the resources to cope with this'. That leads to better decision making and quicker reactions.

"The threat state, on the other hand, players might think the consequences outweigh their ability to cope. In any match context, that can mean they have a narrow sense of focus, the focus is not quite the same, so the play becomes slower because of overthinking."

"It can also be called 'red brain or blue brain' - with red brain being the one with fear-based dialogue and internal negative self-talk, while blue brain is the cool, calm and collected one that can handle its emotions.

"What sits in the middle of these is distraction. How a player responds to distraction and filters out the noise, like the crowd, can impact which of these mindsets they move into and ultimately how the team performs."

Read more from Marie in part two of her chat about why teams some teams play better away from home and how it impacts managers - that will be on this page early next week.

Image source, Getty Images

We wanted your suggestions for Crystal Palace's all-time best Premier League XI.

You have provided us with an interesting selection so here's some of your picks:

John: 4-3-3. Speroni, Van Aanholt, Sakho, Lacroix, Munoz, Wharton, Cabaye, Gallagher, Zaha, Benteke, Olise. Strong defence with attacking full-backs, Midfield passing box to box and free-kicks, forwards big target man and pace down the wings.

Joe: 3-4-2-1. Henderson, Guehi, Lacroix, Richards, Wharton, Munoz, Mitchell, J McArthur, Olise, A Johnson, Eze. Team formation, team work ethic and team style of play more important than individualism - so no Zaha. Conor Gallagher came close.

Abdullah: 3-4-2-1. Speroni, Guehi, Sakho, Andersen, Munoz, Cole, Cabaye, Wharton, Zaha, Olise, Eze. A team based on flair, creativity and playing exciting football week in week out. Will never forget that Olise-Mateta-Eze linkup.

*Cole played in the First Division, not the Premier League but we will let him slide just this once.

Sam: 4-5-1. Martyn, Munoz, Guehi, Sakho, Wan Bisakka, Olise, Cabaye, Gallagher, Eze, Zaha, Wright.

*We will allow Ian Wright, though his Palace days were pre-Premier League.

George Mills
BBC Sport senior journalist

In a recent addition of the Football Extra newsletter, Roger asked BBC Sport: Players are frequently injured on international duty - such as Chris Wood for New Zealand last season, which may have ultimately cost Nottingham Forest a Champions League place. Are clubs compensated by the country or does insurance cover compensation?'

Since 2012, Fifa's Club Protection Programme has covered the salary of players injured on international duty - although there are some conditions.

Firstly, the player must be out of action for a period of at least 28 consecutive days and the injury must have been sustained during an "accident", which is defined in very boring and legally-specific detail in Fifa's guidelines, though it covers most of the examples you could think of.

The scheme pays the salary of an injured player up to the maximum amount of €7.5m (£6.6m) until they are declared fit to return for their clubs.

Transfermarkt lists Chris Wood as missing 18 days - three games - with the hip injury you mention from last March, suffered on international duty with New Zealand. As he returned inside 28 days, Forest would not have been eligible to claim compensation.

There are a couple of clubs who will currently be beneficiaries of this scheme though, including Newcastle United, whose £55m summer signing Yoane Wissa is yet to make an appearance since suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo.

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Phil Parry
BBC Radio London reporter

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The multi-generational tears of joy that greeted the full-time whistle at last season's FA Cup Final created lasting images that seemed to circle the globe.

Crystal Palace winning their first major piece of silverware was a heart-warming football moment that touched fans of all persuasions - with perhaps the exception of Charlton and Brighton supporters, of course.

The Eagles victory was not only the culmination of all the hard work that has gone in over the years from everyone connected with the club, but also a vindication of the approach taken by Oliver Glasner.

Unlike some other head coaches, he took the competition seriously right from the start and look what happened.

That approach and the culture that Glasner has built within the team remains just as strong this year, and despite the blows that get thrown at them, the club and the team continue to roll with them.

Uefa demoting them to Europe's tertiary competition, Eberechi Eze moving on to Arsenal and even the unsettling Marc Guehi transfer saga did not massively ruffle their feathers.

Indeed, the Community Shield is now added to the trophy room, Palace are into the quarter-finals of the League Cup, they are making progress in the Europa Conference League and doing just fine in the Premier League.

Of course, this has propelled the side towards a fixture pile-up but Glasner's approach remains the same. He is not happy, he feels football's authorities need to be more communicative but insists that he will send a team out to try to win every game.

His players appear to thrive off that and performances have continued to be strong, solid and effective. Even the defeats have plenty of indications that the outcomes could have been different, Everton away and Larnaca at home, for example.

There are questions asked about the size of the squad and the degree of Glasner's rotation with some suggesting that they will pay for it later. But that is pure conjecture and while we all talk the talk, it is the players led by their gaffer who continue to walk the walk.

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Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

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Several of you have been getting in touch using our 'Ask about Crystal Palace' form' wanting to know more about Yeremy Pino's impact since joining the Eagles this summer.

Pino's signing was considered a coup for Crystal Palace back in August. After all, the 23-year-old is a squad regular for Spain and was a key part of the Villarreal side that earned Champions League qualification last season.

His arrival for a fee of up to £26m softened the blow of losing Eberechi Eze, who registered 34 goals and 23 assists in 147 league games before departing to Arsenal.

But while Pino has taken Eze's place, he has yet to reproduce the Englishman's end product, failing to score or assist in his first nine Premier League appearances.

Pino has attempted 12 top-flight shots but half of those have been from outside the box and only three have been on target. His overall expected goals total is 1.39, and while that is the third highest by a Palace player, it is a long way off Jean-Philippe Mateta (8.08) and Ismaila Sarr (3.72), who are shouldering the lion's share of the goalscoring burden.

Though tidy and nimble in possession, as would be expected from a player with 17 Spanish caps, Pino is not making his presence felt in the penalty area. He only has 19 touches in the opposition box, just one more than Eagles centre-back Marc Guehi.

However, it is worth recalling that Eze also started slowly after joining from QPR in 2020, scoring once in his first 14 league appearances. And while he only moved a few miles across London, Pino has had to adapt to a new country, a new language – and a new tactical role.

Image source, Opta

Last season, the Spaniard played as an old-fashioned, touchline-hugging right winger in Villarreal's 4-4-2 system, with the vast majority of his touches coming on that flank.

At Palace, he is being used as one of two 'number 10s' in a 3-4-2-1 formation, operating in more congested areas where there is less time and greater risk of being muscled off the ball.

The 5ft 8in player told The Athletic in October "with technical quality, you can survive the pace of the game in England".

He will take confidence from scoring his first goal in the EFL Cup win at Liverpool last month but may need more time to prove his worth.

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Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton says the enthusiasm of manager Oliver Glasner means he sometimes "goes over the top in training".

The Palace boss has only enhanced his reputation with his impact since joining the Eagles in February 2024.

In addition to winning the FA Cup to reach European competition for the first time in the club's history, Glasner has lost just 18 of his 80 games in charge, with a noteworthy goal difference of +45.

"He's a top manager," Wharton told club media., external "He's facing some of the top managers week in, week out, and I don't think there's a game we've played that he hasn't given us a solution to beat one of the top teams… or any team.

"The way he handles situations in games, in training, the analysis we do on opponents, recovery, everything, all the little details. That makes it so much easier for us as players.

"He'll stop sessions just for body positioning and explain it to the whole group so everyone knows.

"Also, his enthusiasm… he just loves football, the adrenaline when he's watching games and training. Sometimes he goes over the top in training, and he'll own up to that. But that's just him and football, how he enjoys coaching it, watching it, getting involved. It all adds up and is what makes him so good."

Wharton also explained the manager seeks guidance from his players around rotation for specific competitions.

"He'll ask us before a Carabao Cup game if we want to just rest and go for it in the Premier League or Conference League," he says.

"That's not what we want to do (rest). Nobody thought we would win anything last year, but we did, and there's even more confidence now.

"We're a very tight-knit group, with no big egos. The manager created that bond. Nobody is getting in a strop."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on who would be in your dream Crystal Palace Premier League XI?

Here are some of your comments:

Keir: 4-4-2. Henderson, Munoz, Wan-Bissaka, Guehi, Sakho, Jedinak, Gallagher, Wharton, Eze, Zaha, Mateta. With Jedinak dropping deep and operating almost as a back three while the wing backs stretch the pitch, the midfield can operate with more freedom allowing our attack to penetrate most defences while preventing a lot of goals. Mateta and Zaha would be lethal.

Scott: 4-4-2. Speroni, Munoz, Guehi, Dann, Mitchell, Olise, Wharton, Jedinak, Eze, Zaha, Johnson. A blend of our current stars and some important players from the past.

Chris: 4-5-1. Speroni, Ward, Guehi, Dann, Mitchell, Olise, Cabaye, Wharton, Jedinak, Zaha, Johnson. Could've just chosen the team that won the FA Cup but had to put a few legends in the team.

Olly: 4-2-3-1. Martyn, Munoz, Southgate, Guehi, Gordon, Wharton, Thomas, Olise, Lombardo, Zaha, Johnson. Attacking flair, defensive solidity, game intelligence and work ethic - this team could add a Premier League trophy to our FA Cup.

Jon Day: 4-2-3-1. Henderson - Best all round. Munoz - never stops. Delaney - Irish no-nonsense personality. Guehi - Rolls Royce captain. Mitchell - every wingers worst nightmare. Wharton - unreal. James MacArthur - Mr Dependable. Olise - the Best. Eze - the winner. Zaha - the GOAT. Mateta - There is no striker better! A lot of the players are from the current era as that's when we've been successful. Solid defence, industrious midfield and a devastating front line which guarantees excitement and goals.

Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton, 21, tops Chelsea's wishlist for the January transfer window. (Teamtalk), external

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It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992, but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Crystal Palace Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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The Premier League has agreed to move games involving Arsenal and Crystal Palace in December to ease fixture congestion.

Arsenal's trip to Everton and Palace's game at Leeds - both originally scheduled for 14:00 GMT on Sunday, 21 December - will now be played at 20:00 on Saturday, 20 December.

The move means the two sides will have an extra day to prepare for their EFL Cup quarter-final on 23 December.

The decision to move forward the two Premier League matches has been done after requests from both clubs.

It is understood the desire for both teams to have the same recovery time before the EFL Cup tie was a factor, though television scheduling is also believed to have been a consideration.

There is an acknowledgment that the 20:00 kick-off does provide travelling supporters with logistical difficulties.

But the Premier League says the decision has been taken with the players' well-being at the forefront of its mind.

It said: "Player welfare is a priority for the Premier League, and we have therefore granted requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their respective fixtures.

"This comes after the scheduling of matches from other competitions around Premier League fixtures without adequate player recovery time.

"This is also further evidence of the impact the expanded Uefa competitions have on the domestic fixture calendar."

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

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It is, unfortunately, a case of when not if Marc Guehi will depart Crystal Palace - with his contract expiring at the end of the season and January interest bound to resurface.

Sunday's rivalry game against Brighton & Hove Albion gave the fans a glimpse of that future - and, more impressively, a 19-year-old candidate looking to fill the large boots left by the team's captain, who was absent because of injury.

Making his first Premier League start, Jaydee Canvot had plenty of pressure on him, at least in theory. The performance itself was not the cleanest, but at this stage, coaches and fans are looking for signs of potential, rather than a fully polished product.

Indeed, in modern football, there is a production line of young central defenders far more accustomed to being playmakers rather than disruptors, especially since the changes to goal-kick rules. Translating that skill set from the European academy ranks into senior football becomes a crucial challenge.

It spoke volumes that Oliver Glasner, forever tough on new arrivals, opted for the ex-Toulouse player, rather than the 'safer' option of Jefferson Lerma at the back.

In a defensive sense, Canvot displayed exactly what you would want to see from a well-rounded defender. Aggressive when tackling and in the air, the young Frenchman was able to exert defensive influence on the game, rather than being passive or delegating responsibility.

As a club that does not make a high volume of incoming transfers, Palace need a high hit-rate of successes to sustain the quality of the squad. There has been a great deal of bad luck with Chadi Riad and his injury record since joining last summer, so there was a need for someone to add to the starting three defenders.

It is too early to draw definitive conclusions after 331 minutes of football, but it is a promising start.

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Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

A number of current and former Premier League club sporting directors have featured in the top 10 of a study ranking the value they have added to their club's squad from incoming transfers.

Departed Manchester City executive Txiki Begiristain came out top, while ex-Crystal Palace director Dougie Freedman, Newcastle's Ross Wilson and Brentford's Phil Giles also ranked inside the top 10 in the review carried out by industry advisors Transfer Room.

Freedman, who left Crystal Palace for a position in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, placed third in the study - behind Begiristain and Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung.

The Scot, who was responsible for the signings of Eberechi Eze, Michael Elise, Marc Guehi, Daniel Munoz, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Adam Wharton among others, added a net value of €374m (£328m) to the Eagles' roster from the €436m (£382m) spent on 29 transfers.

Current Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson placed in fifth, adding a net value of €319m (£280m) from a €366m (£321m) investment on 36 transfers during spells with Nottingham Forest and Rangers.

Brentford's sporting director Phil Giles, who played a key role in the signings of Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo, Yoann Wissa and Ollie Watkins for the west London club, ranked seventh - adding a net value of €300m (£263m) to their squad following an investment of €114m (£100m) on 20 players.