THE EAGLES HAVE LANDED

JOHN LYONS REPORTS ON CRYSTAL PALACE'S REMARKABLE RISE UNDER AUSTIAN BOSS OLIVER GLASNER...

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THESE are heady days for Crystal Palace and their supporters, but the key question now is whether the Eagles can continue to flourish.

Those of us with long memories will remember when Palace were tipped to be the ‘Team of the 80s’ under bright young boss Terry Venables, but that optimism quickly petered out as the promising side broke up and results nosedived.

This time around it’s Oliver Glasner pulling the strings and the south London club have already achieved notable feats. The FA Cup and Community Shield are housed in the previously dusty trophy cabinet and European football is on the menu.

It’s a far cry from when Palace appointed the Austrian in February 2024. Glasner replaced veteran boss Roy Hodgson and took over an Eagles side muddling along in 15th place in the Premier League.

By the close of the season Palace had climbed to tenth, giving an indication of what the new manager could do with the resources at his disposal.

While most people would have said ‘Oliver who?’ when he was appointed, he did come with decent pedigree, most notably leading Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League crown in 2021-22.