A run deep into the Conference League is the only thing that can save Crystal Palace’s season
Crystal Palace’s season is in danger of petering out. Relegation is improbable and European qualification via the league is equally unlikely — leaving the only sources of intrigue being whether they can break their Premier League points record or, more importantly, if they can yet find a way to win another trophy.
It is hard to feel optimistic about Palace right now. Their horrendous run of 12 winless games may have been curtailed by victory over Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month, but defeat by Burnley last week served only to lower the mood — particularly given the manner in which it arrived. Misery has followed Palace for much of the past two and a half months.
Yet in August, which, admittedly, now seems very far away, they won the Community Shield to follow on from the FA Cup success of last season. Palace remain in Europe, competing in the UEFA Conference League, and the first match of their two-legged knockout phase play-off against Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday provides them with an opportunity to rebuild some confidence before taking on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday.
Relegation is almost certainly off the cards, with Opta predicting the chances of it happening being just 1.3 per cent, while the gap to the European spots is becoming almost impossible to bridge. Palace could, though, still eclipse last season’s record 53 Premier League points. Their worst form ought to be behind them, and the run-in, while not simple, is not daunting. That is something to focus minds.
Dejected Palace players last month (George Wood/Getty Images)
But as much of an achievement as that would be, it is not something that would be met with great acclaim or jubilation. It would mean a run of victories late in the season, which would undoubtedly lift the mood and offer them the advantage of consistency going into their Conference League ties, but ultimately it would count for nothing tangible.
No, how this campaign is viewed rests largely on their progress in the Conference League. Victory in the first leg in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday would see the team move closer to the final in Leipzig in May. If they were to get there and triumph, they would end the season on an enormous high and sign off the Oliver Glasner era with yet more success and silverware. Doing so would also help cast aside the bad memories of the mid-campaign breakdown.
Their successes at Wembley last year still serve as a reminder of how much silverware means to a club such as Palace. The Conference League may not quite match the FA Cup in status, just as the Community Shield didn’t, but it would still be an outstanding achievement to win it and would rightly be celebrated.
It would also ensure qualification again for Europe, and if that were achieved, then this time it is unlikely they will be barred from entering the Europa League. This would help ease the pain following the perceived injustice of their demotion to the Conference League due to the multi-club conflict.
Palace still have a lot to do before any of this becomes a reality, though. There will be concern about the home leg against Zrinjski next week, given Palace have been patchy at Selhurst Park in the competition so far — losing to AEK Larnaca and drawing with KuPS (as well as beating AZ) in the league phase.
The departing Glasner (Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
But there is a chance to flip the script. A comprehensive win in Bosnia and Herzegovina would ease any nerves and could effectively send Palace through to the round of 16, where they face either AEK Larnaca (again) or Mainz.
Even if Palace were to win the Conference League, though, the turbulence of recent months means the season will still be viewed through the lens of ‘what might have been’. Palace fans will be wondering if their team could have done more following their historic FA Cup victory.
They might also have hoped that Glasner would have extended his time as manager beyond the end of this season. Ultimately, though, the Austrian has damaged his own reputation with the recent poor run of results and his inability to hold back his feelings in public.
All of that has combined to make this season begin to feel like a slog, and there is no chance that everything will be completely forgiven and forgotten.
However, if Palace can progress to the final of the Conference League and simultaneously rectify their Premier League form, then there will be at least something to cling onto.
Realistically, a run deep into the European competition is the only way for Palace to prevent their season from petering out into nothing and exacerbating the sense of frustration at perceived missed opportunities and the tinge of regret that Glasner, the most successful manager in the club’s history, will not bow out with the adulation that his achievements might have warranted.
