Just 5 months ago, Oliver Glasner was considered a bright candidate for the head coach position of Manchester United. When Ruben Amorim's future began to be questioned after the lackluster defeat to Brentford at the end of September, Glasner's Crystal Palace defeated Liverpool again, ending the opponent's 7-match winning streak and becoming the only unbeaten team in the Premier League at that time.
Palace at that time was praised as a model of how a good coach can maximize limited resources. They once defeated Liverpool in the English Super Cup in August and shocked when they defeated Manchester City to win the FA Cup last season - the first major title in club history. Glasner also rejected the view that the 3-4-3 formation - the system that Amorim pursues - is unlikely to succeed in the Premier League.
In the context that Man United has invested nearly 250 million pounds to build a squad suitable for 3-4-3, while eliminating traditional wingers such as Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho, Glasner was once considered the ideal person to continue that tactical direction.
However, everything changed quickly. Although still in the group of potential candidates - only behind Michael Carrick according to experts - Glasner will return to Old Trafford this weekend with a completely different position. He has lost most of the sympathy from Palace fans and is starting to reveal problems similar to Amorim himself. That is tactical rigidity, lack of flexibility when the squad declines and signs of internal instability.
Glasner's reputation in the eyes of Crystal Palace fans has declined sharply after a series of disappointing performances. They have only had 3 wins in the last 17 matches, including a period of 12 consecutive matches without knowing the taste of victory.
Those defeats included the shock of being eliminated from the FA Cup against semi-professional Macclesfield - one of the biggest shocks in league history, a heavy 1-4 defeat to Leeds United and a home defeat to Burnley, who are ranked 19th.
Once ranked fourth in the Premier League in early December last year, Palace is now only in 13th place before the away match to Old Trafford. Two victories against Brighton and Wolves in the last 3 matches help them temporarily ease the fear of relegation, but also significantly damage Glasner's ambition for promotion.
In October last year, Glasner informed Chairman Steve Parish of his intention to leave. He affirmed that decision was not related to the volatile summer transfer window, when Palace sold Eberechi Eze, earning 20 million pounds in profit and being forced to cancel the sale of Marc Guehi to Liverpool because they could not find a suitable replacement.
If Carrick's impressive performance since replacing Amorim continues to be maintained against Crystal Palace and he brings Man United back to the Champions League, not giving Carrick a long-term opportunity will become increasingly difficult to explain.
However, the lesson from the time of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will make Man United cautious. The board of directors is likely still wanting to survey the market and consider other top candidates before making a final decision.
Among them, Luis Enrique is considered a long-term potential option. Julian Nagelsmann is also an attractive name, even though he has committed to the German national team until 2028, similar to Thomas Tuchel with the England national team.
But with unsuccessful experiences and a coach who is considered tactically rigid, wants to deeply control transfer issues and often causes media noise, Man United should probably consider removing Glasner from the shortlist.
