Uncertainty and lack of form - Palace's 'flat' end to historic year

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Teenager Gray heads Tottenham Hotspur to narrow victory over Crystal Palace

ByHarry Poole

BBC Sport journalist

After arguably the greatest year in the club's history, Crystal Palace will begin 2026 out of form and surrounded by an air of uncertainty.

Manager Oliver Glasner has delivered historic FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs, the club's first major European campaign, and a record Premier League points tally, all since his appointment in February 2024.

But his side ended 2025 with a third consecutive Premier League defeat after losing 1-0 to Tottenham at Selhurst Park, equalling their longest losing run in the league under Glasner.

Glasner and his players have been reluctant to blame their dip in form on an exhausting schedule, despite playing eight games in December as they attempt to balance domestic and continental ambitions.

But, after openly criticising the club's lack of activity in the summer, at full-time Glasner was not shy about expressing his desire for the club to add reinforcements in January.

There will be an extra incentive for the board to do so as Glasner weighs up whether to remain at the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

"We need the support," said Glasner, whose side are winless in five games across all competitions.

"We know we are missing a few players who are always involved in our goals - Daniel Munoz, Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada," he told BBC Sport.

Looking back at 2025, he added: "I think it was by far the best season in Crystal Palace's history.

"It feels like we are not far away from being constantly in these areas. We are missing little things that are important to stay where we are."

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Richarlison excels in otherwise 'not great' game for Spurs - Hart

A pivotal month for Palace?

Palace's three straight league defeats are as many as they suffered in their opening 15 games of the campaign.

Like their manager, the club's supporters will hope for action in the forthcoming transfer window to prevent a positive start to the season from fizzling out.

But they will also fear wider repercussions should the board fail to back Glasner sufficiently.

Glasner, on a contract until June 2026, is yet to commit his long-term future and will want to see the club's ambition match his own after a frustrating summer.

Former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, speaking on Sky Sports, said: "There is that situation with the manager. He's obviously suggesting he wants some more players, but his contract is up in the summer and he's probably more important than anything else in terms of keeping him at the club.

"He's done such a tremendous job. If I was the board I'd be looking to feed him a player or two."

Speaking about Palace's performance, Pardew added: "They look like the Christmas champagne, they were flat.

"There was no bounce to them, no spark. It all looked a bit slow, and that's the mode they're in at the minute."

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The closer we got to the goal, the more nervous we looked - Glasner

Injuries to key defenders Munoz and Chris Richards, and attacker Sarr's departure to the Africa Cup of Nations, have put further strain on a modest squad.

While incomings remain crucial for Glasner, it remains to be seen whether captain Marc Guehi will see out the rest of the season after informing the club he will not sign a new contract and will leave next year.

The 25-year-old England international was the subject of interest from Premier League champions Liverpool in the summer, but Glasner persuaded the board not to accept a £35m offer.

Speaking about Guehi's future on Sunday, Glasner said: "Of course we want to keep everybody."

BBC Sport senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel said: "My understanding is that Guehi is probably expected to stay at Palace until the end of the season until his contract expires.

"He's got so many options in the summer - clubs in Europe, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, all of these clubs have registered varying degrees of interest in recent weeks.

"Come the end of the season, Liverpool will be back in the mix, Manchester City will be in the mix. He is going but I expect that situation to continue until the summer when he will have a pick of clubs."

What's going wrong for Palace?

Glasner naturally focused on Palace's shortcomings in attack following their blank against Spurs.

No Premier League side has underperformed their expected goals (xG) tally by more than Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season, scoring just 21 times despite an xG value of 29.4, while talisman Jean Philippe Mateta has scored just once in the past eight league games.

"We are the team that are constantly underperforming in scoring goals when we create a lot, but nobody does it on purpose. We need to get this fixed," Glasner said.

"It's not that we don't create the chances, we just miss them right now. The closer we get to the goal, the more nervous we look and the more wrong decisions we make."

But the issues caused by those shortcomings in attack have been further exacerbated by a poor record in defending set-pieces of late.

Remarkably, eight of the last nine goals Crystal Palace have conceded in all competitions have come from set piece situations - including each of the last seven.

Conversely, Tottenham lead the league for xG overperformance, scoring 9.8 more goals than their xG would suggest they should have.