So much was different at Selhurst Park for this opening home game of the season. Some of it has been enforced, but it begs the question of how much change Palace can withstand and, perhaps more pertinently, how quickly that can shift to familiarity again asks the New York Times? From kick-off, the atmosphere was different.
Gone were the Holmesdale Fanatics and the familiar,
repetitive beat of the drum and their repertoire of orchestrated songs, after
the group announced it would “stop all organised activity”. Gone are most of
the modern add-ons to the Main Stand, a temporary hospitality suite built while
the redevelopment of the stadium is ongoing,
Selhurst didn’t just look different, but it felt different.
The atmosphere ebbed and flowed more naturally but in the difficult moments it
missed that orchestrated HF presence when it mattered most. By the fourth City
goal, the visible empty seats told their own story.
It was impossible for the process of following on from
Glasner to click straight away. New manager Sage asked for patience and
he deserves it. But it is not available in abundance from everyone. The
intensive attacking approach of the new regime is a contrast to Glasner’s more
transition-based style, but it has left Palace extremely vulnerable
defensively.
Palace are currently bottom of the table, but it is early
doors. The club has to develop and
restructure if it is to beyond Premier League survival to progress in Europe
and domestically.
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