Oliver Glasner’s face told the story. The Crystal Palace manager watched in exasperation as the FA Cup holders headed towards ignominy on Macclesfield’s artificial surface and was still in shock when he conducted his post-match interview. “Honestly, I have no explanation for what I have seen today,” said Glasner.
A mere 238 days since the greatest day in Palace’s history, when he and the club stalwart Joel Ward paraded their first major trophy at Wembley, Marc Guéhi’s first thought after the final whistle at the weekend was to face the music from the diehards who had made the trip to Cheshire from south London. Accompanied by the assistant manager, Paddy McCarthy, the Palace captain held intense discussions with several supporters as Macclesfield celebrated their historic victory with a pitch invasion.
It was hard to imagine what Guéhi could have said to make them feel better after such an embarrassing defeat against part-time opponents whose real jobs include property developer, gym owner and lawyer. John Rooney’s side were full value for their victory over a team that sit 117 places above them in the league pyramid and grew in belief after Paul Dawson headed in from a free-kick in the first half – the 10th goal from a set piece Palace have let in out of the last 12 they have conceded.
That is just one explanation for the run of nine games without a win in all competitions. A squad ill-prepared for the demands of a debut European campaign has been seriously weakened by injuries to Daniel Muñoz and Daichi Kamada, while Guéhi and his England teammate Adam Wharton are clearly feeling the effects of Palace having already played 34 games in this marathon season. Their club record 19-match unbeaten sequence that began in April and was ended by Everton in October feels like a lifetime ago.
Uncertainty over Glasner’s future has not helped the slide. He declined to sign a lucrative new deal in the summer and challenged the club’s owners to match his ambitions – something they failed to do despite keeping hold of Guéhi at the last minute of the summer transfer window. Yeremy Pino has shown flickers of his undoubted talent since being signed to replace Wembley hero Eberechi Eze and scored a free-kick that gave Palace a glimmer of hope against Macclesfield. But most of the club-record £67.5m fee received from Arsenal for Eze was not invested in the team until Brennan Johnson’s arrival from Spurs this month.
Glasner has also been reluctant to use Christantus Uche, the Nigerian forward signed on loan from Getafe on the final day of the transfer window and who endured a testing afternoon against Macclesfield. But with Eddie Nketiah missing with injury, the decision to leave Jean-Philippe Mateta at home because of concerns over the pitch at Moss Rose backfired spectacularly, even though the France striker was in desperate need of a rest.
The lack of cover for Muñoz has been horribly exposed. Glasner’s system relies heavily on wingbacks and Borna Sosa – the Croat who arrived for a cut-price fee from Ajax in the summer – is inadequate backup on either flank. Muñoz should return from a knee problem soon but Palace still hope to sign Zakaria El Ouahdi, who replaced him at the Belgian club Genk. A new central midfielder is also a possibility.
That would amount to significant mid-season investment, especially with work due to start on a new main stand this month after Palace completed the purchase of six houses next to the ground that will be demolished to make space. The stand will cost more than £150m, with the chair, Steve Parish – who had to endure the embarrassment of being seated among the jubilant home supporters on Saturday – having arranged a £125m loan with Goldman Sachs to help fund it. Whether that will all be enough to persuade Glasner to stay remains to be seen. His stock will only have suffered from an embarrassing defeat that has made headlines around the world. Manchester United or anyone else will not have been impressed by the way Palace failed to break down a sixth-tier side.
In a peculiar quirk of fate, the last non-league side to knock out the FA Cup holders were a Palace team then playing in the Southern League that defeated Wolves after a replay in January 1909. They lost 9-0 to Burnley in the next round in what remains their record defeat in the competition. And while 17 May 2025 will for ever be etched in the memory of every Palace fan, each and every one will also never forget 10 January 2026, albeit with rather contrasting emotions.
