Oliver Glasner gamble and injury crisis leaves Steve Parish with a big decision to make in January

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Crystal Palace lost to Fulham just before the international break and that has piled more misery on the Eagles board.

Crystal Palace will have a big decision to make in the new year - if they throw their backing behind manager Oliver Glasner, he’ll need to be back in the January transfer window. This season has been an absolute struggle, with the team currently in the relegation zone, having secured just one win and four draws from their first 11 games of the campaign.

The win surprisingly came against Tottenham, but that has been somewhat overshadowed by the fact that even Ipswich managed to record their first league win of the season against Spurs. It highlights just how inconsistent Tottenham have become, rather than reflecting positively on the Eagles.

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However, there's no escaping the fact that losing someone like Michael Olise has been a massive blow to the team. Additionally, it's hard to overstate the challenge of replacing Joachim Andersen, especially after he returned to Selhurst Park with Fulham over the weekend.

Eddie Nketiah, for £30 million, might come back to haunt them, as the young striker has struggled to hit the ground running. That leaves them with a big question to answer in January.

A few players are expected back after the international break, with Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton, the latter of whom was forced to undergo surgery, not too far away from returning. But the key question will be: how strong can they go in the transfer market in January?

The team needs another creative midfielder and a wide player who can score. For all of Ismaila Sarr's brilliance, he hasn't been able to deliver consistently. As things stand, Palace are walking a fine line, at risk of being drawn into a season-long battle for Premier League survival.

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Steve Parish’s priority will be to keep this team in the Premier League. Given how quickly he dismissed Patrick Vieira and how decisively he replaced Roy Hodgson, it remains to be seen how much leeway he will give Austrian manager Glasner, and whether he will back him in the January transfer window to turn things around.

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