Will Oliver Glasner tarnish Crystal Palace legacy with Nottingham Forest move?

"Legacy ruined", "stunned" and a "soap opera".

These are just some of the thoughts on social media from Crystal Palace fans reacting to the news that the club's greatest ever manager, Oliver Glasner, is set to join newly adopted rivals Nottingham Forest.

Glasner left the Eagles once his contract expired after a historic two and half seasons at the south London club in which he led them to FA Cup glory, into Europe for the first time in the club's history, won the Community Shield, and finished that first campaign in Europe by winning the Conference League.

The Austrian was serenaded out of Selhurst Park on the final day of the Premier League season, with the three trophies he won during his time in charge the lasting reminder of the great things he achieved at the club.

But now Glasner looks set to join Nottingham Forest, the club that replaced the Eagles in the Europa League last season and became Palace's unlikely rivals.

It all started in the days after Palace won an unexpected FA Cup, beating Manchester City in May 2025.

After a first major trophy, supporters in south London were eagerly anticipating the prospect of Europa League football at Selhurst Park for the first time.

But, unfortunately for excited Palace fans, Uefa deemed that the Eagles had breached the body's multi-club ownership rules as then co-owner, American businessman John Textor, held stakes in both the Eagles and French side Lyon, who had also qualified for the Europa League.

During that process, Nottingham Forest wrote to Uefa to "ask for clarity" after "expressing their concerns" about Palace's place in the Europa League, highlighting the ownership structure involving Textor.

If the Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League then Forest would take Palace's place in the competition, which is what happened.

And, despite an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) and Textor selling his stake to Woody Johnson, Palace were officially dropped to the lower tier of European football in the Conference League with Forest taking their place in the Europa League.

Chairman Steve Parish described it as "probably one of the greatest injustices that has ever happened in European football".

That sense of injustice followed Palace into the season with the the club's supporters in the Holmesdale Road end unfurling a banner that depicted Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis in an unfavourable manner - Palace were fined £50,000 for the banner.

Palace supporters also adopted an unflattering song during European games about Uefa, previous owner Textor and Marinakis.

It was not always smooth sailing between Palace and Glasner, who is known to speak his mind when things are not going as he wants.

The rollercoaster nature of the season did not stop after the European demotion as the club sold Eberechi Eze, one of their star players, to Arsenal in a deal worth in the region of £67m.

And Palace also almost lost key player and captain Marc Guehi before Glasner intervened on deadline day.

The England international was set to join Liverpool until Palace pulled the plug late on deadline day after a move for his intended replacement - Brighton's Igor Julio - failed to materialise.

It was reported that Glasner had threatened to quit if Parish had sanctioned Guehi's move to the Anfield club.

The manager was left frustrated that Palace, preparing for their debut European campaign - which would include at least six additional games in the league phase of the competition - seemed willing to sanction departures rather than retain and strengthen the squad they already had.

Palace's form dropped off between December and January and the Eagles went into a 12-game winless run in all competitions which saw them drop from the Champions League places towards the relegation zone.

They also failed to finish in the top eight of the Conference League table and had to qualify for the knockout stage via the play-offs.

But the lowest moment, and one of the most embarrassing, came in early January when they were involved in the biggest shock in FA Cup history when, as holders, they were knocked out by non-league Macclesfield.

Less than two weeks later, Glasner added more drama to Palace's season by unexpectedly announcing he would leave the club at the end of the campaign.

With the form so bad and the tensions rising, it looked like there would be a managerial change.

But Glasner regrouped and guided Palace to the Conference League title and a third trophy in a magical 12 months.

Glasner's passion is what endeared him to the fans and, despite the rocky periods, there were still occasions when his name was sung by supporters.

His man-management also kept the players engaged and midfielder Adam Wharton said "he has got to be one of the best managers Crystal Palace have ever had".

And when Glasner announced his departure, no supporter would begrudge the manager who had changed the trajectory of the club a lucrative move.

Glasner had been linked to some of the top jobs in football and could even joke with Parish in his final speech on the Selhurst Park pitch saying, 'Now I'm leaving, I don't have to agree with the chairman'.

But, with a number of the traditional big jobs not available, Glasner's options seemed to be limited and Forest made contact with him earlier this summer.

Palace did hold discussions with Glasner about extending his time at Palace but an agreement could not be reached and now he is set to become Forest's fifth manager in less than 12 months.

Most supporters would not mind where the Austrian ended up, but going to a club who could be perceived to have actively damaged the work he was doing at the Eagles will leave some scratching their head.

Crystal Palace fan Alex Pewter

With managers in football, it's often a case of "the King is dead, long live the King" as you trade one man at the helm for another. In this instance, Crystal Palace fans are shocked to find that the old King is very much alive, and to complete the questionable analogy, has popped up at a rival castle.

With Oliver Glasner set to be the latest in the succession of Nottingham Forest managers, the reaction from Palace fans has skewed negative, to say the least.

Fundamentally, it is because people care deeply. When they are indifferent to exiting coaches or players, they are unlikely to be troubled by their next destination.

Forest as Glasner's next club does carry more of an edge, and it's not because Palace fans have any particular aversion to Morgan Gibbs-White or Chris Wood.

It's centred entirely around their club's owner, his links and transfer dealings with former Palace investor John Textor and the Uefa melodrama last season that saw the club demoted to the Conference League - even if that worked out fine in May.

On a personal level, I am happy to separate the most successful manager in Palace's history from whatever he does next. For some, there is likely to be anger or disappointment, which hopefully time will heal, as it often does.

Recent history suggests that, despite any fractious dealings he may have had with Steve Parish, Evangelos Marinakis is unlikely to be quite as forgiving of runs of poor form or news conference outbursts.

Forest, as they have in repeated seasons, are likely to outspend Palace. Perhaps they will be able to outperform them in the league next year, but for those who are believers in Glasner's ability as a manager, Forest do seem more of a lateral move than the next step up in his career.

After all, it is more palatable to wave goodbye to players of the calibre of Marc Guehi or Michael Olise when they are ascending to the top of the game. It is the same with managers.

Nottingham Forest fan Pat Riddell

If anybody thought it was going to be a normal summer at Nottingham Forest, then they weren't really paying attention. It turns out Vitor Pereira, who arrived in February with a contract until next summer, had a clause allowing either party to end it before the end of June.

Given that the rumoured new contract for Pereira in May hadn't emerged, with further rumours of a move to Saudi Arabia, it did beg the question: What's going on?

Well, Oliver Glasner is the answer. In some ways it's understandable - numerous top managers were available this summer and while it seemed as though Forest had accidentally found themselves a head coach for the near-future, it was not a long-term plan by design.

Who's to know what would've happened with Pereira - he certainly earned his chance at a full season. Picking up the pieces of two disastrous managerial appointments, the Portuguese steered us to Premier League safety and a Europa League semi-final. And he did it with grace, charm and humility.

However, Glasner is a proven winner - and took Crystal Palace to hitherto unseen heights. A Europa League trophy with Eintracht Frankfurt and then an FA Cup with Palace and last season's Conference League is quite the record.

The strange beef between the two clubs will no doubt continue now, although ultimately Palace's Uefa demotion saw them clinch a European trophy and we haven't exactly poached an incumbent manager.

There is a fear that Glasner has a habit of falling out with club hierarchies - and Evangelos Marinakis will not take kindly to a manager who thinks he calls the shots. But equally, the owner wants the club to have a winning mentality - which is precisely why he's brought in Glasner.

As usual, Forest are box office - even if it's just for the controversy. With Elliot Anderson expected to complete a £116m move to Manchester City, the transfer window will no doubt be an interesting one too.

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