Oliver Glasner does not believe in magic. He is an admirably pragmatic man who trusts his principles. He trusted them at the end of last season when Palace looked like worldbeaters and everything was going right, and he trusts them now when Palace look like relegation candidates and everything is going wrong. Give it time and equilibrium will return; the principles will have their effect. Or you could just wait for the visit of Tottenham.Trust the processes all you like, Spurs will still be Spurs, a paradox that suggests there is some deeper process that ultimately matters far more than the surface processes that can be seen and analysed. They are a club with a fragile soul, capable always of producing a dreadful half from nowhere. Poor Mikey Moore, who made his full Premier League debut, barely got a look in. Rattled by Palace’s press, Spurs’ first half was their worst half of the season other than the second half at Brighton. If anything, it got worse after the break. Continue reading...