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 world-beaters 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 principles 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 a dreadful performance.
