Crystal Palace have sacked Pierre Sage after 16 matches in charge, leaving them bottom of the Premier League. The club are working on a deal to appoint Thomas Frank as his successor, with the Dane out of work since his dismissal by Tottenham in February. According to Skysports.com.
Sage sacked after 16 games as Palace turn to Thomas Frank
Sage was appointed in June on a three-year contract to succeed Oliver Glasner, but won just two of his 10 league matches in charge. His final game was a 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, a result that left Palace with the worst defensive record in the Premier League, having conceded 24 goals in the competition.
A Palace statement issued on Thursday afternoon confirmed the dismissal. It said coaching staff members Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard have also left, and that an update on the search for a new manager would follow.
The backdrop is a squad that changed significantly in the summer. Glasner presided over the most successful period in Palace’s history, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Conference League and Community Shield, yet key players from that era, including Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz, also left. Palace were the lowest spenders in the Premier League that summer.
After a 2-0 loss at Spurs in what proved to be his penultimate league match, Sage told Sky Sports: “It’s a disaster.” Analysing the slump, Ron Walker highlighted the injury absence of Ismaila Sarr, who scored 21 goals last season, and Adam Wharton’s form falling well short of his earlier level in barely three months.
Walker also questioned whether Palace were right to see Sage as a good fit for the squad in the first place. Andy Hinchcliffe, speaking on Sky Sports News, likened following Glasner to David Moyes succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd. He said: “I always felt he was up against it.”
Thomas Frank emerged as the leading contender after the Liverpool defeat and was among the names Palace considered in the summer before appointing Sage. Others on the club’s radar then included Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira, Kim Hellberg, Vitor Matos and Tony Popovic, while Sky Sports News revealed that Jens Berthel Askou and Ole Werner were also under consideration.
Frank spent seven years at Brentford between 2018 and 2025, getting them into the Premier League and establishing them as a top-flight club. He then replaced Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham but was sacked after less than eight months, with the club 16th, five points above the relegation zone. Palace’s next league fixture is away at Coventry on Saturday November 21.
