Crystal Palace Sack Pierre Sage After Dismal Start as Thomas Frank Emerges as Favourite

By Imran Javed | 12 November 2026

Crystal Palace have sacked manager Pierre Sage after less than five months in charge, with the club bottom of the Premier League after a dreadful start to the season. The Frenchman, appointed in June on a three-year contract, paid the price for four straight league defeats — the latest a 3-1 home loss to Liverpool — that left the Eagles with just seven points from ten matches and the worst defensive record in the division. Former Brentford and Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is the favourite to replace him and is reported to be in advanced talks.

What Crystal Palace said

Palace confirmed the decision in a short statement on Thursday. “Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Pierre Sage has left his role as Manager,” it read. Three members of Sage’s coaching staff — Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard — have also left Selhurst Park. “The club thanks Pierre and his staff for their efforts during their time in South London, and wish them well for the future,” the statement added. “An update on the process of appointing a new manager will be provided in due course.”

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports the decision was made on Monday and only confirmed publicly on Thursday, and that Sage wants a break from football, with nothing advanced over a return to former club RC Lens.

The numbers behind the sacking

The figures explain why Palace acted now, during the international break. Palace have won just two of their opening ten Premier League matches, drawing one and losing seven, and have not won a league game since 11 October. They have conceded 24 goals — more than any other side in the division. In Europe, Palace sit 21st in the 36-team Europa League table after winning only one of their first four matches, and even reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-finals was not enough to save Sage. The low point came against their fiercest rivals: a 5-0 thrashing by Brighton.

Sunday’s Liverpool defeat proved the final straw

Palace produced arguably their best 45 minutes under Sage in the first half against Liverpool at Selhurst Park, but the champions still left south London with a comfortable 3-1 win. It was Palace’s fourth defeat in a row, and it confirmed that the early promise of the Frenchman’s tenure had evaporated. Chairman Steve Parish has never been afraid to act quickly when the club’s league position is under threat — Frank de Boer lasted just four Premier League matches in 2017-18 after four straight defeats without scoring.

A day of double sackings — Carrick went 90 minutes earlier

Sage’s departure was the second managerial sacking of a remarkable Thursday. Manchester United had pulled the trigger on Michael Carrick only around 90 minutes before Palace made their own move.

Manchester United sacked Michael Carrick earlier on Thursday, with Mauricio Pochettino lined up to take over at Old Trafford. Two departures on the same day is a genuine rarity: OptaJoe notes it is only the sixth time in Premier League history that two managers have left on the same day during a season, and the first since 15 December 2024, when Gary O’Neil left Wolves and Russell Martin left Southampton.

Thomas Frank leads the race to replace him

BBC Sport reports that Thomas Frank is in advanced talks to take the post ahead of the trip to Coventry City on 21 November, and Fabrizio Romano reports that Frank leads the candidates list. Frank has been out of work since Tottenham sacked him in February, after an eight-match winless run left Spurs 16th in the table and five points above the relegation places.

His record at Brentford was outstanding: 132 wins from 317 games, and promotion to the Premier League via the 2020-21 Championship play-offs. TeamTalk reports Palace had already identified Frank as their favoured choice at the start of the week, and that former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe turned down the role after talks. If Frank takes over, it would be his third London club. For Palace, the appeal is obvious: a proven Premier League operator who can organise a side and grind out results, exactly what a team bottom of the table with 24 goals conceded in ten games needs.

What next for Palace

Their next fixture is away at Coventry City on Saturday 21 November, and the club will want a new manager in place before then. Whoever takes over inherits a difficult but not hopeless position: Palace are bottom, but after only ten games the gap to safety is bridgeable, and the squad still contains the core of the side that won the FA Cup in 2025. The first job is to shore up a defence shipping goals at an alarming rate — and to win a league game again, something Palace have not done for over a month.

Sage’s short reign in context

The 47-year-old Frenchman, formerly boss at Lens and Lyon, was asked to replace Oliver Glasner — Palace’s most successful manager, who guided the Eagles to their first major trophies with the 2025 FA Cup and the UEFA Conference League title before leaving last season and joining Nottingham Forest. Sage arrived with a strong reputation, having led Lens to a surprise second-place Ligue 1 finish and a first French Cup triumph in the club’s 120-year history — but he was dealt a difficult hand, with Maxence Lacroix sold to Chelsea, Daniel Muñoz leaving to join Glasner at Forest, and Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta missing large parts of the season through injury.

None of that excuses seven points from ten games. His five months at Selhurst Park will be remembered as a mismatch between a promising coach and an impossible act to follow — and if the reports are right, Thomas Frank will be the man tasked with dragging Crystal Palace off the bottom, starting at Coventry on 21 November.

More from TimelyUps Sport: Hardik Pandya’s blockbuster IPL 2027 trade — Punjab Kings land the India star as Arshdeep Singh heads to Mumbai Indians | Pakistan vs India U19 Asia Cup final on November 14 — date, time, squads and how to watch

Frequently asked questions