Crystal Palace have officially parted ways with Pierre Sage after a challenging tenure that spanned only 16 matches. The club is currently engaged in advanced negotiations to appoint Thomas Frank as his successor, with hopes of finalizing the deal before their upcoming fixture against Coventry. It is hoped that he will take charge before next Saturday’s trip to Coventry. Hiring and firing Sage cost more than £10m for 16 games.
The Frenchman, who was hired in mid-June on a three-year contract to take over from Oliver Glasner, saw his time at the club end following a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool this past Sunday. This result left the Eagles languishing at the bottom of the Premier League table. Thomas Frank, who has been without a club since his departure from Tottenham Hotspur in February, emerged as the frontrunner for the position. He had previously engaged in discussions with Palace over the summer and is reportedly eager for a new challenge after his notable stint at Brentford.
The decision to terminate Sage’s contract was reached on Sunday night, though negotiations regarding his severance package caused a delay in the announcement. It is understood the club has agreed to pay the manager for 18 months of his contract, which was valued at roughly £4 million per year. This transition marks a significant financial commitment, as the club has now spent over £10 million on Sage, including the initial £4 million fee paid to release him from his contract with French club Lens. The decision to sack Sage was made on Sunday evening but negotiations over compensation delayed his exit. An update on the process of appointing a new manager will be provided in due course.”.
There is growing speculation that Sage could make a return to Lens, a club he previously led to a Coupe de France title and Champions League qualification. The Lens ownership, led by Joseph Oughourlian, has reportedly maintained contact with the manager following the recent dismissal of Yannick Cahuzac. Meanwhile, Palace is also considering alternative candidates for the managerial role, including former Nottingham Forest bosses Sean Dyche and Vítor Pereira.
Palace, who confirmed that the entirety of Sage’s backroom staff has also been relieved of their duties, expressed their gratitude for the team’s efforts in a brief statement. Sunday’s loss to Liverpool marked the club’s fifth defeat in an eight-match span, a period that included an emphatic 5-0 loss to arch-rivals Brighton. Currently, the team has managed only seven points from 10 league matches, with their only victories coming against Fulham and Nottingham Forest. Additionally, they have conceded 24 goals—the highest tally in the division—while managing their commitments in the Europa League, where they currently rank 21st. Where they sit 21st in the 36-team table, they have been juggling domestic matches with the Europa League. Their only victory in the sequence came in the Carabao Cup at Fulham and they have lost four league fixtures in a row.
Tensions between the manager and the board appeared to escalate over recruitment and personnel management. Sage reportedly clashed with leadership over the failure to adequately replace central defenders Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix. Furthermore, club chairman Steve Parish was known to be unhappy with Sage’s handling of defender Jaydee Canvot and his decisions regarding Adam Wharton during the home defeat to Ipswich in September. The Palace chair, Steve Parish, was unhappy with Sage’s treatment of Jaydee Canvot, another centre-back, after the France Under-21 international was dropped from the squad for September’s home defeat by Ipswich, and expr.
