Pierre Sage: Crystal Palace sack manager with club bottom of Premier League table after 10 matches
Pierre Sage was appointed by Crystal Palace in the summer on a three-year contract, replacing Oliver Glasner; the former Lyon and Lens boss won just two of his 10 Premier League games in charge and the Eagles sit bottom of the table; Palace working to bring in Thomas Frank as replacement
Thursday 12 November 2026 13:52, UK
Crystal Palace have sacked manager Pierre Sage after just 16 matches.
Sage, appointed in June on a three-year contract to replace Oliver Glasner, leaves with Palace bottom of the Premier League table after winning just two of his 10 league matches in charge.
Palace are working on a deal to bring in Thomas Frank as his replacement. The Dane has been out of work since he was sacked as Tottenham boss in February.
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An 81-word Palace statement confirmed Sage's dismissal on Thursday afternoon, which said "three members of Pierre's coaching staff - Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard - have also left the club" and added, "an update on the process of appointing a new manager will be provided in due course".
Palace, who lost Sage's final match 3-1 at home to Liverpool on Sunday, have the worst defensive record of any side in the Premier League this season, having conceded 24 goals in the competition.
Sage's predecessor Glasner had presided over the most successful period in Palace's history, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Conference League and Community Shield.
However, key players from that era of success left with him in the summer - including Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz - and yet the Eagles were the lowest spenders across the Premier League in the summer.
Frank leading candidate to replace Sage
Frank emerged as the leading contender to take over at Palace following the defeat to Liverpool on Sunday. He was among a list of names the club considered in the summer before appointing Sage.
Other candidates that had been on Palace's radar include Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira, Kim Hellberg, Vitor Matos and Tony Popovic.
Sky Sports News also revealed that Jens Berthel Askou and Ole Werner had been under consideration.
Werner was last in charge of RB Leipzig until being sacked in June 2026, and Berthel Askou is currently in charge of Toulouse, having joined from Motherwell in the summer.
Frank had great success at Brentford during his seven-year spell between 2018 and 2025, getting the Bees into the Premier League and then establishing them as a top-flight club, reaching a ninth-place finish in 2023.
He then moved to Tottenham last season to replace Ange Postecoglou as head coach, but was sacked after less than eight months in charge with the club in 16th place, five points above the relegation zone.
Spurs only sealed survival from relegation on the final day of last season, after Igor Tudor and then Roberto De Zerbi replaced Frank as head coach.
Frank failed to win over the Tottenham faithful, with his short tenure littered with setbacks, including drinking from a coffee cup which carried the badge of rivals Arsenal.
How has Sage's Palace tenure unravelled so quickly?
Sky Sports' Ron Walker:
It is a remarkable fall from grace not only for Sage, who was crowned French manager of the year last summer, but also for a Palace side that lifted their first European silverware in May.
After a 2-0 loss at Spurs in what proved to be his penultimate league match, Sage could not hold back on his assessment. "It's a disaster," he told Sky Sports. Aside from results, that could easily point to the damage caused by the departures of Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix last summer and the replacements who have to emulate their quality.
Or missing Ismaila Sarr, whose injury absence following his 21-goal haul last season has been harshly felt. Or the form of Adam Wharton, who has become a shadow of his previous self in barely three months. Or that Jean-Philippe Mateta had got himself sent off 13 minutes into his second Premier League start since August.
But there are also questions to be asked regarding Palace's rationale that the head coach was a good fit for their squad in the first place.
Read the full analysis of Sage's 16 games in charge at Palace here.
Hinchcliffe: Sage was always up against it
Andy Hinchcliffe speaking on Sky Sports News:
"With Pierre, a three-year contract means nothing if you start the season as poorly as they have.
"Stepping in after Oliver Glasner is like David Moyes stepping in after Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd. It is a very difficult job to emulate - or even get close to - what the previous coach has achieved.
"I always felt he was up against it, so I'm not really surprised. With the results they've had and the fact they are bottom of the league, that's a bit more understandable than maybe Michael Carrick's situation at Man Utd.
"I can understand (why Palace would target) Thomas [Frank], given he's out of work and the incredible job he did at Brentford.
"I knew Thomas well from his work there when they were in the Championship. He's a wonderful man, a wonderful coach and knows exactly what he's doing."
Crystal Palace's upcoming fixtures
Coventry (a) - Premier League, Saturday November 21, kick-off 3pm
Real Sociedad (h) - Europa League, Thursday November 26, kick-off 8pm
Hull (h) - Premier League, Sunday November 29, kick-off 2.05pm
Chelsea (a) - Premier League, Wednesday December 2, kick-off 7.30pm
Aston Villa (a) - Premier League, Saturday December 5, kick-off 3pm
Jagiellonia Bialystok (a) - Europa League, Thursday December 10, kick-off 5.45pm
