Crystal Palace sack Sage after 16 matches
Crystal Palace have sacked Pierre Sage after just 16 matches, with the club bottom of the Premier League and working on a deal to appoint Thomas Frank as his replacement.
Premier League · 12 November 2026
Sage was appointed in June on a three-year contract to replace Oliver Glasner, but won just two of his 10 league matches in charge. His final game was Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool.
Palace have conceded 24 league goals this season, the worst defensive record in the division.
- Matches in charge
- 16
- League wins
- 2/ 10
- League goals conceded
- 24
An 81-word club statement confirmed Sage’s dismissal on Thursday afternoon. Coaching staff Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard have also left.
Palace thanked Sage and his staff for their efforts in South London and wished them well for the future, adding that “an update on the process of appointing a new manager will be provided in due course”.
Sage inherited a club coming off the most successful period in its history. Under Glasner, Palace won the FA Cup, UEFA Conference League and Community Shield.
But key players from that side, including Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz, departed in the summer alongside Glasner. Palace were nevertheless the Premier League’s lowest spenders during the summer window.
Frank leads the search for a successor
Thomas Frank emerged as the leading contender after the Liverpool defeat. Palace are working on a deal for the Dane, who has been out of work since Tottenham sacked him in February.
Frank was among the names Palace considered in the summer before appointing Sage. Other candidates on the club’s radar have included Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira, Kim Hellberg, Vitor Matos and Tony Popovic.
Jens Berthel Askou and Ole Werner have also been under consideration. Werner was dismissed by RB Leipzig in June 2026, while Berthel Askou is currently in charge of Toulouse, having joined from Motherwell in the summer.
Frank enjoyed considerable success during seven years at Brentford between 2018 and 2025, taking the Bees into the Premier League and establishing them in the top flight. They finished ninth in 2023.
He moved to Tottenham last season to replace Ange Postecoglou, but lasted less than eight months. Spurs were 16th and five points above the relegation zone when he was dismissed.
Igor Tudor and then Roberto De Zerbi followed him as head coach, with Tottenham only securing survival on the final day of the season.
Frank struggled to win over Tottenham supporters during a tenure marked by setbacks, including an incident in which he drank from a coffee cup bearing the badge of rivals Arsenal.
How Sage’s tenure unravelled
For Sage, crowned French manager of the year last summer, the dismissal marks a sharp reversal. For Palace, it comes only months after lifting their first European silverware in May.
Following the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham in his penultimate league match, Sage’s assessment was blunt: “It’s a disaster.”
The difficulties extended beyond results. The departures of Munoz and Lacroix left replacements needing to match their quality, while Ismaila Sarr’s injury absence was keenly felt after his 21 goals last season.
Adam Wharton’s form also declined sharply in barely three months. Jean-Philippe Mateta, meanwhile, was sent off after just 13 minutes of his second Premier League start since August.
Alongside those problems, the appointment itself has come under scrutiny, with questions over whether Sage was the right fit for the squad he inherited.
Crystal Palace’s upcoming fixtures
Home and away indicated below. Kick-off times as supplied.
-
Coventry · Away
Premier League · Saturday 21 November · 3pm
-
Real Sociedad · Home
Europa League · Thursday 26 November · 8pm
-
Hull · Home
Premier League · Sunday 29 November · 2.05pm
-
Chelsea · Away
Premier League · Wednesday 2 December · 7.30pm
-
Aston Villa · Away
Premier League · Saturday 5 December · 3pm
-
Jagiellonia Bialystok · Away
Europa League · Thursday 10 December · 5.45pm
