Crystal Palace are set to sack manager Pierre Sage after Sunday's 3-1 home defeat by Liverpool left them bottom of the Premier League, according to reports — with former Tottenham and Brentford boss Thomas Frank the leading candidate to replace him during the international break.
The Athletic's Matt Woosnam reports that Palace will part company with Sage after just 16 games in charge and plan to appoint his successor while the Premier League pauses. talkSPORT understands chairman Steve Parish has already decided to make the change, GIVEMESPORT reports the same, and Fabrizio Romano posted the story on Monday morning. As of Monday there has been no official confirmation from the club, so the decision remains reported rather than announced — but every major outlet is pointing the same way.
Why Palace Have Run Out of Patience
The numbers have become impossible to defend. Palace sit 20th with seven points from 10 matches and just two league wins. They have the worst defensive record in the division, with 24 goals conceded, and Sunday's defeat was their fourth in a row in the league, by a combined score of 12-1. It is the first time Palace have been bottom of the table after a complete round of games since December 2017, and Sage's overall record reads five wins from 16 matches in all competitions.
The Liverpool game felt like the final straw. As Reuters reported, Alexis Mac Allister headed Liverpool in front before half-time, Florian Wirtz doubled the lead nine minutes after the restart and Alexander Isak sealed it late on, before Eddie Nketiah converted a contentious stoppage-time penalty. Sage, who said he was frustrated by the chances his side missed, had already seen his team humiliated 5-0 by rivals Brighton last month — a result that first turned the mood at Selhurst Park.
The 47-year-old Frenchman arrived in June on a three-year deal after Oliver Glasner departed for Nottingham Forest, fresh from being named Ligue 1 Manager of the Year for guiding Lens to second place and the Coupe de France. It has never clicked in south London, and talkSPORT reports Sage has also fallen out with a number of senior players, with Axel Disasi dropped for the midweek Europa League game against Hoffenheim after reporting late for a team meeting. Asked about his future after the Liverpool defeat, Sage insisted: "I'm not feeling this. I'm just in my job, and focusing on my job, and what I have to do to find the solution."
Frank Leads the Race to Replace Him
Palace are not starting their search from zero. Thomas Frank is the favourite to take over, according to the Telegraph, and talkSPORT reports he was interviewed for the job in the summer before Sage was appointed — and that he is interested in the role. The Dane has been out of work since leaving Tottenham in February, and while his spell there ended badly, the job he did at Brentford, establishing them as a Premier League side, carries real weight with the Palace hierarchy. He is also reported to have been promised significant backing in January if he takes it.
Frank is not the only name in the frame. Sean Dyche, who Parish has long admired, Vitor Pereira and former Palace defender Tony Popovic — now the Australia national team coach — have all been reported as under consideration. Whoever gets it, the plan reported by The Athletic is for the new man to be in place during this international break, with time to work with the squad before the league restarts. Our match preview last week warned that Sage was running out of time — Sunday appears to have settled it.
So What Does It Mean for Palace?
If the reports are confirmed, Sage would become the first Premier League managerial casualty of the 2026-27 season — a brutal verdict on a coach who was lifting a trophy in France five months ago, and on a club that won the FA Cup and a European trophy under Glasner. The timing at least gives Palace a window: no league game until the trip to Coventry City on Saturday, November 21, then home fixtures that a new manager could target.
But the job is bigger than one appointment. Palace are bottom, leaking goals, short on confidence and still carrying Europa League commitments that have already stretched a thin squad — they have won only once in Europe so far. A new manager will need January reinforcements, above all at the back, and will need the senior players back onside quickly. The gap to safety is still small, and the season is far from gone, but the margin for another mistake has disappeared.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Sage was a bold, imaginative appointment and it has failed fast — bottom of the league, the worst defence in the division and a dressing room drifting away is a combination no chairman ignores. Parish is right to act now rather than waste the international break, but Frank or anyone else will only save Palace if the club backs him properly in January. The next appointment has to be the safe pair of hands this squad needs, not another gamble.
Palace fans — is Thomas Frank the right man to keep you up, or should Parish turn to Sean Dyche? Have your say in the comments.
