Pierre Sage will not see out six months at Selhurst Park. The 47-year-old Frenchman is set to be dismissed in the 24 hours after Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool, a result that left Crystal Palace bottom of the Premier League for the first time after a matchweek since December 2017.
Two wins in 10 games, a league-high 24 goals conceded, and a 5-0 defeat at Brighton framed a project that never settled. Sage was appointed in the summer as Oliver Glasner’s successor after an eye-catching spell at RC Lens, where he qualified the club for the Champions League and won the Coupe de France. In 16 matches in south London he reached the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and gave Palace their first Europa League win, but the defence fell apart.
Thomas Frank primed for a Premier League return
Thomas Frank is the clear frontrunner. The Dane has been without a club since Tottenham dismissed him in February with Spurs 16th and five points above the drop. Igor Tudor and Roberto De Zerbi steered that team to survival on the final day of last season.
Before Tottenham, Frank spent seven years at Brentford, winning promotion to the Premier League and finishing ninth in 2023. That track record has reportedly convinced Palace, who held preliminary talks with Frank during the current international break, according to Football Insider.
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His odds have been slashed from 3/1 to 4/9. Other names on the shortlist include Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira, Kim Hellberg, Vitor Matos, and Tony Popovic, Sky Sports reports.
“They will take a decision”
After the Liverpool game, Sage was asked whether he was still the right person for the job.
“If my job is the way to convince people the best thing then they just have to believe in that. If that’s not the case then they will take a decision,” he told reporters, per AOL.
Jamie Carragher was blunter on Sky Sports: “I think Palace will have a new manager the next time they play in the Premier League.”
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Carrick survives, for now
The contrast with Manchester United is sharp. Michael Carrick’s side sit 18th on eight points, two places above Palace, after a 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa in which United conceded twice in stoppage time. United are preparing crisis talks at Carrington in the coming days, with director of football Jason Wilcox expected to play a decisive role. The hierarchy is hesitant to pay off another coach after the settlements for Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
The Premier League now breaks for internationals. Palace’s next fixture is at Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday 21 November, 3pm local time kick-off, by which point the club is expected to have appointed Sage’s successor.
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