Crystal Palace dismissed manager Pierre Sage on Sunday evening after 16 games, with the club bottom of the Premier League on seven points and a league-worst defensive record.
Sage won two of his 10 league matches in charge, leaving Palace with seven points from those 10 games and 24 goals conceded in the competition this season, the heaviest tally in the division. The Independent put the return as seven points from a possible 30 and reported that the club go into the international break two points from safety.
At Selhurst Park on Sunday, the final match was a 3-1 home defeat by Liverpool. It was a fourth league defeat in succession. The Athletic counted it as a fifth defeat in eight matches, as did the Guardian, while the Independent called it a seventh league defeat of the season.
Talks over compensation for the rest of Sage’s three-year contract held up the announcement after the decision to part with him was taken on Sunday evening, according to reports.
Their only win in the past eight matches in all competitions came at Fulham in the Carabao Cup. On 18 October, Brighton & Hove Albion beat them 5-0 at home, scoring three times inside the opening ten minutes.
From French manager of the year to a bottom club
Palace hired Sage in June as Oliver Glasner's successor, giving him a three-year deal, and paid more than £4m to buy him out of his Lens contract. A caption on the same report gave the fee as £4m.
Last summer, Sky Sports named him French manager of the year. At Lens, he finished runner-up in Ligue 1, lifted the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions, and led the club into the Champions League.
- JuneAppointed
Sage replaces Oliver Glasner on a three-year contract.
- SummerPalace pay for Sage
The club spends more than £4m to release him from his Lens contract.
- 18 OctoberBrighton collapse
Palace lose 5-0 at home, conceding three goals in the opening ten minutes.
- SundayLiverpool defeat
A 3-1 loss at Selhurst Park is a fourth straight league defeat and Sage's last match.
The squad he inherited was thin at the back. Palace sold centre-back Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea and right-back Daniel Munoz to Nottingham Forest in the summer, then Marc Guehi moved to Manchester City in January; Axel Disasi and teenager Honest Ahanor arrived on loan as replacements. Eleven players arrived in the summer window, four on deadline day, among them Anan Khalaili and Quinten Timber.
Friction with the board over transfers
He is understood to have fallen out with the board because it didn't sign the players he considered suitable successors to Guehi and Lacroix. Chair Steve Parish was unhappy with his treatment of centre-back Jaydee Canvot, dropped for September's home defeat by Ipswich, and voiced displeasure after Adam Wharton was substituted in that match.
Palace have taken five points from their first four Europa League matches, with one win, two draws and one defeat, and sit 21st in the 36-team table. Europe has offered partial relief. They're through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they play Sunderland next month.
The club confirmed the exit in a statement.
Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Pierre Sage has left his role as Manager.
The club would like to place on record its thanks to Pierre and his staff for their efforts during their time in South London, and wish them well for the future.
Three of his staff left with him: Jamal Alioui, Damien Della Santa and Sandy Guichard.
With Pierre, a three-year contract means nothing if you start the season as poorly as they have.
Frank talks, and two other names in play
Talks are under way over a deal to appoint Thomas Frank, who's been without a club since Tottenham sacked him in February. They were at an advanced stage, and the club hoped to have him in place for the trip to Coventry on Saturday 21 November, according to reports.
Sean Dyche, free since his time at Burnley, Everton and Nottingham Forest, is also available and has backing at the club. Vitor Pereira is named as a further alternative.
A return to Lens is now in play. He has emerged as the favourite for the job after the French club sacked Yannick Cahuzac on Tuesday, and Joseph Oughourlian, the Lens owner and president, is understood to have held talks with him about coming back.
Sage is the second Premier League manager to leave this season, after Manchester United parted company with Michael Carrick on Thursday.
Glasner, the manager Sage succeeded, lifted the FA Cup in 2024-25, then the Conference League and the Community Shield the next season. Nottingham Forest appointed him after he left Palace.
The record Sage leaves behind, and the one before him
Pierre Sage at Lens
Ligue 1
- Runner-up in Ligue 1
- Coupe de France winner
- Trophee des Champions winner
- Qualified for the Champions League
Oliver Glasner at Palace
Premier League
- FA Cup winner
- Conference League winner
- Community Shield winner
What we know
- Sage left after 16 games in all competitions.
- Palace are bottom on seven points from 10 league games.
- Palace have conceded 24 Premier League goals this season.
- Three members of his coaching staff also left the club.
Still unclear
- Who Palace will appoint, and when the appointment will be confirmed.
- Whether Frank arrives in time for the Coventry match on 21 November.
- Whether Sage returns to Lens, and how that would affect compensation.
- The full terms of his severance.
The next fixture is a Premier League trip to Coventry on Saturday 21 November at 3pm. Real Sociedad visit in the Europa League on Thursday 26 November at 8pm.
