Crystal Palace are bottom of the Premier League, and several outlets are reporting that Pierre Sage’s time as manager may be close to ending. According to the Telegraph, as cited by Sports Mole, former Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is now the leading candidate to replace him. This is reported speculation: Crystal Palace have not announced any change.
Crystal Palace manager news: what is reported
- Palace lost 3-1 at home to Liverpool on Sunday 8 November and are bottom, two points from safety (Sports Mole, 9 November 2026).
- They have lost four straight league games, 12-1 on aggregate, and conceded 24 goals in ten matches.
- Football365, citing TEAMtalk, reported that the club’s hierarchy are “prepared to make a change” and that Sage’s position is under serious threat.
- The Telegraph, via Sports Mole, names Thomas Frank as the leading candidate. This is a report, not a confirmed approach.
Why Pierre Sage is under pressure
Sage, 46, was appointed in June on a three-year contract after taking Lens to second in Ligue 1 and winning the Coupe de France. His Palace side have beaten Fulham and Nottingham Forest this season, but also lost 5-0 at Brighton. Football365 notes that Palace have not won a Premier League game since beating Forest on 11 October and have won one of their last eight games in all competitions.
The defensive numbers are the main concern. Conceding 24 goals in ten matches is among the worst in the division. Bleacher Report’s season round-up also noted that Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future is being questioned, and Football365 reported that Mateta was sent off after 12 minutes in a defeat to Tottenham in late October.
Who is Thomas Frank?
Frank, 53, took Brentford into the Premier League and finished ninth with them in 2022-23. Football365 gives his Brentford record as 132 wins from 317 games, a 41.6 percent win rate. He later managed Tottenham Hotspur and left in February. Sports Mole, citing the Telegraph, says his Spurs Premier League win rate of 26.9 percent was the lowest of any Spurs manager in the competition’s history, so the record is mixed.
Frank told the BBC in June that he was not ready to return to management yet, according to Football365. Sports Mole also reports, citing the Telegraph, that he has reportedly been promised January investment. Neither point has been confirmed by Palace or by Frank.
The timing matters. Palace’s four-game losing run has come in October and November, and the Wikipedia season page lists the 5-0 loss at Brighton on 18 October as the biggest home win of the season so far. Results like that tend to accelerate decisions inside a club, though we have no reporting on what Palace’s owners have actually decided.
Other names mentioned
TEAMtalk had reported last month that Frank was one of four candidates, with Sean Dyche and Rob Edwards also considered, per Football365. Treat all of this as rumour until the club confirms anything.
What it means for Palace
Palace’s next fixtures come after the international break. If a change is made, a new manager would have a short window to work with the squad before the Premier League returns, and the January transfer window would be the first chance to reshape it. Our Crystal Palace vs Liverpool preview looked at the defensive problems before Sunday’s game, and our Transfers section tracks the January window.
For now, the facts are simple: Palace are bottom, the pressure on Sage is reported to be serious, and Thomas Frank is the name most often linked. Whether that becomes an appointment is something only the club can confirm.
Sources: Sports Mole (9 November 2026), Football365 (9 November 2026), citing the Telegraph and TEAMtalk, Bleacher Report (9 November 2026).
