Pierre Sage’s failure to fix defensive flaws leaves Crystal Palace seeking new solution

A losing run, set-piece struggles and a call for help led Steve Parish to cut ties with the manager after five months

The moment that summed up Crystal Palace’s season under Pierre Sage came five minutes before half-time at Selhurst Park on Sunday. After Palace had gone close to taking the lead on numerous occasions against Liverpool, the Frenchman must have feared the worst when Alexis Mac Allister headed in from a soft free-kick conceded by Jefferson Lerma. The TV cameras immediately panned to Steve Parish in the stands. After the Palace chair removed his hands from in front of his eyes, his expression said everything you needed to know. The only surprise was that Sage had to wait until Thursday before his inevitable fate was confirmed.

Not since the start of the 2017-18 season, after Frank de Boer was appointed as Palace’s first permanent foreign manager and sacked after five matches, have the club found themselves bottom. In their record 14th consecutive season in the top flight, and with preliminary work having started on building a new £200m main stand despite major doubts over funding, Palace cannot afford to be relegated.

Sage has been walking a tightrope since the 5-0 thrashing at Brighton last month when it was made clear to the 47-year-old that he must tighten a defence that had conceded the most goals in the Premier League. Some players are thought to have questioned his training methods, although Dean Henderson, the captain, was among those believed to have pledged their support for Sage after defeats by Newcastle and Tottenham.

There was some evidence Palace’s players were adapting to his desire to play more on the front foot rather than relying on the counterattacking approach that brought his predecessor, Oliver Glasner, so much success. But they have been far too open at the back and Liverpool’s second goal from Florian Wirtz was almost a copy of Hoffenheim’s in Thursday’s 1-1 Europa League draw, when Palace were extremely fortunate to snatch a point in a game Parish did not attend because he was in New York.

Palace have conceded eight goals from set plays in the Premier League, including four in their current run of four straight defeats. Fixing a problem that dates back to Glasner’s spell has to be the priority for Thomas Frank, who looks poised to take over. The Dane met with Palace in the summer but decided he wasn’t ready to return after a difficult spell at Spurs. He is now believed to be very keen for a new challenge and offers proven Premier League experience - a prerequisite for Parish after Sage. Sean Dyche also had his supporters among the Palace hierarchy. The former sporting director Iain Moody, an influential consultant for Palace who was heavily involved in Sage’s appointment after Sage’s success at Lens last season, worked with the former Nottingham Forest manager at Watford and was thought to favour him.

Frank has played with a back three – a consideration that was a major factor in Palace opting for Sage in an attempt to provide continuity from Glasner – more often than Dyche. Palace could benefit, though, from a change of formation, in the short term at least, given the lack of experienced options owing to the long-term absences of Chadi Riad and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Palace were rescued from the relegation zone by Sam Allardyce in the 2016-17 season and Parish went back to basics again with Roy Hodgson after De Boer’s disastrous spell, and the team finished 11th despite losing their first seven games. That was without the added complication of European football, however.

Palace signed 11 players in the summer and Sage’s suggestion after the Liverpool game that adjustments may be needed in “some positions during the winter transfer window to give more solutions” is not believed to have gone down well with Parish. Last month, the 61-year-old hired the Raine Group to field interest in investment or a possible sale of the club he helped to rescue from administration in 2010. His American billionaire co-owners Woody Johnson, David Blitzer and Josh Harris are understood to have reservations about funding the new stand.

Parish is said to view the squad as too good to be in this position, although Palace failed to adequately replace the key defenders Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guéhi this year, bringing in Tomiyasu on a free and Axel Disasi and the 18-year-old Honest Ahanor on loan. It is telling that Coventry and Hull – Palace’s next two opponents after the international break – have a higher net spend over the past five years despite being in the Championship until this season. Palace broke their transfer record twice last January and providing mid-season funds will be essential.

Much of the blame for the summer’s haphazard recruitment has been pinned on Matt Hobbs, the sporting director brought in from Wolves to replace the influential Dougie Freedman, who moved to Saudi Arabia in spring 2025. Freedman is said still to be a sounding board over transfers and there have been questions over the influence of the agents Unique Sports Group given the large number of players it has, or has had, on Palace’s books, but it is Parish who calls the shots despite owning less than 10% of the shares. His next move will be crucial to their hopes of avoiding relegation.