Pierre Sage has officially been sacked by Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish, but it’s been clear since the beginning of the week that the Frenchman was a dead man walking at Selhurst Park.
It’s a shame. Sage, 47, was warmly received by the Palace fanbase, and he was always going to be up against it this season, but a landslide in form since last year had left the decision-makers with little choice.
The Eagles’ defeat against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday proved the final nail in the coffin, and now, Parish and co are acting quickly to secure Thomas Frank‘s services.
What Thomas Frank will change at Crystal Palace
In a productive way, expect Frank’s Crystal Palace to be more pragmatic than the style of football Sage sought to implement. Palace offered plenty of attacking intent under the former Lyon and Lens boss’ wing, but imbalances and the Sage’s failure to fix the outfit’s defensive flaws proved his undoing.
|
Most Goals Conceded in the Premier League (26/27) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Goals Conceded |
Per 90 |
|
20. Crystal Palace |
24 |
2.4 |
|
19. Ipswich Town |
20 |
2.0 |
|
17= Coventry |
19 |
1.9 |
|
17. Man United |
19 |
1.9 |
|
15= Sunderland |
17 |
1.7 |
|
15. Aston Villa |
17 |
1.7 |
Palace are not only bottom of the Premier League, but the division’s leakiest team too. Sage has struggled to get his players operating at to the expected standard for some time now, and Frank’s wealth of experience in the English game could bear dividends as he sets his system up.
When Tottenham battled and lost the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain at the start of Frank’s reign, it was a defeat which illustrated the managert’s set-piece strength, both offensively and when hemmed back. He applies pressure and a direct style on the ball which further suits Palace’s team, offering a nod to Oliver Glasner’s own tactics.
For all Frank’s brilliance at the helm with Brentford, he is not a miracle worker, and Parish will need to ensure he gets players in in 2027, while also shipping out the stragglers.
Who Palace will get rid of under Thomas Frank
Ismaila Sarr was desperate to leave Crystal Palace and sign for Liverpool this summer, but the move fell through in August, with Parish standing firm.
Sarr, 28, has scarcely played since then, injured and never making a mark under Sage’s management. The Senegalese winger has been a focal point over the past several years, but he clearly wants to leave
It may feel like Jean-Philippe Mateta is also at the end of the line at Crystal Palace, but Frank could give the 29-year-old forward the platform he needs to return to top-class scoring form in south London.
Mateta has also expressed a desire to leave, but still he stays, and Frank has shown through Ivan Toney and Dominic Solanke at Spurs that he prizes this exact playing profile, and it might just tempt Mateta to stay put.
The defence needs work, to be sure, but Crystal Palace also need to revamp their talented frontline, with the club’s new version of flop Alexander Sorloth still flattering to deceive.
Why the new Sorloth will be finished under Frank
Sorloth has quality, and has gone on to forge an impressive career across Europe, but he never found his feet at Crystal Palace, scoring once across 20 matches for the club after arriving from Danish side FC Midtjylland in February 2018.
Now, sadly, it looks like Crystal Palace may have signed another version of the tall and powerful Norwegian. In January, it felt significant that the Eagles signed Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves for a club-record £48m fee, but he has so far to go before he can safely say Palace are getting bang for their buck.
Thus far, the 26-year-old is yet to prove that he can score goals with the kind of consistency that that price tag demands. He has only scored once across eight league appearances this term, with a 10% conversion rate leaving so much to be desired.
Strand Larsen’s hold-up play and the intensity with which he plays at No. 9 is admirable, but there’s a case to be made that he lacks the hunger to score goals that, say, Mateta has used to become one of the Premier League’s standout goalscorers.
Strand Larsen might be prototypically suited to Frank’s style of football, but the fact of the matter is he has flattered to deceive in the Premier League since joining the Londoners, and Mateta may well be resurgent as the frontman of this new set-up.
Like his compatriot Sorloth, the 6 foot 4 Norwegian has the frame to succeed in the Premier League – and indeed, within Frank’s system – but isn’t cutting the mustard.
Should Mateta embrace this opportunity to recover his position as “one of the best strikers in the Premier League“, as previously described by Como scout and analyst Ben Mattinson, Strand Larsen may be job-hunting before long, with Palace in need of results, goals, and an escape route from the danger zone.
