Pierre Sage is facing a crucial week at Crystal Palace after Sunday's 5-0 defeat by Brighton intensified questions over his position. The Frenchman, who joined on a three-year deal in June, has won only two of his first seven Premier League matches in charge, while Palace's 17 goals conceded is the highest total in the division.
There is sympathy for Sage within parts of the club, with injuries and the absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr contributing to a difficult start. Both players' situations have involved fitness and personal issues linked to their desire to leave Palace.
The manager can also point to the major changes made to the squad that delivered the FA Cup in 2025 and last season's Europa Conference League triumph. Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Maxence Lacroix, Daniel Munoz and Marc Guehi have all left Selhurst Park since the summer of 2024, while the departure of sporting director Dougie Freedman in 2025 has also been felt. Freedman's replacement, Matt Hobbs, is under scrutiny alongside Sage.
However, Palace's defensive decline has become a major concern. The club's recent success was built on greater organisation under Oliver Glasner and Roy Hodgson, but the current rate of conceding would put the team on course to allow 92 goals across the season. Personnel losses have played a part, with Guehi, Lacroix and Munoz all departing within six months, while two of the three centre-backs who started against Brighton, Jaydee Canvot and Honest Ahanor, are aged 20 and 18 respectively.
There is nevertheless a view inside the club that Sage's system and methods have contributed to the defensive problems. Palace's summer recruitment included free-agent arrivals Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben Chilwell and Oscar Mingueza, as well as loan signings Axel Disasi and Ahanor. The club's efforts to comply with Uefa financial rules restricted its activity in the transfer market and were among the reasons Munoz was sold to Nottingham Forest for £22m.
Chairman and co-owner Steve Parish has previously shown patience, including when Glasner criticised the board before completing his contract and adding the Europa Conference League to Palace's FA Cup success. But Sage now has little room for further setbacks. A Europa League trip to Besiktas is followed by a home Premier League match against Newcastle, and two defeats could leave Palace considering whether to make a change. The club also knows the managerial market can be difficult after failing to appoint first-choice target Andoni Iraola following Glasner's departure.
