Nine months after Tottenham sacked him, Thomas Frank is the leading candidate to take over at Crystal Palace, with Pierre Sage expected to lose his job after Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat by Liverpool.
That result left Crystal Palace bottom of the Premier League on seven points from ten games, two points from safety. According to Sky Sports, no decision has been made yet, but Sage is likely to go after a seventh league defeat of the season, and Frank is expected to be among the frontrunners if the change is made.
For Spurs fans, it is a name they won’t have forgotten in a hurry, and it would put Frank back in the Premier League for the first time since his spell in N17 ended.
Why is Pierre Sage on the brink?
Sage only arrived in the summer, replacing Oliver Glasner on a three-year deal after taking Lens to second in Ligue 1 and winning the Coupe de France. It hasn’t worked in south London. Palace have now lost four league games in a row and conceded 24 goals in their first ten matches.
Tottenham were part of that run. De Zerbi’s side beat Palace 2-0 at home during that run, in a game that turned on Jean-Philippe Mateta’s red card, which Palace went on to appeal.
Sage was defiant after Liverpool, telling Sky Sports: “We start really well, we create a lot of chances but without scoring.” He added: “Football is about efficiency. If we create these chances, it’s a good step. But the next step is to score. If not, it’s as if you did nothing.”
Jamie Carragher, working for the same broadcaster, didn’t think it would save him. “I think the decision will be made, unfortunately for Pierre Sage. I think Palace will have a new manager the next time they play in the Premier League,” he said.
Who else are Palace looking at?
Frank isn’t the only name on the list. Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, Vitor Pereira, Kim Hellberg, Vitor Matos and Tony Popovic are also said to interest the Palace board. Frank was one of the names they considered in the summer before going for Sage, though, and that is why he is expected to be near the front of the queue this time.
What went wrong for Frank at Tottenham?
His record at Brentford is the reason clubs still want him. In seven years there, from 2018 to 2025, he took the Bees into the Premier League, kept them there and finished ninth in 2022-23.
Spurs were a different story. He replaced Ange Postecoglou, lasted less than eight months and was sacked in February with Tottenham 16th, only five points above the relegation zone. He never really won the supporters over either, and being pictured drinking from a coffee cup with Arsenal’s badge on it didn’t help.
Igor Tudor came in after him, then Roberto De Zerbi, and Spurs only made sure of survival on the final day of the season. Vinai Venkatesham has since admitted the club had to plan for relegation during that spell.
Would Thomas Frank suit Crystal Palace?
We think it makes far more sense than Tottenham ever did. Palace need someone who knows how to organise a side that isn’t expected to dominate the ball and can turn a group around quickly, and that is exactly what Frank did for years at Brentford.
At Spurs, he was asked to build something bigger with huge expectations and very little patience from the stands, and it never clicked. A relegation fight, with a squad that needs organising more than reinventing, could be a far better fit for him.
From a Tottenham point of view, there is no bad blood here, just a slightly awkward fixture to look forward to. Spurs have already played Palace once this season, so if Frank does get the job, his first chance to face his old club will come later in the campaign at Selhurst Park.
