💸 English clubs' est. £99M sacking bill in 2010-11; Pierre Sage

Only one league-wide figure is on record: the LMA's 2010-11 estimate. No Sage payout is on record, so no ranking yet. ⏳

By , sports desk · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 3 min read

Pierre SageUNPRICEDPhoto: Zz42 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Zz42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Desaturated and cropped by MrScandal.

What we know

  • Crystal Palace parted company with Pierre Sage after 16 games in charge, and the club confirmed it in a statement on Thursday, The Athletic reported.
  • Sage won two of his ten Premier League games, leaving Palace bottom on seven points, per The Athletic.
  • The League Managers Association (LMA) estimated English clubs spent £99 million sacking managers in 2010-11, counting compensation, legal fees and double contracts, per a Soccernomics extract in FourFourTwo.
  • No source read for this piece gives a compensation figure for Sage, Patrick Vieira, Frank de Boer or Trevor Francis.

Crystal Palace fired Pierre Sage on Thursday after 16 games in charge, The Athletic reported, and the club confirmed the exit in a statement. He leaves with two wins from ten Premier League games and Palace bottom on seven points. What the exit costs is not in the documents.

That is the problem with the scoreboard this week. The scoreboard we wanted was a ranking of Premier League sackings by compensation. The receipts do not support one, so we are not going to fake it.

The one number on record

A Soccernomics extract in FourFourTwo, from March 2016, says English clubs spent an estimated £99 million in the 2010-11 season sacking managers, according to the League Managers Association. That total adds up compensation, legal fees and 'double contracts', meaning the old and new manager paid at once.

It is a league-wide estimate, not a club-by-club table, and it covers English clubs, not only the Premier League. It cannot tell you which club paid most.

Palace's exits, and what is and is not priced

01

Trevor Francis, April 2003: compensated in part, no figure

The Guardian reported on 19 April 2003 that Palace sacked Francis after 17 months, in the First Division, not the Premier League. It said he would be compensated in part for the remaining two years of a four-year contract. No amount is given.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)
02

Frank de Boer, September 2017: sacked after a rough start, no figure

The Mirror reported on 11 September 2017 that Palace sacked De Boer after a season that began with a 3-0 home defeat by Huddersfield. The club said in a statement that it had 'parted company' with him. No payout is reported in that article.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)
03

Patrick Vieira, March 2023: a winless run, no figure

BBC Sport reported on 17 March 2023 that Palace sacked Vieira after a 12-match winless run. The same report counted nine managerial sackings in the Premier League in the 2022-23 campaign. Chairman Steve Parish said the decision was made with 'enormous regret'. The report gives no compensation figure.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)
04

Pierre Sage, November 2026: three-year deal, no figure

Palace announced Sage's three-year contract on 15 June 2026. The Athletic reported on 12 November 2026 that he was out after 16 games. Neither document says what, if anything, Palace owe him. Sage has not commented publicly in the sources read.

See the receipt (opens in a new tab)

"The club would like to place on record its thanks to Pierre and his staff for their efforts during their time in South London, and wish them well for the future,"

Crystal Palace club statement, quoted by The Athletic, 12 November 2026

Does the sack pay off?

The Soccernomics extract cites Sue Bridgewater of Warwick Business School, who analysed Premier League sackings from 1992 to 2008. She found a short honeymoon, and said that three months after a sacking the typical club averaged 1.3 points a game, the usual level. The extract's authors argue that managers matter less than wage bills. That is their view, not a finding about Palace.

A proper ranking needs club accounts and press reports of individual payouts. The documents read do not contain them. Palace's accounts have not been checked here.

By the numbers

  • 5 mofrom first to latest entry on recordJun 2026 to Nov 2026, 4 dated entries in the file
  • 7receipts behind this story6 news reports, 1 statement, 2003 to 2026

Counted by MrScandal from the receipts, the Files and our rankings.

Earlier on file: Crystal Palace sack Pierre Sage after 16 games, bottom of table

The Pierre Sage file

Last entry Nov 12, 2026
  1. Reported

    Palace confirmed Sage's departure after 16 games, with two wins in ten league games, The Athletic reported. This story

  2. Reported

    Left his role as Crystal Palace manager after 16 games, per the club statement published by Yahoo Sports. Crystal Palace sack Pierre Sage after 16 games, bottom of table

  3. Reported

    Palace announced Sage's appointment on a three-year contract, pending his visa. This story

  4. Reported

    Signed a three-year contract as Crystal Palace manager, per ESPN. Crystal Palace sack Pierre Sage after 16 games, bottom of table

On file: The Pierre Sage file · The Crystal Palace F.C. file

The Ledger

On the record

  • The LMA estimated English clubs spent £99 million sacking managers in 2010-11, per FourFourTwo; Palace confirmed Sage's exit after 16 games, per The Athletic.

Still rumour

  • What Palace pay Sage, and what any club paid any sacked manager, is not stated in the documents read, so no ranking can be made.

That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMuscles

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