⚽ Crystal Palace sack Pierre Sage after 16 games, bottom of table

Crystal Palace fired manager Pierre Sage on Thursday, 16 games into the job, with the club bottom of the Premier League, according to Newsday, ESPN and The Athletic. The club confirmed it in a short statement.

Who says what

The Athletic reports that Sage, 47, won two of his 10 league games and leaves Palace on seven points. ESPN says the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool was the last straw. Newsday reports Sage lost his job barely an hour after Manchester United fired Michael Carrick, the first two Premier League managers sacked this season.

The scoreboard, per The Athletic: Palace conceded 24 goals in their first 10 league matches, the most in the league. It also reports a 5-0 loss to Brighton on October 18, with three goals conceded in the first ten minutes.

The response

"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, as published by ESPN

That is the club's whole public word, per ESPN and Yahoo Sports. No public response from Sage was found in the reports read.

The money question

ESPN reports Sage signed a three-year contract in June, five months before the exit. The reports read do not say whether a payout is owed, how much, or whether any has been agreed. The statement says nothing about terms. Until a filing or a named outlet puts a figure on it, MrMuscles is not printing one.

What happens next

The club statement says an update on appointing a new manager will be provided in due course. Newsday says Thomas Frank is reportedly among the favorites. The Athletic reported earlier this week that Frank was Palace's preferred option. Palace have not named a successor, per Yahoo Sports.

Backstory

Sage arrived from Lens, where, per The Athletic, he finished second in Ligue 1 and won the Coupe de France. He succeeded Oliver Glasner, who led Palace to the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the Conference League, according to Newsday.

The Athletic says Palace sold Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz this summer while working to comply with UEFA's Squad Cost Ratio rules. For more on the club's earlier European tangles, see our earlier story, "⚖️ Crystal Palace lose CAS appeal over Europa League demotion".

As of Nov 12, 9:25 AM ET, the sacking of Pierre Sage and three staff is confirmed by Crystal Palace's own statement. Still pending: a new manager, and any word on what Sage's three-year contract means for the club's books.