By Freddie Jennings
THE current uncertainty surrounding Crystal Palace could be mistaken for being the fault of the new manager, Pierre Sage, who has taken the reins at Selhurst Park following the hugely successful Oliver Glasner era.
However, the disappointing start to the league season is more a reflection of the transfer sagas that has gripped the South London club regarding the sale of major players as well as a challenging couple of fixtures to kick off the 2026-27 campaign.
Eagles supporters will tell you that the opening-day match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium was always going to be challenging, especially given Palace’s poor record against the Toffees where the club had only achieved one win over them in 23 attempts, coming under Neil Warnock in September 2014.
Another defeat followed on the recent Friday Night Football with the visit of Manchester City producing a disappointing 4-1 loss.
Although Everton pulled away with strikes from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry, it was actually the away side that created the majority of the opportunities in the first half and it was purely wastefulness that meant Palace headed into the break behind. Eddie Nketiah was unable to convert from close range following a delightful delivery into the box from Adam Wharton early in proceedings on Merseyside as Jordan Pickford tipped one on to the post. Jean-Philippe Mateta was also to blame for failing to convert two glorious chances, one of which seemed easier to score than to miss.
Even the City clash was marked by positive moments despite the unflattering scoreline. Yeremy Pino’s superb free-kick rattled the woodwork before bouncing in off Gianluigi Donnarumma and other sequences in the game when Palace had momentum suggested that Sage’s expansive and aggressive philosophy could prosper.
The Frenchman appears intent on utilising the same formation as Glasner did during his time in SE25, with a 3-4-2-1 system being brought over from his time in France with Lyon and Lens. One of the primary reasons why he hasn’t been able to translate over his impressive strategical awareness from France so far is down to the personnel and the interchanging of numerous players. As has been the case with Palace in recent summers, the transfer speculation ran wild with richer clubs circling around their greatest talents. Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz left and there were rumours about Mateta and Ismaila Sarr, the latter who has caused more debate and unwanted attention having thrown his toys out of the pram after deleting photos of the club and previous successes achieved there on his Instagram account. Hence when the club are discussed in the media and on television, it is likely that the new coach will have only seen negativity and annoyance from the fans who have responded to the current frustration by romanticising about the past given the present struggles.
Most supporters will be used to the fact that Palace are lower down the pecking order than the likes of the big six who have regularly taken the side’s greatest talents. The sales of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, Eberechi Eze to Arsenal and Marc Guehi to Manchester City didn’t come as any surprise and Palace were quickly able to adapt to the sales by recruiting smartly and still being able to build a squad capable of winning the FA Cup in 2025 and then the Conference League in 2026, with a Community Shield victory also placed in the middle. Yet those sales were accepted as such players have gone on to prove themselves at the very top level, but the recent loss of Munoz has caused many fans to question the judgement at the top, having taken what looks on paper to be a relatively sideways step to a club that won’t be competing in Europe this year, Nottingham Forest.
Once again, debate regarding the ambition of Palace has erupted as they enter the Europa League season, leaving Sage as a helpless victim amid the discontent swelling among members of the fanbase, and despite the circumstances surrounding the Everton and Man City games, those defeats only increased feelings of worry.
However, Sage deserves something which has become an uncommon commodity in football over recent years: time. The 2024-25 season under Glasner started with zero wins from his first eight Premier League fixtures before the club went on to achieve the greatest season in their history, amassing their biggest points total in their Premier League history and winning the FA Cup at Wembley. Sage’s predecessor was afforded time after also losing crucial players, demonstrating how patience can reap rewarding results.
The conclusion of the transfer window for Sage will strengthen his knowledge of the current squad, as he can work with players without the need to fret over key members of his squad leaving, meaning he can develop those left and truly hammer home his key ideas and principles. The transition may be rocky and challenging with new faces integrating into the group yet in the meantime Eagles fans can get excited about a set of European fixtures which include trips to Lyon and Besiktas. The Carabao Cup clash against Middlesbrough will give Sage the chance to further assess players’ their strengths in a competitive environment.
The squad upheaval has created problems which may take a while to reverse, but it was only last season that Sage was capable of winning Lens the French Cup for the first time in Lens’s history and coming second only to Champions League winning PSG in Ligue 1. Particular things such as transfers and injuries are out of Sage’s hands, yet with fixtures against Fulham and Ipswich Town coming up the opportunity is there for Sage to make his mark and prove why Palace still have plenty to offer this season.
