🦅 Paid to worry about markets, born to worry about Palace. Season ticket holder. Tactics, stats & deep dives 📊 🗽 New York City FC while in NY for work.
London, England
Joined November 2026
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Eagle Eye FC retweeted
🚨Thomas Frank has agreed a deal to take over as the manager of Crystal Palace.
Still negotiations for backroom staff but Frank expected to take over and become the new manager at #cpfc w/@insidenorthbank
roundtable.io/sports/soccer/…
Wow. All aboard the Frank engine it seems now.
Really gutted about this as Sage was one of the most sort-after managers in Europe after his time with Lyon + Lens and felt with the right backing he would have been the perfect manager to progress our style of football and further improve our proposition as an elite stepping-stone club.
That said, his extremely open defensive structure left Parish & Co no real choice.
If it is Frank, then I do think we do have a manager that we can build with for many years who gets the prem inside out and will be a lot more switched on to how teams of Palace’s size operate.
Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Pierre Sage has left his role as Manager.
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.
cpfc.co.uk/news/announcement…
Exactly the kind of noises we want to be hearing…
As amazing as Glasner was, the constant public digs and undermining of the football club’s set-up wasn’t entirely helpful. Having someone who gets Palace and wants to build with the club I think is a very attractive option.
“There is something to be said for somebody that really wants it... the desire to get inside and make an impact.”
@david_ornstein explains why Thomas Frank would be an attractive candidate for Crystal Palace, should Pierre Sage be sacked.
🎙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗖 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁
🦅 Thomas Frank to Palace?
Well, it looks increasingly likely. So naturally, I’ve spent far too much of my Sunday + evening going through
Brentford stats and Tottenham tactical footage.
Turns out there’s a lot more to Frank than sitting deep and launching long throws.
Here’s what I found, what worries me and why I think he could actually suit Palace. 🧵👇
9/10. Spurs: the obvious concern
We shouldn’t ignore how badly things went for Frank at Spurs.
Seven wins in 26 Premier League matches, including just two home victories from 13.
That’s nowhere near good enough, whatever the circumstances.
There were significant injuries and wider problems at the club, but Frank also struggled to establish a consistent attacking identity.
And interestingly, his Spurs side wasn’t always as cautious as his Brentford reputation might suggest.
At times they used an aggressive, man-oriented high press which could leave defenders isolated when opponents managed to play through it.
Sound familiar?
That makes me slightly cautious about assuming he’ll automatically sort out Palace’s defensive problems.
There’s also the question of why he couldn’t reproduce Brentford’s success without the same recruitment, analytics and coaching infrastructure behind him.
I don’t think eight months should erase seven years of impressive work, but there are legitimate reasons to question whether he’ll be successful elsewhere.
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10/10. So would I take him at Palace?
I think I would.
The biggest attraction for me is his willingness to adapt. His Brentford sides could defend deep against stronger opponents, press selectively and still create plenty of good chances.
Given our current defensive problems, I think that’s a fairly compelling combination.
I also believe we have enough attacking talent in Wharton, Sarr and Mateta to hurt teams without continually leaving ourselves exposed.
That said, Frank isn’t a guaranteed fix.
Our defensive personnel have regressed significantly, recruitment needs serious scrutiny and some of the problems we’ve seen under Sage predate his arrival.
I’d be disappointed to see Sage go so early. I still think there’s a talented manager there who’s been dealt a very difficult hand.
But if Parish decides a change is needed, Frank would be high on my list.
Interested to hear what other Palace fans think. 🦅
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Very on the fence with this one. 6 points off the top half and next two fixtures are Cov & Hull. I just fear his kamikaze style of play is too much of a risk to take.
Just can’t believe we were so sure in August and now not so.
Do think if Frank is the man, he will offer some more defensive rigidity and compactness which is much needed with the current personnel.
Moving away for the 3-4-2-1 will be a welcome change especially for Wharton.
Thomas Frank deep dive coming this week….
Thomas Frank in pole postion to replace Pierre Sage at Crystal Palace. #CPFC
mol.im/a/16276657
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I find stats like this incredibly misleading without context.
Palace are only six points off the top half and have Coventry and Hull in our next two league fixtures. A couple of wins and the picture looks very different.
The Premier League is becoming increasingly competitive, with very little separating much of the table. Using a sample of just five teams from different seasons to draw conclusions about Palace’s relegation chances feels pretty questionable.
European football could certainly complicate things further, and our underlying numbers are genuinely worrying, but I wouldn’t be drawing conclusions about relegation after ten games based on this stat alone.
🦅 Palace 1-3 Liverpool. A few thoughts.
Despite the scoreline, I thought that was a much better performance from Palace.
After a difficult opening 15 minutes, we settled into the game and looked far more compact and organised defensively. Some welcome pragmatism from Sage.
Going forward, there were plenty of positives. Some lovely switches of play, good movement and overloads in the box. The absence of Sarr and Mateta was still obvious though.
The stats reflect a much more competitive performance:
📊 53% possession
📊 19 shots to Liverpool’s 20
📊 2.38 xG vs 2.65 xG
📊 5 big chances each
My biggest concern remains our rest defence.
Liverpool punished us during spells where we were actually on top and enjoying sustained pressure. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. We look dangerous committing numbers forward, but remain far too exposed when possession turns over.
Individually, we also look considerably weaker defensively than last season. Lerma was largely a backup under Glasner and is now a regular starter. Mingueza looked much better on the ball today and helped initiate attacks, but still raises questions defensively.
As for Sage, I fear this might be the end.
Which would be a shame. There are clearly promising elements to his football, and today offered glimpses of what he’s trying to build.
He’s inherited a very difficult hand with injuries, departures and recruitment that hasn’t necessarily suited his approach. That doesn’t excuse the defensive issues, but I struggle to see him as the biggest problem at Palace.
A frustrating result, but more encouraging than the scoreline suggests.
Up the Palace ❤️💙
🦅 PALACE vs LIVERPOOL | PRE-MATCH THREAD
Palace host Liverpool at Selhurst this afternoon. The table, the market and the underlying numbers all favour the visitors, but there are still a few interesting tactical questions, particularly around our defensive setup and how we cope without our usual attacking outlets.
So, here's a bit of Sunday reading for those on the train up to Selhurst, in Boxpark or enjoying a pre-match pint.
I'll be reading the comments from the Clifton with a nice cold Guinness in hand! 🍻
A quick look at the numbers, the tactical battles and what I'll be watching today. 🧵👇
6. The final-third challenge
Without Sarr’s runs in behind and Mateta’s hold-up play, I worry we'll struggle to turn possession into attacks. Wharton needs runners to find, and our forwards need support rather than being left isolated.
Can we release the ball early enough to attack Liverpool before their defence is set? That’s one of the main things I'll be watching.
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7. My pre-match read
The xgEdge model’s most likely individual score is 1-1 (13.8%), followed by 1-2 (11.2%). That shouldn't be confused with a confident prediction — no exact scoreline is particularly likely.
For me, the route to a result is (somewhat) straightforward: stay compact, protect the centre, and make our attacking moments count. If the match becomes stretched, Liverpool are far better equipped to exploit it.
Interested to hear what everyone else is expecting. Up the Palace ❤️💙🦅
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