Backroom Staff Causing Delays To Thomas Frank's Crystal Palace Appointment

On Thursday, RoundTable reported that Thomas Frank had agreed terms to become the new manager of Crystal Palace. But why, two days on, is there still no official announcement despite Pierre Sage’s sacking being made official two days ago. 

The same problems that were highlighted in that article are continuing to cause delays, as the club navigates a number of potential new employees in the form of Frank’s coaches and analysts.

A deal is still expected to be finalised, and it’s a matter of when, not if, but the delays are being caused by Frank wanting to bring his own staff with him and Palace negotiating contracts with those new coaches and analysts. 

A backroom shakeup

Of course, Palace already have certain staff in place, and when Sage left, only three members of his coaching staff left with him; Assistant Manager Jamal Alioui, set-piece coach Damien Della Santa and fitness coach Sandy Guichard. 

Aside from that, the other staff, such as analysts, scouts etc were all already in place. Frank took four coaches with him to Spurs, including assistant manager Justin Cochrane, performance and first team coach Chris Haslam and Joe Newton, Frank’s first team analyst. 

Andreas Georgson also joined from Manchester United as a first team coach, having previously worked with Frank at Brentford, goalkeeper coach Fabian Otte and individual development coach Cameron Campbell. Those three all stayed at Spurs when Frank was sacked. 

Newton, Cochrane and Haslam all left, and would be expected to join Frank at Palace. 

The complications in terms of talks comes from this reason, with Palace having to negotiate the contracts of multiple members of staff, as well as work around the current staff in place to bring in Frank’s entourage. 

These are common holdups, especially with Palace who have staff set in place for certain roles. 

A bit about Frank’s backroom staff

Justin Cochrane is perhaps the most exciting of Frank’s backroom staff. He’s been described as one of football’s ‘most formidable coaches’ and is well-known in the elite game for being a top coach. Cochrane worked with Frank at Brentford, and followed the Dane to Spurs. During his time with the North London club, he was also working as a coach for Thomas Tuchel’s England side. 

He left Spurs when Igor Tudor joined the club, and could join Frank at Palace. 

Joe Newton is Frank’s first team analyst, and he joined Brentford in 2019 from The New Saints in Wales. He followed Frank to Spurs and left at the same time, and features in a number of behind-the-scenes documentary clips from Frank’s time at Brentford. 

After Chris Haslam left his role at Spurs when Frank was dismissed, he re-joined the Danish FA as the fitness coach for the national team, but could potentially join Frank in South London too. 

With so many names making up Frank’s entourage, it’s unsurprising to see delays in negotiations.