The circumstances couldn’t be much more complex for Pierre Sage at Crystal Palace. The French manager came into a squad which had lost a number of key players, and was offered a disjointed pre-season with the majority of his side away at the World Cup. 

There’s a sour taste after Palace were royally beaten at the Amex on Sunday, the biggest loss to Brighton in the fixture’s history, but the general conversation has seemed to sway towards the overall running and direction of the club, so what has led to this moment?

In typical fashion, Palace opted for the cheap route when replacing Maxence Lacroix, deciding to sign Axel Disasi on loan instead of forking out on an actual starting quality central defender. 

Whilst Sage’s system is built on the same formation that Glasner used, it’s a completely different way of playing. New systems take time to bed in, and the reality is that Sage hasn’t had enough time yet.

But what else is contributing to the poor form, what needs to change and will Sage be given enough time to make things right?

The definition of insanity is, as we all know, playing the exact same system no matter how many times it goes wrong and expecting a different outcome. 

The first port of call must be to address the system. When Oliver Glasner was in charge, he made the decision to play with three central defenders because Palace were blessed with three really strong options.

Unfortunately, and as harsh as it may seem on the other players, the replacements for both Marc Guéhi and Maxence Lacroix were not good enough. 

Jaydee Canvot is a fantastic young talent, but he’s gone from being the youngest of the back three and the one with experience around him to being a key starter, which has hugely increased the pressure on him. 

Now though, Palace don’t have three good central defenders.

The logical move would be to switch to a back four, and there’s many reasons for this. 

Firstly, the defence cannot get any worse than it is now, it’s statistically the most fragile backline in the Premier League, so going from a back five to a back four is unlikely to cause any further issues. 

One of the most notable disadvantages that playing with a back five has caused for Palace is the lack of control in midfield. Quinten Timber is a great player, and has done really well for Palace, but Adam Wharton has struggled massively. 

Daichi Kamada’s importance to the side has meant that he cannot be dropped, meaning that despite Ismaïla Sarr being back fit he cannot start. If Sage made the change to a back four, he could bring Kamada deeper and start Sarr on the right. 

This would mean that Palace have one of their most important players back on the pitch and are no longer being bypassed as easily in midfield, which should provide some relief to the defence. 

There are of course some notable injury issues which are undoubtedly having an impact on the side and Sage’s ability to rotate. Dean Henderson may not have made a huge difference, but his leadership has been a big miss. 

Jean-Philippe Mateta played his first minutes against Brighton, which could mean that Strand Larsen is finally able to have some rest. 

Then, the playing squad itself hasn’t been up to par. Adam Wharton has had a hugely underwhelming start to the season. A player of his calibre has such a high bar set that when he performs below those standards it really stands out, and he’s also not had a chance to rest either. 

A huge number of the goals being conceded by Palace have been a result of really poor defending 

The overall management of the squad has to improve, because if it doesn’t the players will begin to turn against Sage, which would be catastrophic. 

We’ve looked at the playing side of things and the management, but what else is causing issues right now? The overall leadership from the top of the club sets the tone, and in Palace’s case, that tone is one which suggests that opting for mediocrity is acceptable. 

Yes, Palace won two major honours in the last two seasons, and the club and board deserve immense credit for the way the squad was built, but one of the main architects of that success hasn’t worked for the club for some time, Dougie Freedman. 

Instead, Palace still have Matt Hobbs employed as Sporting Director, despite him supposedly being on a probationary period with the club. In most industries, if you were to spend nearly £85 million on what is essentially dead stock, you would likely fail your probation, but no, not in this case. 

The problem Palace have always had, highlighted to an extreme degree since Freedman’s departure, is that they are reactive, not proactive. Every signing, every movement in the window is a panic, it’s rushed and there seems to be little consideration or care taken to make decisions. 

Take last January for example. Palace were absolutely desperate for squad depth after failing to invest in the summer despite knowing full well the demands of European football, because the manager was actively reminding them of this throughout the window. 

Palace chose to sit on their hands and underequip Glasner, who had to later sacrifice the league form in order to push to win the Conference League. Because of how desperate Palace were for depth, they spent big on two average Premier League players. 

Jørgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson were bad signings for the price that was paid for them. That’s because there is no value in the January transfer window, none at all. No player of any real value to their club is going to be allowed to depart, and prices are inflated due to it being mid-season. 

Where there is value, is in intense pre-planning, scouting and forward thinking. That means that, for example, if you were to sell your best central defender, you have a list of targets that you would be happy to replace him with. 

A forward thinking club would not end up with a loanee who was extradited from his parent club’s squad. 

Ultimately in football the buck stops with the manager, and therefore Pierre Sage will likely lose his job. 

The reality though, is that things will never change at Crystal Palace until Steve Parish makes some uncomfortable decisions, and dismissing Matt Hobbs is the first of those. His performance in his job role has not been good enough, and Palace need to upgrade in this department.

Palace could sack Sage, but what change is it going to make? If the ownership and board continue to fail in terms of backing managers appropriately, nothing will change.