The OH Leuven Thread

[OhYesNdidi]

Just now, MC Prussian said:

Not sure you can compare Puel's turgid second half to last season - with all the personnel and finances available - to Leuven's stance in the Belgian second division.

 

Besides, Pearson has shown he can shape a promotion-winning team, something Puel never had to work on.

Not sure it’s fair to compare puel with Pearson. Puel has been relatively successful at multiple clubs while Pearson whilst being successful at Leicester hasn’t really done elsewhere. Pearson could only dream of achieving what puel has in his career. 

 

Last season was used for puel to see which players he wanted to keep, not sure you can read to much into it tbh. 

[MPH]

2 minutes ago, OhYesNdidi said:

 

Last season was used for puel to see which players he wanted to keep, not sure you can read to much into it tbh. 

Are you unaware of how close he was to losing his job in the summer?

[OhYesNdidi]

6 minutes ago, MPH said:

Are you unaware of how close he was to losing his job in the summer?

Yes & that wouldn’t have surprised me considering the short termism poor decision back to back to back that the board were making. 

 

Puel was appointed as a long term appointment, someone to change the whole ethos around he club (Playstyle, youth & a path from academy to the first team). That was always going to take time. To sack him after 8 months when he’s not even had a chance to sign players who fit his system would have been stupid. 

 

Obviously he needs results to keep his job but the Cristism he has received is abit embarrassing, Especially when people keep mentionaing Pearson who’s a much worse calbibre of manager than puel or Benitez who’s even more turgid and defensive than  puel. 

Edited 1 September 2018 by OhYesNdidi

[davieG]

7 minutes ago, MPH said:

Are you unaware of how close he was to losing his job in the summer?

So how close did he come and where's the evidence other than unsubstatiated newspaper gossip?

I ask because I've not seen any.

[inckley fox]

Just now, OhYesNdidi said:

Not sure it’s fair to compare puel with Pearson. Puel has been relatively successful at multiple clubs while Pearson whilst being successful at Leicester hasn’t really done elsewhere. Pearson could only dream of achieving what puel has in his career. 

 

Last season was used for puel to see which players he wanted to keep, not sure you can read to much into it tbh. 

People look at the success of managers from a Leicester perspective. Sven also had far greater pedigree than Pearson, or even the likes of O'Neill. Sousa has had a far more successful career than Jimmy Bloomfield and Matt Gillies and so on. Puel, up to now, hasn't been as successful as Pearson was at Leicester, which is the obvious comparison. That's not really a criticism, because he's not been here for long enough for anything else to be the case, and even if he had been it would be tough to compare the two, given that they took over the club in very different circumstances.

 

I'd debate the idea that Pearson was only successful in one job. They were two different spells, and very different jobs that he had at Leicester, both of which were successful. He achieved what he was contracted to achieve in short spells at Carlisle and Southampton, to the point where the fans of both clubs were disappointed to see him leave. He restructured Hull and had them on the brink of the Play-offs, forming the backbone of the side they'd get promoted with a year later, and their fans didn't want to see him leave either. His reigns at Leuven and especially Derby haven't been long enough to judge him, in my view.

 

As for 'could only dream of achieving what Puel has', I suppose a French title says you're right. I'm sure Pearson could quite easily imagine himself, however, matching some of Puel's achievements elsewhere. But as for his own achievements, taking a side from the third tier to the first, keeping them up, and leaving them with a side - assembled on a shoestring - which would win the most astounding title in the past god knows how many years of sporting history, isn't bad either.

 

 

 

[Heymister2015]

I remember barnsley away where we created nothing/played poor and the fans wanted him out! He then went on the following season to be the last team to win the league with over 100 points.  This man is capable of taking Leuven to the champions league! With time! After all his last 3 signings for leicester were fuchs,okazaki and Id also say Kante who eventually came after hard negiotiations.  Look what happened next!

[Mike Oxlong]

Pearson’s a cult 

[inckley fox]

11 minutes ago, OhYesNdidi said:

Yes & that wouldn’t have surprised me considering the short termism poor decision back to back to back that the board were making. 

 

Puel was appointed as a long term appointment, someone to change the whole ethos around he club (Playstyle, youth & a path from academy to the first team). That was always going to take time. To sack him after 8 months when he’s not even had a chance to sign players who fit his system would have been stupid. 

 

Obviously he needs results to keep his job but the Cristism he has received is abit embarrassing, Especially when people keep mentionaing Pearson who’s a much worse calbibre of manager than puel or Benitez who’s even more turgid and defensive than  puel. 

I'd also defend some of the board's decision making here. I think history justifies the sackings of Pearson and Ranieri. All of KP's managers have served a purpose - Sven kept us up, Pearson got us up and kept us up, Ranieri won the league, Shakespeare kept us up, Puel lifted us out of the drop zone and forged a younger side. They've not been too far wrong, even though all of those managers have had their dark days.

 

A lot of people wanted Puel to leave purely because they wondered about the practicality of having someone in charge who was rumoured to have lost the dressing room, and who the board were itching to sack. It wasn't a personal slight on him. When neither of those factors turned out to be the case, it made sense to stick with him. And I'd agree with you that it was important to have a long-term project, and there are some encouraging signs about how Puel's long-term project is shaping up. Our side in the last league game before today had an average age of 24.5, which is one of our youngest top flight sides in 30+ years. That's definitely promising, and cause for patience with the players.

 

Of course, as far as Leuven are concerned, I believe Pearson will also be building a long-term project, and that will have its ups and downs as well. Just as we may turn out to be right to have persisted with Puel, and we were right on a few occasions to stick with Pearson, I believe Leuven should have patience now.

Edited 1 September 2018 by inckley fox

[OhYesNdidi]

6 minutes ago, Heymister2015 said:

I remember barnsley away where we created nothing/played poor and the fans wanted him out! He then went on the following season to be the last team to win the league with over 100 points.  This man is capable of taking Leuven to the champions league! With time! After all his last 3 signings for leicester were fuchs,okazaki and Id also say Kante who eventually came after hard negiotiations.  Look what happened next!

BecUse he was given time to build the club the way he wanted. That’s why I think it’s important puel gets time to do the same.

[OhYesNdidi]

1 minute ago, inckley fox said:

I'd also defend some of the board's decision making here. I think history justifies the sackings of Pearson and Ranieri. All of KP's managers have served a purpose - Sven kept us up, Pearson got us up and kept us up, Ranieri won the league, Shakespeare kept us up, Puel lifted us out of the drop zone and forged a younger side. They've not been too far wrong, even though all of those managers have had their dark days.

 

A lot of people wanted Puel to leave purely because they wondered about the practicality of having someone in charge who was rumoured to have lost the dressing room, and who the board were itching to sack. It wasn't a personal slight on him. When neither of those factors turned out to be the case, it made sense to stick with him. And I'd agree with you that it was important to have a long-term project, and there are some encouraging signs about how Puel's long-term project is shaping up. Our side in the last league game before today had an average age of 24.5, which is one of our youngest top flight sides in 30+ years. That's definitely promising, and cause for patience with the players.

Puel clearly didn’t lose the dressing room, a few players may not like him (Simpson) but the performances this season say that 90% of the squad are all on board. The Pearson sacking was a shame as we were playing some incredible football towards the end of 14/15 season but the Claudio and Shakespeare sacking were 100% correct & were clearly correct at the time aswell. 

[fleckneymike]

Pearson with Walsh and Shakespeare is very good. Pearson on his own...not so much. 

[Bonanza]

31 minutes ago, fleckneymike said:

Pearson with Walsh and Shakespeare is very good. Pearson on his own...not so much. 

Like I said before, maybe KP should consider reuniting Walsh and Shakespeare with Pearson. It's worth a try!

[gurru991]

Pearson is a man motivator not a tactician. It's obvious that he's struggling in Belgium & I don't think the Thais will let him go too long before a change happens. Leicester have three players in need of development & losing is not helping them.

[chuck'em]

1 hour ago, inckley fox said:

Puel, up to now, hasn't been as successful as Pearson was at Leicester, which is the obvious comparison. 

I'm a big fan of Pearson but that is not necessarily true. Puel hasn't won any trophies but he finished in a higher position with us last year than Pearson ever did. 

[MPH]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

So how close did he come and where's the evidence other than unsubstatiated newspaper gossip?

I ask because I've not seen any.

 

 

How exactly would a newspaper substantiate that story to satisfy you? A direct quote from top saying he was close to the chop? 

 

 

as an aside, a couple of the ITKs here were saying he was close to going too before it surfaced in any paper.

[davieG]

2 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

 

How exactly would a newspaper substantiate that story to satisfy you? A direct quote from top saying he was close to the chop? 

 

 

as an aside, a couple of the ITKs here were saying he was close to going too before it surfaced in any paper.

So nothing then certainly nothing to indicate it was close. The only stuff I saw were quotes from Top saying he had their backing substantiated by letting him buy players that are now playing for the 1st team.

[gurru991]

8 minutes ago, davieG said:

So nothing then certainly nothing to indicate it was close. The only stuff I saw were quotes from Top saying he had their backing substantiated by letting him buy players that are now playing for the 1st team.

Once he had made it through the season & ownership let him spend 100 million it was clear that his job was never on the line. It may not be the case after this season and having two transfer windows but i don't feel his job was on the line this off season.   

As to the "ITK's" i have yet to see anything from them that verifies any inside knowledge. 

[inckley fox]

47 minutes ago, chuck'em said:

I'm a big fan of Pearson but that is not necessarily true. Puel hasn't won any trophies but he finished in a higher position with us last year than Pearson ever did. 

If you consider success as just being how high up a table you finish, then obviously you're right, though I think 14th in 2015 was every bit as impressive, given expectations, as 9th in 2018. And to have brought a club up two leagues in order to achieve that has to count for something.

 

A manager's legacy is also a reflection on their success. Pearson's was that a set of players he'd cobbled together, with his appointed coaching staff, won the league a year later. Obviously we'll have to see what Puel's legacy is.

 

But generally speaking I'd consider promotions, relegations, trophies and legacies when considering a manager's success, rather than simply how far up the table we finished. By that measure Peter Taylor and Craig Shakespeare would be more successful City managers than Gordon Milne, Jock Wallace, Brian Little, Nigel Pearson, Peter Hodge, Dave Halliday, Micky Adams and Frank O'Farrell, which can't possibly be the case!

[MPH]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

So nothing then certainly nothing to indicate it was close. The only stuff I saw were quotes from Top saying he had their backing substantiated by letting him buy players that are now playing for the 1st team.

That’s becuase the decision was made to back him. But trust me, he WAS close to getting the sack. It was definitely talked about.

[brucey]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

So nothing then certainly nothing to indicate it was close. The only stuff I saw were quotes from Top saying he had their backing substantiated by letting him buy players that are now playing for the 1st team.

The stories about it being close and him having 3 games to save his job at the end of last season came from Percy/Whitwell if I recall.

[fuchsntf]

3 hours ago, MPH said:

Are you unaware of how close he was to losing his job in the summer?

Source??? Besides forum and unfavourable media outlets.....

did you speak to the owners....

[MPH]

12 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

Source??? Besides forum and unfavourable media outlets.....

did you speak to the owners....

 

 

I have a relative  ( by marriage) who works for the club. He actually spent time with the owners on their first day at the stadium. He very rarely says ANYTHING about players and I don’t ask him.  But when I mentioned  about Puel and saying it had been talked about on here and few papers mentioned it  he said that there wasn’t any more he needs to say.  But he’s flat out denied stuff in the past when things have been untrue. He also said that ‘ there will always be conversations’

Edited 2 September 2018 by MPH

[fuchsntf]

2 hours ago, MPH said:

 

 

How exactly would a newspaper substantiate that story to satisfy you? A direct quote from top saying he was close to the chop? 

 

 

as an aside, a couple of the ITKs here were saying he was close to going too before it surfaced in any paper.

Where can you show provide any serious evidence to qualify this nonsense,other than some forum posters and journalists who

more of less felt the unease within this forum....

does Mph  stand for gullable per writings,just to give fuel to your own feelings born on own desperations...

Even Skys Dorsett,said what's coming from the media can't be confirmed and even his interviews with fans around the stadium

Never supported this...He seemed himself embarrassed by this repetitive question through the summer,from his own colleagues back

in the office,trying to conjure up unrest at this or that club....

 

[MPH]

2 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

Where can you show provide any serious evidence to qualify this nonsense,other than some forum posters and journalists who

more of less felt the unease within this forum....

does Mph  stand for gullable per writings,just to give fuel to your own feelings born on own desperations...

Even Skys Dorsett,said what's coming from the media can't be confirmed and even his interviews with fans around the stadium

Never supported this...He seemed himself embarrassed by this repetitive question through the summer,from his own colleagues back

in the office,trying to conjure up unrest at this or that club....

 

 MPH are my initials.

 

 

I don’t play games mate. 

 

 

But let’s not get personal just because you don’t believe what I say, yeah? 

[fuchsntf]

8 minutes ago, MPH said:

 MPH are my initials.

 

 

I don’t play games mate. 

 

 

But let’s not get personal just because you don’t believe what I say, yeah? 

I just throw out silly unwarranted conceptions to mirror non-proved  issues..This forum is thick and tarred with unqualified issues that incorrectly

becomes historical never confirmed fictional facts.

Great initials by the way,and I never get personal,I use what I see what is in the public domain..

Mine is NTF....field technicians abbreviation for. No Trouble Found,my wife reminds me ,that I should of been called Oliver...

Que???     OTF...only trouble found..

Truthfully I can't argue,even though 70% of my life was has a field technician.... Life's a great craiq...innit