Claude Puel - Contender

[ALWAYS_SFC]

51 minutes ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

Thanks for this input. Weird about the differences in style home and away. Maybe he didn't know how to play against packed defences?

 

Looking at your team you do have the players - Lemina, Redmond and Tadic should be creating lots of chances with Romeu and Davis behind them and Gabbadiani up front, that's a good team. Not sure why you're not firing.

Yep very weird. So much so that the speculation is that if our away performances had been at home, very few would have called for him to go. The difference was night and day. No doubt, part of the issue was playing against packed, more cautious defences. For all the talk about possession, Puel prefers to counterattack.  For Puel, possession is primarily about stifling and inviting on the opposition from which his sides can spring a counterattack.  

 

Both Romeu and Lemina are class (though Puel got more out of Romeu than Pellegrino has done to date. The problem is that with the exception of Gabbiadini, there is little or no movement in front of them. Davis is neat and tidy in an Andy King way but rarely makes runs from deep or supports Gabbiadini. The weak links, however, are Redmond and Tadic: both like the ball to feet and slow down play -whether because it’s Tadic wanting to stand his man up before beating him or Redmonds constant tendency to check back to the fullback (Redmond has decent feet but isn’t particularly quick or direct like Mané was). And neither Tadic or Redmond is particularly clinical, notwithstanding Puel’s hyping up of Redmond as the next Thierry Henry 

 

The best hope for change, it seems, will come from playing Lemina further up the pitch (rather than as a DM with the occasional licence to get forward) or giving Boufal an extended run. Needless to say, Puel didn’t have the services of Lemina while Boufal was was constantly injured during his time at the club.

[Lcfcwigstonblue]

https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?58859-Claude-Puel-set-for-Leicester-talks

 

interesting read.

[RonnieTodger]

I just get the feeling that he won't be given a long-term chance and will be the fall guy for any more failures. 

If he is the French Nigel Pearson though, Gériminiúe 

[sly1]

Here we go boring football

[stripeyfox]

18 minutes ago, bald reynard said:

Did anyone see him at the KP last night ?

Nah, but did see him in Morrisons.

 

 

[Blue Ed]

Let's not sack this guy before he's even turned up. Seems to be strong minded so the players will just have to work hard, adapt, learn and not sulk and go running to the owners if things don't go right at the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

About as inspiring as having Gruel from my tea.

 

Claude Gruel's blue and white army!

[EnderbyFox]

This is a decent write-up Pre-Southampton. 

 

https://stmarysmusings.sbnation.com/2016/6/26/12033404/claude-puel-who-is-he

 

Quote

A bit of an unknown to non-French followers of the beautiful game, Claude Puel, 54, hails from Castres, France. Puel only spent his playing career with two clubs: His youth and hometown club, Castres, and AS Monaco, where he spent 17 years making 488 appearances for the club. He notched four career goals as a defensive midfielder.

In 1996, his final year of his playing career at Monaco, he became the reserve team manager. From there, he coached the reserves until 1999, where he was then hired as AS Monaco's first-team manager. While in Monaco, Puel was also mentored by Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger. In 2001, he left Monaco after 24 years. From there, he would go on to manage three other teams in the French league: Lille, Lyon, and most recently, Nice.

 

Puel's time at Nice is where we begin the rest of the story, as I can't imagine he hasn't changed up philosophies and tactics since his time at Lyon. In 2012, Puel was hired to take over as manager of Nice. In 168 games over his four years spent at Nice, Puel oversaw 68 wins, 66 losses, and 34 draws. Puel managed Nice from 2012 until the end of this last season. Most recently, Puel lead Nice to a 4th-place finish, only two points off 2nd, behind PSG, Lyon, and Monaco.

Puel made outstanding progress in his three seasons at Nice, where took the club from 17th to 11th to 4th place in his time there. GetFootballNewsFrance.com, one of the more respected French league sites, called Puel "one of the best managers in French football." Many attribute Puel's success with Nice to deploying a stunning high-press, and quick counter-attacking game in defense.

The site also calls Puel's Nice side "the most aesthetically pleasing team to the eye" thanks to his rapid possession and willingness to let players push up the field. Something changed with Puel's teams going into his final season, as Puel finally got his side to click and buy in to his philosophy. Puel loves the passing game, and that's where Nice developed the most. Nice last season had a "newfound ability" with their touch and passing accuracy, which helped them to such a high finish.

 

Puel typically plays in a 3-5-2 or a 4-1-2-1-2 (diamond) formation with his teams. In his formations, specifically the diamond formation, Puel relies on his full-backs to do much of the work on the outside wings and provide the width. This bodes well as Ryan Bertrand, Cedric, Cuco Martina, and Matt Targett all have history and experience deep into attack, especially sending balls into the box.

Puel also has a philosophy and track record of promoting youth to the first team, a trait that is very highly-regarded by the club and fans of Southampton. Unlike the last manager, under Puel we could see Harrison Reed, Targett, James Ward-Prowse, Jake Hesketh and others given game time throughout the season. Puel's Nice side was the youngest team in the French Ligue by average age and more players on youth contracts made appearances than any other side in the league.

Puel, while also using a plethora of youth players, also operated Nice on the 14th largest budget in Ligue 1, something that also has to impress the brass at Southampton. Southampton, known for always having good academy players, also have to use a smaller budget each season, with most incoming player's fees used from an outgoing player's sale. It is a sound philosophy, as long as the incoming players can be of equal value as a replacement.

 

While writing this, I've already managed to talk myself into this Puel hire. While a Pellegrini or an Emery would be sexy names and look great on the outside, you have to remember that Southampton have always operated differently. They let Ronald Koeman walk a year early because they knew we'd find a new manager to run their team that shares the same values that are in-line with the club. Pellegrini reportedly was unsure about promoting youth players and operating on a smaller budget, so him and Saints went separate ways, reportedly.

 

Quote

From The Telegraph, "Southampton were particularly impressed by Puel's track-record and vision for the job, specifically a willingness to promote young players, play pressing attacking football, his experience in European football, and his ability to work within the club's financial limitations."

No coincidence that Saints just signed Nathan Redmond, who was a long-term target for the club, but already starts a pipeline for Puel with another promising young player in his arsenal.

In my finale, I would tell you to trust the board and their decision. The likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman were fully-received by Saints fans, especially Poch. They turned out okay, and if they can, Puel can too. Puel fits right in line with the club and their current situation, and could wind-up making Koeman an afterthought.

That's it. Welcome to the club, Claude Puel!

 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Can we all just agree that "poo-hell" is not at all witty or funny. Cheers. 

[Wdywd]

I consulted a real Southampton fan, his thoughts:

 

Quote

He's fine. Got a lot more out of our squad than Pellegrino has to date, despite injuries and a ridiculous schedule

His press conferences will be boring, but who really gives a shit about them other than the journalists who are paid to attend?

Got pretty dull towards the end of the season, but everyone seemed to down tools after the cup final. Looked worse due to shit finishing tbh

When it clicked, we were great. 3-0 at West Ham, 4-0 at Sunderland, 4-3 at Watford, got Zlataned at Wembley but dominated, etc.

We're gonna win the league again imo

[Izzy]

14 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

Do you think we could stop the random speculation for a change?

 

Sorry - naive of me.

But then what would people do with their day?

 

They'd have to do work and boring stuff like that instead.

 

Random speculation on here helps us get through the monotony of life 

 

[TheUltimateWinner]

 

[Fox Ulike]

 

5 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

Nah, but did see him in Morrisons.

 

 

At least he'll be easy to cast in the forthcoming Vardy movie:

 

[sly1]

Doomed gone by Xmas 

[Fox Ulike]

2 minutes ago, TheUltimateWinner said:

 

[Babylon]

"Head Coach" instead of manager, does this mean we're getting a Rudkin yes man as he positions himself with even more power.

[RowlattsFox]

A lot of people are always saying how great Les Reed is as a director of football, how great he is at spotting managers etc. And he thought Puel was worth bringing in!

[wasthedestroyer]

FFS...

Negative football 

[Fox92]

2 minutes ago, wasthedestroyer said:

FFS...

Negative football 

I'm used to it now.

[Fox92]

Honestly first of all I hope he makes us more solid. Southampton conceded less than 50 goals last season. A good side is built from the back. 

 

At the minute, or for the past 12+ months, I fear everytime oppositions come forward and we concede set pieces.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

5 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

A lot of people are always saying how great Les Reed is as a director of football, how great he is at spotting managers etc. And he thought Puel was worth bringing in!

"Southampton are a side that we should be looking to emulate, they always seem to lose their players and manages and still bounce back!"

 

*Leicester appoint Southampton manager that got them to 8th in the league and a cup final*

 

"Nah he's shite, boring, no idea what we're doing, he'll be gone be Xmas"

 

Leicester that. 

[Guest CityFan 06]

1 hour ago, ALWAYS_SFC said:

Saints fan here - seems like were about to have more than Big Nige and Dany N'guessan in common (only counting recent years).

 

Won’t repeat what others have said - just to say that our home and away play was extremely schizophrenic. We were often boring as **** at home, though we continued to create and waste plenty of chances, if you believe the stats. On the other hand. we played some scintillating stuff away from home, combining quick counterattacking play with nice crisp passing. Our performance against united in the cup final which many felt we deserved to win was Puel’s philosophy at its peak.

 

Another factor to consider is that we had to juggle the league season, European football and progress in the cups - Puel rotated aggressively which made it difficult to build any kind of chemistry in the side. You can debate the pros and cons of rotation (I think he overdid things); what you can’t debate is that the season was a grind and effectively over after the cup final.

 

Puel had a reputation for being stubborn -and rumours are that he literally came to blows with some of the senior pros like Fonte and Bertrand. Language and communication were also a struggle. His dour appearance, on the other hand, masked a real competitive and passionate side in training.

 

Moreover, he should be credited for bringing through some of our youngsters, in particular, Jack Stephens, a centre back who, up to that point, had been an afterthought and part of an Academy that’s going through a barren spell in producing talent. Throwing him into the second leg of a semi-final at Anfield (after a dirty, sneaky challenge by Vardy ended Van Dijk’s season  ) took courage and Stephens repaid that faith for the rest of the season with some polished performances.

 

The arrival of Pellegrino has put Puel’s spell in perspective. If anything we look even more pedestrian under the new manager which begs the question whether the issue is the squad rather than the management. 

 

The reality is that we have very one-dimensional players in midfield, though Lemina is a breath of fresh air. Redmond is basically the same raw player he was at Norwich; Tadic has a tendency to sulk and go missing; Davis is in the twilight of his career; Boufal remains a x-factor but doesn’t have the manager’s trust; Gabbiadni is class but all too often isolated; Shane Long is a decent athlete but is stealing a living as a footballer; and Charlie Austin, when he’s not injured, offers little in terms of overall play.

 

All which to say is that goals are not in our DNA. In many respects, you have superior options up top which would give Puel more to work with.  The big unknown is how far his more technical style would transfer to your more direct style. My understanding is that one of the reasons for Ranieri’s failure in his second season is that he tried to introduce a similar change...

 

 

Excellent input there, well balanced.

I particularly agree on the point of Puel's playing style, and it is one of the biggest concerns. As you pointed out, we're a direct side, and in 2016/17 Ranieri seemingly tried to change our style to more defensive and it didn't work. 

[EnglishOxide]

1 hour ago, Babylon said:

Good job Mad Mandy didn't think that or we might still be in league one. Although I know what you're saying.

 

Some of the stuff I hear worries me like fook, some of the other stuff sounds quite promising. My biggest worry is him coming to blows with senior players. Because him and Vardy are going to have issues IMO, two abrasive characters don't mix well.

 

Be nice to see someone embrace youth players for once though, far too often overlooked here.

 

It's not just that.

 

We appear to be completely chancing it when appointing managers.

 

Southampton have a good reputation of employing managers and staying afloat seems to be the reasoning for seeking him out as opposed to any actual research. There's no way we would be interested in him for his Ligue One career alone and we wouldn't be interested if we weren't exposed to him already being in the league.

 

It's the same as us employing Claudio simply because he put it out there in the press that he would be interested in the job.

 

So we get this guy and we sack this guy 12/18 months down the line.

 

Where's the long term planning!?

[ZeGuy]

3 minutes ago, CityFan 06 said:

Excellent input there, well balanced.

I particularly agree on the point of Puel's playing style, and it is one of the biggest concerns. As you pointed out, we're a direct side, and in 2016/17 Ranieri seemingly tried to change our style to more defensive and it didn't work. 

Ranieri rightly wanted a more üossession based football due to the opponent sitting deeper. He didn't have the players for that especially in the midfield, screwed up and that's what got him the sack.

 

We have now Maguire, Dragovic, Iborra, Ndidi, Nacho, Slim and and Silva. That's a fundamental difference. The only real worry is Puel falling out with senior players.

[The Quick Brown Fox]

Uninspiring. Was hoping for better.