The Claude Puel Era - what will he bring?

[fox in the sox]

If the first half was Puelisball I'll be happy with that.

[UPinCarolina]

3 hours ago, Chico1958 said:

Are you Nostradamus reincarnated  ?

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic in a negative or a positive way - all I meant was that I think that he’ll reenergize our squad by incorporating some fringe players and giving us some fresh looks.

[Chico1958]

5 hours ago, UPinCarolina said:

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic in a negative or a positive way - all I meant was that I think that he’ll reenergize our squad by incorporating some fringe players and giving us some fresh looks.

In a Very positive way buddy.......... after watching the game yesterday, you basically had if nailed it with your prediction.

 

It was meant as a light heated reference to the French Prophet    

 

[shen]

It's probably the inner Dane in me talking here, but I think bringing Højbjerg here from Southampton could be a shrewd piece of business.

Puel took him there in the first place and although he has struggled there, I think he'd be a great young player to develop with a view to becoming a key member.

Our central midfield options are limited despite Silva joining in January and can we really count on King or James at this level?

 

He's previously shown he can play seriously well at Bayern and for the national team, but he's lost his way a bit.

With his height, vision and technical ability, he'd be a very good fit for us I think.

Not getting a look in so we might even get him on the cheap.

[Babylon]

16 hours ago, Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo said:

A great debut for Puel. I'd said when he was appointed I feared we'd be playing boring football but it was clear he'd told the players to attack from the off. First half hour was just brilliance. Second half we did sit back and hoof a lot but because we had the 2 goal cushion and never really looked like conceding, it worked. Looking forward to seeing how he sets up against other teams

Yep that was a major worry, he seemed to throw caution to the wind, how long he'd keep that up I don't know... but I'm happy to see more footballers on the pitch and more positive players.

[Col city fan]

Just now, Babylon said:

Yep that was a major worry, he seemed to throw caution to the wind, how long he'd keep that up I don't know... but I'm happy to see more footballers on the pitch and more positive players.

It was nice just to see a City side keeping the ball for a while. This launching of any long pass over the top by big Wes had become horrendous.

[mikey54]

10 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

It was nice just to see a City side keeping the ball for a while. This launching of any long pass over the top by big Wes had become horrendous.

Maybe having someone like Iborra has made the difference - he's wanting the ball

 

[STUHILL]

A really promising start to what hopefully is a long era of success for him and us.

 

As another poster remarked, he has already stamped his authority down and demonstrated his confidence by making changes in his first game.

 

The football we played in the first half was very encouraging and the changes he made had a very positive impact. 

 

Stoke will be another great test and a winnable but challenging game. Away from home, it will be interesting to see how he sets us up. 

 

His interview again was rather dull, but I really don't care if he keeps us playing like that and winning! 

 

I really think we needed a shake-up and a different method/formula to help us reach our aims of regular top 10 finishes and I'm hopeful he will deliver that for us.

 

My 5000 post on here , how time flies! - Onward and upwards! 

[Babylon]

2 minutes ago, mikey54 said:

Maybe having someone like Iborra has made the difference - he's wanting the ball

 

Iborra and Maguire are comfortable on the ball so they will always show for it. N'didi is exceptionally confident for a young lad as well and he's not afraid to take responsibility and show for it. Having a few options makes a world of difference. Just wish Simmo was a bit better on the ball, I thought it was clear we'd asked the full backs to push up higher than normal, he got into some good positions, but you know he'll just check back or end up passing it to them.

[Guest CityFan 06]

1 minute ago, STUHILL said:

A really promising start to what hopefully is a long era of success for him and us.

 

As another poster remarked, he has already stamped his authority down and demonstrated his confidence by making changes in his first game.

 

The football we played in the first half was very encouraging and the changes he made had a very positive impact. 

 

Stoke will be another great test and a winnable but challenging game. Away from home, it will be interesting to see how he sets us up. 

 

His interview again was rather dull, but I really don't care if he keeps us playing like that and winning! 

 

I really think we needed a shake-up and a different method/formula to help us reach our aims of regular top 10 finishes and I'm hopeful he will deliver that for us.

 

My 5000 post on here , how time flies! - Onward and upwards! 

Great poster!

[Guest CityFan 06]

Sunday's game was very encouraging. Good to see I'm not the only one who noticed how better we were in possession. 

[Babylon]

11 minutes ago, STUHILL said:

My 5000 post on here , how time flies! - Onward and upwards! 

Feels a lot more........

[Koke]

I just hope the days of us playing agricultural football is over. This team badly needs some actual tactics and flexibility rather than rigid formation and safety first approach. What was our tactics v Bournemouth? We have some talented attacking players so if Puel can organise our defence then we might be in for some good times.

[SheppyFox]

On 30/10/2017 at 14:49, mikey54 said:

Maybe having someone like Iborra has made the difference - he's wanting the ball

 

Well look better when Amartey in the side too, right @Col city fan

 just teasing ?

Edited 31 October 2017 by SheppyFox

[josh_baskin]

Congratulations one your 100% record 

[waylander]

Think he has already done a lot more than we expected. Was a really nice surprise to see the starting team Sunday. And then that explosive 35 minutes. I was loving it but even after that spell we showed some great resilience to come away with the points and a clean sheet marvellous start . ?

[Clever Fox]

I think Appleton deserves great credit for the performances over the past week also. And I'm delighted he's staying.

He likes to play Football as does Puel, so I think they can work well together, instilling more confidence on the Ball in the Squad.

 

Puel is clearly a very good Coach in his own right. Sunday's lineup was one I was begging for, for a long time. Although not necessarily the same lineup.

 

We were Balanced for the first time in years, As well as slick and aggressive especially the first half.

 

I loved the fact that we took the game to the opposition in a game we knew we could. That won't always be the case but we should against the opposition we know we can.

 

He'll bring a fresh look at the squad which may mean some leaving in January, While introducing some new style and systems of play.

I also expect him to blood a few of the Younger players coming through the under 23s.

 

All in all, I think he'll be a good Manager for us. If the pressure of the Job doesn't overtake him.

 

Good luck to him and his Staff for the future.

[StriderHiryu]

So in his second game in charge, we ended up 2-2.

 

With Chilwell injured, Puel brought Okazaki back into the side and shifted Mahrez back to the right hand side. The same formation we've played for a number of seasons now, but the manager clearly had his own stamp on things. To me, it was notable that:

• We played the ball on the ground more than I have seen since the Championship days. 60% possession in the first half and 54% overall.
• We had way less emphasis on hoofing it. Kasper played it shorter more often and I don't think Fuchs made one long throw in the entire game.
• We played the ball out from the back and side-to-side way more often.
• Iborra more or less orchestrated the game controlling the pace and tempo of the game.
• Some of our less technically gifted players struggled with their passing. Danny Simpson was the chief offender for this, though to be fair to him he looked like our most solid defender and did some great work at the back.
• We still looked lethal on the counter attack and Mahrez could have played in Vardy for 2-0, and Vardy made a great opportunity for himself before dragging it wide.

Overall it was really encouraging to see us play this way. To begin with we definitely played it sideways a lot which might have come across as a bit boring, but to me it was more like gaining the middle of the park, before slowly turning up the pressure. As the minutes ticked by we got on the ball more and more, forced lots of corner and then our big lads came up with the goods. Harry Maguire got his 3rd assist already this season for Iborra to score. Defensively we weren't good but if anything Stoke "did a Leicester" to us as they looked threatening on the counter attack.

 

Going forwards I feel a bit sorry for players like Albrighton, Simpson and Okazaki. These guys will forever be heroes but I think their lack of technical skill might hold us back from the style of play Puel is trying to establish. I think a Kyle Walker / Trippier / Clyne style right-back would fit in very easily into our new style of play, and I can see us going for another tricky winger / forward (it's going to be Ben Arfa for sure) so that we have a very dynamic forward line that is similar to Liverpool's Mane / Salah / Firminho combination. However, whop knows maybe Puel will get the best out of them as one thing that is notable is that our players all of a sudden look much better on the ball than we did with Ranieri or Shakespeare, which is probably down to the way we setup under those two.

 

City up next which will be a very tough examination! Will Puel try to play football or lock up shop and try to hit them on the break? 

[Max Wall]

[fuchsntf]

Albrighton is skillfull, and still has alot to offer. Hes 27 and has been one of our top players, that qualitycand experience

you dont just ditch. I dont think hes ever been poor, but of late has had below avg performances.Hey-ho like all have been

off the pace.

I still see Fuchs (maybe his  last season), Huth, Albrighton, Simpson, Amartey,  coming in and Puel improve or tighten their game

[waylander]

1 hour ago, fuchsntf said:

Albrighton is skillfull, and still has alot to offer. Hes 27 and has been one of our top players, that qualitycand experience

you dont just ditch. I dont think hes ever been poor, but of late has had below avg performances.Hey-ho like all have been

off the pace.

I still see Fuchs (maybe his  last season), Huth, Albrighton, Simpson, Amartey,  coming in and Puel improve or tighten their game

Your writing what I'm thinking beautiful stuff . We don't cut our players much slack. We would all be sacked if judge by foxestalk. Everyone writing wes off look at him go. 

[HighPeakFox]

1 hour ago, waylander said:

Your writing what I'm thinking beautiful stuff . We don't cut our players much slack. We would all be sacked if judge by foxestalk. Everyone writing wes off look at him go. 

Everyone expects perfection and damns the slightest flaw. I'm not sure what some of us do when we look in the mirror. 

[fuchsntf]

1 hour ago, waylander said:

Your writing what I'm thinking beautiful stuff . We don't cut our players much slack. We would all be sacked if judge by foxestalk. Everyone writing wes off look at him go. 

 

7 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

Everyone expects perfection and damns the slightest flaw. I'm not sure what some of us do when we look in the mirror. 

I try my hardest to forget I am just perfect, then I read FT while looking in the mirror...then I know its my duty to share my gift of knowledge and wisdom,

and give hope to the untalented and Not so gifted....  .

 

Its an hard life when one is always right...I do struggle

[Mendi]

After giving my thoughts on him, the admin went and banned me for 1 week and half. I said nothing wrong, but given my honest thoughts on him. I dont understand why the Admin never told me why i was banned, without any warnings.

Edited 6 November 2017 by Mendi

[HighPeakFox]

5 hours ago, Mendi said:

After giving my thoughts on him, the admin went and banned me for 1 week and half. I said nothing wrong, but given my honest thoughts on him. I dont understand why the Admin never told me why i was banned, without any warnings.

If you continue with your original style of writing, you may come to understand.