Should Claude Puel be sacked or backed? Poll

[Babylon]

3 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I don't want to come across like I'm not picking but why, if what's said there is true, does he seem to accept his squad being decimated time and time again?

 

Our attack is completely inadequate, we knew it last year and we've gone and done the exact same thing this year. Is he seriously content with that?

I think he's happy having four strikers (I'm including Maddison because at the end of the day he's taking Shinji's position he was a striker). What I don't think he'd be happy with is the fact two of them are useless. Or at the start of preseason, 5 of them were fairly useless expensive flops.

 

Currently the issue isn't numbers IMO, despite the fact I'd prefer another one on the books. It's more to do with the fact two of them offer pretty much nothing in attack.

[The Horse's Mouth]

10 minutes ago, Babylon said:

I think he's happy having four strikers (I'm including Maddison because at the end of the day he's taking Shinji's position he was a striker). What I don't think he'd be happy with is the fact two of them are useless. Or at the start of preseason, 5 of them were fairly useless expensive flops.

 

Currently the issue isn't numbers IMO, despite the fact I'd prefer another one on the books. It's more to do with the fact two of them offer pretty much nothing in attack.

You can include him but he's not a striker 

[Babylon]

4 minutes ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

You can include him but he's not a striker 

He's taken a striking position, the players in the position before were Okazaki and Iheanacho. So whether you think he is or he isn't, that's one less striker spot that needed filling.

[coolhandfox]

11 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I don't want to come across like I'm not picking but why, if what's said there is true, does he seem to accept his squad being decimated time and time again?

 

Our attack is completely inadequate, we knew it last year and we've gone and done the exact same thing this year. Is he seriously content with that?

 

Like any club we have a transfer budget, we had a ageing back line, so the club prioritized recruitment of the defensive players. The whole fan base  was crying out for a number 10 we got one.

 

Let be honest our squad was bloated with attackers who were never used, Ulloa, Slim and Musa. Vardy had missed so few games over the years, he was probably banking on him being fit all season, and having Nacho as back up as he like to develop players, and Okzaki if we had suspension and injuries. It not unrealistic to have 3 strikers for a formation that needs one.

 

I don't think hes content with it, and can see a 1 or 2 wide attackers, a new striker and a creative CM on his shopping list in the summer.  

[TMELcfc]

37 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Haha, I don't like him that much but think we need a period of stability and better foresight and in the latter, Puel or not, the club are making the right noises for me. As for Southampton, the poor chaps only had a couple of games, I hope you've not jinxed him!

Watched a lot of German football over the years (doesn’t make me an expert though) so when I heard he’d left RBL I assumed he’d be in demand at big clubs across Europe... so to see him rock up at Southampton feels like we’ve really missed out there...

[The Horse's Mouth]

6 minutes ago, Babylon said:

He's taken a striking position, the players in the position before were Okazaki and Iheanacho. So whether you think he is or he isn't, that's one less striker spot that needed filling.

Okazaki was always a ten, that's the role maddison has filled 

[Babylon]

1 minute ago, coolhandfox said:

I don't think hes content with it, and can see a 1 or 2 wide attackers, a new striker and a creative CM on his shopping list in the summer.  

Puel spotted and fixed the positions we'd pretty much all crying out for, right back and the centre back issue looming on the horizon. He should get credit for that. The total flops of Silva, Iheanacho and to a lesser extent Musa and Slim (they were already on their way out) has meant issues have now opened up elsewhere.

[coolhandfox]

14 minutes ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

You can include him but he's not a striker 

He's 4-2-3-1 only needs one, I think he's happy with 3 and a makeshift one. 

 

However he probably would like more quality in the 3, I expect we will see Okazaki  leave at the end of his contact in the summer and someone new come in.

 

He like working with young players so I think he will hope to turn nacho's form around

Edited 21 December 2018 by coolhandfox

[Babylon]

1 minute ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

Okazaki was always a ten, that's the role maddison has filled 

Okazaki is a striker. Even If you don't want to include the 10 as a striker, then we've got 3 strikers on the books to fill one position. That's more than enough, the issue is that they aren't good enough at this moment in time.

[Suzie the Fox]

1 hour ago, yorkie1999 said:

If we beat Chelsea, would peoples opinions change. I think so. Let him have the season and see if he can get a target man in the transfer window. We just need that one player who can hold the ball up and be a threat at headers. We’ve got quick midfielders/strikers, we just need an outlet.

I don't even think we would need to beat Chelsea for a lot of people to change their opinion. If we go all out and draw but the game is exciting, we are attacking and the players look to be putting in effort, the poll would sway for sure. 

 

 

[coolhandfox]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

Puel spotted and fixed the positions we'd pretty much all crying out for, right back and the centre back issue looming on the horizon. He should get credit for that. The total flops of Silva, Iheanacho and to a lesser extent Musa and Slim (they were already on their way out) has meant issues have now opened up elsewhere.

It's one of things that make me willing to give him more time, he seems to see what needs fixing and seem to address it.

 

Our signing under Ranieri and Shakespeare seemed to have little logic to them, I liken it to when Pearson returned are Sven the squad was a mess and it took him 2 summers to sort and get the squad balanced. Puel as had 1 and recruitment in the PL is far more difficult than in the Championship.

 

I also think people forget that he would have had a budget to work with, and it was a terrible window to work in due to the World Cup. 

[volpeazzurro]

5 minutes ago, lcfceaves said:

Watched a lot of German football over the years (doesn’t make me an expert though) so when I heard he’d left RBL I assumed he’d be in demand at big clubs across Europe... so to see him rock up at Southampton feels like we’ve really missed out there...

I don't really know much about him but feel that from what I see on Sky, German football is closer to ours than most other leagues. Always thought that there were markets there we could perhaps exploit a bit more?  From the very little bit I know, I think the way Borussia Dortmund might be a reasonable model for us with the exception of too much selling of our players perhaps. 

[StriderHiryu]

Hassenhuttl's CV is extremely impressive. Already the effect he's had on Southampton is noticable and simply seeing him go nuts when they scored / beat Arsenal would endear him to many supporters here. I'm not sure he will keep the Saints in the division this season but if he's allowed to run the club long term he'll likely do a very good job and get them back to where they were before in terms of being a club that plays good football and has a heritage of developing right young talent. He'd have fit the bill perfectly for what the club is trying to achieve here so it is a bit gutting to miss out on someone like that.

 

But it's not as simple as hire and fire. Does a manager want to come here? Are they available? What are their demands? Etc. Plus add to that the passing of Vichai and it's understandable that no major decisions get made by the club until the summer. Remember that when Shakespeare was sacked managers like Tuchel and Ancelotti ruled themselves out immediately. Pellegrini was linked but reportedly had a huge contract in China. Puel was probably the highest profile coach at the time that wanted the job. And whilst we have been underwhelming, so far under his tenure we've never been close to a relegation battle... yet! I also think Ranieri's legacy is a turn off for many aspiring managers... he achieved the impossible and was still sacked! So realisitically who will be able to beat what he did and is it likely you'll have a "secure" job at Leicester?

 

Even if we do change coaches in the summer, it could be very tricky to get someone with better credentials that Puel. It seems like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern will all change coaches, which will result in a managerial merry-go-round across Europe.

[yorkie1999]

16 minutes ago, Suzie the Fox said:

I don't even think we would need to beat Chelsea for a lot of people to change their opinion. If we go all out and draw but the game is exciting, we are attacking and the players look to be putting in effort, the poll would sway for sure. 

 

 

That's all we want to see. Attacking football. Solskjaer joining man utd has declared his intent to play attacking football and give the fans something to be proud of as well as the players, we need the same philosophy.

[ThaiFox]

14 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Hassenhuttl's CV is extremely impressive. Already the effect he's had on Southampton is noticable and simply seeing him go nuts when they scored / beat Arsenal would endear him to many supporters here. I'm not sure he will keep the Saints in the division this season but if he's allowed to run the club long term he'll likely do a very good job and get them back to where they were before in terms of being a club that plays good football and has a heritage of developing right young talent. He'd have fit the bill perfectly for what the club is trying to achieve here so it is a bit gutting to miss out on someone like that.

 

But it's not as simple as hire and fire. Does a manager want to come here? Are they available? What are their demands? Etc. Plus add to that the passing of Vichai and it's understandable that no major decisions get made by the club until the summer. Remember that when Shakespeare was sacked managers like Tuchel and Ancelotti ruled themselves out immediately. Pellegrini was linked but reportedly had a huge contract in China. Puel was probably the highest profile coach at the time that wanted the job. And whilst we have been underwhelming, so far under his tenure we've never been close to a relegation battle... yet! I also think Ranieri's legacy is a turn off for many aspiring managers... he achieved the impossible and was still sacked! So realisitically who will be able to beat what he did and is it likely you'll have a "secure" job at Leicester?

 

Even if we do change coaches in the summer, it could be very tricky to get someone with better credentials that Puel. It seems like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern will all change coaches, which will result in a managerial merry-go-round across Europe.

As per usual, a very good post! 

 

I totally agree with the second paragraph. It is not as easy as some fans think to get a manager to Leicester City. Sacking Puel might turn into us having to accept a Fat Sam, Pardew, Hughes. There is no certainty that an upcoming talented manager would come here, or an established successful manager. Claudio was pretty much a washed up manager before he joined, hence the comments on here when we hired him! His stock was very low after his Greece reign and I'd bet we'd tried a fair few options before CR was interviewed, whatever we were told at the time.

 

Puel handled Vichai's tragic passing with the utmost dignity, of which he deserves a lot of credit. I think that will also hold a lot of credit with Top. And I can't see him wanting to make a change unless we fall into a relegation battle, or the players stop playing for Puel, and I don't see them doing that in matches yet.

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

23 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Hassenhuttl's CV is extremely impressive. Already the effect he's had on Southampton is noticable and simply seeing him go nuts when they scored / beat Arsenal would endear him to many supporters here. I'm not sure he will keep the Saints in the division this season but if he's allowed to run the club long term he'll likely do a very good job and get them back to where they were before in terms of being a club that plays good football and has a heritage of developing right young talent. He'd have fit the bill perfectly for what the club is trying to achieve here so it is a bit gutting to miss out on someone like that.

 

But it's not as simple as hire and fire. Does a manager want to come here? Are they available? What are their demands? Etc. Plus add to that the passing of Vichai and it's understandable that no major decisions get made by the club until the summer. Remember that when Shakespeare was sacked managers like Tuchel and Ancelotti ruled themselves out immediately. Pellegrini was linked but reportedly had a huge contract in China. Puel was probably the highest profile coach at the time that wanted the job. And whilst we have been underwhelming, so far under his tenure we've never been close to a relegation battle... yet! I also think Ranieri's legacy is a turn off for many aspiring managers... he achieved the impossible and was still sacked! So realisitically who will be able to beat what he did and is it likely you'll have a "secure" job at Leicester?

 

Even if we do change coaches in the summer, it could be very tricky to get someone with better credentials that Puel. It seems like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern will all change coaches, which will result in a managerial merry-go-round across Europe.

Its nothing but a new manager bounce atm

[That_Dude]

4 hours ago, lcfceaves said:

And like the Southampton fans said, the media (who never watched Southampton) kept bringing that up, but in reality... performances at home were terribly boring, possession football with no end product, bizarre subs, no plan b, stadium became a library... not seeing any similarities? And they could’ve finished a lot higher had their form in the 2nd half of season not plumited. 

 

Which part of his 5-6 best players were sold or injured that season do you not understand?

Edited 21 December 2018 by That_Dude

[AlloverthefloorYesNdidi]

Just now, That_Dude said:

Which part of his 5-6 best players were sold that season don't you understand?

I guess all of it? Lol 

[TMELcfc]

1 hour ago, That_Dude said:

Which part of his 5-6 best players were sold or injured that season do you not understand?

What part of he then signed some dross (like he has here) are you not getting... same lame excuses like most Puel inners 

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, AlloverthefloorYesNdidi said:

Its nothing but a new manager bounce atm

I'd argue there is more to that already. Far more pressing from the front and being more direct. His style similar to Klopp is after winning the ball back to transition into attack quickly, but rather than being a long ball vintage LCFC style, they look to make sweeping one-twos to engineer space in the final third. Against Arsenal, their change in style was notable and whilst they looked suspect at the back (as a result of the style), it definitely got the crowd on their feet. It was exciting!

 

Sometimes under Puel we have played some really nice stuff. This season against Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal there have been spells where we have dominated and passed the opposition to death. But it always feels like we are playing with "the handbrake one" until we concede a goal. Hassnehuttl's style is definitely "handbrake off" which is exciting even if it's not always going to be effective.

 

For me the games where I have most enjoyed seeing our team play ae games like beating Man U 5-3, the 3-1 victory at Man City, beating Newcastle 3-0 away, etc. I felt like in all these games, even though we played on the counter a lot, we also really got about the other team. It felt like the players weren't being held back from expressing themselves leading to moments like Vardy's virtuouso display against Man U and Mahrez's incredible Messi like goal against Man City.

 

All this said I do think it will be hard for them to survive this season just because they made such a poor start and because switching to this style takes time. Look at Liverpool as a good example.

[yks]

5 hours ago, l444ry said:

Wonder why people always refer to Puel's supposedly good 8th place finish at Southampton and then to what happened afterwards as evidence of his *success*? Probably because Southampton finished 6th the season before with 17 pts more and playing watchable football. And probably why their fans had seen enough of him as well.

They finished two places higher with Mané, Pellé, Wanyama and a fully fit Van Dijk for all season...
The team he inherited was nothing like the one that played the season before and he finished 8th.
The next year the team was better than his one and they avoided relegation thanks to a miracle.

Plus the "games were boring" was kind of a myth.
Just look at the stats, Southampton created way morechances and shots than most of teams of the League, but when the guys supposed to finish those chances are Austin, Redmond or Gabbiadini, it can be difficult... like if they were Iheanacho, Gray and Albrighton for instance...

But instead of blaming the players, the fans blamed the coach, unable to see their attacking options were nowhere near the ones they had the year before.
It's almost like if our fans couldn't understand that we have more difficulties to score now that Mahrez have left and Vardy can't start half the games due to fitness issues...

Edited 21 December 2018 by yks

[BlueSi13]

15 hours ago, volpeazzurro said:

Yet the record states that they finished 8th and got to a cup final then sank like a stone when he went. We're currently 12 points off relegation and 4 off 6th place which,  like Southampton,  is pretty good with the poor squads and problems he inherited on both occasions. 

Weird how I've never personally heard a Southampton fan say they regret sacking him.

 

Says a lot IMO.

[Beechey]

1 hour ago, lcfceaves said:

What part of he then signed some dross (like he has here) are you not getting... same lame excuses like most Puel inners 

Who has he signed here is dross? Ghezzal is possibly your only player right? He's pretty effective as a #10, but not adequate as a right winger, I'd be happy for him to be a backup to Maddison.

Maddison, Ward, Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu and Benkovic all look like good acquisitions.

 

Maybe Diabate? But he cost like £1m and is probably on a really small contract, so it's irrelevant.

[Crispin LA]

We should of sacked Puel in the summer and bought in Ralph Hasenhüttl, which I saying towards the end of last season. We are becoming the same as Southampton when the lost their League Cup Final, they couldn't score a goal in their last 8 games I think. We seem to be stuck with this Southampton flop where the fans and players wanted him out, the same thing happened towards the end of term at Nice, where there was protests by the fans who wanted him out. No surprise the same is happening here. What we needed was a up and coming new young manager, not a manager with a tired old style! 

[volpeazzurro]

1 minute ago, BlueSi13 said:

Weird how I've never personally heard a Southampton fan say they regret sacking him.

 

Says a lot IMO.

I wonder how the supporters and players  of his French teams remember him as he was league 1 manager of the year twice. There are many french players who speak very highly of the influence he had on them. One team doesn't make a career, particularly when that club sold Wanyama,  Mane and Pelle which basically hamstrung him, their demise was always on the cards. I'm really not trying to make him out to be the best thing since sliced bread but feel that both with Southampton and us there have been some inherent difficulties for him to overcome. I too have to sit down there and sit through the dire displays but see a glimmer of hope for the future compared with when Shakespeare left and we were really in a mess (and I don't mean that to sound like I'm blaming him). We'll just have to see where we are next Christmas ?