Puel 'Facing the sack' - reports

[Tielemans63]

33 minutes ago, chapero82 said:

Puel supporters will say when we lose "it's the players fault" but when we beat Man City and Chelsea it was "Puel the mastermind tactician, who outthought Pep" sorry but you can't have it both ways  

You're right, you can't have it both ways. So by the same logic, you have to give him some credit for guiding us to 7th place?

 

I'm not particularly a fan of Puel but to talk about sacking him seems ludicrous to me.

[Number1flanker]

Two cup competitions this season where his team selections have cost us.  Yes Newport are in league 2 and in theory our 2nd string team should be good enough to go out and beat them but not to have a player like Vardy on the bench as back up in case things don’t go to plan is suicidal. last season Spurs had Kane on the bench and he comes on to score - need I say anymore?

We play boring football. we have half season left with all hopes pinned on a 7th place finish - where’s the ambition?  This is so far from what Vichai always pushed for.

Puel has never inspired me since his arrival so how do we expect him to inspire the players? 

Whats the point beating Man City one week to lose to Cardiff the next?  

Time to say au revoir Claude ?

[inckley fox]

7 minutes ago, Babylon said:

They weren't really were they, the odd bad selection maybe. But he's not entirely  responsible for Albrighton having a brain fart or players missing loads of sitters. We still created enough to win several times over. 

It's important not to over-react but you can't make excuses either. Most goals come from players' errors on some level, so the success or failure of any manager can be attributed to players, instead of on the man in charge. By the same measure, a manager wouldn't be able to take credit for a moment of brilliance by a player either, in which case if we're going to pin this game on Morgan, Fuchs and Albrighton for their errors, or Okazaki for his misses, rather than on Puel as the manager, then you may as well deprive him of the credit for Vardy's winners over Chelsea and Everton, or that moment of magic which defeated Man City.

 

On rare occasions you may point to a moment of luck in a game and say 'when something like that happens, you can't blame the manager' or, even, the players, but that's not what happened today. Newport deserved a result. You might argue Iheanacho could have had one, Okazaki one or two, but they - a League Two side - reduced us to those chances, put two past us and could even have nicked another. To say 'Puel got it right, but the players let us down' is a total glossing over of what happened.

 

We can argue that maybe Leicester deserved a second or third, but we're talking about a game against Newport, for all their excellence today. The fact that it's the latest in a long line of games where we struggle for goals (sometimes with a few chances, sometimes without, and with a host of different strikers) indicates that there's something more fundamental wrong in our approach play, and especially against sides that sit deep.

 

If this were the first time this topic had come up, I'd understand you blaming Albrighton or Okazaki or whoever else. Or even if Leicester was the first club where Puel had faced these problems. But that isn't the case and so, eventually, if we're going to move onwards and upwards with Puel he's going to have to change something other than just personnel.

 

It's important to face it: Puel made some big calls today and got it wrong. You'll struggle to find a self-respect journalist, pundit, commentator, expert or whatever who will excuse what he did, and understandably so. I understood the line-up and felt it should have won the match, but he made a big call in fielding a weakened side, and it didn't work. The absence of Vardy didn't work. The pairing of Okazaki and Iheanacho didn't work. The recall of James didn't work. The switch of Albrighton to right back didn't work. The decision not to play Soyuncu or Pereira and have at least a little mobility at the back didn't work. The substitutes didn't work. 

 

Puel didn't have to make these decisions, he wasn't without alternatives, and even though I believe those players should have done better, it was a gamble on the manager's part, and the consequence was one of the most humiliating results in our history. The players need their share of the blame and while we're up in 7th this result needs placing in a wider context, but make no mistake - that's a very serious blot on Puel's copybook.

[UniFox21]

1 minute ago, Number1flanker said:

Two cup competitions this season where his team selections have cost us.  Yes Newport are in league 2 and in theory our 2nd string team should be good enough to go out and beat them but not to have a player like Vardy on the bench as back up in case things don’t go to plan is suicidal. last season Spurs had Kane on the bench and he comes on to score - need I say anymore?

We play boring football. we have half season left with all hopes pinned on a 7th place finish - where’s the ambition?  This is so far from what Vichai always pushed for.

Puel has never inspired me since his arrival so how do we expect him to inspire the players? 

Whats the point beating Man City one week to lose to Cardiff the next?  

Time to say au revoir Claude ?

Neither have been lost by his selections; we've fielded strong teams for both. First was due to penalties and how poorly we took them. Second due to luck basically and how they just wanted it more than us.

Vardy is getting on and can't run for 90 and play every game, after 4 games in 11 days, give the guy a week off rather than risking him in a shitty pitch and potentially losing him longer term.

 

7th is the best of the rest, which is what we aim to be. We can't compete with the top 6 yet, so there's no point throwing a fit when we don't get near them. 

 

To then use Vichai's dream as a reason to sack Puel is criminal. Kindly bore off.

[sacreblueits442]

On 04/01/2019 at 15:40, orangecity23 said:

Can anyone who thinks everything is as simple as "just play counter attack" please explain exactly how that works against teams that do not push their centre backs and full backs forward? Cardiff's CBs sat back for the entire game, compare and contrast with the games against Man City and Chelsea, where the CBs were often strolling forward into the Leicester half frequently, and it's clear to see there is a hell of a lot more space in behind the defenders to play the ball into for Vardy then than there was in the Cardiff game.

 

We could sit deep ourselves anyway, in the hope that the opposition commits enough players forward to press us, but that will still require us to be able to play the ball around a high press to make space for the quick ball forward - which requires a defence more comfortable on the ball, which we have been assembling. Still, there is no guarantee that the opposition will take the bait and press and commit their defenders forward. Think back to the Watford game at home in the title season. Our best ever team, the best counter attacking unit around - and Watford turned up with the same tactics. The game was a complete stalemate in the first half. Nobody could play the ball in behind, and both teams just kept humping it forward and conceding possession. The breakthrough came from an absolute howler by Gomes in the second half, after which Watford had to chase the game, and that's when they committed their defenders higher up the pitch, and there was space in behind for Vardy to win the penalty.

 

We no longer have Kante and Drinkwater - Kante is the best in the world at what he does, because he is not just brilliant at winning the ball, but also pacy, able to turn on the ball quickly and an under-rated dribbler. He doesn't just win the ball, he is superb at driving the ball forward 10 yards or more, to get the attack onto the front foot after the transition. Drinkwater had a great understanding of Vardy's runs, and a good long passer, capable of getting his head up and seeing the runs in behind that Vardy makes. On top of that we also had Mahrez, one of the best wingers in the league, and a constant threat, drawing the attention of multiple defenders, again creating more space for Vardy. Our current midfielders are not as good at Kante at driving forwards, and none of them are as good as Drinkwater at picking out Vardy with long balls. Vardy also has more defenders focussed on him now Mahrez is gone, as none of our wingers are as dangerous as he was.

 

All this adds up to us needing to find a way to break down deep sitting, packed defences, using the players we have now. It is not as simple as "just" upping the tempo and playing counter attack, it wasn't working for Shakespeare against the likes of Huddersfield and WBA, and it won't work reliably now, except against the better teams who leave space behind to exploit. We need to become more multi-faceted, able to exploit possession when we have large amounts of it, whilst still able to launch effective counter attacks when the opportunities present themselves. We have score a decent amount of counter attacking goals this season, and Puel is hardly telling players to ignore viable counter attacks when they are possible - when they are on the pitch, the players have to get their heads up and make the decisions as to what to do - if Vardy is making a run behind, and the player thinks they can pick him out, then they are the ones who decide whether to do it or not. They are still trying to do it, against Cardiff, Mendy and Maddison both made attempts at times to pick Vardy out, and gave the ball away because they couldn't pull it off - so clearly they are either "going against Puel's supposed instructions", or they were perfectly at liberty to try the counter, but unable to pull it off.

 

Against these packed, deep sitting teams, all the space tends to be in front of the defence, not behind it. This is why we end up playing it sideways so much, because it is where the space is. The problems we have is that when it is not working, we need to be able to do it quicker and more fluidly, or with more unpredictable off the ball movement, to open up gaps in the defence to create chances. This is what we did against Cardiff away, putting together a slick passing move that lead to Gray's goal. We put together a patient passing move against Cardiff at home, which lead to us opening a space in their defence, getting Maddison in behind, and winning a penalty. If we had converted it, which we should have been able to, then Cardiff would have been forced to gamble and push up to chase the game, or carry on as they were and tamely run out 1-0 losers.

... silly question! 

 Why can't we press them! Play at a higher tempo with a higher line. Playing three in midfield does not mean we have to play defensive midfielders. Iborra nor Silva works in this situation , dropping Maddison in with Ndidi and Mendy and squeezing the playing area means he will still be close enough to link with the front and wingers. 

 No one is asking to counter teams that are sitting back, but constantly playing 4-2-3-1, makes us fragmented. The formation has its merits and there must be teams that have success with it. We at present do not suit this formation and I just wish he would take it on board and ditch it for the rest of the season. 

[Unclebuck1983]

We should have made a statement of intent today and gone out all guns blazing to try and win this competition.

 

Instead we field a midfield that has not played together for almost a year and a forward line that hasn’t scored in over 3 months.

 

What do you expect to achieve from that?

 

 Our season is over. Nothing to play for now. What difference does it make if we are 7th or 17th by the end of the season if we have to watch this drab football every week, who gives a shit. 

 

 

 

 

[Number1flanker]

8 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Neither have been lost by his selections; we've fielded strong teams for both. First was due to penalties and how poorly we took them. Second due to luck basically and how they just wanted it more than us.

Vardy is getting on and can't run for 90 and play every game, after 4 games in 11 days, give the guy a week off rather than risking him in a shitty pitch and potentially losing him longer term.

 

7th is the best of the rest, which is what we aim to be. We can't compete with the top 6 yet, so there's no point throwing a fit when we don't get near them. 

 

To then use Vichai's dream as a reason to sack Puel is criminal. Kindly bore off.

So you don’t think if we brought Vardy on for the last 20 minutes he would have made a difference? We started two strikers who are both on severe goal droughts & never posed a threat to Newport. I certainly wouldn’t say we lost today on luck - we lack creativity.  

We aren’t fighting for safety in the league and nor do I expect us to be competing for a top 6 place which is why I would have liked to have seen us really go for silverware.

the reference to Vichai was that we have learnt we can dare to dream, and we should continue to maintain that mentality - I wasn’t saying that’s why Puel should be sacked.

[shailen]

The performance today was not about the team we picked or manager. It was a distinct lack of desire and passion. I'm  Puel out but I cannot put him totally at fault today.

 

There are some bad eggs in the dressing room of possible players that aren't in Puels plan that didn't look interested today.You could argue that Puel is at fault for putting that team out - but the way some of those players performed was embarrassing.

 

I do however look at the top managers, like Klopp and Pep and they are all fantastic at speaking to players individually and getting them fired up to perform. Claude Puel does not look like that sort of manager who would spend time with players individually and put an arm around their shoulder. 

 

Although he may be tactically aware and sound, I think this is his biggest weakness as opposed to Pearson for whom this was his strength. We are a family club and the manager should almost be a father figure and be close to all the players imo.

 

 

[Deebhoy]

Job done by keeping us in the league. That's it.

[Rigga]

An honest opinion from a manager that also made 11 changes..

[mozartfox]

28 minutes ago, inckley fox said:

It's important not to over-react but you can't make excuses either. Most goals come from players' errors on some level, so the success or failure of any manager can be attributed to players, instead of on the man in charge. By the same measure, a manager wouldn't be able to take credit for a moment of brilliance by a player either, in which case if we're going to pin this game on Morgan, Fuchs and Albrighton for their errors, or Okazaki for his misses, rather than on Puel as the manager, then you may as well deprive him of the credit for Vardy's winners over Chelsea and Everton, or that moment of magic which defeated Man City.

 

On rare occasions you may point to a moment of luck in a game and say 'when something like that happens, you can't blame the manager' or, even, the players, but that's not what happened today. Newport deserved a result. You might argue Iheanacho could have had one, Okazaki one or two, but they - a League Two side - reduced us to those chances, put two past us and could even have nicked another. To say 'Puel got it right, but the players let us down' is a total glossing over of what happened.

 

We can argue that maybe Leicester deserved a second or third, but we're talking about a game against Newport, for all their excellence today. The fact that it's the latest in a long line of games where we struggle for goals (sometimes with a few chances, sometimes without, and with a host of different strikers) indicates that there's something more fundamental wrong in our approach play, and especially against sides that sit deep.

 

If this were the first time this topic had come up, I'd understand you blaming Albrighton or Okazaki or whoever else. Or even if Leicester was the first club where Puel had faced these problems. But that isn't the case and so, eventually, if we're going to move onwards and upwards with Puel he's going to have to change something other than just personnel.

 

It's important to face it: Puel made some big calls today and got it wrong. You'll struggle to find a self-respect journalist, pundit, commentator, expert or whatever who will excuse what he did, and understandably so. I understood the line-up and felt it should have won the match, but he made a big call in fielding a weakened side, and it didn't work. The absence of Vardy didn't work. The pairing of Okazaki and Iheanacho didn't work. The recall of James didn't work. The switch of Albrighton to right back didn't work. The decision not to play Soyuncu or Pereira and have at least a little mobility at the back didn't work. The substitutes didn't work. 

 

Puel didn't have to make these decisions, he wasn't without alternatives, and even though I believe those players should have done better, it was a gamble on the manager's part, and the consequence was one of the most humiliating results in our history. The players need their share of the blame and while we're up in 7th this result needs placing in a wider context, but make no mistake - that's a very serious blot on Puel's copybook.

A very intelligent perspective. 

[inckley fox]

40 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Neither have been lost by his selections; we've fielded strong teams for both. First was due to penalties and how poorly we took them. Second due to luck basically and how they just wanted it more than us.

Vardy is getting on and can't run for 90 and play every game, after 4 games in 11 days, give the guy a week off rather than risking him in a shitty pitch and potentially losing him longer term.

 

7th is the best of the rest, which is what we aim to be. We can't compete with the top 6 yet, so there's no point throwing a fit when we don't get near them. 

 

To then use Vichai's dream as a reason to sack Puel is criminal. Kindly bore off.

I'm definitely not 'Puel out' but I'm not sure I'd attribute today's result to bad luck, or even work rate for that matter. I wouldn't, for instance, fault Albrighton's work rate, or Okazaki's, or Fuchs', and yet these players' errors were the ones that proved most costly.

 

And I think Newport deserved a result too, it wasn't simply luck. We should be comfortably putting games beyond sides like Newport, it shouldn't be a matter of whether we could have nicked another goal or two if it weren't for us being so crap, or so unlucky. The manager made some big calls today and, just as he deserves credit on the many occasions that they work out, so should he be criticised when they go badly wrong. And several decisions went badly wrong, the result being one of the most humiliating results in our history. Managers, sometimes very good ones, have to take flak, and rethink a few things after something like that.

 

What's more, when you put it in the context of other performances, today's game seems to be symptomatic of a wider difficulty in creating chances, especially when sides oblige us to break them down. Worse still, it's symptomatic of a problem which has affected Puel's sides throughout his time in English football.

 

So it's important to remember that we're 7th, and that's good progress. But we can't over-emphasise this. The table is tight. We're a few poor results away from 13th, and just one place higher than we were when Puel was appointed and we know from experience how days like today can upset confidence. We have to learn from this game it'd be a great moment to show a greater attacking intent against Southampton, to prove a point against another side which is going to sit deep and try to frustrate us. It could turn a horrible moment into a big step forward.

[Mark - Reading]

1 hour ago, UniFox21 said:

Neither have been lost by his selections; we've fielded strong teams for both. First was due to penalties and how poorly we took them. Second due to luck basically and how they just wanted it more than us.

Vardy is getting on and can't run for 90 and play every game, after 4 games in 11 days, give the guy a week off rather than risking him in a shitty pitch and potentially losing him longer term.

 

7th is the best of the rest, which is what we aim to be. We can't compete with the top 6 yet, so there's no point throwing a fit when we don't get near them. 

 

To then use Vichai's dream as a reason to sack Puel is criminal. Kindly bore off.

 

We will get 7th because the league is one of the worst it’s been for many years. All clubs 7th down are pretty much the same 

 

4 home wins in 2018 year and we finish 9th and sit 7th just says it all 

 

yes 7th is a good finish but it isn’t what the people at the top want. Cup Competitions should be the priority for the global exposure and European place. Weakened teams against Man City twice and now Newport is just not good enough and he wonders why we don’t warm to him

 

today is not a day for Puel loving we are all very very angry and bitter and it’s prob best not to say anything and just grieve 

 

if he is not sacked in the morning then unfortunatly we will have to endure this bore fest until the end of the season which makes no sense this season is now over we might as well start building for next year 

 

it’s time for a change 

 

[dylanlegend]

I’m not his biggest fan but i genuinely haven’t a clue who would replace him?

 

Personally, I’d get NP, CS and SW trio back but I know that’s not gonna happen so what’s the point.

[BoyJones]

I am firmly in the Puel out camp. Tried to give the guy some slack, but he doesn't really care about the older supporters. The FA Cup is an important competition. We dissed both the Cup and Newport by making wholesale changes, particularly in midfield by playing mostly a defensive set up. James, Choudhary and Ghezzal (I know he finally did something right) generally had no idea what do to, apart from 90% sideways or backwards passes. Puel should have played Maddison (and Ricardo) from the start, not James, who was largely unfit and ineffective. 

 

We paid good money to watch a team that couldn't breakdown a Newport side who battled very hard, but let's be honest had no real quality.

 

I don't blame Nacho, although he should have hit the target after the defender miskicked the ball, or Okasaki who has never been a natural goal scorer.

 

It is clear that all Puel wants to do is stay up, irrespective of entertaining the paying customers. Anybody, who believes this is the style of football the owners want is crazy. 

 

We are nicking some good away results, but it won't last, Puel will get found out like Burnley. In fact, we are now playing like Burnley last year, no real game plan, just hang in there and try and get a 1-0.

 

I am trying to be balanced in my comments, but the despair I feel at the moment is palpable.

 

 

 

 

[gurru991]

He took over a team that needed a major rebuild and that was always going to take two seasons to complete. It's impossible to change out 15 players in one window so we need to consider the whole thing as a work in progress. 

We add Barnes & Benovic plus 2 to 3 more and then we will know what our potential can be.

[urban.spaceman]

6 minutes ago, BoyJones said:

I am firmly in the Puel out camp. Tried to give the guy some slack, but he doesn't really care about the older supporters. The FA Cup is an important competition. We dissed both the Cup and Newport by making wholesale changes, particularly in midfield by playing mostly a defensive set up. James, Choudhary and Ghezzal (I know he finally did something right) generally had no idea what do to, apart from 90% sideways or backwards passes. Puel should have played Maddison (and Ricardo) from the start, not James, who was largely unfit and ineffective. 

 

We paid good money to watch a team that couldn't breakdown a Newport side who battled very hard, but let's be honest had no real quality.

 

I don't blame Nacho, although he should have hit the target after the defender miskicked the ball, or Okasaki who has never been a natural goal scorer.

 

It is clear that all Puel wants to do is stay up, irrespective of entertaining the paying customers. Anybody, who believes this is the style of football the owners want is crazy. 

 

We are nicking some good away results, but it won't last, Puel will get found out like Burnley. In fact, we are now playing like Burnley last year, no real game plan, just hang in there and try and get a 1-0.

 

I am trying to be balanced in my comments, but the despair I feel at the moment is palpable.

Couldn’t disagree more with most of this. What’s Puel supposed to do? He’s got a huge squad mostly made up of players he inherited. 

 

We've just gone through a gruelling winter schedule (in which we beat Chelsea and Man City); this was a perfect opportunity to rest the main XI and play some peripheral players. We know some are not good enough for us but he is entitled to expect better from such an experienced back 4 - all Premier League winners. 

 

If anything this defeat totally vindicates Puel’s desire to seriously upgrade the squad, which can’t happen overnight. We are currently 7th in the league, with the 5th best defence in the league, with a positive goal difference and more wins than defeats. And now we have absolutely no distractions for the rest of the season, with a couple of extra weekends off to prepare for future fixtures. If we stay in 7th, or do better, we will have qualified for Europe through the league AND achieved our second highest Premier League finish. 

 

Sometimes the bigger picture is more important. 

[Tanya]

21 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Couldn’t disagree more with most of this. What’s Puel supposed to do? He’s got a huge squad mostly made up of players he inherited. 

 

We've just gone through a gruelling winter schedule (in which we beat Chelsea and Man City); this was a perfect opportunity to rest the main XI and play some peripheral players. We know some are not good enough for us but he is entitled to expect better from such an experienced back 4 - all Premier League winners. 

 

If anything this defeat totally vindicates Puel’s desire to seriously upgrade the squad, which can’t happen overnight. We are currently 7th in the league, with the 5th best defence in the league, with a positive goal difference and more wins than defeats. And now we have absolutely no distractions for the rest of the season, with a couple of extra weekends off to prepare for future fixtures. If we stay in 7th, or do better, we will have qualified for Europe through the league AND achieved our second highest Premier League finish. 

 

Sometimes the bigger picture is more 

Thank you. While I am desperately disappointed,  the side Puel put out should have been okay. Maybe the manager should not have put James in and play two up front but the players should take the lions share of responsibility.  I would give Puel the summer to move the deadwood on. They're not good enough.  Albeit if this happens again next year with the players he has brought in this conversation would be very different. 

 

 

[Chocolate Teapot]

Why are we getting rid of Iborra and Silva, when they are both better than James?

[inckley fox]

1 hour ago, urban.spaceman said:

Couldn’t disagree more with most of this. What’s Puel supposed to do? He’s got a huge squad mostly made up of players he inherited. 

 

We've just gone through a gruelling winter schedule (in which we beat Chelsea and Man City); this was a perfect opportunity to rest the main XI and play some peripheral players. We know some are not good enough for us but he is entitled to expect better from such an experienced back 4 - all Premier League winners. 

 

If anything this defeat totally vindicates Puel’s desire to seriously upgrade the squad, which can’t happen overnight. We are currently 7th in the league, with the 5th best defence in the league, with a positive goal difference and more wins than defeats. And now we have absolutely no distractions for the rest of the season, with a couple of extra weekends off to prepare for future fixtures. If we stay in 7th, or do better, we will have qualified for Europe through the league AND achieved our second highest Premier League finish. 

 

Sometimes the bigger picture is more important. 

I agree that the side should have had the quality to win. Our line-up cost over 55m, it should have been able to dispatch 4th tier opposition. I couldn't agree less with people defending us on the grounds that we could, perhaps, have got a goal here or a goal there, maybe even nicked it with a little luck - we're talking about Newport! While they deserve all the credit in the world for earning a result, from our standpoint that was a serious humiliation. It shouldn't be breezily dismissed as a hiccup. Let's hope it's a Harlow, in terms of what happens next, rather than a Wycombe or a Huddersfield.

 

Where I'd probably disagree with you is that Puel doesn't come out of it at all well. The line-up had the necessary quality but there were some brave calls that didn't work out. He wasn't forced into these changes through injury and there were alternatives available to him, including players who should have been fresh. So you live and die by your decisions, and these didn't work out.

 

More worrying still, it wasn't the first time our patient build-up play has struggled to break a side down when they sit deep, nor the first time our failure to score more than a goal in a game has proved costly. Regardless of who Puel plays up front, for whichever side he's managed in England, they've struggled for opportunities and form. Vardy's the only exception and he's come in for his share of criticism too recently. When you totally change the personnel, from one side which should win a game to another line-up that should win a game, and when you work your way through four, five, six different attacking options and the same problems persist, it should become obvious that the problem isn't purely personnel.

 

And no, I'm not buying the 'but Okazaki could have got one' argument or the 'Nacho could have got one' argument. The 'we deserved a draw' argument. Come on, it was Newport and we all saw how much of an edge we lacked in attack, as well as how sloppy we were everywhere else on the field.

 

So I'll still back Puel, but don't underestimate the seriousness of a result like this and the extent to which, with those resources at his disposal and over 45m worth his own signings playing at least 45 minutes today, he'll have questions to answer. He can still have a successful season and take us a great deal further forward, but if that's going to happen he has to rethink how he approaches a certain sort of opposition. If he doesn't, and if these problems come to the fore again over the next few weeks, we'll all be very clear about how serious today was.

[sylofox]

I've not been Puel out but after that I don't care. Really James and King with not a minute between them this season. Sorry he shown no respect to the FA Cup or us fans. 

 

I won't be screaming Puel out but he's lost my respect and support. We can't blame him totally for the performance. The players need to stand up. But the team he put out and squad he picked is totally down to him. 

 

If he stays perhaps we should not bother entering any cups next season. No point hoping for the europa league either he'll play the under 12's.

[foxinsocks]

Sylo and inkley articulate a feeling that puel does not share the same outlook as the fans. And we want a guy who excites us.

Yet managers get fired when a club heads into the relegation zone or if there is a complete melt down like jose manages everywhere he goes.

Puel is certain to avoid the sack for dropping into the bottom three... that seems to be his sole priority.

Yet he is divisive and by seeming to dis the cups.... play football that cant break thru busses parked by worse clubs. . and failling to be a charismatic leader with an attitude we can get behind. .. and by showing he wont or cant change then these things will be his undoing. 

Puels values will not polish the king power brand.  Yet i expect an internal coup first.

Edited 7 January 2019 by foxinsocks

[roblcfc84]

3 hours ago, Abrasive fox said:

Why are we getting rid of Iborra and Silva, when they are both better than James?

Cost! Pure and simple. I can’t imagine CP is thinking let’s get rid of them to play James. It’s let’s get rid and replace, and if there’s no value until the summer we will make do with what we have. 

[roblcfc84]

4 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Couldn’t disagree more with most of this. What’s Puel supposed to do? He’s got a huge squad mostly made up of players he inherited. 

 

We've just gone through a gruelling winter schedule (in which we beat Chelsea and Man City); this was a perfect opportunity to rest the main XI and play some peripheral players. We know some are not good enough for us but he is entitled to expect better from such an experienced back 4 - all Premier League winners. 

 

If anything this defeat totally vindicates Puel’s desire to seriously upgrade the squad, which can’t happen overnight. We are currently 7th in the league, with the 5th best defence in the league, with a positive goal difference and more wins than defeats. And now we have absolutely no distractions for the rest of the season, with a couple of extra weekends off to prepare for future fixtures. If we stay in 7th, or do better, we will have qualified for Europe through the league AND achieved our second highest Premier League finish. 

 

Sometimes the bigger picture is more important. 

100% agree. He can’t win whatever he does. I saw a comment about playing a forward line who haven’t scored in a year...there’s literally no one else. He can’t keep playing vardy knowing he’s carrying injuries. Nacho and Shinji should have been good enough today!

[mozartfox]

With these free weekends and no cup distractions, the need for any rotation diminishes.  So hopefully Puel can now forget about giving game time to people who have no future at the Club beyond June.   Barring injuries stick to a settled team from now on where possible.