So, what's your plan Puel?

[AylestoneRaider]

9 minutes ago, FIF said:

 

I like all Leicester players. These were the players that I felt are not going to serve the team well anymore. Vardy is one of my favourite players of all time but that doesn't mean I think he should play for us for the next 5 years.

 

Clearly you completely missed the point of my post. We are in transition, out with the old and in with the new.

 

A squad featuring Ward, Iverson, Chilwell, Ricardo, Amartey, Soyunco, Benkovic, Hughes, Knight, Moore, Pascanu, Ughelumba, Johnson, Ndidi, Mendy, Choudhury, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison, Gray, Iheanacho, Ghezzal already has 21 players all 26 or under. Then use the money we have plus sales of Maguire and the oldies to boost the midfield and attacking ranks and we have a squad that can challenge for Europe for the next decade.

I agree with this accept on Harry. I think he’s superb and clearly a great lad to have around the place - I’d love to build the team around him for the foreseeable future.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, AylestoneRaider said:

I agree with this accept on Harry. I think he’s superb and clearly a great lad to have around the place - I’d love to build the team around him for the foreseeable future.

 

That's fair enough. I think he is a great lad too and I could accept him being a central piece in a future team. I don't think he's quite as super as the post-world cup euphoria makes out which combined with the fact that I think Knight, Hughes, Moore and Pascanu are exceptionally good CBs for their age and capable of becoming very good PL players (along with Soyuncu and Benkovic), it is the one position that we can afford to sell an exceptional player. If Manure want to give us £50m+ for him I think we can use that to get a very good striker which I feel is our area of greatest concern.

[AylestoneRaider]

Just now, FIF said:

 

That's fair enough. I think he is a great lad too and I could accept him being a central piece in a future team. I don't think he's quite as super as the post-world cup euphoria makes out which combined with the fact that I think Knight, Hughes, Moore and Pascanu are exceptionally good CBs for their age and capable of becoming very good PL players (along with Soyuncu and Benkovic), it is the one position that we can afford to sell an exceptional player. If Manure want to give us £50m+ for him I think we can use that to get a very good striker which I feel is our area of greatest concern.

I can see that. We desperately need a striker that can play with his back to goal. Thought Vardy and Gray did well yesterday, but it’s not the answer longer term.

 

it’d be good if we could thin out the squad and wage bill a bit without selling our best players though. We should have a decent amount to reinvest if we have a bit of a clear out.

[smudgerfox]

2 hours ago, Sly said:

 

We’ve lost games we could have won.  Which ones? 

 

How many teams control a game for 90 minutes, ala Manchester City Vs Birmingham. Rarely. Liverpool were lucky to beat us. When did Man City play Birmingham? I don’t remember that one. Liverpool could have been 3-0 up after 30 mins - no fair reading of that game supports the conclusion we should have got more points.

 

 

I appreciate it’s frustrating at the minute. I’m frustrated too. However you can’t change half the team overnight. We’ll be in a better position come the start of next season. I can see what Puel is doing and it’s quite clear he’s trying to change that. However he can only work with the tools he’s got. Half the Premier League would like a Ruben Neves. No point blowing more money on a player who’s only half as good. Look at Klopp, he’s waited to get the right man. Maybe Puel and the club are doing something similar.  If that’s the plan then why not say so? And if we are only interested in signing the precise player we need - how do Diabate and Ghezzal fit in? What many of us are saying is you don’t need to change the whole team overnight....that’s Puel’s assessment - no-one else’s. So to my mind we have perfectly good defensive options, two good keepers, two different styles of right back, one of the best left backs in the league with a good experienced back up, five good centre halves. We should be able to build a secure defence from that lot. We have three very acceptable options as defensive midfielders. We have one of the best strikers in the country and one of the most promising number 10s. So why obsess about playing style? 

We need a creative midfield general (so why not offer more encouragement to Iborra and/or Silva?) and we need a functioning front four all four of which can be relied upon for ten goals or so a season. The point is, with the squad at his disposal, there is no excuse for Puel’s poor results or performances.  

 

The contracts of Okazaki, Simpson, Morgan, Fuchs 161 days time. It’s apparent that these need shifting on. They’ll be replaced in the squad by younger players. 

 

On another note ..... I’ve just found out that Mandy is the cousin of Befitimbi Gomis. 

 

 

 

 

.

[whoareyaaa]

After the next 3 games we will be sitting in 12th (if Brighton win 2 games out of 3 then 13th position)

 

We will then be playing catch up

[weller69]

CLOWN PUEL needs sacking ASAP.  we will be in a relegation battle within a month.........

[TrentFox]

Spoiler alert - I can feel a rant coming on. You may want to skip this? I’ve watched the City for almost 50 years. The overwhelming majority of that time, if not al of that time, I could only dream of being in the position that we are in right now. The Haters have now stopped reading to pen their bile about that position involving appalling losses and insipid performances. Currently true. But for me there’s a bigger picture. We are top half of the top division. We pick up quarter-finals for fun. We now beat the big boys quite often. Our team is full of young, English talent. Our infrastructure is currently the priority and both stadium and training facilities are being magnificently overhauled. We have a manager who is genuinely bringing our youth through and  not only saving us a small fortune, but also building a cash legacy - although hopefully not one we cash in just yet! What is to be gained by sacking a

manager who is courageously changing our style of play? A caretaker for a few months ? What’s the point? Barring some

absolute disaster, we will play PL football next year. Why not give him the time

and build continuity whilst we invest

in the infrastructure? Surely that makes more sense than yet another knee-jerk reaction? The squad is manifestly not good enough to reach higher than it presently is. Some players are lethargic. Some are simply past their best. Why not let the guy who is definitely overhauling it carry on doing so? Why would we change now? For me the players are every bit to blame, as much as the boss. There were times yesterday when I had to pause and search for Simpson as I had no idea where he was. He wasn’t the only one. Whilst we are undoubtedly heading for a few more body blows in the coming weeks, with the fixtures we have looming, I hope that Puel sticks to his guns and picks the nucleus of the team

he thinks will take us into next season. For me, Wes has been an absolute legend,  but he is the past not the future. I would have Benko back ASAP and playing to ensure that we are hitting the ground running in pre-season with the backbone of a squad that have been exposed to PL football for the remainder of this season. Not writing it off, just taking a broader view.  

[Monsell1976]

I have no sympathy for puel, but I thought this long before heskey mentioned it, but the players are getting away with it, because everyone is to busy hammering puel.

 A lot of our squad have cost Claudio and Shakespeare their jobs, due to what seems like their failure to perform regular for a manager, wether that is intentional is open for debate, either way if puel stays or goes, this group of players need breaking up, for many reasons, but mainly in my opinion some of them are not good enough at this level.

[Sly]

49 minutes ago, smudgerfox said:

We’ve lost games we could have won.  Which ones? 

 

How many teams control a game for 90 minutes, ala Manchester City Vs Birmingham. Rarely. Liverpool were lucky to beat us. When did Man City play Birmingham? I don’t remember that one. Liverpool could have been 3-0 up after 30 mins - no fair reading of that game supports the conclusion we should have got more points.

 

 

I appreciate it’s frustrating at the minute. I’m frustrated too. However you can’t change half the team overnight. We’ll be in a better position come the start of next season. I can see what Puel is doing and it’s quite clear he’s trying to change that. However he can only work with the tools he’s got. Half the Premier League would like a Ruben Neves. No point blowing more money on a player who’s only half as good. Look at Klopp, he’s waited to get the right man. Maybe Puel and the club are doing something similar.  If that’s the plan then why not say so? And if we are only interested in signing the precise player we need - how do Diabate and Ghezzal fit in? What many of us are saying is you don’t need to change the whole team overnight....that’s Puel’s assessment - no-one else’s. So to my mind we have perfectly good defensive options, two good keepers, two different styles of right back, one of the best left backs in the league with a good experienced back up, five good centre halves. We should be able to build a secure defence from that lot. We have three very acceptable options as defensive midfielders. We have one of the best strikers in the country and one of the most promising number 10s. So why obsess about playing style? 

We need a creative midfield general (so why not offer more encouragement to Iborra and/or Silva?) and we need a functioning front four all four of which can be relied upon for ten goals or so a season. The point is, with the squad at his disposal, there is no excuse for Puel’s poor results or performances.  

 

The contracts of Okazaki, Simpson, Morgan, Fuchs 161 days time. It’s apparent that these need shifting on. They’ll be replaced in the squad by younger players. 

 

On another note ..... I’ve just found out that Mandy is the cousin of Befitimbi Gomis. 

Sorry! I meant Burton, my bad. 

 

Games which could have gone he other in our favour:

 

Manchester United

Liverpool

Arsenal

Newport

 

..... we convert our chances, it’s a different story. I don’t think any of the above were that much better than us on the day.

 

Also, the ability between our players and those around us, is that different. We don’t have an enourmous gulf in class between us and Huddersfield, Cardiff, Newcastle, Everton, Southampton, Wolves etc etc On any given day, a bit of luck can swing games either way. 

 

Some signings just don’t work, Diabate showed early promise, quite clearly it hasn’t worked. 

 

Ghezzel needs time too, before yesterday, he’d contributed more to the cause than DG. He’s just an easy scapegoat. If I’m honest though, I don’t think he’s better than what we already have. 

[Larry_LCFC]

19 hours ago, EnglishOxide said:

 

We have a team with more academy players in it than I can remember who have beaten Man City and Chelsea this season, as well as outplaying many others. We are in a transition season and we have lost our owner.

 

We were in 7th just a few games ago, and you are saying he's doing nothing for us trying to get it?

 

How can you be so obtuse?

 

Am I going mental or do people not remember where we were 11/12 years ago? Here we are trying, like 14 other teams, to crack into the big 6 and you have people like this guy slagging off the manager for struggling with it.

Is this the new one then? We were 7th a few games ago Then at the end of the season when we finish 16th we can say "we were 7th earlier in the season". Christ we lack ambition on here.

[drofmor55]

37 minutes ago, TrentFox said:

Spoiler alert - I can feel a rant coming on. You may want to skip this? I’ve watched the City for almost 50 years. The overwhelming majority of that time, if not al of that time, I could only dream of being in the position that we are in right now. The Haters have now stopped reading to pen their bile about that position involving appalling losses and insipid performances. Currently true. But for me there’s a bigger picture. We are top half of the top division. We pick up quarter-finals for fun. We now beat the big boys quite often. Our team is full of young, English talent. Our infrastructure is currently the priority and both stadium and training facilities are being magnificently overhauled. We have a manager who is genuinely bringing our youth through and  not only saving us a small fortune, but also building a cash legacy - although hopefully not one we cash in just yet! What is to be gained by sacking a

manager who is courageously changing our style of play? A caretaker for a few months ? What’s the point? Barring some

absolute disaster, we will play PL football next year. Why not give him the time

and build continuity whilst we invest

in the infrastructure? Surely that makes more sense than yet another knee-jerk reaction? The squad is manifestly not good enough to reach higher than it presently is. Some players are lethargic. Some are simply past their best. Why not let the guy who is definitely overhauling it carry on doing so? Why would we change now? For me the players are every bit to blame, as much as the boss. There were times yesterday when I had to pause and search for Simpson as I had no idea where he was. He wasn’t the only one. Whilst we are undoubtedly heading for a few more body blows in the coming weeks, with the fixtures we have looming, I hope that Puel sticks to his guns and picks the nucleus of the team

he thinks will take us into next season. For me, Wes has been an absolute legend,  but he is the past not the future. I would have Benko back ASAP and playing to ensure that we are hitting the ground running in pre-season with the backbone of a squad that have been exposed to PL football for the remainder of this season. Not writing it off, just taking a broader view.  

Spot on..

[Dahnsouff]

13 minutes ago, Larry_LCFC said:

Is this the new one then? We were 7th a few games ago Then at the end of the season when we finish 16th we can say "we were 7th earlier in the season". Christ we lack ambition on here.

Perhaps so, but we also lack perspective in judging the job in hand too. The infrastructure work at present is THE most important change, barring the tragic events, in the clubs recent history.

[Fox seen in Norwich]

Amazed people can’t see his plan is long term. Bought young(ish) cb’s ready for when Morgan hangs his boots. One youngun out in Scotland to develop and another developing as our reserve cb for now. One or both are his plan for future cb’s. we already have 2 young fullbacks in chilwell and amarty 

He’s removed two of the, I’d imagine bigger earners, from cm (silva and Iborra) to create space for younger ones like choudroy. Wingers are already youthful and I’m sure there’s things in plan for replacing hardy and jasper long term.

 

hes not playing football manager he’s on a long term plan while maintaining prem status. I accept the Chelsea and Man City results cloud the poor form we’re in but for me the answer to the OP is clear.

 

Whats the plan of a new manager going to be? More transition??

 

id stick not twist and give him the opportunity to deliver his plan 

[Larry_LCFC]

People bang on about this long term vision that Puel has, but don't seem to acknowledge the here and now. The incredibly poor starts in 80% of games, the odd team selections, the boring football, not forgetting the half time subs that happen almost every game to try and rectify the initial **** ups.

 

It all smacks of a poor manager who doesn't really know any other kind of football that the sort he is playing here and at Southampton. It's the lack of learning from his mistakes that I can't abide. 

[Dahnsouff]

Just now, Larry_LCFC said:

People bang on about this long term vision that Puel has, but don't seem to acknowledge the here and now. The incredibly poor starts in 80% of games, the odd team selections, the boring football, not forgetting the half time subs that happen almost every game to try and rectify the initial **** ups.

 

It all smacks of a poor manager who doesn't really know any other kind of football that the sort he is playing here and at Southampton. It's the lack of learning from his mistakes that I can't abide. 

So you dispute there is a project then? and that as such it should be taken into account?

[huddersfieldfox]

I think we need to face facts’ he is not going anywhere until the end of the season. 

I honestly feel that at the moment there are more important things that need to be sorted out and football has been put on the back burner

i must also say that I whole heartedly agree with this as well we’re not going to get relegated and our patience will be tested but it’s a fact of life. Somethings are more important than football 

[AylestoneRaider]

17 hours ago, TaggertvsWise said:

I am a bit reluctant to post this as I always believe continuity is key in any team, business, sport, whatever but I think it is time for s change sadly. 

 

I belive in Puel, I believe in what he has done in sweeping out 2/3 regimes of deadwood, promoting the youth, trying to add extra dimensions to the way we play whilst rejuvenating some under performers and steering us with dignity through a very difficult period regarding Vichai’s death. We are constantly in the top 10, safe from relegation, at times are playing some good stuff but for some reason it doesn’t wash with us.

 

Personally, I think it’s a shame and we risk doing away with a very good manager but somewhere along the journey it got broken. The relationship isn’t there and neither is the well of goodwill that we as fans have to constantly go to in our relationship with whoever is in charge. It has seemingly ran dry and so have the options and balance of the team on the pitch.

 

I can’t see any other way for the next 6 months other than to start afresh and salvage what we can with a free hit and a great squad as this and see where it gets us. Sadly Puel, I do love you and how you go about your business but I feel your time is up. ?

I have a lot of time for this post. I too have decided that I want change, but I do have a lot of respect for what CP has brought to the club. Unfortunately, the style of play does not chime with our fans and once a manager loses the support of the paying spectators, he will be fighting a losing battle. I would like to wish CP farewell and  good luck, so that the club can try something fresh next season.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

His first should be to get rid of Morgan. Sorry Wes, but you're no longer good enough.

[m4DD0gg]

It's not that I don't think he's got a plan he's just crap at executing it, man management and leadership. 

 

I would feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a bellend. 

[AylestoneRaider]

1 hour ago, m4DD0gg said:

It's not that I don't think he's got a plan he's just crap at executing it, man management and leadership. 

 

I would feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a bellend. 

Harsh!

[foxinsocks]

9 hours ago, FIF said:

 

I like all Leicester players. These were the players that I felt are not going to serve the team well anymore. Vardy is one of my favourite players of all time but that doesn't mean I think he should play for us for the next 5 years.

 

Clearly you completely missed the point of my post. We are in transition, out with the old and in with the new.

 

A squad featuring Ward, Iverson, Chilwell, Ricardo, Amartey, Soyunco, Benkovic, Hughes, Knight, Moore, Pascanu, Ughelumba, Johnson, Ndidi, Mendy, Choudhury, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison, Gray, Iheanacho, Ghezzal already has 21 players all 26 or under. Then use the money we have plus sales of Maguire and the oldies to boost the midfield and attacking ranks and we have a squad that can challenge for Europe for the next decade.

but why can't I put puel on the list?   I don't feel he  is going to serve us well - while his commitment to yoof is legendary I am afraid that his approach to games and  game management is crap;  his football is way too cautious and as fan we want  a free scoring team...  and I believe (though other say otherwise) that he is not an inspiring leader that will make the lads perform at peek... Ps anyone who thinks nacho and ghezzel have more to offer is barking.  Sad to say that I think gray is not going to kick on - we have not seen any signs of it... so I agree some have to go.  But why not puel?

[Cropwellfox]

His immediate plan is to bugger off out the way - on France Canal+ football panel show this evening in the studio. Some guy has tweeted he’s speaking french with an English accent - can he do anything right?? ???

 

[Post Horn Galloper]

23 hours ago, smudgerfox said:

Let’s be clear - we have not outplayed Premier opposition once this season. We have played well in some spells but never sustained it for a full game. Every game we have won in the league - with the possible exception of Huddersfield - we could just as easily have lost, and in that one we went behind early - how unusual. Our start ahgainst Wolves today was almost identical to the start v Everton on New Years Day - Wolves punished us, Everton didn’t.

 

and let’s not get carried away with the Academy products. We have three in the team/squad and playing them isn’t an end in itself. The end is to have a better team. Those who keep banging on about CP’s advocacy of youth need to explain what’s going on with Gray. Today, I saw him take a fine goal really well, but I also saw him typically negligent in possession for their first goal while wasting a host of other good openings with poor xecision-making. Despite racking up the appearances he isn’t getting better. - why is that? 

 

And as as others are pointing out - the kids could do with a proper leading captain - someone who makes sure the 3-3 is closed down - that’s how they’ll learn - not by throwing away the game.

With regard to the comments about Grey I note that Grey'goal was scored with his right foot from right of the goal. I recall a very early appearance for the club, against Swansea I think, when he was a right wing sub and simply swept past two defenders to cross. I remember also last season against Everton when he ran in from the right half the length of the pitch to set up Vardy's goal. The point is that Grey is a right winger, or at least a right sided striker. The fashion these days is for inverted wingers: sometimes that works but sometimes it doesn't. The club have spent too long trying to develop Grey as a left sided player where he looks unbalanced trying too hard get the ball on to his right foot to play in an unconvincing cross. Let's hope that after yesterday's goal the penny will drop with our coaching staff. 

[AylestoneRaider]

8 minutes ago, Post Horn Galloper said:

With regard to the comments about Grey I note that Grey'goal was scored with his right foot from right of the goal. I recall a very early appearance for the club, against Swansea I think, when he was a right wing sub and simply swept past two defenders to cross. I remember also last season against Everton when he ran in from the right half the length of the pitch to set up Vardy's goal. The point is that Grey is a right winger, or at least a right sided striker. The fashion these days is for inverted wingers: sometimes that works but sometimes it doesn't. The club have spent too long trying to develop Grey as a left sided player where he looks unbalanced trying too hard get the ball on to his right foot to play in an unconvincing cross. Let's hope that after yesterday's goal the penny will drop with our coaching staff. 

Could not agree more. If Gray does have a future with us, it must be on the right wing. Virtually all of his best moments for us have been coming off the right flank and he looks so uncomfortable on the left. Inverted wingers work in some situations, such as Mahrez playing on the right; others look far better as conventional wingers.

[Bunyip]

7 hours ago, TrentFox said:

Spoiler alert - I can feel a rant coming on. You may want to skip this? I’ve watched the City for almost 50 years. The overwhelming majority of that time, if not al of that time, I could only dream of being in the position that we are in right now. The Haters have now stopped reading to pen their bile about that position involving appalling losses and insipid performances. Currently true. But for me there’s a bigger picture. We are top half of the top division. We pick up quarter-finals for fun. We now beat the big boys quite often. Our team is full of young, English talent. Our infrastructure is currently the priority and both stadium and training facilities are being magnificently overhauled. We have a manager who is genuinely bringing our youth through and  not only saving us a small fortune, but also building a cash legacy - although hopefully not one we cash in just yet! What is to be gained by sacking a

manager who is courageously changing our style of play? A caretaker for a few months ? What’s the point? Barring some

absolute disaster, we will play PL football next year. Why not give him the time

and build continuity whilst we invest

in the infrastructure? Surely that makes more sense than yet another knee-jerk reaction? The squad is manifestly not good enough to reach higher than it presently is. Some players are lethargic. Some are simply past their best. Why not let the guy who is definitely overhauling it carry on doing so? Why would we change now? For me the players are every bit to blame, as much as the boss. There were times yesterday when I had to pause and search for Simpson as I had no idea where he was. He wasn’t the only one. Whilst we are undoubtedly heading for a few more body blows in the coming weeks, with the fixtures we have looming, I hope that Puel sticks to his guns and picks the nucleus of the team

he thinks will take us into next season. For me, Wes has been an absolute legend,  but he is the past not the future. I would have Benko back ASAP and playing to ensure that we are hitting the ground running in pre-season with the backbone of a squad that have been exposed to PL football for the remainder of this season. Not writing it off, just taking a broader view.  

Another spoiler alert. No rant but a dose of reality. For the majority of fans, there is no kneejerk reaction they are merely reacting to some of the worse football we have seen post-title-winning season. This is down to one man the manager. As for courageously changing our style, into what? boring negative side to side passes back nonsense which gives us greater possession but no end product. You go on to slaughter Simpson but conveniently ignore the fact it was Puel who picked him for the match as well as stubbornly playing Morgan when everyone can see he is no longer good enough.  As for the young talent, I presume you mean players like Chillwell and Maddison, Just how long do you think they will be here playing under this failure of a manager if he is allowed to continue this dramatic decline? Maguire won't be here for next season for a start. He has achieved nothing except letting the young ones get a game, but without the right tactics and style of play, it will be for nothing. Fear not though the owners heard those thousands of boos at the end of the Southampton debacle and he's got to the end of the season if not sooner.