Over-trained and underwhelmed: How Leicester players and fans lost faith in Claude Puel

[MPH]

6 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

That's really interesting then so clearly I'm not going to delve any further as potentially someone's livelihood is at stake. I was listening to Glen Johnson being interviewed on Talksport today as he is retiring. He was asked about Mourinhio who he spoke about in very glowing terms. He did comment however that if you were not in the first team then life is very different and some players on the fringes could be very indifferent towards him (being diplomatic). Given the problems Puel inherited and the hatchet job he's clearly been asked to do, I just wonder whether with the amount of senior players we have on the sidelines, some being internationals, whether some of the problems lie there?

 

 

Yes very good observation. It has also been alluded by abrasive fox that some have been unhappy with the treatment of people like Andy King. 

[MPH]

I would add that something needs to happen one way or the other... either come out and back him or sack him - who is going to want to join a club with such uncertainty over their manager?

[reynard]

5 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

Jeez, the way some people are reacting to this article - it's as if John Percy came around to their houses and had a dump on their copy of Fossils and Foxes. Stop crying, lads - it's not dignified.

 

It's not personal, or part of a conspiracy against us. It's a fairly standard newspaper report into potential dressing room unrest, which is hardly surprising given the way things have been going recently. John Percy has a strong record of breaking LCFC-related stories that turn out to be true. He clearly has some contacts at the club who pass on information to him. That does not of course prove that this particular article is true, but it's a bit silly to dismiss it out of hand - and have an emotional breakdown in the process - just because you don't like what it says.

 

Four pages in and someone actually gets it.

It isn't up to a journalist to be impartial unless you work for the BBC. It is their job to investigate stories. This one may or may not trun out to be true. However, all those wishing to rubbish it must take into account this is not an isolated report of discontent within the club.

That isn't to excuse it or justify it merely to state this isn't the first such report.

Of course they could all be rubbish but there are enough now of a fairly consistent nature to suggest that all is not perhaps as it should be behind the scenes.

If you don't like what he writes then you have a choice not to read it.

[Soar Fox]

2 hours ago, Abrasive fox said:

They've had offers and not let him go....where is the spin?

Surely that isn’t down to Puel not letting him go. It could be the financial package might not be right for the club, Andy King could be asking for the same wages he is on here. 

 

Puel was happy to let King go last January, he’s not included him in his 25 man squad this season so I very much doubt Puel is the one standing in his way. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

38 minutes ago, Steve_Walsh5 said:

Surely that isn’t down to Puel not letting him go. It could be the financial package might not be right for the club, Andy King could be asking for the same wages he is on here. 

 

Puel was happy to let King go last January, he’s not included him in his 25 man squad this season so I very much doubt Puel is the one standing in his way. 

No i agree, the article pointed the blame as much at puel as the club if you read it again, but he was triggered by not even being picked for the cup which was puel's decision.

 

I was the one who pointed the blame at Puel. I think the decision to put James ahead of him in the squad is quite frankly a joke.

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

5 hours ago, Babylon said:

I think we could all guess on that one, articles about King and Vardy aplenty. I think Stowell is a big dirty grass as well seeing as Geoff seems to know a lot about keepers at our place.

Guess again....

[jayfox26]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

I would add that something needs to happen one way or the other... either come out and back him or sack him - who is going to want to join a club with such uncertainty over their manager?

Agreed but Top's focus may not be with the club at the moment. If we were i  danger of relegation then I'd imagine something would happen but as we are pretty much safe, barring us losing every game and the tripe at the bottom actually winning a few, then i doubt anything will happen either way until the summer. 

[Bunyip]

I can't understand the defensive attitudes from some posters. Getting all upset because a reporter tells it as he sees it is childish. Ok so it goes against your own mindset on the Puel saga but he is obviously in the know and only reporting what most of us suspect in the first place. This manager is more divisive than Brexit, he has never had any rapport with the fans and despite all this nonsense about having to change completely the way we play football most fans can see his repeated mistakes and inability to learn from them. Is it any wonder the players are as fed up with him as a good majority of the fans are?

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, hackneyfox said:

So Stowell or Rudkin then.

Rudkin’s position is weakened if Puel is a failure. 

 

The origin of Friday’s Guardian doesn’t take a lot to work out, and neither does Percy’s when he was tweeting a certain player’s wife a couple of seasons ago 

[hackneyfox]

Did Rudkin want Puel?

[Nick]

2 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

Did Rudkin want Puel?

I think it would be fair to say Puel wasn’t his first choice.

[hackneyfox]

18 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

I think it would be fair to say Puel wasn’t his first choice.

Well that's what I thought, so how is Rudkin's position weakened if Puel is a failure?

[CosbehFox]

6 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

Well that's what I thought, so how is Rudkin's position weakened if Puel is a failure?

Rudkin’s part of the selection panel. He’s the football expertise who consult on the major decisions of this football club 

[Nick]

7 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

Well that's what I thought, so how is Rudkin's position weakened if Puel is a failure?

I’m not sure it does tbh.

[CosbehFox]

31 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

I think it would be fair to say Puel wasn’t his first choice.

Evidence for that? 

[fuchsntf]

17 hours ago, smr said:

Exactly. Its the starting xi and not knowing what it will be one week to the next which pisses me off the most. 

 

How can you build consistency, a rhythm, a momentum when you put a team out and then completely abolish it and wreak havoc with several changes a week later? 

 

Its not rocket science. 

So give us..your choice of team ( with a and /or choice of 1-2) players,Where we can go on a 5-6 game routine selection allowing for injuries..!!

[Lcfcwigstonblue]

I am happy to back @Abrasive fox and @MPH regarding Percy, I also have someone very close to the first team who has today confirmed a lot of the story and before anyone asks I wont name them.

This is only the second time I have posted anything remotely ITK and that (even after getting abuse on here, happened). I have no agenda at all, I am told lots of things that go on at the club but the reaction by people on here puts me off repeating any of it.

[Nick]

2 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Evidence for that? 

It was widely reported from various sources that at the time he wanted Wagner.

[CosbehFox]

Just now, Swan Lesta said:

It was widely reported from various sources that at the time he wanted Wagner.

Agreed on that but he was never interviewed.

 

Puel would have been interviewed by Rudkin alongside others. The likes of Whelan and Vichai looking for him to give his football opinion. 

 

If the repeated mistakes on management/transfers keep occurring, this is under Rudkin’s responsibility to oversee that. 

[Nick]

3 minutes ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Agreed on that but he was never interviewed.

 

Puel would have been interviewed by Rudkin alongside others. The likes of Whelan and Vichai looking for him to give his football opinion. 

 

If the repeated mistakes on management/transfers keep occurring, this is under Rudkin’s responsibility to oversee that. 

I dunno, it’s a Prem football club - he’s probably considered a long serving manager / appointment after 14 months odd! I don’t think there would be fallout for Rudkin over the appointment now if he were to be dismissed. To be fair Rudkin position isn’t really insecure is it? I think he’s Top’s first point of advice and information. I think if Rudkin had Championed Puel he’d quite easily survive any criticism - its not like however unpopular Puel or his football may be that he’s taken us to a point of relegation.

[volpeazzurro]

2 hours ago, MPH said:

 

 

Yes very good observation. It has also been alluded by abrasive fox that some have been unhappy with the treatment of people like Andy King. 

Whatever Andy King is or isn't as a player now he's always been a model professional and I know from personal knowledge,  when making visits, a great ambassador for our club. He deserves to be treated with the utmost respect but there does come a time sadly that someone has to make the decision that footballing wise, he no longer has a future here. This however needs to be done in the correct manner for all players. We do need a clearout but there's right and wrong ways of doing things. I know that when they get rid of academy players it is very cutthroat and quite brutal.

[cc_star]

"Over-trained" is a misnomer

 

Percy & his sources never says over-trained, the sub-editor appears to have added it for a headline

[Nick]

2 minutes ago, cc_star said:

"Over-trained" is a misnomer

 

Percy & his sources never says over-trained, the sub-editor appears to have added it for a headline

I saw that and also there’s a different headline between twitter and the online link which inferred different things...

[mad biker]

18 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

 

Over-trained and underwhelmed: How Leicester players and fans lost faith in Claude Puel

20 Jan 2019, 10:30pm

Style and selection

Leicester scored three goals on Saturday at Molineux, a week after Claude Puel opted for three defensive midfielders against Southampton. 

 

It is the apparent lack of a coherent plan or consistent approach which infuriates Leicester supporters and begs the question – what is Puel actually trying to build? 

Predicting a Puel starting XI every week is now a futile act so how must the players feel about the constant chopping and changing? There must also be scrutiny on the recruitment - Wilfred Ndidi and Nampalys Mendy are both woefully out of form but continue to be selected, while Vicente Iborra has been sold to Villarreal and £22million signing Adrien Silva – remember him? – has suffered the deep freeze treatment.

Slow starts and over-training

When Diogo Jota scored the opening goal, it was the 15^th time in 23 games - or ninth in 11 - that Leicester have fallen behind first. It is giving Puel’s players a mountain to climb every week. 

There are growing suggestions their slow starts could be down to the training regime. It is alleged that Puel opts for lengthy sessions on Fridays before games, despite player opposition, which may explain why Leicester begin so poorly. 

Puel allegedly opts for lengthy sessions on Fridays before games, despite opposition from playersCredit: Leicester City FC

Demarai Gray said: “We talked about it [the poor starts] on Friday and before the game, but we have done the same thing again and put ourselves under pressure. We can only work on it. It is game management and decision making.” 

Training sessions are also said to lack intensity and can be long and laborious, with some players not even being properly utilised.

The focus must also be on the players, too, for throwing away the game at Molineux. After recovering a two-goal deficit, and then clawing it back to 3-3, Leicester should have seen the game out or even "run down the clock". Perhaps the determination to chase a win was admirable, but it also left huge holes for Wolves to expose.

How to use Vardy

Jamie Vardy is Leicester’s leading scorer with seven Premier League goals and remains the talisman, despite the club spending over £80m on strikers since the title win. 

Last month he admitted Puel’s style of play is not suited to his strengths and, on Saturday, it was another hugely frustrating afternoon. Vardy was even running back into his own half to tackle Wolves players in the second half. The days of Danny Drinkwater’s long ball over the top may be gone, but Leicester’s slow possession-based approach often leaves Vardy totally out of the game. 

When Leicester revert to a counter-attacking style, and when opposition teams are not sitting back, Vardy is far more effective. He retired from England duty to focus on his club football but this campaign is proving difficult. 

Bad public relations

It is difficult to remember one chant for Puel, or even a request for a wave, since his appointment 14 months ago. 

Some may argue that is not important, but in football terms there is nobody more important at a club than the manager and he is the person who drives the agenda. When he launched an impassioned defence a few weeks back about reality checks and how seventh place is the best Leicester could hope for, he completely missed the point: especially after tossing away the club’s hopes of progress in the two cup competitions by fielding weakened teams. 

His comments about how the tragic death of beloved owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has affected his squad were also awkward, as it is impossible to overlook performances before that dreadful evening, including the West Ham game. 

It may have been lost in translation, but his insistence that the fans’ reaction after the Southampton defeat was “not my concern” also went down badly.

 

Leicester City fans have voiced their displeasure at Puel over the last few weeks Credit: Action Images

 

A daunting fixture list

Puel’s position remains under serious scrutiny and the next three games do not get any easier, with matches against Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur up next. 

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s vice-chairman, will be reluctant to avoid more upheaval after suffering such unimaginable grief and at this stage it is difficult to imagine Puel leaving unless the club slip towards the bottom three. It appears most likely that there will be a change in the summer, with Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers a top target. 

Asked about his position after the defeat at Wolves, he said: “It’s not my concern. My concern is to keep my focus with my players and my team, so that they can play with consistency. Other things are not my focus or my priority. Against good teams we have had good consistency, focus, concentration since the beginnings of games. I hope we can find this again and to get good result. We have showed before fantastic quality against these teams.”

What a total and utter load of bull shine !!!!!

[weller69]

Please Please SACK HIM..................