Something about the way Puel looked and sounded suggests to me that he may well be sacked this week. That certainly seems to be the chain of thought on Radio Leicester. Will the owners risk an all out mutiny in the stands next weekend if we lose heavily to West Ham?
I've said already that I do feel for Puel. He has made a lot of mistakes, today and in previous weeks, and bringing Morgan back and continuing with the Albrighton experiment was bizarre. The overall style that he has tried to implement hasn't worked and isn't suitable for the players we have. Those factors are, in my opinion, why it is, on balance, right that we part company. But let's not kid ourselves that sacking Puel is going to fix all our problems. There is something deeply wrong in that dressing room and, whoever replaces Puel, it needs addressing in the summer.
So, who next? I don't believe that Benitez and Dyche will leave stable jobs to join a club that, on average, has sacked a manager every six months since the title win. Wagner at Huddersfield is a possible and, regardless of whether they stay up or not, I think he may feel he can't take them any further. I've always admired Howe but Bournemouth have gone stale this season and I'm not sure whether he is a small club manager who would struggle to adapt at a bigger club with more money.
Of the managers out of work, Silva is the best of a pretty underwhelming bunch. With Allardyce potentially keeping himself in place at Everton, would he come here? I just hope we don't go for a typical out-of-work British manager like a Pardew or Redknapp. That would be a huge mistake. Also, let's not go back to talking about Nigel Pearson. There's a reason that no other club bar Derby have touched him with a 20 ft barge pole and he had to rely on a sympathy job from King Power in the Belgian second division.
For dark horses, Dean Smith has done a very good job at Brentford but, like Puel, would need time to deliver a more technical style of play. It's more likely that we would go for a continental choice, like Emery or Pellegrini.
Whatever happens, whoever is manager after the season ends, we need to make changes. We've wasted two years of progress since the title win, wasting £100m+ in the process. We need to ship out the aging players, the deadwood, those who aren't good enough and those who don't want to be here. Let a new manager put his stamp on the club.
And then presumably sack him after six months.
Tis the Leicester Way. And why we will probably never reach our potential at this level again.
Will Puel go this week?
posted on 29/4/18
One got us relegated and one said he was proud of the players after getting thrashed by Portsmouth.
I guess the litmus test would be whether we'd have them back?
posted on 29/4/18
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
Think you’re bang wrong about the fans there Foxello.
There is always a minority of knee jerk fans but most Leicester fans are happy to give a manager time when they can see progress or a plan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is spot on.
The owners have, generally, been much more knee jerk than the fans. I totally agree that most pragmatic fans want to see progress and a plan, although winning football is always the only thing that will give any manager longevity.
From a personal point of view I was always surprised how quickly a minority of fans turned on Pearson after two promotions, but maybe that was down to his grumpy facade. I thought Sven, Ranieri, Pearson and Shakespeare were all sacked too soon (at the time they were sacked), but what followed on each occasion almost certainly justified the owner's approach so what do I know?
I actively wanted Pleat, Levein and Taylor sacked, but rarely have I wanted a manager sacked who has been around for less than a season. In fact the only managers who have lost me before completing a whole season, in all the time I've been watching LCFC, are Paulo Sousa and this current bloke.
posted on 29/4/18
I think the reason the fans are getting restless is because of the really atrocious football we have been seeing for the last couple of months. The team lacks structure and (it would seem yesterday) belief or desire.
Teams that finish this poorly have a nasty habit of being relegated the following season. The team could look very different by August but there is little to suggest in what we have seen that Puel should be let loose with £100m plus.
Puel has brought possession to Leicester but has stifled the quick breaks that made us so effective. Maybe we would have been found out so some sort of compromise is necessary but Liverpool for one have had considerable success based around speedy attacks.
I agree that stability should be the right answer but I have serious concerns that Puel is the wrong man for this club and would be better suited managing in Europe.
Unfortunately, I do believe a decision needs making as quickly as possible or risk losing players like Vardy, who I can't see really wanting to play under Puel.
I would make Marco Silva an offer while he is still available.
posted on 29/4/18
Liverpool have three of the best attacking players in the premier league and a winger who can score 40 goals a season so there is no comparison how many goals are going to get from Ozi Marhez and Vardy less than Mohamed on his own
posted on 29/4/18
The comparison is about getting the ball into the channels and to the front men as quickly as possible - not about the personnel.
posted on 29/4/18
Prawn mate teams no that is our game so no one plays a high line against us or leave those spaces. so with no alternative to Marhez and Vardy scoring we are stuffed.
posted on 29/4/18
But the current approach is proving so effective !
Let's agree to disagree.
posted on 29/4/18
comment by Foxello (U6985)
posted 2 hours, 46 minutes ago
The thing is, a lot of those managers weren't bad before they came here. Many came here on the back of success at other clubs, and some have had success since they left. For some reason, they seem to turn into bad managers during their 6-18 months spell at Leicester. There's a myriad of reasons why, but it is a little odd that good managers become crap ones the second they step through the door. Or maybe we are just very, very impatient?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sousa has very little since leaving Leicester in reality apart from an ok spell at Fiorentina I think. He did well at a Swansea side which had been built before his arrival. Sven has done nothing since us. Holloway can be excused in some way because of the shape we were in. Taylor has done nothing at our level since he left, proven to be a hopeless manager. Rob Kelly? Shakespeare?? Megaon?!!
The proof isn’t in the pudding in your argument there. I can’t think of a single manager we let go that I really regret and has gone on to do wonderful things. They weren’t terrible managers in themselves, but the wrong fit for us
Pearson however, despite your dislike of him, was on the whole a resounding success. Right man for the right club at the right time. Same with Ranieri
posted on 29/4/18
comment by Nevsaysagoal2city (U5194)
posted 53 minutes ago
Prawn mate teams no that is our game so no one plays a high line against us or leave those spaces. so with no alternative to Marhez and Vardy scoring we are stuffed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Teams have known what we’re going to do since halfway through the title season, but not necessarily been able to defend against it. Puel has hardly unlocked goal scoring potential elsewhere, but restricted the existing outlets even further.
A new manager has two choices when he comes into a club. He can make the most of the players in his squad or change the system and bring his own players in. Puel is trying the latter, which is not wrong in itself.
If you give Puel the benefit of the doubt and say he has a vision - then clearly we will need a lot of investment in new players to evolve our style. You could make an argument that it would be fair to allow Puel a transfer window to find the players he needs, but I feel the investment would have to be significant.
Do we trust Puel enough with the summer transfer kitty? If you do then you probably want him to stay - I'm afraid I don’t have that trust and, on that basis, think we need to get someone else in before the window opens.
posted on 29/4/18
I think he’d have gone by now if he was going before the next match!
He must be better behind closed doors getting his vision over to the board than he is on the pitch!