So I expect this to go down like a proverbial lead balloon, but here goes - I am increasingly coming around to the viewpoint that we should sell them in the summer.
I'll begin by saying that I fully expect Puel to go either immediately after the season or towards the end of the season. I'm about 80/20 sure that this will happen. As someone who has sat on both sides of the fence, I see positives and negatives to Puel's management but don't think that he can stay on when the fanbase is so anti Puel at this stage. His tactics and team selections often confuse and occasionally enthuse but overall I feel his demise is inevitable.
So that leads me to what happens next, and who we bring in next. And whoever is brought in, how they will manage the club. I can see two equally plausible outcomes - one in which a new manager continues the good work that Puel has done with regards bringing through youth and continues to build a young, hungry squad but with better tactics and a less haphazard team selection; and the second is one where a new manager scraps the youthful framework Puel has created, goes for experienced players and tries to get us playing like the 15/16 season but without the quality to achieve it. IMO, success is more likely to come from the former, and eventual relegation from the latter.
But for me, one of the first things a new manager must address is the dressing room. We have had many discussions and debates about whether player power is a thing or not. But, in my honest opinion, I think it is and I think it has been for quite sometime. Remember that when Ranieri came here, he said words to the effect that the players told him how they wanted to play, and he agreed - which, don't get me wrong, was a brilliant call from Ranieri, but for me shows that there is a strong, opinionated, potentially even pressurising dressing room that likes to impose itself on the manager and owners.
Today we see Peter Schmeichel's comments about Kasper's future, basically admitting that he wants to leave and that Puel is to blame for everything that has gone wrong this season. He also seems to imply that Puel will leave. Now this could just be Peter's own personal opinion, made without any input from Kasper, but for me that seems unlikely.
Add to this Vardy's actions this year - the kn0bhead comment, admitting that Puel doesn't play to his strengths, his wife letting her feelings know on Twitter (again, they could be her own opinion without input from him but I think it's unlikely) and not to mention the suspicious leaks about his expulsion against West Ham the night before.
Now, this is just my own personal opinion and I have nothing but gut feeling to rely on, but I do think that they both had a role in Ranieri's sacking, and I think they have tried to get Puel sacked too. It's no secret how close they were to Vichai and I expect that they will be close with Top too.
And this is what leads to my biggest fear about next season - that our next manager will be doomed from the start. That they will have to abide by a powerful dressing room or else. That we will ultimately be having this same discussion in 12 months time, possibly from a much poorer position in the league. With this in mind, I wonder if it's time for a complete overhaul and that includes accepting offers for Schmeichel and Vardy.
Let me be absolutely clear - these two are legends for this football club. They will always have a place in our history. But I think it's time for us to look to the future. Our future relies on our next manager being given the chance that Puel has never been afforded - to make his mark and to have the opportunity to impose his will on the squad. And I wonder whether that can happen if these two are still here.
The future at Leicester can be bright, but we might need to let go of our past to achieve it.
Vardy and Schmeichel - time to say goodbye?
posted on 11/2/19
Here's an article on Claude after yesterday, not very complimentary but giving an interesting suggestion for a potential replacement:
https://filbertway.com/2019/02/10/claude-puel-your-calculation-doesnt-add-up-we-need-a-new-man-next-season-and-that-is/
I'd be a bit wary of this, brilliant players don't always make great managers although Lampard has had a good start at Derby.
posted on 11/2/19
BS - I do agree that it’s been better of late, although I’d disagree that it’s been the case against lesser teams where we’re not given space in behind. I’d also agree that the youngsters in the team have missed some great chances - Barnes yesterday comes to mind and Maddison with a header the other week; but how many chances have we been creating for the guy who’s proven himself clinical in recent seasons?
The kind of goal we scored yesterday is what we need to create more of, and I was happy to see that Tielemans made it. Hopefully the team’s going in the right direction.
posted on 11/2/19
I can get the stats out if you want Dunge and against Cardiff, Southampton and Wolves. It’s surprising, we create a lot more chances for Vardy than you think. The expected goals ratio is surprisingly high. We had far more attempts than Cardiff on goal, created chances for Vardy which weren’t taken and of course battered Southampton chances wise
This is the issue with fans and their memories of games - they don’t correlate with the actual stats
posted on 11/2/19
I’d be interested to see. Cardiff’s a bit hazier but my recollection of Southampton was that we couldn’t carve out really good opportunities despite them spending the entire second half camped out in their own box.
posted on 11/2/19
The job of a manager is to get the best out of the players he's got and play to their strengths in a system that suits them. Puel isn't doing this and he's not the only one, Jose & Sarri are the same. You can't blame players when it doesn't work.
posted on 11/2/19
comment by Liecestersport (U22010)
posted 7 hours, 36 minutes ago
The job of a manager is to get the best out of the players he's got and play to their strengths in a system that suits them. Puel isn't doing this and he's not the only one, Jose & Sarri are the same. You can't blame players when it doesn't work.
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We’ve just dominated spurs, gone toe to toe with Liverpool and given United a game. You’re acting like this is the second season under Ranieri.
The players are developing well, but the style is evolving. It has to evolve and it will take time to evolve. Hitting balls over the top to Vardy won’t work when he’s 40 will it?
posted on 12/2/19
comment by The Artist formerly known as Black Starr (U12353)
posted 9 hours, 55 minutes ago
comment by Liecestersport (U22010)
posted 7 hours, 36 minutes ago
The job of a manager is to get the best out of the players he's got and play to their strengths in a system that suits them. Puel isn't doing this and he's not the only one, Jose & Sarri are the same. You can't blame players when it doesn't work.
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We’ve just dominated spurs, gone toe to toe with Liverpool and given United a game. You’re acting like this is the second season under Ranieri.
The players are developing well, but the style is evolving. It has to evolve and it will take time to evolve. Hitting balls over the top to Vardy won’t work when he’s 40 will it?
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Those were hugely encouraging performances. I expected us to be competitive against those teams because we've shown it against other 'top' sides. I'm even more encouraged with the showing against Spurs, it's only one game but it looks like Tielemans could make a big difference.
However, despite the encouragement, we only harvested one point out of 9 in what were free hits for Claude. So for me, the more important matches are the two coming up - Palace and Brighton at home - if we do well in them I may have to get down off the fence and start on the road to conversion.
posted on 12/2/19
comment by Nuneaton_fox (U7936)
posted 20 minutes ago
comment by The Artist formerly known as Black Starr (U12353)
posted 9 hours, 55 minutes ago
comment by Liecestersport (U22010)
posted 7 hours, 36 minutes ago
The job of a manager is to get the best out of the players he's got and play to their strengths in a system that suits them. Puel isn't doing this and he's not the only one, Jose & Sarri are the same. You can't blame players when it doesn't work.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We’ve just dominated spurs, gone toe to toe with Liverpool and given United a game. You’re acting like this is the second season under Ranieri.
The players are developing well, but the style is evolving. It has to evolve and it will take time to evolve. Hitting balls over the top to Vardy won’t work when he’s 40 will it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Those were hugely encouraging performances. I expected us to be competitive against those teams because we've shown it against other 'top' sides. I'm even more encouraged with the showing against Spurs, it's only one game but it looks like Tielemans could make a big difference.
However, despite the encouragement, we only harvested one point out of 9 in what were free hits for Claude. So for me, the more important matches are the two coming up - Palace and Brighton at home - if we do well in them I may have to get down off the fence and start on the road to conversion.
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That’s absolutely fair. The problem with some of the fans is that they are expecting the same amount of space against those sides that we got on the counter against Spurs at times. Some of them can’t understand why Vardy isn’t latching onto a through ball from N’didi and gets himself one on one with the keeper before putting it away.
Brighton and Palace have historically yielded little for us - even under Ranieri and Shakespeare. They will be much harder than the 3 games we have just played. Tielemans I feel could be the answer. But we are going to have to be patient in those games. We also need to take clear cut chances that we didn’t against Cardiff for example
posted on 12/2/19
On the flip side we need to approach those games with more intensity (which Puel keeps saying himself) than against West Ham which was awful. We can’t start badly again and then have to chase the game. If Puel can’t sort that out in the long term then I agree we need to look elsewhere in the summer
posted on 12/2/19
comment by The Artist formerly known as Black Starr (U12353)
posted 11 minutes ago
On the flip side we need to approach those games with more intensity (which Puel keeps saying himself) than against West Ham which was awful. We can’t start badly again and then have to chase the game. If Puel can’t sort that out in the long term then I agree we need to look elsewhere in the summer
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We definitely need to up the intensity against the sides lower in the division, I'd like to see us with a high press - it can pay dividends against them.
I'm really hoping that our French leopard will change his spots, otherwise his time with us may indeed be limited.