I had a peep because the only person on my ignore list posted on a thread I started. Curiosity got the better of me.
Bloke I knew who took his cat to the vet. Vet said "It's a dreadful diagnosis, I'm afraid. Your cat's suffering from curiosity." Coat on, out the door. It's Friday. Have a good evening.
I think the results under Puel will get better as the season winds down to it's conclusion over the next three months. The signing of Gabbiadini will be cited as the most significant factor (not unreasonably) but the decision not play a consistent starting 11 should not be overlooked. Today we played the same starting 11 as on Sunday. I didn't realise that Jake Stephens has now started 7 consecutive games which is the current record for our outfield players this season. The rotation was necessary but not to the extent that it was employed prior to Christmas. FLT's comment about Puel's learning ability is too generalised. I would suggest that the formation and tactics used during the initial 4-5 months have been , to a degree, jettisoned. We are now playing at a faster pace than before and starting to do some damage when we break. This was not happening before Christmas where the number of attempts / goals ration was very poor. Granted that Puel has had experience at high level in French football , the Premier League is different and I still think that he took a far longer time to come to terms with this that either Koeman or Pochettino who were similarly untested. Talk of the use of a diamond and rotation will probably be a distant memory next season and if we continue to score the volume of goals as has been the case in t eh last few games, I will have not complaints. However, I stick by my assertion that whatever mantra Puel had prior to Christmas, this has now been abandoned and his teams are now more recognisable at Southampton sides.
Would it be fair for me to say that in short, Puel has come in, tried some ideas, learned as he's gone on, improved and done well? If so, hence my annoyance at the lack of understanding shown early in the season by some fans.
Personally, I think the signing of Gabbiadini has shown that Puel was trying to find a system that would make Saints both hard to beat and capable of scoring goals without replacing the two quality strikers from last season. He couldn't do it. Fair enough. Many of us thought it was a very tough ask anyway at the time [I know, you included]. Manolo has made us very dangerous again, and Puel's job just got a bit easier. Just four games in and Saints are playing with a speed and purpose that matches last season. Now to get Virgil back.
The rotation was necessary until recently and the only match that I thought it went too far was the FA cup match against Arsenal. Make no mistake, Puel has had a tougher baptism to life as a Saints manager than either Poch or Ronald in terms of fixture congestion and he certainly hasn't had much luck with injuries either. Perhaps the diamond was a mistake, but he is new to English football and was probably not used to the pace of the game here. We have all said this his job will get a bit easier once he has got used to his squad and had a chance to foster a settled team. The majority of the rotation has been in the cup matches with stronger teams generally being selected for league matches and we managed to reach a final in one of those cup competitions. I think that it is too easy to say if we had played the tactics and team we do now we would've had more success, Puel delibrately chose a more slow, possession style to guard against burnout and who is to say that he wasn't right and we are now reaping the benefits of having a fresher squad.
I think it's fair to say that he gets his tactics right more often than not, and that given the right personnel, he'll excel. Alternatively, you could say that if he would just have listened to all the football geniuses in the stands in the first place, we'd be in 4th by now.
Puel's tactics have set up the team to create chances and have shots on goal all season, but (altogether now) he can't put the ball in the net himself.
^^^^This How many times have we created x chances but scored none or 1? Saint Manolo has turned us around, not only with his goals, but the space and belief he creates for others. Eight goals in the last two away games and Manolo has 'only' got 3 or them.
If you remember even Koeman had to have at least half a season to settle in. Although in fairness he did have a better start than Puel but for me I put that down to not getting the striker we obviously needed (IMO) in during the summer. Hind site though is a great thing and easy to point out the.."I told you so's". It is important that Saints carry on in the same manner as the Cup final and the game yesterday, although without the number of goals against perhaps......... IMO the jury is still out on Puel's future albeit the players have done a lot better for him over the last couple of games. My worry would be that if he is kept on will he revert back to his famous diamond system again?
I actually saw an article yesterday listing us as serious contenders for Ranieri as they seemed to think Puel was under threat. Apart from Nigel, we have never shown an inclination to ditch managers....the opposite is true. We are likely to finish top half, reached a Cup Final, nearly got out of the Europa groups stage (one disappointment), and he has encouraged our youngsters (which he was asked to do). So unless he chooses to move on, I can't see Saints deciding it is essential to get in a new manager.
its not like Manolo is beating 6 players by himself with a 50 yard run and then scoring, he is getting the same chances as our other strikers were getting, but he is a better finisher, pretty much the same could be said for Seagar, not the most skillful player but knows where the net is and always seems in the right place- a rare skill
