Koeman had the previous attackers sold before he joined so he could bring in who he wanted. Didn't need to assess his players as they were gone.
Well he developed a reputation as a very negative manager in La Liga (albeit one who got results with Alaves), so I was surprised when he was appointed. Made me think that style was not the main reason Puel was let go as Pellegrino has a rep of being much more defensive than Puel. The other way to look at it maybe is that because he is renowned as a defensive coach that Reed and the recruitment team looked at the squad and thought "well we have some really good defensive players, lets get a defensive manager" as Puel didn't have a reputation in France of being a defence first type, so may have struggled implementing an attacking style with the squad we have. I'm sure most people on here would've gone the other way and, you know, actually recruited some attacking players, but maybe Reed felt this couldn't be done in the next 2/3 windows so opted for a defensive manager whilst the squad gets revamped over time. The second paragraph is all just guesswork/trying to think of some logic as to why we appointed a far more negative manager than the manager we sacked for "being too negative"
It isn't just about being a good manager....you have to have the players as well. Top managers end up at top sides stuffed full with great players. I would suggest that MP2 would probably do well at United, City etc...perhaps not as well as Mourinho et al....but better than with us because whatever style he chose to play he would have a selection of players to do it. We lost a lot of good players, but now have more less talented/exciting players. It's a shame our finances didn't level out before so that we could have more players on longer contracts and perhaps stood firm with Mane and Wanyama. However, it is what it is.....and flaws can be rectified...after all we signed Lemina and Hoedt (both good players). A couple more and we could be back to our earlier standard. I will put it out there that we are very unlikely to fire MP2 early. I know Puel was sacked despite having a decent season...but we will not do that again. MP2 will be given time. He would have to be a whole lot worse than he is now to get the push....purely because we have lost too many managers. Puel's sacking makes his continued employment more likely.
I'm not his biggest fan, he does however deserve credit for what he did with us. He joined at a time when we could have quite easily gone into free fall but he did the opposite and actually improved upon what MP1 had done. I agree MP1 is the much better coach and i would say arguably the best coach we have ever had. At the moment i don't really know which way we are heading but from the outside looking in it doesn't appear we are moving in an upwards direction.
I was pleased with Koeman....having a 'name' certainly steadied the ship. I was angry that he left when we were going into what could have been one of our most exciting seasons. We will never know if he would have got us out of the group stage, but it was tough for Puel to come in so late and try to learn about the team and play so many games. Tbf...Puel did ok...we played well without getting our just reward....and so nearly made it.
I think its the other way. Because we fired Puel we have set a benchmark of what we will/won't accept. Puel (results wise) did well, 8th and a cup final. If Pellegrino hasn't addressed the playing style and we are near the relegation zone come January I think everyone who was calling for Puel to be gone will be calling for Pellegrino to be out aswell, and with the threat of relegation the board might well listen. I didn't think the board were going to cave about Puel, as he hadn't done badly based on results, they did and have now set a precedent.
True. Pellegrino still had plenty of time to do that though. The other point here is that a manager shouldn’t take a job or be appointed “blind”. That stuff should have been at least partly decided during the recruitment process. Les should have been asking any prospective manager those sort of questions - what style of football he would play, his preferred formation, what his assessment of the existing playing squad was, how he intended to improve our style/results (and score more goals?), were there any areas of the squad he felt needed improvement/depth etc etc. At the same time before he accepted the job Pellegrino should have been looking at our squad, deciding how well it matched up to his way of playing and asking about player recruitment. They would both be more extreme examples but I can’t imagine Pulis or Allardyce agreeing to take on a squad like ours without assurances that they could recruit new players that better suited their methods.
And I thought I was a lone voice. I think Koeman got lucky, very lucky. Our signings worked from the start that first season and he had a blank sheet seeing as everyone else decided to F*** off before he came. He tried all sorts in our bad spell and then an injury forced him to go 3 at the back and suddenly we got on a run. I don't think Koeman is that good a manager and I think we are seeing the same with Everton now. Lukaku did really well for them last year. On MP2 and Puel. They are quite obviously European style managers that want to defend first and attack second which is fair enough. However the PL isn;t that type of league and if you try and hold out defensively you can get seriously whooped. The PL is much more of a midfield dominant league. PL defences play higher up. PL goals tend to be fast and created from midfield probing dominance. Teams that play the European defensive model make it harder for themselves to score because their midfield is much deeper. And I know someone will say our midfield are dominant. I am talking about in an attacking fluid way. 35 Ole's back and forth along the half way line is not midfield dominance. It is being scared to take a chance, being scared to lose the ball.
One of the many trolls over on saintsweb.fans forum that is filled to the brim with complete with some of the most negitive posters anywere ,and a big troll count too
I just had a quick look at the Saintsweb thread. Wow. What happened to getting behind your manager and team? Now it's just get rid and stamp and shout if someone dares to want to leave. Maybe this attitude has always been there and pre-internet (yes there was such a time) I just wasn't aware of it. We've played 8 games with a new manager who's new to the league and country. If anyone from the club reads Saintsweb, no wonder they don't want to take any risks.
I watched the game on the Saints stream....that muppet couldn't have been further from the truth. Both had excellent games and completely dominated the middle of the park. Some people!
Anyone that bet on MoPo2 being the next Premier Manager to get the chop, have lost their money, Shakespeare is your man.
If they really based a decision on the opinions of the fan base, I think it is less likely to make them do it again. Rather than the fans having any great effect, I suspect the decision was made because the board's opinion coincided with that of the fans. All factors would have been discussed at length in what was probably a prolonged recruitment process. What is thought and planned doesn't always work out in real life. MP2 wasn't selected with a pin. And I wouldn't want either Pulis or Allardyce anyway.
The Echo site is pretty bad, but the site won't let me play any more because I use adbloc to be able to use the site, the adverts and other cookies, bells and whistles on the site make it virtually impossible to use with my limited Broadband.
I was at the game and concur, the midfield were pushing the ball around very nicely at times before looking for the opportunity to break, it worked very well.
I think (hope) they base their decision on a number of factors. Mood of fans has to be taken into account, and a lot of fans were regularly booing and moaning about Puel last season. The simple answer in my mind is that, as FLT likes to point out, it is down to expectations. Expectations have been raised to a near impossible level if 8th and a cup final isn't enough for some fans (regardless of how we play to achieve it). Is Pellegrino the right man for the job? I have no idea at this stage, nothing he has done has convinced me that he is, but then again 8 games is far too early to write him off aswell. I am seeing the same **** happen to him as happened to Puel though and unless he manages a couple of wins in the next few games, and probably beating one of the top teams aswell I can see the vocal section of our support wanting him gone.
I think we all have to be patient...we can't go on swapping managers. We'll get a reputation and run out of suitable managers. Of course we can't keep any manager who puts us at risk, but I doubt that is going to happen. We must support the team and manager....knee jerk reactions and booing when we don't get every single thing we want like a bunch of sulky children is just not Saintly. Not saying that the fans turning against MP2 won't be right in the long term....I just hope they aren't, but we have to step back from hasty decisions.
I agree but patience is not something that is common in football. I think the reality is is that if we are near the bottom 3 or in it come Christmas then the manager will be likely gone.
