If you listen to some of our fans he likes to play backwards football where you keep the ball in your own half and tease the opponent 3-4 times per game by nudging it forwards of the halfway line before quickly running away with it. He also like to play everyone in the squad, never using the same team twice. He's also particularly fond of playing players out of position and turning them into [greatest player ever in that position]. This will be a great test for us saints fans. If the football is turgid, over rotated and ineffective we know we were well rid. If its dynamic, posession based and effective we made a big effing mistake getting rid and our team is totally out of whack and in need of a clearout.
I think the sentiment amongst Saints fans will be one of curiosity as opposed to envy. It will be fascinating to see what Claude Puel can do with the squad he has inherited , many of the new players being singled out by one commentator on BBC last weekend for not pulling their weight or adding to the overall ability of the club. At Saints he was lumbered with an ineffectual and underperforming front line and I will be fascinated to see how Vardy performs under his tenure. I would have to be honest as say that I genuinely believed Ronald Koeman would take Everton to fourth in the table by May 2018 and their lowly position and abject performances which precipitated his departure was something I would never have predicted on August. Granted Koeman lost Lukaku but the acquisitions did not suggest Everton would implode. I am therefore fascinated by Everton's appointment which appears not to have been informed by Les Reed's negative perception of Claude Puel nor the general dissatisfaction amongst Saints supporters and indeed those from Lyon beforehand. For what it is worth, Pellegrino is a marked improvement and my perception of the games I have seen at St Mary's this season is a consequence of having to rectify the problems he has inherited. There is a sense that Pellegrino is still trying to understand the squad he has to work with and he is slowly working out that we play better at tempo as opposed to Puel's patient build up. I will watch Leicester's development over the balance of the season with renewed interest but I still think Southampton will finish considerably higher up the table than the Foxes.
I didn't realise that Michael Appleton had been retained as coach. It is funny how his star dramatically waned as when he was Pompey boss he was being touted for great things before spells at Blackpool and an ill-fated spell at Blackburn put paid to his prospects. I believe he is still rated and I wonder if his presence will benefit Puel more than Eric Black ?
Uug! What a horrible little result! Tottenham 2, West Ham 3. Spurs must have switched off and gone home to allow that to happen. Must be the freakiest result of the round. I would love West Ham to be relegated to the Championship and stay there forever playing Leeds United, Millwall, Cardiff and Birmingham for ever and a day!!
Has Puel got an interpreter at Leicester? I heard he struggled sometimes with his English as in getting his points across to the players...Don't think Appleton is fluent in French.
I've had too much to drink mid week. I agree with @Ian Thumwood Good luck to him. Under-rated by us and not given a chance. Bit of a weird appointment IMO for Leicester, but who knows it may work. Remember when we got Strachan? No one wanted him and it worked out quite well. LFC fans good luck. You may have got a diamond. Or that may not work
I just think you made your mind up early on and refused to budge. There is a part of me that hopes Puel is a huge success at Leicester and he can stick two fingers up to those doubters who persistently ridiculed him.
West Ham's landlords at London Stadium are on the verge of bankruptcy, with the Hammers at risk of being locked out of their ground. (Sun)
Actually really interested to see how Puel does at Leicester. As I have said many times on here I think he did a really good job with us under the circumstances. Our deluded moron fans were expecting a huge name because we were in the Europa League (LOL, as if that is any sort of draw) so were on his back from day one. He said in countless interviews that he was playing a slow conservative style because of the amount of games we had pre Xmas but a lot of them bitched and moaned about how boring it was because we should be playing super fast pressing football and smashing teams every week. There is a small part of me that hopes Leicester batter us at St Marys just to see the meltdown on Saintsweb, no doubt all that would happen is all the same mouth breathers would be clambering for Pellegrino to get sacked after losing to a **** manager like Puel without seeing the irony at all.
I think Puel will do well at Leicester. He had that Nice team playing some incredible football, up there with PSG that season as the best team to watch in Ligue 1. Our squad was (and still is) lacking in any real pace, creativity (Boufal aside, but he was injured most of last season) and ruthlessness going forward. It's not a surprise our football was dire under him. That's still the case when we play our 'standard' formation/lineup - but when Pellegrino decides that Boufal, Gabbiadini & Long play together, we have looked much more dangerous and actually score goals from open play.
I agree that Puel will do well. With us he lacked players capable of hitting quickly on the break. Leicester already have that in place.
The difference between the two is that West Ham are followed by hordes of CHAVS who think they are the greatest fans on the living planet. With WBA it is just the football.
