Claude Puel
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I'm glad I've always been team Puel, things are starting to click and next season should be a joy to behold!
We just need to be able to put these well organised alehouse sides (Burnley, Hull etc) to bed. Footballing sides we seem to compete with pretty well.
In the cup, at least. Our record against the current top eight in the league isn't great...we have just one win (against Everton) and two draws in nine. We've struggled to put teams to bed, period.
We can judge him next season properly....this season was always likely to be difficult. The team wasn't as well balanced as usual (lacking a CB and a striker for two) and there were important injuries* when we had never had such a packed fixture list. Even so, we made a final....had some good results in the Europa and should easily have got out of the group stage, but were let down by dropping points despite playing well...and are likely to finish mid-table. For the fans, there have been disappointing results and some boredom with the style initially, but this has been balanced out by the League Cup Final and some great Europa nights. As they say in show-biz....best to finish on a high and people forget the beginning.
*I'm counting Forster in this...he's not himself at the moment....raising the question (if he isn't carrying an injury anymore) about his form. Is he good enough or was he protected by our defence last season? A hard one, because it is very hard to get a top quality keeper. Comes down to what Puel knows (that we don't) and thinks.
*I'm counting Forster in this...he's not himself at the moment....raising the question (if he isn't carrying an injury anymore) about his form. Is he good enough or was he protected by our defence last season? A hard one, because it is very hard to get a top quality keeper. Comes down to what Puel knows (that we don't) and thinks.
It's nice to have some new Puel converts. In the spirit of conciliaton I am sure that he would do some things differently if he had to do this season again. But that's the whole point - it takes time to adapt and in the 40 games we have played this season everyone has learnt a lot.
Some people on the less discerning forums/social media will want him gone again next time we lose two match (replaced by Pardew probably), but the most ridiculous thing about that is it would be a total waste of a 53 game season. When we do it again with a pre-season and at half the speed, it will all be a lot smoother.
Some people on the less discerning forums/social media will want him gone again next time we lose two match (replaced by Pardew probably), but the most ridiculous thing about that is it would be a total waste of a 53 game season. When we do it again with a pre-season and at half the speed, it will all be a lot smoother.
To misquote the Chinese, I hope that this summer we will live in boring times. I'm sure at the end of last season we were all looking forward to a nice summer break with regular photos of Portuguese golf courses from Koeman and a Europa League to look forward to. Then suddenly the peace was over and it was like someone had thrown a banana into the chimpanzee enclosure. Boring this summer please...with some funny videos of players making idiots of themselves.
I've been between fine to happy with him so far but if we keep playing 4-2-3-1 from here on out, he's golden in my book.
I've disagreed or been confused by some of his choices, but he's had an incredibly hard job and I've no problem with his reserved approach.
I've disagreed or been confused by some of his choices, but he's had an incredibly hard job and I've no problem with his reserved approach.
I have been quite critical of Cedric for a long time now, but he has improved with practically every game he has played this season.
Still needs someone to push him for that position though.
I never felt Claude had a fair go at a transfer window to build his team either.
He came in late and players like Austin and Redmond were brought in before he arrived. Reed will be the first to admit he hasn't managed to bring in all the transfers he has wanted to, both in the summer and Jan, either.
Seeing Austin get put in a position where he kept getting forced out wide just made me think this he hasn't got the players he wants.
Even with just the addition of gabby I feel we look much more exciting despite losing our core defenders.
I would like to see what Puel can do with a full summer under his belt after having a season to evaluate his squad.
He came in late and players like Austin and Redmond were brought in before he arrived. Reed will be the first to admit he hasn't managed to bring in all the transfers he has wanted to, both in the summer and Jan, either.
Seeing Austin get put in a position where he kept getting forced out wide just made me think this he hasn't got the players he wants.
Even with just the addition of gabby I feel we look much more exciting despite losing our core defenders.
I would like to see what Puel can do with a full summer under his belt after having a season to evaluate his squad.
Myself and my friends around me are convinced that he's still carrying an injury. On Sunday he was feeling that knee again and I think he needs a good long break until it's completely healed.
Hopefully the club will be looking long and hard at this and make a decision.
One thing about Puel. Tactically, he is sharp. Mourinho is tactically sharp as, and Puel matched him in the EFL Final.
I would say that given the same players over a Europa season, I think Puel would do better than both Koeman and Poch. Poch is a one trick pony, albeit an excellent trick on a good day, and Koeman will not budge out of his core players, which in some ways is good, but if injuries occur, he's flummoxed. Puel gets excellent performances out of fringe players that Koeman considered weren't good enough.
I would say that given the same players over a Europa season, I think Puel would do better than both Koeman and Poch. Poch is a one trick pony, albeit an excellent trick on a good day, and Koeman will not budge out of his core players, which in some ways is good, but if injuries occur, he's flummoxed. Puel gets excellent performances out of fringe players that Koeman considered weren't good enough.
It's been a very strange season to say the least. So many ups and downs. Hard to really judge puel in isolation after such a poor transfer window last summer. For me on balance he is doing OK and the curve seems to be upward
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I'm the same with Cedric but have to agree he's improving massively.
As for second paragraph, Pied?
@Ian Thumwood
Ian - do you refer to me as the one with the uncritical shrill? Hysterical comments?
If so I'd like to refer to myself as the one with the better patience and understanding that in football (and life in general) people sometimes need time to find their feet for themselves. I believe it better to see the bigger picture and allow people time before launching in with criticism when things don't appear great immediately. It is funny that you say he has started to learn since the FA Cup.. my guess is that this very intelligent and qualified footballing coach has been learning from the moment he walked through the door - you just choose to see him only learning now? Really? Come on! Of course he's learned from his experience and not just suddenly now! This is real life not a computer game. Perhaps the truth is that you are now just learning that there is nothing really wrong with a new coach coming in and taking time to get his ideas across to a group of players. Perhaps you couldn't see what he was trying to achieve. Perhaps you couldn't see that he was trying to use his preferred shape and style and then adapting it as he saw the need to.
I don't know what you do for a living, but did you walk in from day one and get everything riight, every single day, or did you have to adjust, adapt and find away to get the results your boss wanted?
I prefer to see the bits that work rather than focus on those that don't and to allow someone far more qualified than you or me to have the time to improve. I find that a far happier position.
Thanks for the compliment by the way
Ps. Ian if you posted regularly and more importantly on occasions other than when a game hadn't gone well, you would maybe see that I have other reasons for being than those suggested by you. You would see that I can engage and debate openly and fairly with people who disagree with my opinion. What you seemed so far to only have experienced from me is my annoying habit of losing my rag with those, like you, who seem to only want to engage in drawing the negative into the spotlight. That would because you only post when you think things aren't good (with the exception of the Day of the Final itself). I noted your absence after the magnificent night at Anfield. Very strange that a Saints fan didn't want to acknowledge an excellent achievement. You appear to be equally as guilty as you accuse me, so be careful when you throw stones.
Yours,
A Puel Apologist.
PPS - doesn't that Puel Apologist thing seem a little silly now?
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I'm the only person on this board who can claim this. This is because I am the only genius on here and because I retired years ago. As they say, the older I get the better I was!
As for the rest of your post - hysteria? Pain in the arse is fair
, but hysteria - wow. But I also thought you'd got this bloke on ignore? Just a sneaky peek to see what he's saying about you? So narcissism is added to your list of offences too!Oddly, the day you posted this I'd come on here to post something similar. If anyone can be accused of hyperbole it is I. After all, I have gone out on a limb and said I think this guy could bring in an era as great as Lawrie's. Given that I believe Lawrie should have been offered a seat in the Lords for what he did for SFC there is no higher praise from me. Those of us who supported the club through that time will recall the awful start he made. Had this kind of forum existed, Ian would have been on here demanding his head.
As Fran says let's hope for a quiet summer. If that can be achieved, a team with a spine of (a fit) Forster, Van Dijk, Romeu and Gabby sounds pretty awesome to me. The big win this year, Wembley aside, has been the development of some exciting young talent (Josh Sims has a standing invite to my local purely based on that run at Anfield), and the improvement in more established players. Redmond is starting to frighten teams; Bertrand looks as good as anyone at left back; Ward-Prowse is beginning to show his promise (among others). Claude has achieved this, and whatever happens from now on, he cannot be described as anything but a good manager with the promise of becoming a great one.
Or are these the words of happy-clappy optimist, Ian?
Great post Lambo, and from your last line I may construct a neologism, if I may:I'm the only person on this board who can claim this. This is because I am the only genius on here and because I retired years ago. As they say, the older I get the better I was!
As for the rest of your post - hysteria? Pain in the arse is fair
Oddly, the day you posted this I'd come on here to post something similar. If anyone can be accused of hyperbole it is I. After all, I have gone out on a limb and said I think this guy could bring in an era as great as Lawrie's. Given that I believe Lawrie should have been offered a seat in the Lords for what he did for SFC there is no higher praise from me. Those of us who supported the club through that time will recall the awful start he made. Had this kind of forum existed, Ian would have been on here demanding his head.
As Fran says let's hope for a quiet summer. If that can be achieved, a team with a spine of (a fit) Forster, Van Dijk, Romeu and Gabby sounds pretty awesome to me. The big win this year, Wembley aside, has been the development of some exciting young talent (Josh Sims has a standing invite to my local purely based on that run at Anfield), and the improvement in more established players. Redmond is starting to frighten teams; Bertrand looks as good as anyone at left back; Ward-Prowse is beginning to show his promise (among others). Claude has achieved this, and whatever happens from now on, he cannot be described as anything but a good manager with the promise of becoming a great one.
Or are these the words of happy-clappy optimist, Ian?
claptimist n, a serious student of football, often giving a detailed historical perspective to his theories, and never failing to draw positive conclusions.
I hope for a quiet summer....apart from purchases of brilliant players of course....but when have we ever got one. I was leaning back sipping pina coladas just before Poch and Koeman left. I'm hoping that Puel's low profile and droning interviews will keep his head below the parapet. And I am hoping that the longer contracts indicate a change of position for the board. And I am hoping that the wonderful day at Wembley (damn the result) will put Kat off selling us just yet. Then I think we can look forward to next season.