Why Claude Puel will succeed at Leicester City
By Chris
Leicester City's amazing title win will always be referenced in any piece about them, and what an unbelievable year it was for Ranieri's men. The sacking of Ranieri, although controversial, proved successful for Leicester as they scrambled their way from 17th to 12th in a remarkable turn of form under former assistant manager Craig Shakespeare.
Shakespeare was given funds to spend after being appointed permanent manager in the summer, and bought explosive finisher Kelechi Iheanacho for £25m from Manchester City, Spaniard Vicente Iborra from Sevilla for £10.5m, and new England international Harry Maguire from Hull for £17m. Their form hasn't correlated though, starting with 9 points from 9 games hovering above the relegation zone.
This called for the sacking of Shakespeare by the Thai owners of Leicester City, with Michael Appleton being placed in temporary control. Managers' names being thrown around such as Carlo Ancelotti and Sean Dyche excited Leicester fans hugely, but eventually after Appleton guided them to a victory over Swansea, they picked pragmatic Frenchman Claude Puel, fresh from a perhaps unfair sacking by Southampton, which perhaps underwhelmed the Foxes faithful. The defensive style of football deployed by Puel caused an EFL Cup final place, an 8th placed finish and one of the best defences in the Premier League. This was marred by the distaste of the Southampton fans, however, but it cannot be denied that the former OGC Nice man did a good job.
Is this a bad appointment for Leicester? In some people's opinion, most definitely. Who can ignore the distaste of the Saints' fans when the Frenchman left the club, but one can say he remained consistent and dignified throughout praise and criticism. So what are his weak points? One can certainly point at his reserved character, perhaps a little monotone, but is that really what matters in a manager? In the Premier League we are spoilt with fantastic charismatic managers such as Antonio Conte and Jürgen Klopp, but does that character really affect their coaching ability? Not a chance. I get the fact of admiration towards them, and in fact, I'm one to admire managers with 'great character', (quoting Brendan Rodgers!), but you cannot say great managers such as Rafa Benitez or Carlo Ancelotti particularly have this kind of passionate, 'heart on sleeve' mentality. There's no way the chilled, calm mentality of Puel will be a negative effect on the Leicester camp, in fact, its what they need in many respects.
Unfairly slated is the point I'm getting at here, guiding Southampton to 8th, a cup final and not forgetting his heroics in France which never get mentioned anymore either. He was a stalwart for Monaco as a player, making 601 appearances in an illustrious career which brought 3 league titles and 3 cup wins. Once retired, he took up a coaching role and eventually became manager of Monaco in his first venture in 1999, winning the League title in his debut year at the helm. He's since gone on to manage Lille, Lyon and Nice, guiding them all to Champions League spots in Ligue 1. Also, with the egos at Leicester such as Mahrez, Puel has first hand experience at getting the best out of Hatem Ben Arfa, one of the biggest talents French football has produced in recent years. Ben Arfa's talent has never been denied, but his mentality and commitment will always be in question, much like the Algerian Mahrez.
One constant with Puel is that he always has a main attacking midfielder, a focal point, an Enganche.
At Monaco, Ludovic Giuly. At Lille, Jean II Makoun and Yohan Cabaye. At Lyon, Yohan Gourcuff and at Nice Hatem Ben Arfa. His intention at Southampton was to make this talisman Sofiane Boufal with Southampton. Flashes of brilliance is an overstatement but he seems to be finding his feet under Pellegrino at Southampton currently after scoring an unbelievable individual effort to secure three points against West Brom. This bill fits a player like Riyad Mahrez perfectly, and will be a perfect platform for him to regain his form of the title winning season.
So after a bit of a tangent, it's clear to see that Puel is no underwhelming appointment for Leicester City, he's a bit like a French, slightly more positive version of a Dyche or Allardyce. He deserves patience and could provide stable and gentlemanly leadership in a time of need for the foxes. I could see his reign being one similar to Mark Hughes at Stoke, and when Leicester choose to part company with him, in my opinion, will be to do with style and progression rather than results because in his career he has always provided them.
Leicester City's amazing title win will always be referenced in any piece about them, and what an unbelievable year it was for Ranieri's men. The sacking of Ranieri, although controversial, proved successful for Leicester as they scrambled their way from 17th to 12th in a remarkable turn of form under former assistant manager Craig Shakespeare.
Shakespeare was given funds to spend after being appointed permanent manager in the summer, and bought explosive finisher Kelechi Iheanacho for £25m from Manchester City, Spaniard Vicente Iborra from Sevilla for £10.5m, and new England international Harry Maguire from Hull for £17m. Their form hasn't correlated though, starting with 9 points from 9 games hovering above the relegation zone.
This called for the sacking of Shakespeare by the Thai owners of Leicester City, with Michael Appleton being placed in temporary control. Managers' names being thrown around such as Carlo Ancelotti and Sean Dyche excited Leicester fans hugely, but eventually after Appleton guided them to a victory over Swansea, they picked pragmatic Frenchman Claude Puel, fresh from a perhaps unfair sacking by Southampton, which perhaps underwhelmed the Foxes faithful. The defensive style of football deployed by Puel caused an EFL Cup final place, an 8th placed finish and one of the best defences in the Premier League. This was marred by the distaste of the Southampton fans, however, but it cannot be denied that the former OGC Nice man did a good job.
Is this a bad appointment for Leicester? In some people's opinion, most definitely. Who can ignore the distaste of the Saints' fans when the Frenchman left the club, but one can say he remained consistent and dignified throughout praise and criticism. So what are his weak points? One can certainly point at his reserved character, perhaps a little monotone, but is that really what matters in a manager? In the Premier League we are spoilt with fantastic charismatic managers such as Antonio Conte and Jürgen Klopp, but does that character really affect their coaching ability? Not a chance. I get the fact of admiration towards them, and in fact, I'm one to admire managers with 'great character', (quoting Brendan Rodgers!), but you cannot say great managers such as Rafa Benitez or Carlo Ancelotti particularly have this kind of passionate, 'heart on sleeve' mentality. There's no way the chilled, calm mentality of Puel will be a negative effect on the Leicester camp, in fact, its what they need in many respects.
Unfairly slated is the point I'm getting at here, guiding Southampton to 8th, a cup final and not forgetting his heroics in France which never get mentioned anymore either. He was a stalwart for Monaco as a player, making 601 appearances in an illustrious career which brought 3 league titles and 3 cup wins. Once retired, he took up a coaching role and eventually became manager of Monaco in his first venture in 1999, winning the League title in his debut year at the helm. He's since gone on to manage Lille, Lyon and Nice, guiding them all to Champions League spots in Ligue 1. Also, with the egos at Leicester such as Mahrez, Puel has first hand experience at getting the best out of Hatem Ben Arfa, one of the biggest talents French football has produced in recent years. Ben Arfa's talent has never been denied, but his mentality and commitment will always be in question, much like the Algerian Mahrez.
One constant with Puel is that he always has a main attacking midfielder, a focal point, an Enganche.
At Monaco, Ludovic Giuly. At Lille, Jean II Makoun and Yohan Cabaye. At Lyon, Yohan Gourcuff and at Nice Hatem Ben Arfa. His intention at Southampton was to make this talisman Sofiane Boufal with Southampton. Flashes of brilliance is an overstatement but he seems to be finding his feet under Pellegrino at Southampton currently after scoring an unbelievable individual effort to secure three points against West Brom. This bill fits a player like Riyad Mahrez perfectly, and will be a perfect platform for him to regain his form of the title winning season.
So after a bit of a tangent, it's clear to see that Puel is no underwhelming appointment for Leicester City, he's a bit like a French, slightly more positive version of a Dyche or Allardyce. He deserves patience and could provide stable and gentlemanly leadership in a time of need for the foxes. I could see his reign being one similar to Mark Hughes at Stoke, and when Leicester choose to part company with him, in my opinion, will be to do with style and progression rather than results because in his career he has always provided them.
Comments
Post a Comment