From the outside, based purely on league position, it may look a harsh decision for
#lcfc to sack Claude Puel. But issues ran deeper and needed addressing. People inside the club blamed him for a toxic atmosphere. It was draining for them and unsustainable.
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Puel never really connected with
#lcfc fans. They rarely sang his name. He was guilty of doing little to create a bond. The team often played in his style – dour, uninspiring. Nobody wants a rent-a-quote clown in charge but you need someone to inspire and lead from the front.
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Puel started brightly but as he began to change the way
#lcfc played it rarely clicked. Stubbornness can sometimes be applauded but an unwillingness to listen to advice and tweak things – on and off the field – helped lead to his undoing.
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Puel should be applauded for trying something new and for promoting youth. His vision had merit even if he didn’t have the skills to fully implement what he wanted. He also had to cope with the most difficult of circumstances after the crash and by all accounts dealt with it well.
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Various people at the club complained of Puel’s inability to properly handle players and staff. Notwithstanding the language barrier, his communication skills weren’t great. Not just with the media – and he was often boring and hard to understand – but with others.
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Perhaps Puel just doesn’t really ‘get’ English football. He picked up some occasional good results at both
#lcfc and
#saintsfc but ultimately the fans at both didn’t buy into his largely safety-first vision. Team selection, especially in cups, was an obvious issue too.
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Puel should rightly be appreciated for moving the club forward in some ways. One example is Ben Chilwell. He would’ve broken through anyway but Puel pushed him centre stage and he responded quickly. Puel’s
#lcfc legacy has some genuine bright spots. But just not enough of them.
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“Be careful what you wish for.” Yeah, that old chestnut. Puel’s sacking was the right call regardless of if the next appointment ends in failure.
#lcfc fans are not overly entitled and never expect a 15/16 season miracle again. It’s not wrong to up the ambition levels is it?