Should Claude Puel be Allowed to Stay on as Southampton Manager Next Season? that is the question on the lips of most Saints fans after a month that saw the greatest high, but several lows.

Despite getting Southampton to their first major cup final in 41 years, Claude Puel has arguably had an underwhelming campaign, especially in the eyes of most fans. The former OGC Nice manager hasn’t had the warmest of welcomes from the Southampton faithful and has earned himself some critics. However, he has gained himself some admirers, especially for his EFL Cup success.

Currently sat 12th in the Premier League and being knocked out of the Europa League at the group stage, Southampton haven’t nearly reached the highs that they have enjoyed in England’s top division the last two seasons under Ronald Koeman. However, Southampton haven’t enjoyed a cup campaign this much for four decades so you could say that this factor overweighs the league factor, especially if the team win the cup.

However, does Claude Puel deserve to be in charge of Southampton by the beginning of next Summer? There are factors that should keep the Frenchman in charge and some that should cause him to book a plane ticket back to France.

Puel’s entire career as a player and manager was based in France before his appointment in the Premier League. His last club Nice saw very different league positions in Ligue 1. Puel guided Nice to their highest league finish of 4th in the 2012/13 season but then they just avoided relegation in 17th the season after. Then finishing 11th and 4th last season, Nice saw four very different seasons under Puel.

Before Nice, Puel managed Olympique Lyon and in 2010 lead Lyon to the Champions League semi-final, and has managed in both the Europa League and Champions League on several occasions, meaning his knowledge and experience is at a great scale. However, the expectation for Southampton’s European campaign was reasonably high because of the experience of the manager and in the squad, but the team were knocked out only at the group stage.

Southampton Football Club pride themselves on improvement in league position in the last seven years and want to improve as a club. Finishing fifth is realistically well out of our reach so that record is no longer in tact, however, we can still improve as a club with silverware. Puel and his team have done incredibly well to reach the EFL Cup final, especially without conceding a goal. Winning the cup itself will provide a different kind of improvement which will keep our record going.

To keep improving, however, Southampton will need to invest in the transfer window and improve the quality of our squad. You could argue that Puel wasn’t given the time and backing to plan his own squad and make lots of signings in the Summer window. Les Reed has publicly stated that he backs Puel’s coaching techniques and believes that he still needs his own Summer window, indicating that Puel may stay.

There are plenty of high quality players that Puel could attract to join the club. If the team win the EFL Cup, they will have European football to offer players which would be a huge boost. Puel can attract players from Ligue 1 particularly, we saw it with Sofiane Boufal, that either he has worked with or got a real good glimpse of whilst in France. A busy Summer transfer window could give Puel a real chance of having a much more successful campaign, in the league particularly, than it would seem this year.

Finally, credit to Puel, the Premier League is well known as the world’s most competitive and challenging league. For Puel, who has never managed in a country besides his native France, to

potentially finish between 9th and 13th in the Premier League and reach a cup final and potentially win the cup would be an impressive first season, even if our league standards have been higher of recent seasons.

I do think that Puel will be Southampton manager next season, even though his rotation policies and lower league finish may count against him. Even though he doesn’t have full backing from the fans, he does from the board according to Les Reed so as fans we must support Puel as we look to have a

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Toussaint added 09:13 - Feb 3 Hope not, even if we win the Cup,this style is like watching paint dry and the interviews make press conferences boring to watch.should of taken Pellegrini or Nigel back, even he is much better than Puel
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northernsaint added 09:25 - Feb 3 Doesn't the 2003 FA Cup final count as a major Cup Final anymore?
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vanmans added 09:29 - Feb 3 We can all hope and pray that he is not. Saint are as bad now as they were under Ian Branfoot. He must GO.....
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RogerToye added 09:54 - Feb 3 It is the rotation some don't like and its also the fact he is giving everyone a go whether good or not his mandate is to develop the youth into first team players , he is doing that, it may be frustrating but it is what the board have asked for ask yourself who/what do you really want to leave. The injuries that the first team have sustained and the break up of a first 11 because of it, means he has to and he also can do because he is the manager i hope he stays longer than the last two who come bring there own players and leave (others still to show their top level at premiership standard) one speaking only spanish and another finding everything difficult at Least Claude is trying to speak in English have a beef with Les Reid he appoints these guys COYS.

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Sanguin added 09:55 - Feb 3 Yes, he should remain. I can't believe how fickle most fans are. Is the bar for success this season seriously finishing fifth?!? We have to view this as a season of transition, we have created plenty of chances just failed to finish them. I do not hold Puel responsible for the current defensive problems. At the beginning of the season I would've taken a top ten finish and a Wembley final. That's still a possibility.

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highfield49 added 10:17 - Feb 3 Oh no not the Branfoot saga vanmans, possibly Saints worst ever manager. Surely Puel wouldn't have dropped LeTiss to bring in Paul Moody? The memories of Hurlock, Lee, Speedie and Dixon still haunt me to this day! I think Puel will still be in charge next season only because I believe that Gabbiadini, Boufal and Redmond will turn things around on the goal scoring front. I live in hope anyway.

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JDawg added 10:21 - Feb 3 CP has shown he has the tactical brain to succeed in the PL, look at the results against Liverpool and Man City. Given time and support he could become one of our best managers ever. All he needs are some players to find the net, Les to open the wallet and buy some CBs oh and to stop bloody tinkering with the team! So lets give him another season and see if everyone at SFC has learnt anything from this season.

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halftimeorange added 10:43 - Feb 3 I think that it's premature to blame Claude Puel for all of Saints inconsistencies on the pitch this season. To say that Nice had a roller-coaster time under his charge without some additinal information is unfair. People like me don't know why Nice finished in 17th place one season. Perhaps, a la Saints, they sold their best players. Perhaps there was a disruptive element in their changing room. What is evident is that Puel overcame that problem and Nice recovered to 4th. Claude arrived here with Saints having lost a popular manager (at least outside the changing room), bereft of arguably its best three players from last season) and with no opportunity to plan pre-season how he wanted he squad he inherited to play. He's then been dogged by injuries, dissent from the captain and failure on the part of the board to invest appropriately during the recent transfer window. In short, he's had to make do with what he's got which hasn't always worked in our favour. True, the football has at times been boring but it should be next season when we pass judgement. We will know better next August where our club is going, assuming we are still in the EPL, and if we stutter and stumble, that's when we point the finger.

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SaintBrock added 10:44 - Feb 3 It may not come down to the simple question of will he be sacked or not, my guess is that he will quit and go back to France. If reports are true that his wife and family cannot settle and have no friends here why would he choose to stay at a club whose management do not back him fully and whose fans have done nothing but criticise his methods and competence since he arrived. The recent phenomenon of the North Kingsland chanting "there's only one Ronald Koeman" is clearly audible over in the Itchen centre block and 'dug-out'. Puel is not an idiot and has feelings even if he tries hard not to show them. He knows very well the mood around the place and what fans are saying on social media and in print headlines in the Echo. Expect Benitez to be our man after he quits the Toon following promotion. You heard it here first, wink, wink!

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the_saint added 11:53 - Feb 3 What about league cup 79 does that not count
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the_saint added 11:54 - Feb 3 Or the Johnson paint trophy
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the_saint added 11:54 - Feb 3 Or the zenith data
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the_saint added 11:55 - Feb 3 Or the Dutch pre season cup
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the_saint added 11:55 - Feb 3 Sorry I will stop now
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the_saint added 12:02 - Feb 3 Of course our position is puels fault he sets the team up and tactics he is the one that over rotates teams need consistency which comes from having a settled side......but he does deserve more time as it's his first season in the premier and he is still learning he down the bottom next season then I would be concerned
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SanMarco added 12:04 - Feb 3 One thing is certain in this most bewildering of seasons: Claude Puel should not be blamed or made a scapegoat for all the negatives. He took over at a tough time when our transfer policy was finally having a serious effect on our squad strength and our playing style. Can we really say that a different appointee last summer would have done any better? It is impossible to know of course. He clearly hasn’t won us over and in that communication, rotation and entertainment are the key factors. We are always having to guess what he means when he talks and he has definitely overdone the rotation. The Euro exit was largely down to him and the FA Cup fiasco was a PR disaster to say the least. Some say he has just been lucky in being in charge when we finally got to a final again – this is unfair because if you blame the manager for the negatives then he ought to get credit for the positives. For me it is the ‘quality of football’ question that is the most important. Is it his fault that it has been pretty tedious at times this season? Also, in terms of getting goals out of the resources available – could he not have done more? The initial problem on the goal front was not caused by him but he certainly hasn’t solved it as yet. Assuming we stay up I would say that he should be given another season – I don’t say that with any joy in my heart and if SaintBrock is right and he walks I won’t be grief stricken but, on balance, my head says he should be given longer. I think, at this stage, those in charge of the transfer policy have more questions to answer…

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Saintsfc added 12:58 - Feb 3 Think this is harsh in Puel.. He can only play with the hand dealt to him.. I personally would look at who is dealing him this hand.. Like many people have pointed out chances have been created, his philosophies and style seem to be working, he can't put the ball in the net for them from the touchline. If behind closed doors someone asked him brutally honestly 3 players we need, I think he would have said 2 Def 1 Striker.

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ItchenNorth added 13:42 - Feb 3 Toussaint: seriously, one of the reasons you don’t like him is because his press conferences are boring ! The guys French, cut him some slack on that front. Some moaned at Pochettino because he used an interpreter, now many also moan about how dull Puel is at communicating directly. Okay: possibilities and organisation are words that; with his current grasp of the language get used frequently, but I’d like to see some of us have the balls to take up a job in another country and learn the language on the spot as many manager do ! It's result that matter not someone’s personality. Puel is passionate though. He is very considered and methodical in his approach and demeanour most of the time (which again can be perceived as dull or boring), but we have seen numerous examples of his passion for the victory or in goal cerebration this season (although goals have been hard to come by !). We have to put a lot of the negativity aside and give the guy a chance. Back the team ffs. After the summer we will be able to see his squad and his imprint on the team. A present it feels like he’s managing a situation that is not entirely of his own making.

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qnehl1 added 14:06 - Feb 3 Yes he should remain. 1) Anyone who can improve Yoshida is clearly a good manager. 2) Had we actually had a striker and scored some goals earlier in the season, would we be sitting in 12th now? Had we scored more goals, we would be 10-15 points better off now. 3) The rotation policy has not been ideal, but how much is down to player inconsistency. One week having a MOTM game next week same player cant even pass the ball 5 yards! I believe this may also be down to a lack of experience in playing European games. 4) lets all stop moaning, get behind the team and let puel do his job. A judgment can be made after 38 games not 23.

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codge added 14:06 - Feb 3 At this stage of the season l would say he has to go period.
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Cjay80 added 15:52 - Feb 3 Remember the main name to replace Koeman was de Boer and things didn't exactly work out for him at Inter. Keep supporting the team until the final whistle of the final game, then decide.
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NeilF added 16:18 - Feb 3 My take on it is looking at the matches whatever competition it is, how did we perform and how have we been performing? The two EFL games with Liverpool were magical, the Leicester game was great so we know what can happen but then you look at the West Brom game or mugging us off against Arsenal in the FA Cup amongst others, it has been frustrating. Generally, looking at the big picture, all the games together, I feel it is not too great and not an improvement from last year. I would say a lot of this angst comes down to rotation and not having strength in depth. The rotation of the squad is totally down to Puel. I remember watching an interview with Charlie Austin, and he was clucking to play in Italy. I went out there and was surprised he was not starting. How did Charlie feel? Is it rotation for these players or do they feel like they are being dropped? If I played well, I would feel I deserved to play again. Moreover, the Arsenal game showed our lack of depth. I feel in a way, Wenger had the same approach as Puel. Win or lose, both managers were not that bothered but Wenger walks out with a 5-0 victory (Wenger did actually pick a team to win). This game highlighted Puel lack of awareness. It also showed, if these players waiting in the wings for the Saints first team are not up to the required standard (Premier League) or never really look like it (post 20 years) why do we have them? Wasn’t it Puel’s job to recognise this? So, how long do we keep our manager for him to change all this? Well, for one, I think he will always rotate. The EFL cup is great but only a few games, to win the Europa Cup would have been a lot more games and more of a challenge like the Premier League. Will Puel ever build a solid consistent team that can compete in every game? And, will we have genuine quality waiting on the bench? Or, will the fans be forever frustrated with his thinking?

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garethhartwell added 16:40 - Feb 3 Quite mixed so far, but then so were some very successful managers in their first season. If we win the EFL Cup and finish in the top 8 in the league I think that's pretty good, if we manage one of those two, it's probably OK (though disappointing we might not then be in Europe).
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kingolaf added 17:53 - Feb 3 We've lost 5 of our last 6 league games. Our displays have been boring. Some of his selections are baffling. However, he must have something. He has no excuses for rotating now, so see how he gets on for the rest of the season. Jury still out for me. I want him to do well. Les has thrown him under the bus a bit by not getting him a replacement for Fonte. My head says we won't do much between now and the end of the season, and a new manager could get a lot more out of the team. To be fair to him, he should be judged at the end of the season.

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Bettwsresident added 18:09 - Feb 3 He was dealt a tough hand with 37 games in first 6 months, and we were still in the top half at the end and looking up. He has brought McQueen, Stephens and Simms through and JWP and Yoshi are now looking like proper premier league players under him. We have lost a lot of games that we shouldn’t have (on balance of chances and play), starting with Watford and Sunderland when we had 40 shots to their 10 and yet still drew both games. It then carried on with Arsenal (stupid Fonte pen), Leicester, Hull, Palace, Stoke, Burnley (WTF!). And as for Inter away! We have only scraped a result in the 0-0 against Liverpool, and haven’t won anything we didn’t deserve to on balance of play. If that lot had just evened itself out, we would have 6 or 7 more points and would be in 7th. Sometimes you just get in a rut like this. His main problem is that our top strikers have been crocked (Jay Rod and Austin) and until Long started his mini run, the rest can't hit a barn door.. If we can’t score then the game doesn’t open up. Hence it has been dull at times. The injury list has been ridiculous for the last few months, in part due to the 37 games, and now he has been dealt an even worse hand due to fecking Vardy’s hack. Boufal looks like he could be brilliant (at least at Swansea he was astonishingly good) and Gabbadini, looks tidy on paper and I am looking forward to seeing him in the flesh. If we can sign at least 1 stand out CB’s such a the bloke from Hoffenheim in the summer (assuming VVD goes and Romeu stays) and Stephens develops further, then I think we have the nucleus of a pretty good team next year…just need someone to bury the chances. Having the Jay Rod of 2014 would be priceless right now. In all, having supported saints since 1986, and having had a season ticket during Branfoot’s tenure! I have to say in this case better the devil you know!

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