Leicester City have time on their side to find the right successor to Claude Puel
Leicester City’s decision to sack manager Claude Puel on Sunday was understandable and logical.
Under the Frenchman’s guidance the Foxes were going nowhere fast, with no win or clean sheet since New Year’s Day. Inconsistent selection, a failing playing style, apparent disregard for cup competitions, and players and fans openly voicing their displeasure have clouded recent months.
“We’ve had managers previously who were really positive, energetic and get you up for games, and when he came in it was pretty much the opposite,” was how former Leicester defender Robert Huth, who left the club in June, put it to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I don’t suppose there will be many disappointed players in the changing room when they heard the news.”
Having made the change, Leicester now must take a much more difficult step: appointing the right successor.
Sitting 12th in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone and eight below their most realistic target of seventh, and with no cup football left, the 2018-19 campaign has undeniably lost some meaning.
With coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler in temporary charge ahead of tomorrow's match against Brighton, the Foxes’ hierarchy need to plot a course back up the table. The heady days of 2016’s title win have long since faded, but, as Stowell pointed out, “all the tools” are there to succeed.
“We are a top-seven team, and that’s where we should be,” he said yesterday. “We’re in the process of building a new training ground, the stadium’s going to be expanded, we’ve got fantastic owners, great support and a very, very good squad.”
Puel’s attempts to “transition into a different style of play”, as striker Jamie Vardy put it, may have been unsuccessful but Stowell is right in his assessment of Leicester.
With Ben Chilwell, Demarai Gray, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans, Hamza Choudhury and Wilfred Ndidi all 22 or under, there is a core of exciting young talent – one perhaps unrivalled in the top flight.
When they’re considered alongside the experience and skill of Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire, Ricardo Pereira and Marc Albrighton, it’s clear the opportunity is there for a swift turnaround.
So who is the right person for the job? Having gone for the man-management quick fix of Craig Shakespeare and less personable, longer-term idealistic view of Puel recently, the Foxes need a better fit.
The fact vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha – now in sole charge following the death of his father Vichai in October’s helicopter crash – had not planned for Puel’s exit means there is an element of limbo.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers and Newcastle’s Rafael Benitez are said to be on the shortlist, yet all three might be difficult to lure mid-campaign.
The potential return of former manager Nigel Pearson on an interim basis looks short-sighted, as does a move for any of the usual suspects so often thrown around.
Allowing Stowell, who is embarking on his fifth Foxes caretaker stint, and Sadler to continue until the end of the season may be perceived as underwhelming by fans but it would buy valuable time while club chiefs formulate their plan.
Leicester perceive themselves to hold all the cards and are reportedly confident they can attract a big name, but is that what they need?
Do they want to continue in a similar vein to Puel’s ideals, or give in to what the dressing room wants and return to the fast-paced counter-attacking style of the Claudio Ranieri era?
Their comfortable league standing means they’re in an unusual and enviable position of being afforded time to decide. Considered thinking would be a wiser course of action than a hurried hire.