At the weekend pundit Chris Sutton divided the crowd with some controversial comments regarding the Southampton and their decision to sack Claude Puel.
The Saints sacked the Frenchman after just one season in charge last summer, despite guiding the Saints to an eighth-placed finish and the EFL Cup final.
However, Puel lost the support of both the fans and the players, having played a negative style of football for the majority of the campaign. As a result, the Saints parted ways with the ex-Nice manager and appointed Mauricio Pellegrino in his place – a move that has failed drastically.
As a result Sutton branded Southampton and their supporters ‘fantasists’ for believing they deserve a better style of play than what was offered by Puel, damning the club for their sacking of the Frenchman.
What needs to be appreciated however is that terminating the 56-year-old’s contract has nothing to with Pellegrino’s under-achievements, and the mistake instead came from board’s poor appointment.
Next: Cedric linked with Manchester United move
Infuriates me that a year later this is still a cause for discussion. As countless others have said, we were right sack Puel - he lost support of the fans and players. The issue was his replacement was terrible. 😡 #SaintsFC https://t.co/56X6Czr6mQ
— Chris Hughes (@ChrisHughesey) April 28, 2018
Having played some decent football whilst in charge of Alaves in Spain, Pellegrino seemed like a suitable replacement for the ‘boring’ Puel albeit not being the side’s first choice for the vacancy.
More from Saints Marching
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
- It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
- Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
- A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse
The Argentine was poor all season as manager, winning just one league game in 2018 and guiding a similar Southampton side to Puel’s into a relegation dogfight. The only first-team player to leave in summer was Jay Rodriguez, who had fallen down the pecking the order anyway.
Pellegrino’s shortcomings had nothing to do with Puel’s sacking, and looking at Leicester’s recent form there’s even more reason to believe it was the right move.
For a side sitting eighth, Leicester have won just four games all calendar year, having previously won five of his first eight matches at the helm following Craig Shakespeare’s sacking in October.
With rumours of player unrest, Leicester fans are divided on whether the side should keep Puel beyond the end of the campaign. Having started his tenure with some impressive results including over the win over the Saints, his side are now playing a much more lackluster brand of football and things aren’t looking as bright as they once did.
Evidently, Puel’s Southampton shortcomings weren’t a one-off, meaning the Saints weren’t ‘fantasists’ when they chose to part ways last summer.
The fault, as previously mentioned, came with the recruitment that followed not for the actual sacking of the Frenchman.