By Ewah Chika.


It seemed like all hope was lost for Southampton fans when Everton announced the appointment of Ronald Koeman as their new coach following the sacking of Roberto Martinez. The outcry is based on the fact that Koeman is a fan favourite having finished 7th and 6th in his two years in charge at the club.

Like in previous cases, Southampton have appointed another manager with a track record of achieving on a limited budget and that manager is Claude Puel. The French man's record shows a win percentage of 42.4% having played 746 games winning 319 games and losing 221 games during his reign with the likes of Monaco (49.56 percentage win ), Lille (39.80 percentage win) Lyon (48.72 percentage win ) and Nice (39.29 percentage win) . English football fans will remember his criticism of Sir Alex Ferguson after Ryan Giggs scored an 83rd minute quick free kick while Lille players where still lining up in the 2006-2007 Champions League second round game. "It is Sir Alex Ferguson's usual trick, and it is his way of putting the pressure on.

"Sir Alex Ferguson can think what he wants. I don't understand how this man always himself to have such thoughts ".

Puel has been in the game since 1999, having served as a fitness coach for Monaco after playing more than 500 games in 17 years for the club as a defensive midfielder. With Monaco, Puel won the Ligue 1 in his debut season in top flight management in 2000 and departed the club to Lille two years later . He spent six years in Lille taking them to the group stage and second round of the Champions League and this was a team that was unable to qualify for Europe before his appointment. He also finished Ligue 1 as runner-up with Lille in 2004/2005 season .

His achievements in Lille enticed Lyon and he was appointed as a replacement for Alain Perrin. Puel failed in Lyon as he inherited a league winning side with the likes of Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Lisandro Lopez and Hugo Iloris. It did not end there as he was unable to win the Ligue 1 in his time at the club. Lyon had won seven successive titles under Paul Le Guen, Gerard Houllier and Alain Perrin before his appointment which he failed to consolidate on, although he took the team to their first ever Champions League semi-final beating Real Madrid in the second round in 2010. This was the first big test for Puel and he had failed where it mattered most.

After the failure at Lyon, Puel took over Nice who were on the verge of relegation which he avoided before punching above his weight last season. At Nice with a tight budget and unknown players what he achieved at the club last summer was legendary as Nice ended the season in 4th. Puel was also credited with the recent impressive form of Hatem Ben Arfa who ended the season on a high after failing at Hull and Newcastle . It is important to note that Southampton have landed the right manager in Puel considering their impressive academy as the French man was the one who promoted both Thierry Henry aged 16 and David Trezeguet from the Monaco reserves before giving them their debut in the club.

Known as a quiet yet outspoken manager, Puel seems like a wise choice for Southampton. "He loves entertaining football but is also realistic. His team will never be unbalanced but they will play to win games. They are not the kind of team, like we have a lot in France, just to play for a draw," was the words of Erik Bieldermen to BBC about Claude Puel.

While no one is doubting the ability of Claude Puel it is important to know that his only trophy (Ligue 1) came 16 years ago and that was in Monaco . The French man also has only one trophy to show in his 20 years in top flight football at the highest level which is not enticing considering Southampton is an ambitious club.

One thing is clear though and that is, "Claude Puel might not be the best in the world but he surely ticks all the boxes for Southampton at the moment ."

Source

http://mailtelegraph..com/2016/07/is-claude-puel-right-man-for-southampton.html#more