With the French media claiming Claude Puel has been in talks with Saint-Etienne, but silence from St Mary's about the fabled end of season review, the question needs to be asked.

At the start of the year rumours where doing the rounds that Claude Puel and his family were not happy in England, back then his stock amongst the fans was low but a League Cup Final appearance got many back on side and hoping that he had learn't from his mistakes and could take the club forward.

But since Wembley he did not seem to take charge, he seemed content to let things drift towards the end of the season and even seemed willing to gamble with missing out on a top ten finish by some strange selections in the final games.

In the end it all worked out, but purely because the likes of West Brom were worse that us in the run in and it wasn't the grandstand finish that Puel's supporters were hoping for to silence his growing army of critics.

The club seemed to realise the mood of the fans and put out stories to the media that there would be a review of his performance after the season had ended , this seemed more an attempt to persuade people to renew their season tickets than anything else.

But in the week since the last day defeat against Stoke City there has been deafening silence from St Mary's, knowing the club's penchant for strategy, you would have thought that fairly soon after the final whistle that a decision would be made so planning could be made for the following season.

So why has nothing been done, if Puel was going to be sacked then surely he should have been put out of his misery quickly and likewise if he was going to stay then it needs to be announced and got out there.

Meanwhile in France reports say he has been speaking to Saint-Etienne and that is counteracted by reports in England Saints themselves have been sounding out other options.

This beggars the question whether Saints and Puel have had an agreement to part company in place for some time, certainly weeks if not months.

This would explain why the delay in announcing a decision, the club would be keen to save face on the appointment of Puel and likewise the way to do it would be a controlled parting of the ways with Puel going to a new job before being sacked and a new manager ready to step straight in and both club and manager keeping their reputations intact.

I cannot see any other explanation as to why there has been a delay otherwise.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 00:06 - May 30 The silence certainly suggests he wont be sacked - mutual agreement does indeed look like the best bet. If so, I really hope we get the right replacement in quickly...
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SaintMantis added 01:09 - May 30 I should imagine any potential new owners might also want a say in the appointment of any new manager. No doubt we'll want the right man in place and ready to take the reins before relinquishing Puel. ,
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SaintMantis added 01:19 - May 30 ...of his position, that should say.
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larry12 added 01:59 - May 30 We had the so called right man in place when that 4 eyed imbecile announced Puel as the next perfect Manager for Saints. Get rid of the source of bad appointments as well as the results of it, you complete morons. Reed and Freddie are a shambles couple of pigeons constantly pooing on your heads. Work out who the real villain is here!
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lemmsy added 04:50 - May 30 Larry12 year old If the people in charge r so poor then how have we progressed for the last eight years & where do the players such as liver , wanyama & van dyk miraculously come from ? All by chance ?
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saintpp added 06:31 - May 30 UI rehashingthe same Puel articLe again.Bias reporting isnt good journalism..As for larry12 if Reed is moron what does that make you.No doubt if fans get their wish Reed will be the next target as another manager who isnt the big name they wanted will come in and it will all start again.lemmsy well said.its amazing how saints find all these great players but whats more amazing is that Reed and co get no credit from quite frankly ignorant fans.

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saintpp added 06:34 - May 30 Seems to me if they havent sacked him by now they arent going to...hope im right and Puel proves all the doubters wrong.Its actually unbeleivable that a manager will be sacked for getting us to a cup final and 8th in the league.What are we man utd?The lower end of the Pl is full of teams who sacked managers with the exception of leicester it doesnt seem to pay off.
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welhamdowed added 07:36 - May 30 If he does go then I'm really not too disappointed. All this 8th and cup final lark means we didn't win anything and finished lower in he league than last season so hardly a massive reason to keep him either. Added to that the football at times has been awful, to be fair I think our attacking players did let him down at times Tadic, Bouf, Redmond all had average to poor seasons. Redmond played well for a spell but really when you look at the season as a whole was he that good? Now that might be Puel not being able to get a tune out of them so if he is off, we'll see next season.

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aceofthebase added 08:35 - May 30 Hateful article by Nick as usual, taking sides with the moaning minnies. It's been a very difficult season and we have come through it unscathed apart from many fans who think that a lack of goals is a disaster
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Sanguin added 08:53 - May 30 This seems possible but unlikely. I imagine the Board would want to be careful to ensure that any replacement they bring in is better than Puel, that’s not easy to guarantee. There’s also no huge urgency, they can take another week or two on this, especially since the manager isn’t necessary for transfer decisions. Finally, like it or not, the fans’ reaction to what the rest of the footballing world consider to be a good season by Puel may discourage others from managing Southampton.

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WestSussexSaint added 08:55 - May 30 I'm not that bothered whether Puel stays or goes. As I said on a previous post the important thing now is that the club sort things out quickly and decisively. Uncertainty doesn't help the players (current or prospective), the fans, or Puel himself. If Puel does go then I wish him well but I look forward to what the new manager can bring (as long as it isn't Moyes!).

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LondonSaint added 09:09 - May 30 Even as a "supporter" of the board I have been really disappointed with the way they've (not) handled the difficulties this season. In my opinion their lack of official communication about the transfer situations (Fonts, Caceres), the takeover bid (despite Ralph's comments to newspapers, not through the official site) and hanging Puel out to dry has caused a really divisive atmosphere and infighting between the fans which could all have been avoided if they'd followed up on their promises of a more transparent executive process. I am on the fence about Puel, but I am certain that the board need to unite the fan base again after a pretty awful season as far as club harmony is concerned.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 09:27 - May 30 I reckon there's some truth behind the rumours. A mutual agreement to leave. Saints don't sack him, he just finds another club and Saints don't look for compensation. Puel hasn't been the right fit. On the face of it he looked like a good appointment; he brings through young players, plays a technical possession based game, had a history of producing results without spending a fortune. But ultimately he hasn't settled in this country, his english hasn't got any better (the only reason Black is his no 2 is to be a translator), his style of football is mind numbingly boring, I don't think the players like playing for him. The club got his appointment wrong, but its the first bad appointment for years, and I say bad but its been far from a disaster, a good season at face value. The trouble is he isn't the man to take us forward. We need a top class manager, someone who inspires the players. We'll only keep our best players if they want to play for us and I'm not sure they want to play for Puel. That's why he needs to go. All this rubbish about 'oh what if they get Moyes' etc. The club aren't stupid! Whoever they get in, will have been analysed to the nth degree, chosen very very carefully and is likely to be a success. Puel didn't work out. You can't get every appointment right. We move on to the next one. Thanks for getting us to the final Claude.

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pete_boggs added 09:59 - May 30 Be quiet, buy your season tickets or Mr Reed will be short of funds for his net positive transfer purchases, I don't think. It doesn't matter that we don't know who the manager will be, how many of our best players will go, who will come in to replace them, what style we'll play, will we have an Asian gangster as Chairman. The board don't think that the fans are worthy of knowing and Reed will be a disaster this window as he will run amok with his new found power. If people had been saying Reed out instead of Puel out it would have been better for the club. We still have no idea what Puel could've done as he was thrust a hastily written squad sheet by the Fuhrer when her arrived and had no say in his preferred players. Surely Hazard, Wenger and Henri can't be that wrong.

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bstokesaint added 13:14 - May 30 Watching the Championship play-off bore draw final yesterday I did think to myself, when was the last time I watched a game and got really excited? For all the flak that Puel gets I don’t think our current style of play is unique. I think football as a whole has inherited a culture of keep the ball at all costs, even if does mean sideways and backwards passing. This is the “technical” football culture that has come into the modern game. Gone are the days of attacking players dribbling and taking defenders on. All this made me think that if Puel does go I’m not sure what we can really expect to see. I’m not that optimistic of a sudden change in style.

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landerwal added 14:06 - May 30 I agree with bstokesaint, we are little different from many other pl teams. How many times this season have teams come to St Mary's and time wasted from the first minute of a game because they come for a draw and hope, like Stoke, maybe nick an underserved win. The only difference between Saints and most other teams is we do it better, hence our success in the League Cup and 8th in the pl. There is so much money at stake by staying in the pl that for many clubs survival is regarded as success. I don't think a new manager would improve things and could be an absolute disaster and if he is could spell Championship football if the board panicking and change managers mid season because of bad results. Also the players would yet again be facing another managerial change at the start of a new season. Not the best morale booster.

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Vega added 15:48 - May 30 For me tucel the former Dortmund manager,is the best option if he ever wants England.puel for me is not relevant due to the problems since the cup final.bring in the German!
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stmichael added 19:09 - May 30 Club not covering themselves in glory. Mind you Adkins was also shafted but after a short while us fickle fans myself included couldn't give a toss!!
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SaintBrock added 21:18 - May 30 No, Nick. He's staying!
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MauriceDear51 added 12:05 - May 31 Lawrie Macs.comments in Saturdays Echo were interesting and i agree he will be given more time.HOWEVER.....am i the the ONLY one who was surprised by the line.....almost a throwaway...that....l HAVE NEVER MET THE MAN.....Incredible! Also...i hear he has to PAY FULL PRICE FOR HIS TICKET TO SEE Saints at home.Can this REALLY BE TRUE.
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