He wasn't good enough for many Saints fans, but it seems Leicester City were impressed with Claude Puel enough to make him their boss.

Some Saints fans will tell you that Claude Puel was the worst Saints manager in living memory, however stats tell you otherwise and our 8th place finish along with a major Wembley Cup Final was a season that most other clubs envied.

In fairness they didn't have to sit through some of the performances Saints fans did, but it seems that the Leicester City boardroom feel that Puel got a raw deal at St Mary's and are cutting him some slack for the injury issues he had and looking past just performances.

Saints fans will now get the chance to see if Puel was written off too early and whether they should have given him a bit more of a chance, Leicester are a club of a similar size to Saints, similar fanbase and indeed a trophy a couple of seasons back, will the Frenchman get them back somewhere near that level or will he take them backwards.

It will be an interesting comparison and come May we will know the answer as to whether sacking Puel was the right decision.

Personally I wish him well, yes some of the performances were excruciating to watch, but he did deliver taking us to a top 8 finish and a Cup Final, those than sneer at him should remember that in the past century only previous 2 managers had got us to a major final and only a few more to a top ten finish, call Puel what you like but in terms of results he delivered a season that in pure statistics was in our top 5 ever.

Like most Saints fans I will watch in interest as to how Leicester will play and find out if Claude can put out an exciting side or whether he was truly hampered by injuries.

Photo: Action Images

codge added 21:59 - Oct 25 Vardy vs Puel should be very interesting.
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leighsaint added 22:04 - Oct 25 Hope he takesEric Black with him
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dirk_doone added 22:05 - Oct 25 "He wasn't good enough for many Saints fans." The main thing was he wasn't good enough for the person who appointed him, Les Reed. Les Reed sacked Puel, not the fans. Do you think Les Reed is that weak that he'll bend to a faction of fans? I think I'm in the majorty of fans who, although not exactly inspired by Puel, felt that after getting us to 8th and a cup final with a squad weakened by the sales of Mane, Pelle and Wanyama, he deserved to start this season as our manager. Les Reed didn't.

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darthvader added 22:06 - Oct 25 I say good luck to him . Nice bloke . I moaned about some of his decision making and was boring but he took us on a memorable cup run and I would personally thank him for that .
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SaintNick added 22:09 - Oct 25 Les Reed bowed to supporter pressure in the form of unrenewed season tickets, the club was facing a fan revolt unprecedented since Branfoot
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lemmsy added 22:12 - Oct 25 Personally I felt puel could have been given another 6 months with the message that the football had to improve & obviously excite, what I can’t quite grasp is we played so well at Wembley. Exciting, fast flowing football yet after that we just shutdown. Interesting couple of months coming up
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sambat added 22:13 - Oct 25 Let’s face it, CP’s future was based on a referee’s error. If MG’s goal was not disallowed in error we could have well won the League Cup. A trophy plus 8th would have been a really successful season, and CP would still be Manager. Opinion would be far better regardless of some of the performances at the end of last season.
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dirk_doone added 22:14 - Oct 25 Nick, that is bullsh!t and you should be man enough to admit it. You can't blame the fans for everything that Les and Kat do. They may not perfect but they are ceratianly not weak enough to make decisions based on 'supporter pressure'. In fact, the exact opposite, many of their decisions, right or wrong, were exactly what the supporters ddin't want. Les Reed sacked Puel, not the fans.

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WanderingSaint added 22:27 - Oct 25 That LCFC definitely safe, and will probably finish above us. Good manager and we were foolish to get rid.
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steve73 added 23:29 - Oct 25 Regardless of what may happen this season I think getting rid of him was the right thing to do. 8th and a final sounds fine on paper but we were going backwards at an alarming rate and the football was just horrible. That said, I think he's a decent bloke and I'll follow his time at Leicester with interest. The last time they appointed an eccentric foreign manager things didn't work out too badly for them...

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wessexman added 23:44 - Oct 25 On the face of it, it seems an odd appointment .But, at SFC he was handed a very difficult brief. He did not help himself right enough...but, from the cup final onwards, he was going to get us relegated. BUT....if he can manage a bunch of treacherous snakes, ie.Leicester players, and do well...questions about his tenure will be asked. MP is not exactly pulling up trees.

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Jesus_02 added 00:20 - Oct 26 MP2 is a better manager IMO so its the correct decission . That said I think neither manager has been helped in that we have got ourselves in a bit of a rutt with transfer business. We have been spoilt in recent years but it has to be said that turnover of players has finally caught up with us. We have so many average players that the team has lost confidence and we cant bring the youngsters through. I am hoping for a purple patch to get thing rocking again but I cant see that untill we have got a fair few of the wage bill. In the meantime I can see us struggling when the fixtures toughen up while Liecester will inevitably improve under Puel they have good counter attacking players and will suit his style more than we did

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carolinasaint added 02:09 - Oct 26 Hmm, let's see....Leicester likes to cede possession and, when things are working well for them, hit teams with a vicious, quick-strike counterattack. Claude likes to have a lot of possession, and slow build-ups were a hallmark of his time with us. Seems like a perfect fit. I've got nothing personal against the guy--he certainly conducted himself professionally at Saints--but I have to say I'll never forgive him for playing for a nil-nil at home against an inferior team (I'm speaking of Hapoel Beer Sheva of course) with Europa League knockout stage qualification on the line. No Saints match has ever made me angrier. Ahh...water under the bridge, I suppose. Let's hope the trip east Sunday proves more entertaining and fruitful!

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carolinasaint added 02:37 - Oct 26 Re my post immediately above, I should balance out the bad memories with the good: the EFL Cup final was exciting and enjoyable, and the eventual disappointment was tinged with more than just a bit of pride. Furthermore, the goal that sealed our place there--Shane's finish with an assist from Sims at Anfield--is one of favorite memories as a Saints fan. So thank you, Claude, for the role you played in bringing that about.

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saintmark1976 added 05:33 - Oct 26 An intelligent,thoughtful and decent man driven out of the club by a combination of bad luck, weak board management and idiot fans. Bad luck with injury to V V D and to a lesser extent Austin together with poor refereeing at Wembley and missed penalties at season end. Weak board through lack of support from an invisible chairman and a duplicitous director of football. Idiot fans most of which I would suggest fall into the "prawn sandwich " definition. I wish him well except of course when we play Leicester and would not be at all surprised if he has the last laugh at seasons end.

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oldeastterrace added 07:21 - Oct 26 I found the football under Puel excruciating to watch at times. Some of the football under Pelligrino hasn't been great either. It would be very interesting if Puel made Leicester great to watch, the opposite of what he made us. That would raise questions about why he played such a bland brand of football here ESPECIALLY as Pelligrino has some of the same things being leveled at him by 'some' fans. Perhaps Puel was keen to come back to England because he wants to show everybody that the way he played at Southampton was not all his doing? We will see.............

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BaselSaint added 07:39 - Oct 26 Good for him. I hope this doesn't come back and bite us in the a ss
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charlie357 added 08:37 - Oct 26 Dirk, do you even remember last season? The fans definitely had a huge hand in the decision to sack Puel...
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Consigliere added 09:27 - Oct 26 No, St Mark, I'm not an idiot, I don't like prawn sandwiches and have been following the Saints since moving to Southampton in 1976! I gave up on Puel not because he was particularly unsuccessful nor because he isn't a decent bloke (which he plainly is) but because the football was dire and unwatchable. Please keep your insults for the Echo website.
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saintmark1976 added 10:37 - Oct 26 Wow,Consigliere someone got out of bed the wrong side today. Perhaps upon reflection the word idiot was a little on the harsh side. I wonder if your reaction would have been quite the same if I had used misguided instead? At least we appear able to agree on a couple of points in that he was a decent man who's results were successful so I suppose all is not lost between our differing views. Enjoy the rest of the day.

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larry12 added 10:38 - Oct 26 Puel had probs with Ross Wilson and some players. If he had a prob with Wilson he had a prob with Les Reed as well. Who will be Saints 26th manager in 25 years next summer. Reed has brought stability for Saints with appointing a new manager every season. Well done Les "Les way" Reed.
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helpineedsomebody added 11:33 - Oct 26 i dont think the charlton fans would want the LES WAY ever again it will be interesting how long he lasts with the new owners they will not waste money like the last owner did
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Consigliere added 11:49 - Oct 26 Thanks St Mark, pax!
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redandwhitedee added 13:40 - Oct 26 Larry12 - you keep harping on about what a poor job Les Reed does. As you appear to be only 12 yrs old, you probably don't recall any of his predecessors, but let me assure you they were hopeless. During Reed's care, we have : (a) Reached 2 cup finals, (b) Risen from bottom of 3rd tier to top half prem lge in the time he did say it would be achieved (the original 5-yr plan plan). (c) Signed some really TOP CLASS players the likes of VVD, Wanyama, Pelle, Mane, Romeu, Lemina, Bertrand, Cedric, Forster, Clyne, Aldewiereld, Lovren (yes). Arguably all those named replaced players of lesser calibre - and some of whom were later sold on at great profits. (d) Got managerial decisions right (in my view even Puel as we needed a steady hand following Koeman's sudden departure). Adkins to replace Pardew - Good call. Poch for Adkins.Good call. Koeman for Poch - Good call. (e) New £40m state of the art training complex/academy. For me, the jury is still out on replacing Puel with MP, but he has got these decisions right in the past when many fans opposed the calls. The Club is also a business and lets not forget what happens to clubs who forget they are a business and try to work with their heart alone (Portsmouth being the best example in their doomed quest for glory days). Its about time people gave Les reed some credit for what he has actually achieved at this Club. I look around at many other clubs, and don't see the same consistency in signings, profits, and Club development. If he was in charge of any other business, the stakeholders would be extremely happy with his performance - football supporters it seems have very, very short memories.

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underweststand added 14:08 - Oct 26 The fans who wanted Puel out got their wish, but the goal drought hasn't disappeared - even under Pellegrino. Who knows he may well rejuvinate Leicester ?...I only hope that the whole thing doesn't result in him coming to SMS come back and biting us in the ar*e.
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