‘I’ve seen club owners make some daft decisions but Leicester City’s appointment of Claude Puel seems plain bizarre.’
It’s a strong start from Stanley Victor Collymore, who fills the entirety of his Mirror column with rage about possibly the most sensible, if conservative, managerial appointment in Premier League history. Leicester – a struggling team with short-term aspirations to be the best of the rest – have appointed an available manager who finished eighth in the Premier League last season and reached a League Cup final. If anything, it’s just too sodding sensible.
‘It’s baffled, saddened and angered me all in one go.’
Well that seems a tad extreme but we are listening…
‘Baffled because I’m struggling to find a reason why my old club would make such an underwhelming appointment that’s hardly going to inspire a dressing room filled with players who were Premier League champs just two seasons ago.’
Erm, because Leicester right now are a mid-to-lower-table Premier League side so do not have the pulling power to attract big names. Unless they are going to go back and appoint Claudio Ranieri, they are unlikely to attract a manager with experience of ‘inspiring a dressing room filled with players who were Premier League champs just two seasons ago’.
Talking of Claudio Ranieri, this was Collymore on the Italian just over two years ago when predicting Leicester would finish 17th: ‘I’m not convinced about ‘Tinkerman’ Claudio Ranieri. Pearson had the dressing room. The players believed in him. Ranieri has a job on his hands earning the same respect.’
It’s almost like Collymore absolutely cannot judge who would be a good motivator in the Premier League.
Anyway, we digress…
‘Saddened because I think Leicester fans would rightly have expected the club’s owners to be braver and more ambitious.’
We think we have covered this but here we go; Leicester’s owners probably wanted to be ‘braver and more ambitious’ but the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel were bizarrely unwilling to take a job with a Premier League club facing a possible relegation battle. Is there one emotion left, Stan?
‘And angered because once again English managers – and Sean Dyche in particular – appear to have been overlooked for a Frenchman who hardly pulled up any trees at Southampton and left St Mary’s having made little lasting impact.’
Ah, now we get there. You didn’t want Leicester to be ambitious at all; you just wanted them to appoint an English manager. Would appointing the manager who finished 16th in last season’s Premier League – although one who has done a fine job – really be a more ambitious move than appointing the manager who finished eighth? It doesn’t sound more ambitious.
‘It’s no wonder Leicester fans have reacted with surprise and bewilderment because it looks one of the oddest managerial marriages I’ve seen in recent years – it just makes no sense to me.
‘I played for Leicester under Martin O’Neill and they became the Fearless Foxes. To me, Puel looks a whimpering, crestfallen soul.
‘Welcome to the Faceless Foxes.’
‘Puel looks a whimpering, crestfallen soul.’ Seriously, that is your analysis? Absolutely nothing about his tactics or his really quite impressive CV; you are judging him on only two things: a) being a bit foreign and b) having a quite sad face.
If you are thinking at this point that Collymore has forgotten that Leicester won the Premier League under a foreign manager, then you would be wrong.
‘Even though they had an Italian boss in Claudio Ranieri, Leicester stunned the world by winning the Premier League in a very English way with a direct game.’
See. He is basically English.
‘Dyche has done a brilliant job at Burnley and this would have been a decent upgrade to a club prepared to spend money even though the owners seem trigger-happy.’
We don’t disagree, Stan. But it is possible to think Sean Dyche has done a brilliant job at Burnley without throwing your hands up in despair and claiming anglophobia because a club has appointed another manager who is equally if not more qualified to do the job.
‘He would have been a perfect fit for the Leicester but Sean’s just got one problem. He’s English.’
At this point it is worth pointing out that we don’t know – and neither does Stan – whether Dyche actually applied for the Leicester job. Maybe he didn’t want it? After all, Burnley are doing better in the Premier League. It’s also worth pointing out that the last manager appointed by Leicester was in fact English; we don’t think the club have a deep loathing of all things Albion.
‘Youngsters have grown up in this global football village and been gifted this beautiful Pep Guardiola way of doing things where even the goalies do Cruyff turns.
‘Guardiola serves up adventurous, trendy tapas but it’s plain old meat and two veg from guys like Big Sam and Pulis.
‘English or British basically means route one, kick and rush, can’t play, not good technically so we are stereotyping a whole group of managers.’
Says the man who wrote the words ‘very English way with a direct game’ just a few sentences before.
Oh and Sean Dyche’s Burnley do play the most long balls in the Premier League. That’s a pesky fact.
Mediawatch cannot say it was entirely unhappy to see Claude Puel begin his Leicester reign with a deserved 2-0 win over an Everton side coached by an Englishman. And when we say ‘not entirely unhappy’, we mean sodding ecstatic.
So long, Stanloi
- Eaststand
- Registered user
- Posts: 17966
- Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 2:36 pm
- Location: having a smoochy smooch
Re: So long, Stanloi
Stanloy's regularly appalling column expertly destroyed by f365 today.......
Build Back More Betterer
- subsub
- Registered user
- Posts: 21902
- Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:02 am
- Location: Herts
- The Ghost of Alex Higgins
- No longer the Bridesmaid
- Posts: 39149
- Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:35 pm
- Location: Cunt
- Contact:
Re: So long, Stanloi
Just bants Stan, no need to meet them face-to-face
MAKING TALKFORUM GREAT AGAIN
- Basualdo
- Winner - POTY 2011!!!!
- Posts: 17983
- Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:31 am
- Location: Selling some halogen lamps.
Re: So long, Stanloi
The Talksport force is still strong in Stanloi....you are judging him on only two things: a) being a bit foreign and b) having a quite sad face.
Proud Gammon
RIP Neil Peart 1952-2020.
RIP Neil Peart 1952-2020.
- Eaststand
- Registered user
- Posts: 17966
- Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 2:36 pm
- Location: having a smoochy smooch
Re: So long, Stanloi
The Ghost of Alex Higgins wrote:Just bants Stan, no need to meet them face-to-face
This is made relevant by the fact that Stan will definitely have read this.
And is probably still furiously re reading it right now .
Build Back More Betterer
-
- Registered user
- Posts: 8878
- Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 10:46 am
Re: So long, Stanloi
I like how he believes Puel is an uninspiring choice but Sean Dyche would be welcomed with open arms and the wow factor would go through the roof.
Dyche is a good manager but hardly Guardiola joining, is it?
Dyche is a good manager but hardly Guardiola joining, is it?
- Eaststand
- Registered user
- Posts: 17966
- Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 2:36 pm
- Location: having a smoochy smooch
Re: So long, Stanloi
BUT HES ENGLISH THEREFORE PASHUNUT. HE KNOWS THE GAME AND IS A PWOPER FOOTBALL MAAAN
Build Back More Betterer
- Roddy
- Registered user
- Posts: 6273
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:32 pm
- Location: In place.
Re: So long, Stanloi
Looks loike a great show.
Talksport getting a tanking in the comments section.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... tv-show-rt
Talksport getting a tanking in the comments section.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... tv-show-rt
You can only live in the world you know.The rest is just wishful thinking or paranoia.
"We shall not go to Canossa!"
"We shall not go to Canossa!"
-
- Registered user
- Posts: 3278
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:39 pm
Re: So long, Stanloi
Glendenning as boring in print as he is on the radio it seems.
- shivah
- Registered user
- Posts: 18773
- Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 7:13 pm
- Contact:
Re: So long, Stanloi
The only force strong with Stanloi is the force he uses to beat a woman.
Grunt is a Chunt.
-
- Registered user
- Posts: 1952
- Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:44 pm
Re: So long, Stanloi
Roddy wrote:Looks loike a great show.
Talksport getting a tanking in the comments section.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... tv-show-rt
Saw the boring cunt who wrote it and decided not to bother.
- delboy1983
- Registered user
- Posts: 17916
- Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 1:59 pm
Re: So long, Stanloi
And Dyche can only manage one club at a time.
Take note:
Burnley
Everton
West Ham
West Brom
Crystal Palace
Stoke
England
Take note:
Burnley
Everton
West Ham
West Brom
Crystal Palace
Stoke
England
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
-
- Registered user
- Posts: 8878
- Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 10:46 am
Re: So long, Stanloi
There were no guarantees Dyche would join anyway.
- m4rkb
- Registered user
- Posts: 11315
- Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 1:35 pm
- Location: Ape City
Re: So long, Stanloi
I don't know if anyone is aware but Stan now has a show on RT as of Nov 3
https://www.rt.com/shows/stan-collymore-show/
https://www.rt.com/shows/stan-collymore-show/
-
- Registered user
- Posts: 1952
- Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:44 pm
Re: So long, Stanloi
delboy1983 wrote:And Dyche can only manage one club at a time.
Take note:
Burnley
Everton
West Ham
West Brom
Crystal Palace
Stoke
England
I'd stick with Burnley if I was him, bag himself a top 10 finish rather than fuck about with that lot above, if in a years time he fancies a move with a full pre season and cash to spend, go for it.