Yep, I’m pretty much in agreement with all of this. The most important one being time. Time is needed to see if this possession based football under Puel will create goals.

That’s the only big question after last night. Our performance for me was really encouraging. Well done Gray for sticking it down my throat with an excellent game.

You also made me laugh with the Gallagher comment. I said exactly the same last night.

Puel’s subs were odd and that remains an issue. But there may have been fitness reasons for that.

What I conclude is that there is more to be optimistic about than concerned by after that first game.

So far Puel is proving the doubters (I’m one) wrong and if we can turn that performance in to winning football, then I for one will be very happy to be wrong.

10 games in, let’s see where we are.

Ktf
Hmm so many big words and sentences 😭
On the whole an excellent article 9/10 😳

I think those of us who doubt puel this was the sort of statement performance we wanted to see,I think non top 4 teams would probably have buried by half time,
If this is how we are going to go the season I'll be quite happy,

Allowing for the non fitness of players and
Some players not being available I suppose if we judge it on the first 60 minutes-
We dominated a weakened utd and for most of the first half they looked panicked,

Maddison looked like he'd been here for years and gazelle 😀 looked promising,

Then we tired which is understandable
The starring team for me was a little weird,
Bearing in mind he couldn't play the team he wanted,
Why didn't he start with Albrighton on the wing and pierer in at rb just for the day

His substitutions struck everyone as strange

Chilwell should be getting his crosses in and still vulnerable defensively at times/ decision marking needs to improve,
Grey
Until he tired I thought at last we are seeing the real grey,his whole game was good especially his defensive work and only one shot that he should have passed,

There were quite a few times going forward where a though ball or over the top could have created a change
Instead we stop and go sideways or back,
This I think is where puel instructions come in re keeping the ball if your not 100% that you will not give the ball away, keep it and go back ,,I found this frustrating yesterday and hope it's just because vardy wasn't playing,
I liked the slight alteration to our corner routine to form the love train,but hope we still put Maguire on the rear post run as well and mix them up

Overall 7/10, hopefully this is our plan A for the season,which with some descent set pieces could be interesting,

Puel has his players
He now needs it to gel and players to stay fit
And he'll get till Christmas
And the 25 /30 point target

Great post KTF and one I wholeheartedly agree with.

The only part where I'm less concerned is that just like with Pearson I believe the Owners have bought into the plan, I think ( although he looked more miserable than normal last night - a sign of the pressure? ) that Puel has a lot more time and support from in the Club than many fans think.

Some stats below to show that we are perhaps closer than we think, just in need of that final bit of creativity.

Everyone knows we had more possession (nearly 70% at one point in the first half) but who cares if it doesn’t mean anything?

Well of the two teams:

We attempted more passes (62 more in fact)
Completed more passes (56 more)
Were more accurate with passes (84%)
Won more tackles (79%)
Put in over twice as many balls into the box (28)

Had more shots in total (13)
Had the player with the most touches - Ndidi (despite Sky claiming otherwise)
Had the player with the most shots (Gray)

What you would say that jumps out is:

The quality of those balls (plenty of them) into the box (bring in Albrighton)

The quality of finishing (bring in Vardy)

KTF - I thought the quality of ball in to the box was good, we just never had anyone in the box in a position to take advantage. I got bored of Chilwell dropping it on the penalty spot and nobody being in the box.

As I said last night, that’s either a failing in instruction or a failing in execution.

Personally I thought it was a bit hit and miss. On occasions I thought ‘that’s decent but no one is there’ and at other times I thought ‘irrelevant of accuracy in terms of where it’s being pinged to, what’s the point if no ones there?’

Like you say, perhaps that is something that needs working on.

Thought Vardy’s ball into Gray was brilliant, but I’ve always thought he was one of the best strikers to cross a ball that I’ve seen at Leicester/possibly at this level.

Good assessment KTF.

We did play reasonably well and it was an encouraging start - although it was still a losing start. You could argue that how we perform in games like Man Utd away won’t define our season and there is some truth in that. We had plenty of possession and played attractive football, but had no cutting edge and ultimately lost. The fans won’t be so forgiving if that happens at home to someone like Cardiff. Especially if we go into a run of not being creative. KTF is right that a high possession game with no cutting edge almost feels worse than kick and rush sometimes.

If we fail to create chances in future games then the players will either become impatient and let the ball go too early or will end up playing sideways passes and play with fear of losing the ball. For me this season could go one of two ways:

1. We keep the ball well, but fail to create chances in games. The players retreat more and more into their shells and Puel is sacked.

2. We build on what we’re already doing, but develop some extra ruthlessness up front. The combination would make us one of the more attractive sides in the PM.

There are some posters who seem to think there is an anti Puel agenda, but I believe there isn’t. The nervousness is built from what transpired last season, which was too close to scenario one above. It won’t be shaken until we demonstrate an attacking edge. We’ll only really get a feel after 10 games or so as to whether this will happen.

I’m really hope Puel makes this happen and we keep him for plenty of seasons to come, but I can’t help having this fear that it won’t. So I’ll wait, see and hope.

Spot on joby re puel

Until our fans chant Puels name i believe there is anti Puel agenda, If not on here but wont take more than three games to for that to change.
The sub's where not that strange if not the ones we would of made or wanted.
As for the new signings we are going to have to wait weeks for them to be ready for selection and some are going take a whole season or not at all.
We are playing possesion game without going backwards and sideways,we have a number ten something we did not even had in our miricale season so we have lost Marhez and need to find a different way of being effective hopefully.
Bring on the Wolves

Thought we had a good game and if we ply like that versus other teams in league we’ll have a good season. But can we get those levels against the so called lesser teams? We have a habit of not keeping our game raised. Fingers crossed!

I think the anti puel feeling comes from his awful football last season and the 5 wins in 22 games. He has to win the fans back, but performances like last night will help

I think Nev is right in that Puel won’t be given much leeway. He hasn’t got much: ‘cash in the bank’ to fall back on.

If the next 3 or 4 games don’t go our way I think the atmosphere will deteriorate pretty quickly. It’s seems ridiculous to say so early in the season that he needs a few wins, but I fear that is the case. Puel needs some early results and momentum. Let’s hope he gets them and builds from there.

Joby explains it quite well.

I am personally anti-relegation and anti-losing. As Puel’s record in the second half of last season was mainly both of those, I guess you can call me anti-Puel currently.

So, as Joby says, Puel needs results to get the fans on side. If he does this then I will be a Puel fan. If he does this playing attractive football then that’s a big bonus and one I’ll enjoy.

The Man Utd game was a very good sign of things that could come. But we still lost. We need to play like that and win some games.

If we do that, the majority of fans will be anti-anti-Puel. Even though Nev will still believe every fan bar him wants him shot...

I am already converted to anti anti Puel from the way we played against Utd away in the first game of the season.

Very positive outlook going forwards, of course it will need another good display against Wolves and a few more to cement that position.

I trust I’m the owners and believe they will show Puel the same confidence they did Pearson.

I can't see Puel's name being chanted anytime soon Nev and that's not because of some 'anti' agenda or conspiracy theory, it's simply because he doesn't get himself across easily; the awful football for more than half of last season doesn't help either.

TB - I don't expect him to get much leeway whilst we make the transition, we're not in the same position as when Nige was trying to keep us up having got us promoted. Now, the owners have been spoilt with success. Claude's target will be to challenge for Europe. Mid table mediocrity might be tolerated in the short term but the thought of relegation won't; if we're struggling and around the bottom by October, I anticipate he'll be shown the door.

I'm not saying that's desirable, just reality. I can't imagine many (any?) fans actually want him to fail, we'd much rather be celebrating a successful cup run or getting to Europe?

This is a ludicrous story, but just goes to back up what I said above:

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2018/08/12/thierry-henry-leicester-as-claude-puel-faces-sack-after-man-utd-loss/

Speculation will always follow
Look at the Maguire stories,
And with managers it's either being sacked or courted by Barcelona or madrid

Henry is ridiculous nobody would give him a 1st managers job in the premier league
Assistant maybe,
Now Martinez after his world cup success
Now that's interesting 2nd choice after rafa
But hopefully totally not going to be needed,

Now why I could understand the club looking for alternatives just in case,
I hope they don't take a knee jerk reaction after 3-4 games if we lost or drew them, just based on results
But look at how they/ the system performed

Roberto Martinez would be horrific. Guy was appalling at Everton, if I’m honest I could have got that Belgian side to the semi finals