Stan Collymore Reveals Leicester's Bizarre Appointment of Claude Puel Angered & Saddened Him
Former Leicester City striker Stan Collymore has admitted to feeling 'baffled, saddened and angered' over Leicester City's appointment of Claude Puel to the top job, following the sacking of Craig Shakespeare.
In Collymore's column for the Mirror, the former England international felt the Foxes decision to hire Puel was bizarre, as he claimed the club's hierarchy could have been more ambitious in their search for a new manager.
Collymore said of the former Southampton manager's appointment: "It’s baffled, saddened and angered me all in one go.
"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.
"Saddened because I think Leicester fans would rightly have expected the club’s owners to be braver and more ambitious.
"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.
"To me, Puel looks a whimpering, crestfallen soul. Welcome to the Faceless Foxes.
Collymore continued by saying the bypassing of English managers for the Leicester job was an oversight in favour of a 'trendier' foreign coach, as British managers are seen to be anti-football tacticians.
He added: "It seems you get a negative vibe and think the worst when you mention English or British bosses.
"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. But managers like Dyche, Eddie Howe and Chris Hughton, who are all doing well in the Premier League, are far savvier than that.
Although offering a less than impressed first impression of the Frenchman, Collymore still says he will wait and see how Puel's time at the King Power transpires before offering a final judgement.
"As for Puel it’s fair to say by the reaction that the jury is still out. Maybe we should give the guy a chance and wait and see. But I’m not holding my breath," he added.
