THE LOWDOWN
Puel faces an uncertain start to 2019 as Foxes eye a move for Rafa, leaving him leading the sack race
6-4 Claude Puel, 3-1 David Wagner, 6-1 Sean Dyche, 10-1 Neil Warnock, 14-1 Rafa Benitez CLAUDE PUEL heads into 2019 in limbo after Leicester’s shock defeat by relegation strugglers Cardiff.
Puel bought himself time at the King Power Stadium with successive wins over Chelsea and Manchester City. But their shortcomings were exposed on Saturday by Neil Warnock’s side, who were recording their first away win of the season.
Leicester visit Everton today with Puel now once again favourite for the Premier League sack race.
The club’s Thai owner Top Srivaddhanaprabha is known to be an admirer of Rafa Benitez (above), whose hopes of a takeover at Newcastle to inject fresh January funds are fading.
It means Puel is back on a tightrope at Leicester, where he has never fully won over fans despite leading the club to ninth last term.
Questions about his manmanagement, motivational
skills and tactics persist – and he appears to have a fractured relationship with star striker Jamie Vardy.
Leicester stars were eyeing a League Cup triumph in tribute to their popular late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter tragedy in October.
But Puel’s decision to field a weakened team against holders Manchester City in the quarter-finals wrecked their hopes.
Had they won, Leicester would have got League One Burton Albion in the last four, with a place in a Wembley final at their mercy. Puel’s decision to haul off Vardy in the second half against Cardiff on Saturday was booed. It meant the England striker was not on the field for a Leicester penalty, which was missed by James Maddison. Vardy shook Puel’s hand when he was replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho, who has not scored for three months, but the Frenchman’s relationship with the title-winning talisman remains rocky. His wife, former I’m A Celebrity contestant Rebekah Vardy, endorsed three Tweets criticising Puel earlier this term. One had said: “Genuinely a waste of time him playing under Puel.”
The 2016 champions are still arguably at their best on the counterattack – using Vardy’s lightning pace in the wins over Chelsea and Manchester
City.
But Puel is still trying to promote the possession game which saw Leicester labour against Cardiff, who won with a 92nd-minute screamer from Victor Camarasa. Now the spotlight is back on Puel ahead of eighth-placed Leicester’s televised trip to Everton this lunchtime. The Foxes then visit League Two Newport in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday in a potential TV banana skin. Top-flight matches against struggling Southampton and promoted Wolves follow.
Ahead of today’s trip to Goodison Park, Puel said: “Cardiff was the first game of the second half of the season. “It was an important game to start. But we lost and we need to have the right response against Everton.”