Pellegrino Approval Rating: Gameweek 5

Please note, Twitter polls are hardly an exact science—we realise this. The Pellegrino Approval Rating is merely a bit of fun in canvassing fan opinion on the current manager in direct response to how quickly Saints supporters turned on Puel last season. All results by each gameweek are chronicled at the bottom of the article.

It’s fair to say Claude Puel wasn’t the most popular of figures to have graced the touchline at St. Mary’s as Southampton coach with swathes of Saints fans baying for the Frenchman’s blood at the end of the 2016/17 Premier League campaign.

Mauricio Pellegrino is the man tasked with replacing Puel following a successful season with Spanish side Alaves. It’s early days, but we took to Twitter to poll Saints fans to see what they’re think of the man now trusted to take Southampton forward.

Five games in, Pellegrino now has an approval rating of 42% following last week’s 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace, while there has also been a 10% drop in those who were unhappy at the Argentine’s appointment and a 17% decrease for those who are undecided.

This is a big improvement on gameweek four’s approval rating of just 15%, though it’s important to note that poll was shortly following the Watford defeat compared to this week’s belated poll.

The Pellegrino Approval Rating is now also higher than that of gameweek three, which stood at 33%.

For the sake of context, St. Mary’s Musings put up a poll asking what they thought about Puel’s reign as coach with the benefit of hindsight. Interestingly, 35% of those polled were still undecided about Puel after a whole season—proving how difficult it can be for a manager to make his mark on a team within a year. Though, 58% polled said they were not in favour of Puel and only 7% said they approved of the Frenchman being Southampton manager—numbers which appear to be accurate, given the hostility directed at Puel from the stands at St. Mary’s last season.

So, overall, it would appear most Saints fans are now reserving judgement on Pellegrino’s appointment. We’ll track his approval rating each gameweek to see how he gets on coaching Southampton.

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 1: 64%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 2: 71%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 3: 33%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 4: 15%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 5: 42%