Chris Hughton

[ohmelads]

Not sure, I've never seen us turn in such gutless and embarrassing performances as we did when we had all of those 'better' players.

 

Aye, if they had suddenly decided to perform we would be destroying teams, but what reason have we to think that would happen?

 

The fact theyd be playing far weaker opposition. Same reason its allowed all our other players to suddenly decide to perform

 

I think when you see players coming out and going on with the "oh we're so much more together now, so much more determined..so much team spirit" etc its largely nonsense half the time.

 

Reality is, theyre pissing on teams as theyre easier to beat so theyre staying confident and thats it. If they were continually going behind after a bumbling mistakes every single game like last year, you'd likely see that "togetherness & team spirit" dissapear quite quickly. Results have a far bigger effect on morale and self belief than anything the coaches/manager/whoever else can give them & theyre getting better results. Thats about it.

 

 

Have to agree with this. When you're winning and top of the league it's easy to trot out an interview about team spirit and hard work but the simple fact is we are playing much easier opposition. You judge a player and a manager by how they deal with adversity and challenges, not by how they perform against sub-standard opposition.

 

As our squad gets weaker throughout the season due to injury and possible asset-stripping in January, the real test will begin for Hughton. For now it's a case of keep up the good work but talk of giving him the job permanently is mental.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Not sure, I've never seen us turn in such gutless and embarrassing performances as we did when we had all of those 'better' players.

 

Aye, if they had suddenly decided to perform we would be destroying teams, but what reason have we to think that would happen?

 

The fact theyd be playing far weaker opposition. Same reason its allowed all our other players to suddenly decide to perform

 

I think when you see players coming out and going on with the "oh we're so much more together now, so much more determined..so much team spirit" etc its largely nonsense half the time.

 

Reality is, theyre pissing on teams as theyre easier to beat so theyre staying confident and thats it. If they were continually going behind after a bumbling mistakes every single game like last year, you'd likely see that "togetherness & team spirit" dissapear quite quickly. Results have a far bigger effect on morale and self belief than anything the coaches/manager/whoever else can give them & theyre getting better results. Thats about it.

 

 

Have to agree with this. When you're winning and top of the league it's easy to trot out an interview about team spirit and hard work but the simple fact is we are playing much easier opposition. You judge a player and a manager by how they deal with adversity and challenges, not by how they perform against sub-standard opposition.

 

As our squad gets weaker throughout the season due to injury and possible asset-stripping in January, the real test will begin for Hughton. For now it's a case of keep up the good work but talk of giving him the job permanently is mental.

 

Even if the fat bastard stays he wouldnt need to sell, the overdraft would handle the remainder for the season and to do so would undoubtedly see us fail to go up losing him money. There would be no sense in further weakening the side at all, in fact it would be financial suicide assuming he was still here that is.

 

100% agree with the rest of your post though.

[EthiGeordie]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=685094&sec=england&root=england&cc=5901

 

On the face of it, an all-Irish managerial head-to-head between Chris Hughton and Roy Keane looked set to be something of a mismatch when the Championship season kicked off back in August.

 

 

GettyImages

 

Hughton has guided Newcastle to the summit

 

As Keane set out with a bold master plan for instant world domination at Ipswich, Hughton was left to wonder whether Newcastle's first game away from the Premier League would, in fact, be his last as caretaker-boss of a club that seems determined to attract disaster more than any other.

 

This long-time assistant was only filling in as Newcastle's stand-in boss because he was contractually obliged to stay at a club no right-minded manager would have contemplated joining - even if discredited owner Mike Ashley had been pointing a loaded pistol firmly at their temple.

 

Meanwhile, Keane was determined to tell anyone who would listen that his Ipswich team would quickly emerge as Championship promotion favourites, with his persistently outspoken claims winning him the sort of publicity he seems to revel in.

 

You could not have wished for a more contrasting set of circumstances to begin a season and yet a curious anomaly has occurred in the first two months of the campaign. The second international break was reached with Hughton's Newcastle sitting atop the Championship standings and Keane's winless Ipswich rooted to the bottom.

 

As if to confirm these two ex-Ireland heroes are heading in opposite directions, a rampant Newcastle thumped Ipswich 4-0 last month and the always-charming Hughton has typically sympathetic words to offer one of his victims.

 

"It has been a difficult start for Roy and he may be suffering from the reality that his mere presence at Ipswich raised expectations massively from day one," begins Hughton. "Roy has the effect of changing the mindset of a football club and expects to get teams winning quickly, so it has probably come as a bit of a shock to him that it hasn't happened right away in this job.

 

"What everyone in this game has to realise is football management jobs are tough. Whether you are working at a club with big expectations like Ipswich or one in a more uncertain position like Newcastle, the challenge is enormous.

 

"Things may have been very different for Roy if he had got that first win on the board in quickly, but it that victory has not come and he now he finds himself in a difficult position. It is looking difficult for him at the moment, but I'm sure he can come through it. I had a chat with Roy after our game at Portman Road a few weeks back and he seemed in good form.

 

GettyImages

 

Keane: Struggling to make an impression at Ipswich.

 

"There is no doubt Roy has the potential to be a top manager as he did a great job in getting Sunderland out of the Championship so quickly. He probably felt he could get things going at Ipswich just as fast, but it hasn't happened as yet and I'm sure he is beginning to wonder where the first win is coming from. There have been signs that his team will turn a corner soon in their last two games, so hopefully he gets them going soon."

 

At this early stage in the season, Keane is looking like a brash loudmouth who is bringing little more than an undeservedly inflated profile to Ipswich, yet the quiet and measured Hughton has gone about boosting his already immaculate reputation in the game in typically modest fashion.

 

Successive Championship Manager of the Month awards to start the campaign have served to confirm his unlikely success story and yet this former Tottenham and Ireland assistant coach cannot look beyond his immediate challenge, the Magpies' next game against Nottingham Forest.

 

"None of us know what is going to happen next week or the week after, so it allows me to focus on each individual game as if it will be my last," says Hughton, whose Newcastle side have been installed as the odds-on promotion favourites. "I'm enjoying doing this job, but there is no permanent position to apply for, so there is no point in worrying about the future.

 

"My position is likely to alter if the ownership of the club changes, but that has been the situation for some time. I'm comfortable with the way things are just now and with the results going well, it has been an enjoyable experience so far.

 

"You read things in the newspaper every day about what might or might not happen with the owners, but I cannot worry about it. To be honest, they don't have to tell me what is going on off the field because I am employed to work as a coach at Newcastle and to try and get results on the field. What happens off the field is none of my business.

 

"Am I surprised by how well we have done? I didn't really know what to expect when we started pre-season training in the summer, but I felt things were moving in the right direction by the time we played our first game at West Bromwich Albion.

 

"It was good to start in a high profile game against a fellow relegated side as it meant the dip in the level we are playing at didn't seem quite so big, but the test was always going to come against the hardened Championship sides. So far, we have done okay in those games, but we all know there is a hell of a long way to go.

 

Ian Horrocks/GettyImages

 

Hughton's Newcastle are firing on all cylinders.

 

"It feels great to be sitting on top of the table, but the amount of games in this league means these are still very early days. I could be forgiven for thinking I'm doing okay at the moment, but someone mentioned we still have 35 league games and 105 points still to play for. On that basis, being top in October doesn't mean too much. We have to keep our feet on the floor and make sure we don't think we have cracked it just yet."

 

Even if his eventful stay at Newcastle ends tomorrow, Hughton has done more than enough to confirm he would be a worthy candidate for a full-time management position and he admits the bug of the top job has bitten him.

 

"I have this caretaker tag before my name, but I have started to feel like the Newcastle boss in the last few weeks and the results we are getting cannot have done my reputation as a manager any harm at all," he adds.

 

"Being the top man at a club is a stressful position and I have found the workload pretty intense at times, but I have started to enjoy it more and more as the results have come for us. The rewards for a victory are fantastic when you are a manager and hopefully we have plenty more of those to look forward to over the course of this season. Who knows how long I will stay in this job, but I'll enjoy the ride while I'm here."

 

Honest humility has taken Hughton a long way in this game over the years and it is a quality his compatriot Keane would be wise to learn from.

 

 

 

[ohmelads]

 

Even if the fat b****** stays he wouldnt need to sell, the overdraft would handle the remainder for the season and to do so would undoubtedly see us fail to go up losing him money. There would be no sense in further weakening the side at all, in fact it would be financial suicide assuming he was still here that is.

 

100% agree with the rest of your post though.

 

You're right but Ashley has barely acted logically since he bought the club. It would have made sense to strengthen the club in the winter and try and stave off relegation by improving the team but he sold Given and N'Zogbia and didn't reinvest all the money. Same goes for this summer, only Lovenkrands came in as Ashley decided to chance it with injuries. Last year he suggested we could finish 6th! I fully expect him to do the same again in the winter window - I expect nothing but loan signings in and one or two going out. You're right it'd be madness but sadly that's the way things have been since he arrived.

[TRon]

 

Even if the fat b****** stays he wouldnt need to sell, the overdraft would handle the remainder for the season and to do so would undoubtedly see us fail to go up losing him money. There would be no sense in further weakening the side at all, in fact it would be financial suicide assuming he was still here that is.

 

100% agree with the rest of your post though.

 

You're right but Ashley has barely acted logically since he bought the club. It would have made sense to strengthen the club in the winter and try and stave off relegation by improving the team but he sold Given and N'Zogbia and didn't reinvest all the money. Same goes for this summer, only Lovenkrands came in as Ashley decided to chance it with injuries. Last year he suggested we could finish 6th! I fully expect him to do the same again in the winter window - I expect nothing but loan signings in and one or two going out. You're right it'd be madness but sadly that's the way things have been since he arrived.

 

Ashley's only concern is to make a profit or at least reduce losses year on year. Investing in the first team is  too risky when he can just sell players and loan indefinitely while we are in this division and if we go up it's a bonus.

[Guest Roger Kint]

 

Even if the fat b****** stays he wouldnt need to sell, the overdraft would handle the remainder for the season and to do so would undoubtedly see us fail to go up losing him money. There would be no sense in further weakening the side at all, in fact it would be financial suicide assuming he was still here that is.

 

100% agree with the rest of your post though.

 

You're right but Ashley has barely acted logically since he bought the club. It would have made sense to strengthen the club in the winter and try and stave off relegation by improving the team but he sold Given and N'Zogbia and didn't reinvest all the money. Same goes for this summer, only Lovenkrands came in as Ashley decided to chance it with injuries. Last year he suggested we could finish 6th! I fully expect him to do the same again in the winter window - I expect nothing but loan signings in and one or two going out. You're right it'd be madness but sadly that's the way things have been since he arrived.

 

Agree again, just that bit where i think he was serious about selling so said fuck that its not my problem. Whether he has since realised we could go straight back up anyway and decides to stay is anyones guess though.

[Guest sicko2ndbest]

Give me a fukin break

 

out his fukin depth man

 

fuk off

[BONTEMPI]

Time to step down Chris! I knew your purple patch wouldn't last.

 

But is Ashley really going to invest any money in a manager? Is he fuck, he needs driving out NOW!

[Ronaldo]

This is the beginning of the end for him. Personally I know for I fact that if we played my way with my first Xl against QPR, City and today, we'd have at least 7 points.

 

Lovenkrands LW man, honestly you stupid bastard. Those of us with sense have known the long ball tactics dont work for weeks. Time to look elsewhere i'm afraid.

[wyn davies]

Hughton: Givvuz the job, like.

 

you've gotta be jokin , chickens now coming home to roost,Carver on BBC Newcastle new what was needed and wot does hughton do waits till 10mins to go wot a knacker

[Interpolic]

Don't know why he waited until 82 mins to bring on Ranger, should have been on with 20 mins left.

[afar]

This is the beginning of the end for him. Personally I know for I fact that if we played my way with my first Xl against QPR, City and today, we'd have at least 7 points.

 

Lovenkrands LW man, honestly you stupid b******. Those of us with sense have known the long ball tactics dont work for weeks. Time to look elsewhere i'm afraid.

 

Absolutely, a blind man could see this coming crashing down soon. But once again people were all lulled in, sometimes I dispair at the lack of foresight from people on this board. The need for a manager is paramount, the players are still way superior than most of what this league has to offer, a little guidance is all it will take to get our season back on track, you take the big win against a poor Ipswich side out of the picture and we've been downright awful for a long while now.

[Guest Heneage]

He really does just seem to name his team and wait for a goal, if it doesn't come, he just waits a bit longer.

[Numbers]

[Guest BooBoo]

Honeymoon over I'm afraid. Inability to pick an adventerous starting XI is a recurring problem.

[Skirge]

Aye he had been a lucky manager luck is running out now, he needs to fkn stop making late changes unless we are winning, want a player to have an effet then give them long enough to do so.

[Guest Heneage]

Doncaster at home is his last chance.

[Kaizero]

Doncaster at home is his last chance.

 

No it's not. He'll not get "sacked" until we're sold.

[Yorkie]

Hughton's test has always been picking the lads up after a bad result/when in a rut. We've gone three games now without a win so if we can pick up victories against Scunthorpe and Plymouth, he'll have bought himself more time as far as i'm concerned. He's not a tactician and he's simply not a manager or recruiter of players. Given the quality we have in the squad (which far out-shines anything else in the division), he needs to be an excellent motivator and nothing else, cos the team should win games on the basis of that.

 

Scunthorpe is massive for him and for the club. Hit a rut going into the Christmas period and we could well find ourselves slipping away. We're not doomed yet, mind - still four points clear of the play-offs and only second on goal difference.

[Bad Mongo]

This is the beginning of the end for him. Personally I know for I fact that if we played my way with my first Xl against QPR, City and today, we'd have at least 7 points.

 

Lovenkrands LW man, honestly you stupid bastard. Those of us with sense have known the long ball tactics dont work for weeks. Time to look elsewhere i'm afraid.

That's ridiculous, even by your standards.

[TRon]

Hughton's test has always been picking the lads up after a bad result/when in a rut. We've gone three games now without a win so if we can pick up victories against Scunthorpe and Plymouth, he'll have bought himself more time as far as i'm concerned. He's not a tactician and he's simply not a manager or recruiter of players. Given the quality we have in the squad (which far out-shines anything else in the division), he needs to be an excellent motivator and nothing else, cos the team should win games on the basis of that.

 

Scunthorpe is massive for him and for the club. Hit a rut going into the Christmas period and we could well find ourselves slipping away. We're not doomed yet, mind - still four points clear of the play-offs and only second on goal difference.

 

I haven't seen much evidence this season that we have far more quality than other teams, in fact I'd say that even when we've won games we haven't looked better for long stretches of the game. We've got more experience and nous maybe, but there are a few teams in this division which have been been able to boss us in midfield in particular.

[chicago_shearer]

How many of the managers in this division would you swap Hughton for? 

 

Adkins · Blackwell · Clough · Coleman · Davies · Di Matteo · Ferguson · Holloway · Irvine · Johnson · Jones · Keane · Laws · Mackay · Magilton · O'Driscoll · Pearson · Robins · Rodgers · Sousa · Southgate · Sturrock · Warnock

 

[lovejoy]

This is the beginning of the end for him. Personally I know for I fact that if we played my way with my first Xl against QPR, City and today, we'd have at least 7 points.

 

Lovenkrands LW man, honestly you stupid b******. Those of us with sense have known the long ball tactics dont work for weeks. Time to look elsewhere i'm afraid.

 

Jesus Christ man. Who are you exactly?

[Guest Mantis]

How many of the managers in this division would you swap Hughton for? 

 

Adkins · Blackwell · Clough · Coleman · Davies · Di Matteo · Ferguson · Holloway · Irvine · Johnson · Jones · Keane · Laws · Mackay · Magilton · O'Driscoll · Pearson · Robins · Rodgers · Sousa · Southgate · Sturrock · Warnock

 

 

Probably one, but what is your point?  There isnt a much to pick from a bag full of shit!

[Dave]

Gonna get the job.