The old Chris Hughton discussion thread

[STM]

I don't really care about the style of football, however we have been really lucky recently. We're drawing too many games. We might as well win 1 and lose 2 rather than draw 3 times, like we have in the last 3 away games. There's being cautious, then there's being cautious to the point we're just throwing away points.

 

Saw enough CAUTION in the Leicster game to last me a lifetime and he just stood there perplexed  and then made changes way too late. It might happen that we miss automatic promotion by 2 points, cause it's going to be close...We will lose more games as teams are less in awe of us than the start of the season and they've worked it all out...Hence Leicester continued to attack with 10 men cause they could see we were essentially toothless. Butt and Nolan basically have almost no movement and no ability to dicatate anything other than a pizza order on the phone.

 

I'm astounded there are people in here who refuse to see that CH doesn't really have the mental and tactical tools to help us in the PL it is quite evident already, we are just scraping by at the minute....Sooner or later we'll lose 2 or 3 games close together.

 

It sounds like you're really criticising the players more the Hughton.

 

I hope he plays Guthrie in the middle now he has Routledge, that's pretty much all he can do to improve central midfield.

 

I bet he starts Nolan and Butt against Cardiff and I also think they will beat us.

 

Won't happen. I wouldn't put too much money on that if i was you.

[Dr.Spaceman]

Bring in Joachim Loew tbh.

[Parky]

I don't really care about the style of football, however we have been really lucky recently. We're drawing too many games. We might as well win 1 and lose 2 rather than draw 3 times, like we have in the last 3 away games. There's being cautious, then there's being cautious to the point we're just throwing away points.

 

Saw enough CAUTION in the Leicster game to last me a lifetime and he just stood there perplexed  and then made changes way too late. It might happen that we miss automatic promotion by 2 points, cause it's going to be close...We will lose more games as teams are less in awe of us than the start of the season and they've worked it all out...Hence Leicester continued to attack with 10 men cause they could see we were essentially toothless. Butt and Nolan basically have almost no movement and no ability to dicatate anything other than a pizza order on the phone.

 

I'm astounded there are people in here who refuse to see that CH doesn't really have the mental and tactical tools to help us in the PL it is quite evident already, we are just scraping by at the minute....Sooner or later we'll lose 2 or 3 games close together.

 

It sounds like you're really criticising the players more the Hughton.

 

I hope he plays Guthrie in the middle now he has Routledge, that's pretty much all he can do to improve central midfield.

 

I bet he starts Nolan and Butt against Cardiff and I also think they will beat us.

 

Won't happen. I wouldn't put too much money on that if i was you.

 

Hope not.

[Parky]

Bring in Joachim Loew tbh.

 

He'd be wasted here.

[NewJerseyMag]

Smith/Nolan against Cardiff I bet.

 

It all depends on whether Jonas is fit of course and that's not looking too promising.

 

Its prob going to be Guthrie-Nolan-Smith-Rout

 

I'd rather see Jonas-Guthrie-Smith-Rout on current form.

[J7]

I don't really care about the style of football, however we have been really lucky recently. We're drawing too many games. We might as well win 1 and lose 2 rather than draw 3 times, like we have in the last 3 away games. There's being cautious, then there's being cautious to the point we're just throwing away points.

 

Saw enough CAUTION in the Leicster game to last me a lifetime and he just stood there perplexed  and then made changes way too late. It might happen that we miss automatic promotion by 2 points, cause it's going to be close...We will lose more games as teams are less in awe of us than the start of the season and they've worked it all out...Hence Leicester continued to attack with 10 men cause they could see we were essentially toothless. Butt and Nolan basically have almost no movement and no ability to dicatate anything other than a pizza order on the phone.

 

I'm astounded there are people in here who refuse to see that CH doesn't really have the mental and tactical tools to help us in the PL it is quite evident already, we are just scraping by at the minute....Sooner or later we'll lose 2 or 3 games close together and then the s*** will fly and he won't have the answers.

I thought our strongest period of the game was last 10-15mins. It could have been because Leicester started to tire, but to me it seemed to be because we had taken Nolan off and put Pancrate on. Im not Pancrates biggest fan, and he was poor on the ball, but it changed Leicesters approach to the game. They had to take care of Pancrate who was making runs and confusing the defence. Before he came on they only really had Routledge to worry about.

[quayside]

You could argue that the Premiership is mostly made up of teams who play 'bad football'. Not as bad as us, but they're all not Arsenal.

 

I want us to play better football as well, but most of all I want us to get promoted. At the end of the day, you can't argue with the results we've acheived with a very average squad of players.

 

Not average for this league though. How many other Championship sides have a collection of defenders that cost £15-£20 million and a collection of midfielders that cost £15-£20 million?

[Parky]

I don't really care about the style of football, however we have been really lucky recently. We're drawing too many games. We might as well win 1 and lose 2 rather than draw 3 times, like we have in the last 3 away games. There's being cautious, then there's being cautious to the point we're just throwing away points.

 

Saw enough CAUTION in the Leicster game to last me a lifetime and he just stood there perplexed  and then made changes way too late. It might happen that we miss automatic promotion by 2 points, cause it's going to be close...We will lose more games as teams are less in awe of us than the start of the season and they've worked it all out...Hence Leicester continued to attack with 10 men cause they could see we were essentially toothless. Butt and Nolan basically have almost no movement and no ability to dicatate anything other than a pizza order on the phone.

 

I'm astounded there are people in here who refuse to see that CH doesn't really have the mental and tactical tools to help us in the PL it is quite evident already, we are just scraping by at the minute....Sooner or later we'll lose 2 or 3 games close together and then the s*** will fly and he won't have the answers.

I thought our strongest period of the game was last 10-15mins. It could have been because Leicester started to tire, but to me it seemed to be because we had taken Nolan off and put Pancrate on. Im not Pancrates biggest fan, and he was poor on the ball, but it changed Leicesters approach to the game. They had to take care of Pancrate who was making runs and confusing the defence. Before he came on they only really had Routledge to worry about.

 

Agree pancake did well when he came on as he stretched the game when they were tired.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

You could argue that the Premiership is mostly made up of teams who play 'bad football'. Not as bad as us, but they're all not Arsenal.

 

I want us to play better football as well, but most of all I want us to get promoted. At the end of the day, you can't argue with the results we've acheived with a very average squad of players.

 

Not average for this league though. How many other Championship sides have a collection of defenders that cost £15-£20 million and a collection of midfielders that cost £15-£20 million?

 

If you're trying to say that the midfield isn't average then got to say you're wrong. On price they're worth more than most, but on ability they're shizzite.

[quayside]

You could argue that the Premiership is mostly made up of teams who play 'bad football'. Not as bad as us, but they're all not Arsenal.

 

I want us to play better football as well, but most of all I want us to get promoted. At the end of the day, you can't argue with the results we've acheived with a very average squad of players.

 

Not average for this league though. How many other Championship sides have a collection of defenders that cost £15-£20 million and a collection of midfielders that cost £15-£20 million?

 

If you're trying to say that the midfield isn't average then got to say you're wrong. On price they're worth more than most, but on ability they're shizzite.

 

The midfield certainly look poor a lot of the time - but are they really that bad or is the manager not getting it right either with his team selection or with his tactics?

BTW I don't claim to know the answer to that question.   

[J7]

I don't think there's a problem with one of them playing, most likely Smith, but we look poor when we have to play two. Smith and a creative CM next to him would probably be fine. in my opinion Barton is the answer, but he's too unreliable with injuries and takes a few games to get into form after coming back.

[NewJerseyMag]

I don't think there's a problem with one of them playing, most likely Smith, but we look poor when we have to play two. Smith and a creative CM next to him would probably be fine. in my opinion Barton is the answer, but he's too unreliable with injuries and takes a few games to get into form after coming back.

 

Agreed. Nolan looks as tho he ate way too much at Xmas and has been on a downward spiral ever since.

[Guest BooBoo]

I'm not sure whether Nolans ever put in an impressive 90 minutes for us.

[Jayson]

Nolans definately gone downhill. When you consider the way he was sprinting about previously at start of the season, like Ameobis 2nd goal against reading. He had real determination, like he wanted to prove himself again. Now its almost as if hes proved what he wanted to, to the point of even being called the best player in the division & is just coasting along again waiting for things to just fall into the right place for him so he can use his "quality". Rather than driving himself to be the reason it happens as before.

[Parky]

Nolans definately gone downhill. When you consider the way he was sprinting about previously at start of the season, like Ameobis 2nd goal against reading. He had real determination, like he wanted to prove himself again. Now

its almost as if hes proved what he wanted to, to the point of even being called the best player in the division & is just coasting along again waiting for things to just fall into the right place for him so he can use his "quality". Rather than driving himself to be the reason it happens as before.

 

Put his bloody feet up he has.

 

[TRon]

Nolans definately gone downhill. When you consider the way he was sprinting about previously at start of the season, like Ameobis 2nd goal against reading. He had real determination, like he wanted to prove himself again. Now its almost as if hes proved what he wanted to, to the point of even being called the best player in the division & is just coasting along again waiting for things to just fall into the right place for him so he can use his "quality". Rather than driving himself to be the reason it happens as before.

 

Nolan has been out of condition from the day he arrived here, whether he puts the effort in or not he's just too slow around the pitch. The same is true of Butt and Smith who are both players who's best days are behind them for one reason or another. Hughton is playing them because they are all disciplined and will defend resolutely even if they don't offer much offensively. Guthrie should have been the one to provide the drive but he hasn't held down a central position. He should have been given more opportunity to prove he can dominate the midfield battles, but when he has had the chance he hasn't given much indication that he's up to it.

[Slugsy]

Nolans definately gone downhill. When you consider the way he was sprinting about previously at start of the season, like Ameobis 2nd goal against reading. He had real determination, like he wanted to prove himself again. Now its almost as if hes proved what he wanted to, to the point of even being called the best player in the division & is just coasting along again waiting for things to just fall into the right place for him so he can use his "quality". Rather than driving himself to be the reason it happens as before.

 

Nolan has been out of condition from the day he arrived here, whether he puts the effort in or not he's just too slow around the pitch. The same is true of Butt and Smith who are both players who's best days are behind them for one reason or another. Hughton is playing them because they are all disciplined and will defend resolutely even if they don't offer much offensively. Guthrie should have been the one to provide the drive but he hasn't held down a central position. He should have been given more opportunity to prove he can dominate the midfield battles, but when he has had the chance he hasn't given much indication that he's up to it.

 

 

Very fair assessment of the centre mid options and performances

[Parky]

Nolans definately gone downhill. When you consider the way he was sprinting about previously at start of the season, like Ameobis 2nd goal against reading. He had real determination, like he wanted to prove himself again. Now its almost as if hes proved what he wanted to, to the point of even being called the best player in the division & is just coasting along again waiting for things to just fall into the right place for him so he can use his "quality". Rather than driving himself to be the reason it happens as before.

 

Nolan has been out of condition from the day he arrived here, whether he puts the effort in or not he's just too slow around the pitch. The same is true of Butt and Smith who are both players who's best days are behind them for one reason or another. Hughton is playing them because they are all disciplined and will defend resolutely even if they don't offer much offensively. Guthrie should have been the one to provide the drive but he hasn't held down a central position. He should have been given more opportunity to prove he can dominate the midfield battles, but when he has had the chance he hasn't given much indication that he's up to it.

 

Seems a bit too slight for dominating material, got the odd good pass in him mind - unlike the rest. I think there still is time for him to develop into something a bit more mind.

[midds]

Guthrie is no more than a poor man's Danny Murphy. He's alright but he's not the answer.

[Parky]

Guthrie is no more than a poor man's Danny Murphy. He's alright but he's not the answer.

 

Agreed.

[BottledDog]

Guthrie is no more than a poor man's Danny Murphy. He's alright but he's not the answer.

 

Agreed.

 

Bingo, those upset at his non inclusion should be happy for the times we get to see him.  The calls for him and fringe players like Ranger to start, and Hughtons idiocy for not following this popular line appear to be diminishing. I still think both players will come good, but they aren't good enought yet.

[Yorkie]

Guthrie is no more than a poor man's Danny Murphy. He's alright but he's not the answer.

 

But he's the best we've got. Certainly when it comes to assists. That's kinda aimed at BottledDog aswell. I've been pretty disappointed with Guthrie this season, i was quite optimistic he'd piss this division. On the odd occassion he's looked like doing so. Before we got Routledge i'd have said it was best for all parties that Guthrie was on the right. He was more likely to make an impact there, and we didn't have anyone else capable of holding down a place in that position. And he was doing fairly well, if being an unconventional winger.

 

Routledge's arrival gives him a chance to win a spot in the centre, and i really hope he gets one. Aye he's not looked much so far this season when played there, but in fairness he's not had that many opportunities. Has he played there two games in a row? The guy's got a good shot and is pretty good at arriving late, driving through. His engine isn't great and he doesn't really retain possession too well. They're his main pros and cons. However, whilst Nolan and Smith hold onto the ball reasonably well - it's because they're so unambitious; yes it keeps the ball but more often than not - and it contributes virtually nothing.

 

Guthrie does have the ability do 'unlock doors', we jus don't see it enough. Now we've got a bit more movement and ability in the side in the front six - i really, really hope he gets a run in the side in the centre, cos he's got a fair amount of potential. We would be losing absolutely nothing by dropping Nolan right now.

[Dr Venkman]

You could argue that the Premiership is mostly made up of teams who play 'bad football'. Not as bad as us, but they're all not Arsenal.

 

I want us to play better football as well, but most of all I want us to get promoted. At the end of the day, you can't argue with the results we've acheived with a very average squad of players.

 

Not average for this league though. How many other Championship sides have a collection of defenders that cost £15-£20 million and a collection of midfielders that cost £15-£20 million?

 

If you're trying to say that the midfield isn't average then got to say you're wrong. On price they're worth more than most, but on ability they're shizzite.

 

The midfield certainly look poor a lot of the time - but are they really that bad or is the manager not getting it right either with his team selection or with his tactics?

BTW I don't claim to know the answer to that question.   

 

they're really that bad. no amount of coaching will improve nicky butt's passing, or kevin nolan's unwillingness to get fit, or alan smith's refusal to turn towards the opponents goal when he's got ten yards of space at least on all sides. and that's barely skimming the surface of their deficiencies.

[Ronaldo]

You cannot compare Guthrie with Ranger. Guthrie is performing to championship or higher standard, right now.

[TRon]

To be fair to guthrie, while he's been a disappointment this season, he was still head and shoulders above Nolan against Leicester. At some point Hughton is going to have to make a decision whether it's justifialbe to carry a passenger for 90 mins in the hope that he will score a goal.