The old Chris Hughton discussion thread

[ponsaelius]

I disagree.

 

I dunno if you misunderstood me, I don't want him replaced completely - just knocked down the pecking order as such. I'd definitely have him as either 3rd or 4th striker. I just think we need a new #2 striker. I'd still like to see him get gametime at home, but we need somebody more imposing for many of the games.

[Yorkie]

I disagree.

 

I dunno if you misunderstood me, I don't want him replaced completely - just knocked down the pecking order as such. I'd definitely have him as either 3rd or 4th striker. I just think we need a new #2 striker. I'd still like to see him get gametime at home, but we need somebody more imposing for many of the games.

 

I was being ironic. Your post summed up my long one in a single sentence.

[ponsaelius]

I disagree.

 

I dunno if you misunderstood me, I don't want him replaced completely - just knocked down the pecking order as such. I'd definitely have him as either 3rd or 4th striker. I just think we need a new #2 striker. I'd still like to see him get gametime at home, but we need somebody more imposing for many of the games.

 

I was being ironic. Your post summed up my long one in a single sentence.

 

Ahhh 

[merlin]

13 league goals makes him good enough for the prem?

 

Wake the f*** up. Players like Peter Lovenkrands are the reason we'll struggle next season.

 

Agree - he will be shown for what he is in the new season.

[Guest sicko2ndbest]

Another tick for Chris if he manages to land Campbell. Moved quickly after Taylors injury

[Guest neesy111]

Lovenkrands will be useful coming in from deep, but this will have to be when coming off the bench

[buzza]

Lovenkrands has to be considered as our third or fourth striker. It is healthy to seeus being linked with possible strikers such as Ben arfa who play in the hole behind the out and out strikers.

We will deffo be playing a 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 next season to contain better midfields than we did last year.

I personally don't think Ben Arfa is a good buy, he is apparently very lightweight and doesn't work very hard... I think Nolan with some weight off would be the perfect fold for carrol as he arrives for second phase and he works well defensively, we could see a revelation this year...fingers crossed!

[The Prophet]

Lovenkrands could be used in the Premier League to reasonable effect, more so for his pace and intelligance more than his goal scoring prowess. Don't get me wrong I'd prefer a superior striker being bought but if needs be I'd pick him up top along with Carroll.

 

One particularly positive memory of Lovenkrands in the Premier League was the Manc home match. There were certian spells in the game where along with Martins and Jonas he ran riot. Obviosuly we no longer have the pace of Martins but it hints that his runs could be useful up top if he uses them intelligently enough. I think he could certianly cause some of the lesser teams probelms.

 

As far as confining him to playing at home is concerned I don't think that is an issue, I can't see Hughton going anything but 4-5-1 away from SJP.

[mrmojorisin75]

Lovenkrands could be used in the Premier League to reasonable effect, more so for his pace and intelligance more than his goal scoring prowess. Don't get me wrong I'd prefer a superior striker being bought but if needs be I'd pick him up top along with Carroll.

 

One particularly positive memory of Lovenkrands in the Premier League was the Manc home match. There were certian spells in the game where along with Martins and Jonas he ran riot. Obviosuly we no longer have the pace of Martins but it hints that his runs could be useful up top if he uses them intelligently enough. I think he could certianly cause some of the lesser teams probelms.

 

As far as confining him to playing at home is concerned I don't think that is an issue, I can't see Hughton going anything but 4-5-1 away from SJP.

 

[Ronaldo]

It's not as if he's intelligent on the ball or quick over a distance longer than 10 yards.

[ponsaelius]

His runs are straight as a die aswell.

[Guest BlacknWhiteArmy]

Lovenkrands will be a decent squad filler, but he shouldn't be starting regularly. He'll be useful from the bench, and has some good qualities, but it is imperative that we get another striker

[TRon]

Lovenkrands will be a decent squad filler, but he shouldn't be starting regularly. He'll be useful from the bench, and has some good qualities, but it is imperative that we get another striker

 

This basically. Sol Campbells and Goslings are all very well but I am hoping that Ashley will be prepared to loosen the purse strings enough for us to go for a semi decent forward.

[Jayson]

Lovenkrands has the best movement out of any of our fowards.

[Ronaldo]

He's also the weakest and the oldest. Not to mention pretty incapable of creating goals for others.

[ponsaelius]

Lovenkrands has the best movement out of any of our fowards.

 

Doesn't really say much. His inability to arc a run won't help his cause in the PL.

[Jayson]

His runs & pace make us a better side, his movement creates chances for others.

 

You can say his runs will be marked better in the prem. You could say the same of Carroll winning as many headers. Its easy to focus on negatives and write off a players strengths.

[Ronaldo]

His anticipation is good but his movement often lacks tact and timing, which is why he's offside so much.

 

As for his pace, it completely disappears when he gets the ball or has to combine it with strength.

[Cronky]

I'm hoping Cleverley can play in that role between striker and midfield (assuming we get him, of course) Lovenkrands isn't quite good enough.

[Fatwax]

His anticipation is good but his movement often lacks tact and timing, which is why he's offside so much.

 

As for his pace, it completely disappears when he gets the ball or has to combine it with strength.

 

Spot on, his pace is all off the ball.

[Dave]

Nice article.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/championship/newcastleunited/7920165/Newcastle-United-manager-Chris-Hughton-looks-forward-to-Premier-League-challenge.html

Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton looks forward to Premier League challenge

 

For Newcastle United, last summer’s August bank holiday marked the beginning of a new era for the club, and one that manager Chris Hughton believes can restore them to the elite of English football.

 

By Gerry Cox

Published: 5:25PM BST 31 Jul 2010

 

It was 11 months ago this weekend – Aug 31, 2009 to be precise – that Hughton, his assistant Colin Calderwood and the under-pressure players realised the cold, hard reality of life in the championship and decided to do something about it.

 

It was the final day of the transfer window, and as Hughton describes it, a turning point in the club’s fortunes and mentality.

 

“For me the pivotal moment was the last day of August, when we were able to sit down, look around the changing room and say 'right, this is what we’ve got’. It was not so much the fact that nobody else was coming in, but the knowledge that nobody was going out.

 

“We said to ourselves: 'this is our group, the group that’s hopefully going to get us promotion back into the Premier League’ and I think it was important that everybody was able to do that.

 

“It was a big moment for us because the players were able to look around and have confidence that all of that group in there were going to do their best to get us up.”

 

Indeed they did, as champions a year after the trauma of relegation from the Premier League. Observing events at the club the previous year was like seeing a car crash in slow motion. Relegation was the culmination of a slow and painful descent from the highs of Champions League football under Sir Bobby Robson to the acrimony that surrounded the club as they went down.

 

Managers had come and gone with alacrity ever since Robson’s premature ejection, with Graeme Souness, Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear and even Alan Shearer failing to stop the rot.

 

And then there was Hughton. For most of his career a coach and assistant manager, happiest out on the training ground with players, he had served as assistant manager several times at his first club, Tottenham, and then Newcastle.

 

When he took charge at the start of last season, there seemed to be no guarantee that he would survive long under owner Mike Ashley. A 6-1 thumping at Leyton Orient in pre-season did not augur well. As Hughton was aware, he needed to keep winning to keep his job and the fans onside.

 

He said: “We needed a season where Newcastle were on the back pages for the right reasons. So it was good to have a season where most of the talk was about our football. It helped us settle down.”

 

Newcastle had a reputation as a club riven by cliques and committed socialist Hughton used revolutionary methods to change that, forming a committee of senior players who were able to represent their colleagues and also take responsibility for them.

 

“We had to have players pulling in the same direction and showing a real desire to come straight back up again. Once we knew we had that, the obvious thing was to give them responsibility and allow them to play a part in what was for the benefit for all.”

 

Hughton has ambitious plans to restore Newcastle to the Premier League elite. He said: “With what this club has, the fan base, the stadium, the top five has to be the aim, but it’s not going to happen overnight. Tactically we will have to be different to last season, and our home form will be vital for us.”

 

He has little money to spend but has managed to bring in Dan Gosling on a free transfer from Everton “very much one for the future” and Sol Campbell, one from his past. “I worked with Sol as a teenager at Tottenham, and although he is at the tail end of his career, he will give us experience and leadership.”

 

Newcastle face Manchester United at Old Trafford for the opening game of the season on Aug 16, but Hughton remains unfazed.

 

He said: “It’s normal to have mixed emotions going into the season, but I think the overriding one is of excitement.”

 

Wonder if top five is a general aim of the board or just Hughton himself. Either way that's a lot more ambitious than anything else we've seen from the club in recent times.

[mrmojorisin75]

good god i forgot it was manyoo away first game

 

shee-it

[Jill]

good god i forgot it was manyoo away first game

 

shee-it

 

I had forgotten then it flashed up on Sky Sports earlier.. "Ahh.. fuuuuck"

[Mr Logic]

No doubting he's a nice guy, but I still have big questions regarding his tactical nous. I recall that even some of our wins last season were really terrible football and 3 or 4 injuries this season will see us with the same team out. Getting raped by Wigan, Bolton or Sunderland will not be easy to take; and from comments in the PSV thread I am also seriously worried about him supposedly wanting to narrow the pitch and the quality of widemen available should our first choice 2 be unavailable.

[mrmojorisin75]

No doubting he's a nice guy, but I still have big questions regarding his tactical nous. I recall that even some of our wins last season were really terrible football and 3 or 4 injuries this season will see us with the same team out. Getting raped by Wigan, Bolton or Sunderland will not be easy to take; and from comments in the PSV thread I am also seriously worried about him supposedly wanting to narrow the pitch and the quality of widemen available should our first choice 2 be unavailable.

i don't think i could have put my own concerns any more concisely