The old Chris Hughton discussion thread

[colinmk]

Sticking Jonas up front and dropping Carroll to play deeper was an excellent decision and took a lot of pressure off us in the end.

 

Good spot Mick.

 

Yeah I thought this was a really good decision by him today. I'm really impressed by Hughton in general. He is obviously still learning but he learns from his mistakes all the time and he looks to me like he could be a very good manager for a number of years.

[Dave]

Re Blackpool: did anyone hear about this coach have a serious stroke at the weekend? Not sure if it was before the match, but could have galvanized them.

 

Yeah, their players had shirts on dedicated to him etc.

 

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4930/610xha.jpg

[TheGuv]

Who and when were his subs, Because thats where i fault CH the most

[Mick]

Who and when were his subs, Because thats where i fault CH the most

 

Harper was injured and replaced in the first half, Ben Arfa had a slight knock and was replaced.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Got it wrong last week and took some justified stick. Got it right today and should expect some praise.

 

Fantastic result, a job well done.

 

Yep. Excellent result today. Well done to everyone involved.

[Nobody]

Love him. Deserves massive credit for what he's done with this group of lads. We're looking more comfortable on the ball in the Premier League than we did during large parts in the Championship, our defense is looking better than I can ever remember and his signings has all been brilliant, the right backs being the exception.

[JH]

As big a shock as the Blackpool game was, the Everton game was just as unexpected.

 

It's exactly the sort of game we usually give up on - I look at the fixture list and go "oh well, it'll be an easier 3-0 win to them" and we move on to the next game - how wrong I was!

 

We absolutely bossed the game, from start to finish. Like the Villa game, everyone gave 110% and we got all 3 points as a result. Hats off to Hughton, he saw the problems (Jonas and Smith) and he solved it.

 

We haven't played like that away from home in the Premier League since the days of Bobby. Although we can't ignore the Blackpool result, a decent performance against Chelsea and 3 points against Stoke and I'll be happy indeed.

 

Well done Chris and co

[Pilko]

I think the Everton result shows up the Blackpool result for what it was - one of those days, and Hughton a bit too cautious on the subs. It's pleasing that all those dubbing the Blackpool result as the worst in 20 years or whatever have crawled back into their caves, as people totally over-reacted to it as a result.

[JH]

I think the Everton result shows up the Blackpool result for what it was - one of those days, and Hughton a bit too cautious on the subs. It's pleasing that all those dubbing the Blackpool result as the worst in 20 years or whatever have crawled back into their caves, as people totally over-reacted to it as a result.

 

I reckon it was probably that we gave them way too much respect. The substitutions should have been earlier and we probably should have bombarded them a bit more than we did - I know we're nowhere near their standard, but Chelsea showed just how easy it was to dominate them like we did back in the Championship. It was a bad result, but the fact that we've been able to recover from it shows that we're a better team than we were than we went down.

[Darth Crooks]

I think the Everton result shows up the Blackpool result for what it was - one of those days, and Hughton a bit too cautious on the subs. It's pleasing that all those dubbing the Blackpool result as the worst in 20 years or whatever have crawled back into their caves, as people totally over-reacted to it as a result.

 

Was an appalling result no doubt. Don't buy into the one of those days speels but thats another debate. Credit goes to chrissy tho as he picked a squad resembling the best 11 players we have and long may it continue.

[alpal78]

Sticking Jonas up front and dropping Carroll to play deeper was an excellent decision and took a lot of pressure off us in the end.

 

Didn’t realize that, I thought Carrol was just helping out the defence on his volition but if that was Hughton's instructions, then he deserves credit.

 

I still think however that his main weakness is his inability to use subs properly and at the right time. He prefers to let the team work things out for themselves which can sometimes backfire (though in this case it did not).

 

2 specific instances against Everton

 

1) In the second half when Everton was dictating the game and attacking us in waves around the 60-75 minutes, he should have done something. Ideally putting on a more defensive midfielder in place of a knackered Nolan would have been good to add more steel to the midfield but since our only other ‘defensive midfielder’ is Alan Smith, he should have still taken off Nolan and put in Jonas or Lovenkrads. At the very least their pace would have prevented Everton's defence from moving so high up to join their midfield/attack and ease the pressure on us. 

 

2) In the last few minutes of injury time, when we were again at risk of conceding, he should have wasted some valuable time by making a sub. Even the Jonas for HBA sub seems more like enforced coz HBA was already limping when the sub was made.

 

So he deserves credit for having the courage to start both HBA and Tiote but he has to use his subs more strategically. We won but on another day his inaction could have lost us 2 valuable points.

 

[Beren]

Looking forward to see how CH performs this season when we're bound to come up against it considerably more than last season - and, pertinently, if he has the lack of hubris, balls and flexibility to be willing to drop the stalwarts "mainstays" of the team as circumstance dictates (E.g Nolan!).

 

For my part, I don't think he's perfect but I rather believe in CH!

 

[/famous last words]

 

Extremely impressed with Hughton so far Quality manager.

[Cronky]

He's been in charge for just over a year, and we're a team transformed, in every way.

 

Hughton has been excellent at getting the team to bounce back after a setback. The way we tore into Everton right from the start, you'd have thought the that we had fought back the previous week to draw with Man U, and they had lost at home to Blackpool.

[Magpie]

The biggest thing for me is the team spirit he's instilled into the club, seem like a band of brothers more than ever now!

 

I think the Everton result shows up the Blackpool result for what it was - one of those days, and Hughton a bit too cautious on the subs. It's pleasing that all those dubbing the Blackpool result as the worst in 20 years or whatever have crawled back into their caves, as people totally over-reacted to it as a result.

 

This, absolutely 100%. Yeah we played below par but I still believe that on another day, when god was smiling down or whatever, we would have taken 2 or 3 of the chances and went on to win. Yes it would have been scrappy but we would have. It reminded me of the home game against Bristol City last season where we could have played for 24 days and not have scored.

[NG32]

 

After the Blackpool defeat people were saying Ashley wont stand for results like that. 

 

Now he is flavour of the month again.

 

Make your minds up man 

[BlueStar]

I was actually worried when Boro sacked Southgate and we stuck with Hughton, thought they'd grasped the nettle and we'd bottled it.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I was actually worried when Boro sacked Southgate and we stuck with Hughton, thought they'd grasped the nettle and we'd bottled it.

 

I thought the opposite about Southgate weirdly enough, seemed a weird decision at the time.

[broonalegeordie]

Hughton is doing a very good job to be honest. He seems like a nice bloke too. Hope he keeps us up, and can take us forward. Whilst knee-jerking is always going to happen on here, I just hope he keeps the support of the fans in the ground. At the end of the day we know we are going to take a good few batterings this season, but as long as we stay up it doesnt matter.

 

......walking in a Hughton wonderland!

[Pilko]

I was actually worried when Boro sacked Southgate and we stuck with Hughton, thought they'd grasped the nettle and we'd bottled it.

 

I thought the opposite about Southgate weirdly enough, seemed a weird decision at the time.

 

Me too, they were a point off the top when he went weren't they?

[Cajun]

Yes they were, was a very odd decision imo.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Yes they were, was a very odd decision imo.

 

Especially since they didn't sack him when they got relegated. Newcastle-esque timing.

[UV]

Sticking Jonas up front and dropping Carroll to play deeper was an excellent decision and took a lot of pressure off us in the end.

 

Didn’t realize that, I thought Carrol was just helping out the defence on his volition but if that was Hughton's instructions, then he deserves credit.

 

I still think however that his main weakness is his inability to use subs properly and at the right time. He prefers to let the team work things out for themselves which can sometimes backfire (though in this case it did not).

 

2 specific instances against Everton

 

1) In the second half when Everton was dictating the game and attacking us in waves around the 60-75 minutes, he should have done something. Ideally putting on a more defensive midfielder in place of a knackered Nolan would have been good to add more steel to the midfield but since our only other ‘defensive midfielder’ is Alan Smith, he should have still taken off Nolan and put in Jonas or Lovenkrads. At the very least their pace would have prevented Everton's defence from moving so high up to join their midfield/attack and ease the pressure on us. 

 

2) In the last few minutes of injury time, when we were again at risk of conceding, he should have wasted some valuable time by making a sub. Even the Jonas for HBA sub seems more like enforced coz HBA was already limping when the sub was made.

 

So he deserves credit for having the courage to start both HBA and Tiote but he has to use his subs more strategically. We won but on another day his inaction could have lost us 2 valuable points.

 

 

It's easy to be a manager playing what if.

 

1) If Hughton panics and subs off Nolan at the first sign of pressure from Everton (which didn't actually amount to any significant chances in that period),  then he's not on the field to get what should have been a pen to wrap the game up, and he's not there to deflect Yakubu's shot onto the post. Would Lovenkrands have been there for both those incidents and done better than Nolan otherwise? Possibly. Would Gutierrez? Not a chance.

 

2) Everton are attacking and we're under constant pressure. Sub comes on & trots into box, not had a kick, doesn't know who he's supposed to be picking up, loses his man or has an adrenaline fuelled rush of blood and gives away a pen. 1-1, Hughton's fault for trying to waste 10 seconds.

[jimmymag]

The biggest thing for me is the team spirit he's instilled into the club, seem like a band of brothers more than ever now!

 

I'm not sure Hughton instilled the team spirit, more like Nolan, Smith and Harper had some harsh words with the squad after last season's hammering at Orient and pulled the dressing room together, after encouraging the makeweights to fuck off.

 

I'm still not convinced Hughton is top class management material, but whilst he's got the backing of a united dressing room and learns quickly from his mistakes he's the best man for the job at the moment.

 

And the quality he's brought to the squad recently won't do his long term job prospects any harm.

 

 

 

 

[Cronky]

Sticking Jonas up front and dropping Carroll to play deeper was an excellent decision and took a lot of pressure off us in the end.

 

Didnt realize that, I thought Carrol was just helping out the defence on his volition but if that was Hughton's instructions, then he deserves credit.

 

I still think however that his main weakness is his inability to use subs properly and at the right time. He prefers to let the team work things out for themselves which can sometimes backfire (though in this case it did not).

 

2 specific instances against Everton

 

1) In the second half when Everton was dictating the game and attacking us in waves around the 60-75 minutes, he should have done something. Ideally putting on a more defensive midfielder in place of a knackered Nolan would have been good to add more steel to the midfield but since our only other defensive midfielder is Alan Smith, he should have still taken off Nolan and put in Jonas or Lovenkrads. At the very least their pace would have prevented Everton's defence from moving so high up to join their midfield/attack and ease the pressure on us. 

 

2) In the last few minutes of injury time, when we were again at risk of conceding, he should have wasted some valuable time by making a sub. Even the Jonas for HBA sub seems more like enforced coz HBA was already limping when the sub was made.

 

So he deserves credit for having the courage to start both HBA and Tiote but he has to use his subs more strategically. We won but on another day his inaction could have lost us 2 valuable points.

 

 

It's easy to be a manager playing what if.

 

1) If Hughton panics and subs off Nolan at the first sign of pressure from Everton (which didn't actually amount to any significant chances in that period),  then he's not on the field to get what should have been a pen to wrap the game up, and he's not there to deflect Yakubu's shot onto the post. Would Lovenkrands have been there for both those incidents and done better than Nolan otherwise? Possibly. Would Gutierrez? Not a chance.

 

2) Everton are attacking and we're under constant pressure. Sub comes on & trots into box, not had a kick, doesn't know who he's supposed to be picking up, loses his man or has an adrenaline fuelled rush of blood and gives away a pen. 1-1, Hughton's fault for trying to waste 10 seconds.

 

Poor use of subs is probably the single most common criticism levelled against any manager. Usually, the decisions are tricky.

 

Nolan is good in the air, and that's very handy if you're under the cosh in the late stages of a game. Lovenkrands and Jonas are not.

 

Lovenkrands can't hold the ball up, and wouldn't relieve any pressure. Jonas is better in that respect, and putting him up front so that Carroll's aerial power can help the defence was a good idea. Hughton may well look to do that again.

[UV]

The biggest thing for me is the team spirit he's instilled into the club, seem like a band of brothers more than ever now!

 

I'm not sure Hughton instilled the team spirit, more like Nolan, Smith and Harper had some harsh words with the squad after last season's hammering at Orient and pulled the dressing room together, after encouraging the makeweights to fuck off.

 

I'm still not convinced Hughton is top class management material, but whilst he's got the backing of a united dressing room and learns quickly from his mistakes he's the best man for the job at the moment.

 

And the quality he's brought to the squad recently won't do his long term job prospects any harm.

 

It takes a strong manager to allow that to happen and still keep control, it's actually a very effective way of doing it if you have the right kind of leader in the dressing room, and hopefully the massive amount of evidence to the contrary is now starting to get through to even the thickest of heads that he is not afraid to drop "his favourites" when they are not performing. A weaker man would have needed to use his position as boss to stamp that out to make sure everyone knew who was in charge.

 

There's a long way to go before he's proven he's a top manager, but he's passed pretty much every test he's been handed so far. I've always thought he had what it takes tactically, he adapts but he doesn't knee jerk, but he's far surpassed my expectations of him when it comes to man management and getting the team to bounce back after a defeat or a bad performance.

 

I'm not convinced he has much to do with transfers other than saying the positions and type of players we need though.