The old Chris Hughton discussion thread

[Ronaldo]

Picked my choices for the starting Xl, well impressed.

[Heron]

Take a bow Mr Hughton.

[midds]

Football's a simple game.

 

He picks an attacking, balanced side and tells them to go for it. The result is that we are battering teams now, especially at home. 18 goals in the last 4 home games is fantastic. Credit where it's due. 

[johnnypd]

credit to hughton, we're actually playing well at home now and dominating sides. we'd gone half a season without doing that. if we can continue with this form to the end of the season i'll be a bit more encouraged for next season.

[Pilko]

6 goals at home? Clearly useless, man.

 

Getting ballsier every week and resisted the urge to put Butt in... and look what happened. One for Nolan, two for Guthrie.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Football's a simple game.

 

He picks an attacking, balanced side and tells them to go for it. The result is that we are battering teams now, especially at home. 18 goals in the last 4 home games is fantastic. Credit where it's due. 

 

This.  Pleased he's realised it too.

[Cajun]

I don't think it's always as simple as that (especially away from home) but Guthrie in the centre and two wingers who can take a man on with pace is essential at home.

 

Away from home is where hughton really has his work cut out as we seem to have a lot of "homers" and I am not sure there are any obvious answers. We tried to change the usual negative set up and got bummed. I think we need to understand that away from home is more often than not going to be a struggle but when we are at home we need to go all out.

[midds]

Away from home I can understand him being a bit more cautious but there's no excuse at home or when the opportunity presents itself (Leicester (A)) to have a go at a team away.

 

I'd still like him pick an attacking team and have a real go at blasting Donny, Peterborough and Plymouth out of the water.

[chicago_shearer]

Of our remaining away games, only the next one is against a team in the top ten.  And a few of them are against teams that might actually be bad enough to get relegated from this league.  There is no excuse.  If the players have some psychological problem performing away from home, then they need address it now because it could get much harder and more costly next year. 

[Liam Liam Liam O]

I don't think it's always as simple as that (especially away from home) but Guthrie in the centre and two wingers who can take a man on with pace is essential at home.

 

Away from home is where hughton really has his work cut out as we seem to have a lot of "homers" and I am not sure there are any obvious answers. We tried to change the usual negative set up and got bummed. I think we need to understand that away from home is more often than not going to be a struggle but when we are at home we need to go all out.

 

I think we have a lot of homers because of the way we set up away from home.

[TRon]

I think Hughton's use of Pancrate has been an eye opener as much as anything. We've had many St James regulars telling us how gormless PanCrap is, but whenever Hughton has used him, even at right back on one of his stranger days, he has generally got a good end result.

[Doctor Zaius]

One thing I like about Hughton is his lack of tactical arrogance if you like. We know he loves Nicky Butt, however he's dropped him. Previous managers might have stuck with him and gone with the my way or the high way approach.

[Pilko]

Chris Hughton’s record is beyond words

 

WHEN the Macclesfield manager, Keith Alexander, died last week, one of the first tributes to him was filed by Chris Hughton, the manager of Newcastle United. It was, as usual with Hughton, boring and predictable: lovely man, nobody had a bad word to say about him, great role model for black players and managers.

 

All true, of course. Alexander was regarded, rightly, as virtually a saint even while alive — no mean feat in the world of professional football — decent, loyal, committed and talented, maybe in that order. But there was no soundbite in Hughton’s encomium to his colleague, nothing to grab the attention; there never is.

 

He doesn’t really do the press thing, Hughton, and when he does he doesn’t do it very well. When the Geordies are about to play a game and Hughton is asked for his prediction he always says the same thing — that it will be tight because the opposing side are well organised. He even says that when Newcastle play QPR. He would probably say it if Newcastle played the government of Somalia, or Babyshambles, or the Greek treasury. The same dull recitation of how it isn’t going to be easy, because nothing is.

 

But if there is to be a degree of objectivity at the end of the season about who should be crowned the best manager, across all four divisions, who could argue against the election of Hughton, even if his team lost every one of their last 12 games? His achievement at St James’ Park has been little short of incredible, and against all odds. He has moulded a team of highly-strung, fractious little Premier League monkeys into extraordinarily committed battlers who are prepared to scrap it out, when necessary, against the likes of Watford and Peterborough.

 

It is usually the case that the more gilded the team relegated from the top division, the more they will struggle in the Championship; the more problems there will be in the dressing room, the more angst from impatient supporters, the more rumblings of discontent from the board. None of that at Newcastle. Hughton has even won over the fans, as well he should because his win record, before yesterday’s match, was a scarcely credible 58%. He has rooted in reality a club that for too long had the sort of ambitions occasioned by a copious daily intake of psychotropic drugs. Who would have guessed, last July, given the chaos and hysteria that pertained at Newcastle?

 

The transformation is down to Hughton, and pretty much Hughton alone. Some cynics will say that one reason Newcastle have done so well this season is because their players have found their true level, that the likes of Alan Smith and Steven Taylor were always Championship players in all but name. But Hughton has also bought well, and imposed a degree of discipline and ruthlessness upon a side habituated to believing it was a lot better than it really was.

 

He is 51 now, which may come as a surprise when you look at him. And you might begin to wonder why his qualities as a manager were not recognised long before now. Is there still some racist undercurrent that prevents black players, like Hughton, from becoming managers? You would guess so.

 

Some 20 years ago the then Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades suggested that “yer blacks, yer darkies, were okay in attacking positions, but not much use when it came to defending, didn’t have the discipline or the mentality etcetera”. Silly sod. Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand laid to rest that misapprehension, if it ever needed laying to rest. All black defenders needed was the chance to be judged objectively instead of in a racist manner by arrogant gutbucket Tory chairmen. I wonder if the default position among Noades’ present day equivalents is that “yer blacks, yer darkies — well, they’re okay at playing, and they can even defend, we’d concede that, but they don’t have the mentality to manage”.

 

Hughton’s previous tenure as a manager was at those other perennial under-achievers, Tottenham Hotspur. He was installed as caretaker manager for six games back in 1998. He did very well indeed and his points record — from an admittedly small base — would put him in the top five of Spurs managers from the past 125 years. But Spurs felt that they deserved better than Hughton, they wanted somebody with an honourable track record, with chutzpah and brilliance, somebody to lead them to glory rather than just safety. Which is why they appointed George Graham instead.

 

You worry a little about what will happen when the Geordies are promoted. You worry that they might, once again, be afflicted by intimations of greatness, by an inflated sense of themselves as sleeping giants who have suddenly, by chance, woken up, and that after six matches when they are residing in the bottom eight and, oddly, not on course for the Champions League, feel that they have somebody in charge of them who does not match up to the image they have of themselves. And they will try to drag poor Kevin Keegan out of his senescence, or start importuning Alan Shearer. Don’t let it happen, you Geordies; stick with the man who has already performed miracles, watched all the while from on high by Keith Alexander.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article7052408.ece

[Pilko]

Must say as well, he's backed Nolan and we've seen improved (although not amazing) performances and him rediscover his scoring touch.

[Guest secteur2010]

Chris Hughton’s record is beyond words

 

WHEN the Macclesfield manager, Keith Alexander, died last week, one of the first tributes to him was filed by Chris Hughton, the manager of Newcastle United. It was, as usual with Hughton, boring and predictable: lovely man, nobody had a bad word to say about him, great role model for black players and managers.

 

All true, of course. Alexander was regarded, rightly, as virtually a saint even while alive — no mean feat in the world of professional football — decent, loyal, committed and talented, maybe in that order. But there was no soundbite in Hughton’s encomium to his colleague, nothing to grab the attention; there never is.

 

He doesn’t really do the press thing, Hughton, and when he does he doesn’t do it very well. When the Geordies are about to play a game and Hughton is asked for his prediction he always says the same thing — that it will be tight because the opposing side are well organised. He even says that when Newcastle play QPR. He would probably say it if Newcastle played the government of Somalia, or Babyshambles, or the Greek treasury. The same dull recitation of how it isn’t going to be easy, because nothing is.

 

But if there is to be a degree of objectivity at the end of the season about who should be crowned the best manager, across all four divisions, who could argue against the election of Hughton, even if his team lost every one of their last 12 games? His achievement at St James’ Park has been little short of incredible, and against all odds. He has moulded a team of highly-strung, fractious little Premier League monkeys into extraordinarily committed battlers who are prepared to scrap it out, when necessary, against the likes of Watford and Peterborough.

 

It is usually the case that the more gilded the team relegated from the top division, the more they will struggle in the Championship; the more problems there will be in the dressing room, the more angst from impatient supporters, the more rumblings of discontent from the board. None of that at Newcastle. Hughton has even won over the fans, as well he should because his win record, before yesterday’s match, was a scarcely credible 58%. He has rooted in reality a club that for too long had the sort of ambitions occasioned by a copious daily intake of psychotropic drugs. Who would have guessed, last July, given the chaos and hysteria that pertained at Newcastle?

 

The transformation is down to Hughton, and pretty much Hughton alone. Some cynics will say that one reason Newcastle have done so well this season is because their players have found their true level, that the likes of Alan Smith and Steven Taylor were always Championship players in all but name. But Hughton has also bought well, and imposed a degree of discipline and ruthlessness upon a side habituated to believing it was a lot better than it really was.

 

He is 51 now, which may come as a surprise when you look at him. And you might begin to wonder why his qualities as a manager were not recognised long before now. Is there still some racist undercurrent that prevents black players, like Hughton, from becoming managers? You would guess so.

 

Some 20 years ago the then Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades suggested that “yer blacks, yer darkies, were okay in attacking positions, but not much use when it came to defending, didn’t have the discipline or the mentality etcetera”. Silly sod. Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand laid to rest that misapprehension, if it ever needed laying to rest. All black defenders needed was the chance to be judged objectively instead of in a racist manner by arrogant gutbucket Tory chairmen. I wonder if the default position among Noades’ present day equivalents is that “yer blacks, yer darkies — well, they’re okay at playing, and they can even defend, we’d concede that, but they don’t have the mentality to manage”.

 

Hughton’s previous tenure as a manager was at those other perennial under-achievers, Tottenham Hotspur. He was installed as caretaker manager for six games back in 1998. He did very well indeed and his points record — from an admittedly small base — would put him in the top five of Spurs managers from the past 125 years. But Spurs felt that they deserved better than Hughton, they wanted somebody with an honourable track record, with chutzpah and brilliance, somebody to lead them to glory rather than just safety. Which is why they appointed George Graham instead.

 

You worry a little about what will happen when the Geordies are promoted. You worry that they might, once again, be afflicted by intimations of greatness, by an inflated sense of themselves as sleeping giants who have suddenly, by chance, woken up, and that after six matches when they are residing in the bottom eight and, oddly, not on course for the Champions League, feel that they have somebody in charge of them who does not match up to the image they have of themselves. And they will try to drag poor Kevin Keegan out of his senescence, or start importuning Alan Shearer. Don’t let it happen, you Geordies; stick with the man who has already performed miracles, watched all the while from on high by Keith Alexander.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article7052408.ece

 

Nailed it in one. Whatever misgivings people have about Hughton, he really does deserve his chance in the PL. I, for one, completely back him 100%.

 

We could do far, far worse than Hughton.

[JH]

There's some right, unfounded crap in that article. 

[Pilko]

He doesn’t really do the press thing, Hughton, and when he does he doesn’t do it very well. When the Geordies are about to play a game and Hughton is asked for his prediction he always says the same thing — that it will be tight because the opposing side are well organised. He even says that when Newcastle play QPR. He would probably say it if Newcastle played the government of Somalia, or Babyshambles, or the Greek treasury. The same dull recitation of how it isn’t going to be easy, because nothing is.

 

He's got that bit spot on like.

[huss9]

hughton has developed as the season has progressed. learnt from his mistakes. picked up good transfers temporary and permanent in posotions that needed attention. stuck with players when he needed to against general opinion and dropped others when he had to. good man management eg nolan pancrate.

 

is he a premiership manager? no one can say either way.

 

just wish ashley had given keegan the same respect and freedom... but it seems he may have learnt from his mistakes also, so we hope.

[Tooj]

Must say as well, he's backed Nolan and we've seen improved (although not amazing) performances and him rediscover his scoring touch.

 

Do you think they've improved? I still think he's been poor but seems to be a bit more full of running lately.

[Pilko]

Must say as well, he's backed Nolan and we've seen improved (although not amazing) performances and him rediscover his scoring touch.

 

Do you think they've improved? I still think he's been poor but seems to be a bit more full of running lately.

 

I think it would be hard not to improve on Swansea away which was an utterly abject performance. I think as you say, he's looked more energetic and he's used the ball a lot better. He also now seems to win more 50/50 tackles than he ever used to.

 

He's still woefully one-paced and often fades from the game for periods of time, but these last few games he's picked up. He's also managed to score a few goals which will do his confidence no harm.

[Ronaldo]

He was poor at times yesterday I thought, easily the weak link in midfield. Took his goal well though and battled in the first half.

[Tooj]

Must say as well, he's backed Nolan and we've seen improved (although not amazing) performances and him rediscover his scoring touch.

 

Do you think they've improved? I still think he's been poor but seems to be a bit more full of running lately.

 

I think it would be hard not to improve on Swansea away which was an utterly abject performance. I think as you say, he's looked more energetic and he's used the ball a lot better. He also now seems to win more 50/50 tackles than he ever used to.

 

He's still woefully one-paced and often fades from the game for periods of time, but these last few games he's picked up. He's also managed to score a few goals which will do his confidence no harm.

 

Still vital mind that him or Smith aren't starting if we get promoted.

[STM]

I see the disgrace scored yesterday.

[Pilko]

Must say as well, he's backed Nolan and we've seen improved (although not amazing) performances and him rediscover his scoring touch.

 

Do you think they've improved? I still think he's been poor but seems to be a bit more full of running lately.

 

I think it would be hard not to improve on Swansea away which was an utterly abject performance. I think as you say, he's looked more energetic and he's used the ball a lot better. He also now seems to win more 50/50 tackles than he ever used to.

 

He's still woefully one-paced and often fades from the game for periods of time, but these last few games he's picked up. He's also managed to score a few goals which will do his confidence no harm.

 

Still vital mind that him or Smith aren't starting if we get promoted.

 

Ideally neither would be starting more than 10-15 games next season, but if one of them had to I'd choose Nolan over Smith. Nolan the CM has held his own in the Premier League far longer than Smith the CM.

[Ronaldo]

Yeah, he was a different player back then though. There's a reason Bolton got rid of their club captain for £3.5m and we discovered it last season.