*OFFICIAL* HUGHTON SACKED

[gazza ladra]

Unfucking believable.  Just when I was starting to really enjoy following the club again.

 

Fuck off ashley

[ohmelads]

Mike Ashley get the f*ck out of our football club.

 

We are back to square one folks. Hughton has spent 18 months rebuilding the club from a fractured mess. He turned a bunch of players who wouldn't play for each other, the shirt or the fans into a determined unit. He smashed points and attendance records in the Championship, he got the fans back on side again after years of pissing and moaning about massive injury lists, arsehole managers and spiralling form. We were relegated a laughing stock by the whole nation but came back a different outfit, we went from hatred to respect in many parts, all thanks to Hughton.

 

He turned us into a sum greater than our parts at times, with a 6-0 demolition of Aston Villa, a 5-1 demolition of Sunderland, a team that went away and would grind out deserved wins at places like Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal. He got Barton and Enrique playing the best football of their careers, he nurtured Carroll from a reserve striker to an England cap in 18 months. As a team we had resilience and even played good passing football. We shot ourselves in the foot with some home games where we deserved more but decisive moments cost us (Stoke, Fulham, Blackpool). I can only point to a few games this season where we convincingly deserved to lose. I can point to a few draws we deserved to win, and however it might sound, I can point to some shocking refereeing. All in all we were more than good value for our points total and league position but yes we stuttered in recent weeks. Instead of sacking him January would be the perfect time to strengthen the squad and let Hughton push on, with the arrivals of Gosling and Ben Arfa hopefully later in the season too.

 

Suspensions and injuries have robbed Hughton of his most influential players for the last 3 to 4 games. It turned out the backup wasn't good enough but we all suspected that. Yes he got some of his tactics wrong but over the course of the season he has got way more right than wrong. His transfer record? Pretty good. Best and Perch were strange signings to say the least, but Tiote for a few million and Williamson for 2M are steals. Routledge was a smart and cheap Championship signing as was Simpson. Ben Arfa could have been a masterstroke, our most creative player suffered a broken leg and that would hurt any team badly.

 

The irony in all this is that Hughton's successes meant that we forgot all about Mike Ashley and looked only to the future with a feeling of stability at last.

 

All this progress and then Bam! Ashley strikes again. We can't move forward under this owner. We are back to fan protests again, disheartened players, a divided dressing room. Any manager who steps through the door will feel the axe hanging over his head every day he goes to work. The new manager knows promotion and 11th place is clearly not good enough, that money will be insufficient, he knows he's succeeding a popular manager who the players and fans liked. Who is going to take that job? Who is going to work for an arsehole like Mike Ashley? And why?

 

nufc.com's tepid response to this news is disappointing. As they suggest, perhaps the club is ready to spend decent money in the transfer window and wants a big-name, experienced manager to spend it and build a new era. But come on? Seriously. Look at how Mike Ashley has operated the club since he arrived, look at his 'blueprints' for the club and you have to say the chances of major squad investment looks extremely unlikely. He's been trying to pedal Hughton for a while, that's why he wasn't given a new assistant manager after Calderwood left quite a while ago. The media's attempts to suggest his position was under threat before the mackems game were bizarre to say the least and most likely were spin put out by the club to undermine the manager. But after the West Ham, mackem and Arsenal wins they couldn't sack him then.

 

Hughton has been a dead man walking in recent times, operating without a number 2 and working under ridiculous circumstances, fearing the sack while the fans want a contract extension. Make no mistake our relegation fight just got a lot more serious and the new man, whoever it is, has to start from scratch and build the kind of rapport that Hughton did. He has to turn a team into a sum greater than its parts and get average to poor players producing good results. And when you look at the current squad, he'll have his work cut out.

[IceMag]

Mike Ashley get the f*ck out of our football club.

 

We are back to square one folks. Hughton has spent 18 months rebuilding the club from a fractured mess. He turned a bunch of players who wouldn't play for each other, the shirt or the fans into a determined unit. He smashed points and attendance records in the Championship, he got the fans back on side again after years of pissing and moaning about massive injury lists, arsehole managers and spiralling form. We were relegated a laughing stock by the whole nation but came back a different outfit, we went from hatred to respect in many parts, all thanks to Hughton.

 

He turned us into a sum greater than our parts at times, with a 6-0 demolition of Aston Villa, a 5-1 demolition of Sunderland, a team that went away and would grind out deserved wins at places like Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal. He got Barton and Enrique playing the best football of their careers, he nurtured Carroll from a reserve striker to an England cap in 18 months. As a team we had resilience and even played good passing football. We shot ourselves in the foot with some home games where we deserved more but decisive moments cost us (Stoke, Fulham, Blackpool). I can only point to a few games this season where we convincingly deserved to lose. I can point to a few draws we deserved to win, and however it might sound, I can point to some shocking refereeing. All in all we were more than good value for our points total and league position but yes we stuttered in recent weeks. Instead of sacking him January would be the perfect time to strengthen the squad and let Hughton push on, with the arrivals of Gosling and Ben Arfa hopefully later in the season too.

 

Suspensions and injuries have robbed Hughton of his most influential players for the last 3 to 4 games. It turned out the backup wasn't good enough but we all suspected that. Yes he got some of his tactics wrong but over the course of the season he has got way more right than wrong. His transfer record? Pretty good. Best and Perch were strange signings to say the least, but Tiote for a few million and Williamson for 2M are steals. Routledge was a smart and cheap Championship signing as was Simpson. Ben Arfa could have been a masterstroke, our most creative player suffered a broken leg and that would hurt any team badly.

 

The irony in all this is that Hughton's successes meant that we forgot all about Mike Ashley and looked only to the future with a feeling of stability at last.

 

All this progress and then Bam! Ashley strikes again. We can't move forward under this owner. We are back to fan protests again, disheartened players, a divided dressing room. Any manager who steps through the door will feel the axe hanging over his head every day he goes to work. The new manager knows promotion and 11th place is clearly not good enough, that money will be insufficient, he knows he's succeeding a popular manager who the players and fans liked. Who is going to take that job? Who is going to work for an arsehole like Mike Ashley? And why?

 

nufc.com's tepid response to this news is disappointing. As they suggest, perhaps the club is ready to spend decent money in the transfer window and wants a big-name, experienced manager to spend it and build a new era. But come on? Seriously. Look at how Mike Ashley has operated the club since he arrived, look at his 'blueprints' for the club and you have to say the chances of major squad investment looks extremely unlikely. He's been trying to pedal Hughton for a while, that's why he wasn't given a new assistant manager after Calderwood left quite a while ago. The media's attempts to suggest his position was under threat before the mackems game were bizarre to say the least and most likely were spin put out by the club to undermine the manager. But after the West Ham, mackem and Arsenal wins they couldn't sack him then.

 

Hughton has been a dead man walking in recent times, operating without a number 2 and working under ridiculous circumstances, fearing the sack while the fans want a contract extension. Make no mistake our relegation fight just got a lot more serious and the new man, whoever it is, has to start from scratch and build the kind of rapport that Hughton did. He has to turn a team into a sum greater than its parts and get average to poor players producing good results. And when you look at the current squad, he'll have his work cut out.

 

Amen. Sums up my thoughts perfectly.

 

How fucking naive was I to think that Ashley was finally learning from his mistakes and moving this club forward. Thanks to Ashley we're back to square fucking one and once more the laughing stock of, not only the country, but big parts of Europe as well. Even here in Iceland (!) people just can't believe this. Every single pundit just laughs at this decision. Being the only NUFC fan among thousands of glory hunting Mancs is hard enough, but this club just makes life fucking unbearable at times.

 

Fuck me Ashley, I honestly thought you couldn't top yourself in stupidity. How fucking wrong was I.

[mrmojorisin75]

i'm not a million miles away from the nufc.com reaction personally - i liked hughton but i also have the feeling he might have been overachieving and that it might not last (we'll never know now), not that i wanted him gone i must say he deserved the season imo

 

everything depends on the next move, if it's a manager like jol or o'neill that comes in and the plan is to build for the next few years then so be it, if it's a pardew then there's no justification for it whatsoever

 

as it's ashley we're talking about it'll almost certainly be a total clusterfuck

 

[Guest]

Agree.

[oldtype]

Even if we get a Christmas miracle and suddenly appoint Martin Jol, that doesn't change a whole lot.

 

Mike Ashley will still be in charge of the club and therefore will be there to fuck it all up at the worst possible moment.

[wyn davies]

i liked hughton but i also have the feeling he might have been overachieving and that it might not last .

 

Reminds me of Richard Dinnis qualified for Europe after that relegation I believe

[AfroP]

at the end of the day if by some xmas miracle we appoint jose mourinho or alex ferguson or arsene wenger as manager. the club still has a cancer called Mike Ashley

[J7]

The Mirror article is probably correct tbh. There are a few times we have layed into the media on here during the Ashley era, and most of the time they turn out to be 100% correct. It's truely depressing stuff. Its a bit like Hearts, but more dangerous as its harder for Hearts to get relegated.

[Benwell Lad]

i liked hughton but i also have the feeling he might have been overachieving and that it might not last .

 

Reminds me of Richard Dinnis qualified for Europe after that relegation I believe

 

Funnily enough I was relating the Richard Dinnis story to someone much younger yesterday.

Not that I see a direct parallel as I think Hughton had a lot more substance than him, but had the popular Dinnis been removed sooner things might have been a lot different.

Aahh for the wisdom of hidsight.

[womblemaster]

"The sort of over reaction is this thread is ridiculous. Wanting someone to have a heart attack, not supporting the new manager without knowing who it is....etc. Yes Hughton was a nice guy and we owe him for getting us out of the championship, but I'll wait to see who we appoint before creating drama. The decision to sack was perhaps premature, in an ideal world Chris would have been given till Jan to turn things around. But with the matches coming up, the players looking disinterested, my prediction is that he would not have succeeded anyway."

 

well said!

 

better than half the deluded drivel posted on here, anyone with any sense could see hughton was struglling and the wheels were comming off.

[NG32]

http://captainhindsightsays.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/captain-hindsight1.jpg

 

Mike Ashley should have done due dilligence before buying the club

He shouldn't have sacked Sam Allerdyce until the end of the season

He should have forced Denis Wise on the returning Kevin Keegan, or never hired Kevin Keegan as he would never work for a DOF

He should never have hired Joe Kinnear after Keegan was forced to quit

He should have listened to Keegans demands for Denis Wise to leave the player side alone

He should have treat the fans better as they are his customers

 

 

My work here is done !

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zJv17X2CI4c/TNQAr-cg__I/AAAAAAAAB_E/YB4Eo2gws4E/s1600/Captain+Hindsight.png

[mrmojorisin75]

[NG32]

 

"thank you ! God speed captain hindsight""

[High Five o]

  Genius!!

[Crumpy Gunt]

It shouldn't go unnoticed that probably the final nails in Hughtons coffin where driven in by Barton, Colo and Williamson.

[simonlemagnifique]

Henry Winter in today's Torygraph

Move over Sepp Blatter; you’ve got a rival as the Sultan of Shameless.

 

A long-standing, well-fancied contender for the title, Mike Ashley may just have slipped ahead of Blatter. Ashley’s decision to sack Chris Hughton demonstrated everything you needed to know about the Newcastle United chairman’s absence of class as a human being and an employer.

 

In dismissing Hughton, Ashley has done more than mistreat one of English football’s most popular and promising managers, an uncomplaining character who has dealt well with the many problems thrown at him on Tyneside. Ashley has shown contempt to Newcastle’s passionate supporters, who will be there on Gallowgate long after Ashley has sold up and sloped back south.

 

None of the Toon Army’s many foot soldiers racing to the phone-ins, Twitter and online forums could find any sense in Hughton’s defenestration. They liked Hughton, respecting his desire to take the post when nobody else would touch it.

 

Newcastle’s followers admired Hughton’s dignity and lack of ego. They enjoyed his commitment to attacking football, particularly loving results like Newcastle 5 Sunderland 1. They chanted Hughton’s name, backed him relentlessly, and now he’s sacked.

 

If Ashley behaved in similar offhand fashion towards customers at his sports merchandise emporium his business would not survive long.Newcastle fans deserve so much better. No wonder they were enraged.

 

Of the many critical comments made about Ashley, one of the comical ones hit home hardest: apparently Gazza turned up at St James’ with some sandwiches and some beer, asking to see Ashley before he did something stupid.

 

No laughter could drown out the howls of anger. No whisper of the old favourite that usually prefaces sackings, “losing the dressing room”, could be heard. If Newcastle players could be accused of lacking heart in the 3-1 defeat to West Brom it may have been that they knew what was going on, that Hughton was on borrowed time.

 

Now their immediate fortunes will be overseen by Peter Beardsley, who is close to Ashley but not the players. Beardsley loves his trips to London for West End shows and now he is cast in the role of The Caretaker. It promises to be a short run.

 

The frontrunner to take over at Ashley’s Circus is Martin Jol, a decent enough option but hardly brimming with the experience and stellar appeal that might mollify a seething St James’ Park.

 

The problem with any manager of genuine substance like Martin O’Neill considering joining Newcastle is that Ashley wants to sell the club. Whoever goes for the Newcastle manager’s job knows that new owners could arrive in 2011 and want to install their own man. Applier beware. Whether Jol, O'Neill or Alan Pardew, whoever arrives would be advised to check the small print in an Ashley contract. Good luck - and make sure you buy a return ticket..

 

What is particularly inexplicable is that Hughton fitted Ashley’s template for being inexpensive in salary and budgetary requirements.

 

He blooded youngsters. He delivered promotion back to the Premier League and had the Toon punching above their weight, currently sitting 11th on 19 points. Five more wins and a couple of draws will probably secure their elite status.

 

Ashley’s people praised Hughton’s work in the team’s “transition” from Championship to Premier League. Transition? Miracle more like.

 

After years of instability, Newcastle actually seemed settled.

 

But then came Ashley, not just rocking the boat but overturning it in the Tyne. How naive. When a series of storms rolled towards St James’, Hughton handled them well. He has worked hard in trying to make Andy Carroll a better person as well as a better player. Hughton never whinged when Hatem Ben Arfa was incapacitated by Nigel de Jong. He just got on with it.

 

When injury and suspension deprived him of his first-choice centre-halves, Hughton just scrambled the ageing and the creaking, Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor, who performed wonders for him in taming Didier Drogba in the draw with Chelsea. They were given the runabout by Peter Odemwingie at The Hawthorns on Sunday but, in hindsight, it seemed the whole team were in mourning for something.

 

Make that someone. Hughton was well-liked in the dressing-room, where the players respected his unflappability despite losing his No 2 Colin Calderwood. People within the British game clearly felt Hughton and his coaching staff were doing a good job as Calderwood was head-hunted by Hibernian. Hughton will have no problem finding employment. West Ham could be available soon.

 

In public and private, Hughton has been the model of discretion. He is not a man to dwell on his role in triumphs, whether as a nimble, industrious full-back for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1984 Uefa Cup final or in lifting the Championship trophy.

 

He didn’t rush to bask in the limelight after such memorable victories this season at Everton and Arsenal or crow after such triumphs over Sunderland or Aston Villa. Hughton is too classy a man, too keen to praise the exertions of his players and too respectful towards vanquished opponents.

 

Hughton leaves with the ingratitude of the board but with the thanks and sympathy of the people who matter, the fans and players. On his way out of St James’, politely declining comment, Hughton could hold his head high.

 

Not Ashley, who was busy releasing a statement that took hypocrisy to new levels. He praised Hughton’s “exceptional character and commitment”, exactly the traits Ashley is bereft of. Hughton out, Ashley remains. English football has lost a principled man but kept a shameless chairman.

[High Five o]

Henry Winter in today's Torygraph

Move over Sepp Blatter; you’ve got a rival as the Sultan of Shameless.

 

A long-standing, well-fancied contender for the title, Mike Ashley may just have slipped ahead of Blatter. Ashley’s decision to sack Chris Hughton demonstrated everything you needed to know about the Newcastle United chairman’s absence of class as a human being and an employer.

 

In dismissing Hughton, Ashley has done more than mistreat one of English football’s most popular and promising managers, an uncomplaining character who has dealt well with the many problems thrown at him on Tyneside. Ashley has shown contempt to Newcastle’s passionate supporters, who will be there on Gallowgate long after Ashley has sold up and sloped back south.

 

None of the Toon Army’s many foot soldiers racing to the phone-ins, Twitter and online forums could find any sense in Hughton’s defenestration. They liked Hughton, respecting his desire to take the post when nobody else would touch it.

 

Newcastle’s followers admired Hughton’s dignity and lack of ego. They enjoyed his commitment to attacking football, particularly loving results like Newcastle 5 Sunderland 1. They chanted Hughton’s name, backed him relentlessly, and now he’s sacked.

 

If Ashley behaved in similar offhand fashion towards customers at his sports merchandise emporium his business would not survive long.Newcastle fans deserve so much better. No wonder they were enraged.

 

Of the many critical comments made about Ashley, one of the comical ones hit home hardest: apparently Gazza turned up at St James’ with some sandwiches and some beer, asking to see Ashley before he did something stupid.

 

No laughter could drown out the howls of anger. No whisper of the old favourite that usually prefaces sackings, “losing the dressing room”, could be heard. If Newcastle players could be accused of lacking heart in the 3-1 defeat to West Brom it may have been that they knew what was going on, that Hughton was on borrowed time.

 

Now their immediate fortunes will be overseen by Peter Beardsley, who is close to Ashley but not the players. Beardsley loves his trips to London for West End shows and now he is cast in the role of The Caretaker. It promises to be a short run.

 

The frontrunner to take over at Ashley’s Circus is Martin Jol, a decent enough option but hardly brimming with the experience and stellar appeal that might mollify a seething St James’ Park.

 

The problem with any manager of genuine substance like Martin O’Neill considering joining Newcastle is that Ashley wants to sell the club. Whoever goes for the Newcastle manager’s job knows that new owners could arrive in 2011 and want to install their own man. Applier beware. Whether Jol, O'Neill or Alan Pardew, whoever arrives would be advised to check the small print in an Ashley contract. Good luck - and make sure you buy a return ticket..

 

What is particularly inexplicable is that Hughton fitted Ashley’s template for being inexpensive in salary and budgetary requirements.

 

He blooded youngsters. He delivered promotion back to the Premier League and had the Toon punching above their weight, currently sitting 11th on 19 points. Five more wins and a couple of draws will probably secure their elite status.

 

Ashley’s people praised Hughton’s work in the team’s “transition” from Championship to Premier League. Transition? Miracle more like.

 

After years of instability, Newcastle actually seemed settled.

 

But then came Ashley, not just rocking the boat but overturning it in the Tyne. How naive. When a series of storms rolled towards St James’, Hughton handled them well. He has worked hard in trying to make Andy Carroll a better person as well as a better player. Hughton never whinged when Hatem Ben Arfa was incapacitated by Nigel de Jong. He just got on with it.

 

When injury and suspension deprived him of his first-choice centre-halves, Hughton just scrambled the ageing and the creaking, Sol Campbell and Steven Taylor, who performed wonders for him in taming Didier Drogba in the draw with Chelsea. They were given the runabout by Peter Odemwingie at The Hawthorns on Sunday but, in hindsight, it seemed the whole team were in mourning for something.

 

Make that someone. Hughton was well-liked in the dressing-room, where the players respected his unflappability despite losing his No 2 Colin Calderwood. People within the British game clearly felt Hughton and his coaching staff were doing a good job as Calderwood was head-hunted by Hibernian. Hughton will have no problem finding employment. West Ham could be available soon.

 

In public and private, Hughton has been the model of discretion. He is not a man to dwell on his role in triumphs, whether as a nimble, industrious full-back for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1984 Uefa Cup final or in lifting the Championship trophy.

 

He didn’t rush to bask in the limelight after such memorable victories this season at Everton and Arsenal or crow after such triumphs over Sunderland or Aston Villa. Hughton is too classy a man, too keen to praise the exertions of his players and too respectful towards vanquished opponents.

 

Hughton leaves with the ingratitude of the board but with the thanks and sympathy of the people who matter, the fans and players. On his way out of St James’, politely declining comment, Hughton could hold his head high.

 

Not Ashley, who was busy releasing a statement that took hypocrisy to new levels. He praised Hughton’s “exceptional character and commitment”, exactly the traits Ashley is bereft of. Hughton out, Ashley remains. English football has lost a principled man but kept a shameless chairman.

 

Sums it up doesent it?

[Thespence]

Winter could have filled out his Moat link a bit more:

 

Word is Gazza turned up at SJP yesterday with a can lager, some chicken, fishing rod & blanket shouting "Ashley it Gazza, Ashley...its Gazza!!!". Gazza said last night "I have known Ashley for years from me Spurs days, I could of stopped him pulling the trigger on Chris"

 

 

[Skirge]

Right then.... As much as I hate Ashley & his puppet Chairman and as much as I have nothing but respect for Hughton and think his sacking was so pointless & needless.

This is football these things go on, we never ever know the full truth its the same for any fan of any club. The sacking I think was always going to come, for Hughton it can be a way to  move on away from this club and further his career.

For us it can be an exciting time with a new manager being looked for, yes of course we would be completely stupid to have faith in Ashley getting it right but never the less its going to happen.

We could protest and sing our anti Ashley songs but as before it will have no effect on him but may have a genitive effect on the squad.

All we have to do is get behind the squad as we always do and give our new manager NO matter who our full support any other actions could only add to the harm that has been done so far.

[steve_69]

One of my lowest moments as a Newcastle fan was the day we replaced Bobby Robson with Graeme Souness. The moment it was confirmed I, and i'm sure many others, knew that failure, unrest and sad times were just around the corner. It made me sick to my stomach and a little bit of my love for the club died that day.

It's easy to say we should get behind the new manager no matter who it is but I can't and won't. Hughton was the best thing to happen to this club since Bobby Robson and if he is replaced by Pardew then i'm done with the club until Ashley leaves. This has Souness Mk11 written all over it.

 

[Pilko]

Brilliant article from Winter.

[Newcastle Fan]

Its almost as if it was like "wow we didn't have a major crisis in Newcastle in a long time, HIT THE PANIC BUTTON"

[cfcmagpies]

Its almost as if it was like "wow we didn't have a major crisis in Newcastle in a long time, HIT THE PANIC BUTTON"

 

Or like a kid playing Sim City, things are going well so unleash the monsters and fire up the earthquakes.

[Ketsbaia]

Sometimes sleep helps but today i feel just as angry, sad and bitter as yesterday. Hughton was exactly what Ashley wanted and he still gets rid? If Pardew comes in, then thats the end of us.