What is the general feeling re Hughes? Do you think he will stay on for next season? Do you think he really wants to, or is just hanging on for a 'bigger and better' job? Do you want him to stay on? Who could replace him?
Good question. Although I was initially quite pleased with his appointment and positive statements about the club and where it should be aiming I got very disheartened with him around Christmas time. I think it was between Man City & West Ham that I started to think that he wasn't that interested in actually being Fulham's manager and I expected him to be given the sack after Christmas (and would have been quite happy to see him go, to be honest). Having seen the second half of the season I have revised my opinion again and would now like him to stay and I think he will stay. To a certain extent all manager's are on the look out for bigger and better - we have to accept that Fulham will be used as a stepping stone sometimes - but MH hasn't been that impressive to turn heads anywhere else really. If Fergie resigned today MH wouldn't be first on the list of names United would call and the same goes for the rest of the Premiership's big boys. I know Bayern made noises but MH said he wasn't interested, could be a ploy, but probably not. If he did go you will get the usual suspects being named - Curbishly, Allerdyce and so on but Mo has a bit of a record of appointing people you don't expect. Personally I would love to see Jol managing Fulham. What does he need to do? Well, apart from keeping Fulham in the Premiership, which is nowhere near a done deal yet, he needs to buy a few players, no idea who to be honest, but the team needs a bit of a freshen up.
Mark Hughes is different to Roy. He's experienced big time clubs. And I think he resents them. If he took us to where he took Man City or Blackburn over a 3 year period we would delighted. Whereas Man City fired him. He clearly has big plans for this club and is motivated by his hatred of a top 4 club (Man City). And in Al Fayed we have someone who can back him in the transfer market. Can Hughes convince him to spend? Maybe. But if he does convince him I think Fulham can look at some very good times ahead. Overall we were thrown into disarray by Zamora and Dembele's injuries. Added to the fact AJ wasn't fully fit till new year. Its been stop start all season and we haven't really had a consistent run with our best team. Its only starting now, and that is like starting the season. And the manager is relatively new. If you look at the table, you would think we could even be 6th without those key injuries. With a bit of change in the summer we could be a promising side next season. COYW
Would be interesting to see what he would do if a big club came calling. My view is that he's trying to use the fulham to re-build his career, essentially at a club where expectations are not excessive and he can quietly get on with the job and gradually overtime as the results improve, bigger clubs will start to take note. This could however take 2/3 years or longer for him to do, so I would think he will still be here next year, as it would be unwise for him not to be. His experience at city will have helped him to see how cut throat premier league management can be. He's been linked with the chelsea job at times for example (assuming Ancelotti goes) though if offered it he would be very naive to take it if you ask me. I would be happy to see him stay, he has somewhat won me over after a pretty mediocre 1st half of the season. Furthermore, if we get into Europe again (fair play league) then I think given how he has always argued the importance of cup competitions, we could have a decent chance of another good run in it again.
You know, in the unpredictable world of football I don't believe many managers have a plan, for example stay at little old Fulham or wherever & then wait for a bigger job. I don't think for a moment Roy had that plan, it's just that the Liverpool position came along, and a fat lot of good it did him in career terms (although I wouldn't have minded the golden handshake he got). The one thing I'd say is that Hughes does stick at jobs for a while, and therefore I believe we'll see him here for a bit.
There's been a little press speculation about him moving over to Germany, but I just can't see it. The club he's been linked to - Bayern Munich - is the Manchester City of the Bundesliga, changing managers every time the sun comes out in Bavaria. Hughes is smart. He's been burned before, so I just can't see him making that mistake again. And, of course, with the likelihood that he'll be managing a Europa Cup team next season, he'll have some maneuvering room when dealing with ambitious players with eyes on bigger things. He's staying.
I agree, I think Hughes will still be here next season. And I think Rocky is right that most managers don't have a long-term plan for what job to take, but just react to the opportunities that come up. When the Bayern rumours came along, Hughes didn't seem to be angling for the move. Instead, he seemed to want to use it to get a longer-term contract. That looked like a good sign to me. I'm not so sure that his head wouldn't be turned if Chelsea came along, but I don't think they would go for him just yet. I'm not too worried. As for who to go for if Hughes did leave, I prefer not to go down that road. We've got a good manager in place, and we're starting to show signs of getting things together, so let's not bother window shopping for something we don't need aren't likely to need in the immediate future.
Generally agree with most of the responses here. I hope and would expect him to stay at least for another year. If Fulham is a stepping stone to something bigger, then he has not been here long enough. The first half of the season was tough given that he arrived late in the summer break and had a bad time with injuries, especially up-front. I'm not interested in speculating on a replacement. COYW
Even though I like Hughes, Jol would still be the perfect manager for me. Look at what he did at Spurs, European football, delightful attacking play, great signings. Not to say I want Hughes out, but if he were to leave, or be pushed, then Jol would be my perfect choice to replace him.
For my two pennith I think he will stay and I think we need him to stay. It's been a strange season as many of you have already said. We need a few signings, we need some of the signings of this season to settle down and start performing regularly - and we need a few of the squad to move on. MH has changed things a lot. I've always said I'm happy to get behind him to see through a longterm plan. Only then will we know if he is capable. He's turned a few player's careers upside down in a short period of time. To do that you need to be responsible and be around for more than just one season. He appears a decent man and I'm sure he'll be here next season.
Bandit, last summer I would have been delighted with Jol; now I can't muster any enthusiasm for him. He played us to strengthen his hand with Ajax, and he has a track record of similar behaviour elsewhere. To my mind he's burned his bridges with us - I just wouldn't trust anything he said. And as GeraScores says, I'm not interested in speculating on a replacement to someone who (hopefully) isn't going anywhere just yet).
I'd like Hughes to stay, but on more than a one year contract so we can have some confidence he's in it for the long(ish) term and not just hanging on until something better comes along. However, on that subject - at the moment I think there aren't as many 'bigger & better' jobs than Fulham around than there were maybe 2 or 3 years ago. We're no longer favourites to be relegated every season, we have good players, stable club management, and financial security. Of course there will always be bigger clubs, but I'm not sure there are that many that would constitute a good career move compared with Fulham. In my opinion, we're really just talking about the top six - and I don't think any of them would have Mark Hughes at the top of their list of candidates right now if they were changing managers. Of the others that I would think of as 'big clubs' - either because of their levels of support or history of winning things - most of them have problems. Who'd go to Newcastle with Mike Ashley still there? If Moyes left Everton they have financial problems so wouldn't be too attractive. In my mind that really just leaves Villa, which I think is the one real possibility if MH were to leave. I hope Fayed can offer him enough incentives in terms of transfer funds and a new contract to keep him for at least 2 or 3 more years.
I know the Jol fiasco left us empty handed with egg on our face but I still refuse to believe it was all his fault. Macintosh and Fayed should have done more to get him, I think he wanted to come here, but leaving a club like Ajax wouldn't be easy if you're Dutch. They are the giants of Dutch football, the same way a Spanish manager would aspire to become manager of Madrid or Barcelona. Anyways, I'm happy with Hughes and hope he can bring success to FFC.
You're more trusting than I am, Bandy. The fact that Jol was quoted saying markedly different things depending on whether he was talking to the British or the Dutch media is the smoking gun in my mind. To our press he seemed keen, to theirs he was all, 'I really don't want to leave - let's sort these budgets out'. We were played, and he played us.
Apologies for jumping on this thread so late. Good article, although, some what not required at the moment. For me Hughes is work in progress. I think he has done well this season. Obviously before christmas we were fairly rubbish but I think that can be put down to Hughes inheriting a squad that was very set in their ways. His desire to play more attacking football cost us early doors. However, I think the team is now some what used to his style but still retaining some of the defensive work down by Roy. I have to commend the club on it's recent buys of young players. I think that we have a definate plan of action and I can only assume that Mark Hughes is aware of that and part of it's progress. I have said before that he inherited a team that was on the back of a Europa League run, buoyed by that fact. However, he also inherited an aging team, average age over 30 years old. As a club we are in a transition stage that I think will take a couple of seasons. MAF must have thought about this when employing his manager. Good luck to him, I still am not totally taken with him. I cannot quite put a finger on it, but I think it is because he does not have much of a personality, not sure I identify him with our club. Sounds harsh but just how I feel. COYW
I agree Froggy, in his interviews he seems very despondent all of the time. I sincerely have the feeling that he doesn't really care about the club. I also hate the way he always talks about Utd and City.
He probably talks about United and City because that's what journalists ask him about. I don't think he's given any indication that he doesn't care about Fulham. He's always had quite a dour persona in front of the media, but whenever I've heard stories from someone who has actually met him somewhere, they have always said that he's a much friendlier, more relaxed character. I don't warm to him the same way I warmed straightaway to Roy, but I don't think we should expect that with every manager. If we judge him from what happens on the pitch and other footballing issues, then I think he's doing pretty well. I've got no complaints.
