The headline says it all. Two thrashings, two inept performances, and a number of injuries has really put the pressure on the manager. If I didn’t think he was under much, if any serious pressure before the Cardiff game, Chris Hughton certainly is now! The last time I watched Norwich concede eleven goals in four days was against West Brom and Port Vale in the late 90s - so some consolation that this time around it was the two Manchester giants? Well no, not really. The players have done him absolutely no favours. Against Cardiff we did everything but score - we should have won by at least a two or three goal margin. Against Manchester United, an admittedly understrength yet still capable side buckled as soon as our opponents were gifted a dubious penalty and on Saturday the white flag was waved before they even crossed the white line - you could see it in the warm up that they didn't fancy it - and they put no pressure whatsoever on the home side during the 90 minutes. Players failing to turn up get off relatively scot-free. It will always come back to bite the manager on the behind. It’s clear confidence is fragile - no, it’s non-existent. If we fall behind next weekend I would not expect us to be able to recover. But could Hughton recover from a 0-7 reverse? I personally don't see why not. But will he? I think its getting to the stage where a few positive results aren’t going to be good enough for some people - they have made their minds up now and they won’t be for turning - they won’t be happy until he has left the club. That’s a poor attitude for a ‘supporter’ to have but I’ve come to expect it from fans these days and whoever replaces Hughton (when the time comes) will face exactly the same problem. I think Hughton is a ‘club builder’. This is why I like him - he was perfect for us in our position - and this is why he should remain in charge of our club. I think if Hughton goes we may well blow our best chance of sustained top flight football since the early 90s. I do not believe we will go down under Hughton. I also believe we would have been within proximity of the relegation zone under most if not all managers with our current squad. Problem is, that isn’t going to wash with some people, especially those blinded by the wonga spent whilst failing to appreciate the context under which it was spent. In my opinion, too many people have also had their head turned and are jealous of Southampton and Swansea - two comparable clubs who are doing better than us on the field - as illustrated by those who suggest we should go down the foreign route because it ‘worked for them’. Football doesn’t work like that - it might not work for us. I do not believe there is a stand-out candidate within English football right now as far as I’m concerned, so the only thing we could do is appoint from abroad (or Scotland - and god do I hope it's not 'him'), but boy oh boy, it would be a massive, massive risk. There is far less risk involved by keeping the current manager and sticking to our long-term plan. Is Hughton still the right man to take us forward? My confidence has taken a knock - more than a knock - in the last week but I still believe so. However, I’m not stupid and there’s little doubt that the tide has turned strongly and I would think its probably far less than 50/50 as to whether he sees it through to the end of the season. The fence-sitters will have hopped off the fence after the past seven days, and who can blame them after those two no-shows? However, I do not believe he has lost the dressing room, as some will no doubt insist. He certainly hadn’t lost it last weekend. It strikes me that the inability to put the Cardiff game to bed has played heavily on our already-low confidence. Add to that the fact we had many key players missing and we faced a side with world class talent who were on the rebound from a home defeat against the same opponents last season, a team with a point to prove... hmm, I think a heavy defeat was always likely. We’ve been unlucky in recent weeks, absolutely no question - some of the goals on Saturday summed up our recent (lack of) luck, but at the end of the day you do tend to make your own luck and we just aren’t doing enough right now. We deserved to lose 7-0 - it was a fair reflection of the game. Manchester City are capable of hitting most teams for 7. Hell, they almost did it to the Red Devils a couple of years ago - losing at the Etihad is to be widely expected, as it is at Old Trafford. Getting beaten heavily is understandable to a degree, but not trying to compete? I cannot abide that. As I say, there was a total lack of effort and belief at the weekend. The midweek game was bad - this was even worse. This was beyond rubbish. Nowhere near good enough and definitely not acceptable. Should Hughton be sacked this week? Absolutely not - it would be utter madness. Amazingly, despite a terrible run of fixtures and goals conceded we are still just one win away from the top half of the table. But he is going to have to beat West Ham on Saturday in my opinion. I don’t think that’s right, nor particularly fair but that is my opinion - I suspect the atmosphere will be brutal should we lose that one, maybe even if its only a draw unless we play like we did against Cardiff. And it's on telly too. And they play in claret and blue. Anyone know where this is heading...? Whatever happens, there’ll be no knee-jerk reaction this week. Should we get a positive result against West Ham then I expect him to be given until at least Christmas but fan pressure is building and I'm beginning to feel it is almost inevitable his time will be up in the coming weeks/months. I just happen to completely disagree with it. Modern football fans really aren’t my cup of tea. No patience at all. But to be fair, Hughton hasn't helped himself in the past 7 (sorry, SEVEN ) days. OTBC
I agree with you a bit, no knee jerk reactions, he should be given a bit longer but where are the wins going to come from?, if we can't score for toffee how are we going to win anything?
Spendid piece and one that I fully agree with. My suspicion though as you suggest is that this is increasingly becoming a case of defending the indefensible and that the general lack of patience that you allude to will come to bear and cost CH his job. The West Ham game is a last chance saloon for many and even then may not be enough. It is interesting that there is a situation forming, a moving of tectonic plates if you will and the underlying suituation at Cardiff is making the appointment of Mackay an increasing possibility.Watch this space.
well, we beat stoke and we beat saints. it sounds bizarre to say after the pasty week but we are still a tough nut to crack, especially at home. we just need a spark from somewhere, a little bit of magic. confidence is low from the manager down to the supporters but it is not an irretrievable situation - far from it. it might not take much to move us up the league
Best will in the world - dress it up any way you want, but two wins from ten matches and a net goal deficit of -1.4 per game is not enough for a growing number of high-spending and travelling vast distances supporters. And I'd imagine there are some furrowed brows in and around the boardroom this morning, too.
I agree it's not irretrievable, but how is CH going to get the best out of Hooper, RVW and Fer(he has been good though but not his top form)?, he just doesn't seem to be able to do that. They all played excellently for their former clubs, why aren't they doing that for us?
i'm not sure i'd want mackay. i can only assume he is wanted because he is a norwich hero. had he never been connected to our club in the past i'm not sure he would feature that prominently as a possible replacement for hughton. he would bring no change in philosophy, so for me that would be ok but it wouldn't please the people who want hughton out for his 'negativity'. its also horrible to watch a man who you love so much going through a tough time, and it would be unbearable if he failed here (and most managers do fail in the end). at least with hughton there is no emotional attachment to him. maybe it would give mackay more leeway but that in itself is pretty appalling
he's only had what, 7 games with rvw and 3 games with hooper? i think in general he has got fer into his best position during that time. again, its a lack of patience that is hurting us. hughton has to find the right formula soon but he can't just click his fingers and to be honest, much of the reason the strikers haven't clicked is down to their fellow professionals failing to choose the right options when in good positions.
i just travelled to manchester twice in four days and saw us concede 11 goals without so much as a whimper on either occasion. trust me, i know exactly how they feel!! but i'm also trying to be rational. others may choose not to be. that's up to them
superman, if we lose to West Ham, what would be your view on the manager then? west ham will be a really tough nut to crack, they haven't conceeded many goals this season and will be set up for a point. We need a bit of luck as you allured to as well.
......and to be honest I agree, I am not on a bandwagon but I sense that this is a situation that may gather some monentum. After the disaster with Bryan Gunn (which was truly horrid) I do not want a repeat of that and looking at current availablility it is an ugly list at best. I would still vote for more time but this weeks batterings may bring things to a head sooner than anticipated.
very much depends on how the game goes. if we are as inept as we were during the last two games and get beaten easily then i don't see him surviving, regardless of what i think should happen. i'd give him at least until christmas - ideally the whole season - but our performances (which had been pretty good over the past month, even though results weren't so good) fell completely off a cliff in manchester. if we play as atrociously as that next weekend then we will lose, convincingly. there will be something wrong behind the scenes and i wouldn't be surprised to see him resign if i'm being honest.
genuinely, and i'm being totally honest here, i would not be surprised to see tony pulis come in on a short term deal. he's well liked in our boardroom and i think he'd have no problem keeping us up. it would be pretty hideous but i really do believe that he would be under very serious consideration
someone mentioned the other day about leadership on the pitch, seems like we need someone like Holt to take ownership and lead the squad. That would be a step in the right direction, not sure why Ruddy hasn't had this affect though.
I would have to be totally honest here and say that if this was to happen, I would not be a happy bunny as any kind of 'pretty' football may well be kissed goodbye. However, if it creates u-turn in the results, then I, and hopefully most others, would accept the more 'ugly' side of the game if it means survival. We have had, in more recent games, what many were crying out for (myself included), a more attacking game, and although it has looked good has not produced the results hoped for. That being the case, I will take results over performances to the safety line crossed - and this goes against everything I believe in, when it comes to football.
Isn't that just a case of moving the goalpoasts though? We stayed up comfortably by finishing 11th last season which was a hell of an achievement but there were still a lot of people (I might be wrong here but I think you might have been of them Thai?) slating the manager because of the style of play. But now at the prospect of it being another manager in charge you are happy to accept ugly football as long as the results come with it. The more stuff I read from the Hootun out brigade the more I am convinced that he's on a hiding to nothing and can do no right in some people's eyes who have clearly made up their minds a long time ago. This may be because he's not Lambert, it may be because he always praises the opposition in post-match interviews, it may be for some other reason but whatever I personally find it a shame
But surely we put up with enough of this after the ten game unbeaten run ended last year. Fans have stated 'enough is enough' of that style, so to appoint Pulis, even short term =
