You lot have very short memories, Hootun's football was dire in the extreme and we were going down with a whimper. Had McNally had the balls to sack him a bit earlier, our unnecessary relegation may never have happened. In an obtuse way, Neil Adams played a big part in our immediate return to the Premier League. HE was the one who left with dignity, falling on his own sword when he realised he wasn't up to the job. Had he not done so the board would undoubtedly have left it too late before making a change and we would still be down with the dead men right now.
I don't really get where you're coming from hairy? The board didn't do anything 'right', they had to change manager through necessity not choice. Don't wind me up please, I'm fed up with falling out with happy clapper posters on this issue.
Not trying to wind you up KIO. I just find it blinkered to think that it was all down to Neil Adams being a good sport and resigning promptly that we went up. I'd give at least a nod to McNally for targeting AN (surely a risk) and it paying off. Could say the same about Lambert. It's not all been a smooth ride of course but occasionally our board get it right.
Can totally see where you're coming from with this stance, KIO and I do tend to agree. 'Very nice man' does NOT necessarily = very nice football, matchday atmosphere, etc I was advocating a change after a dismal FA cup replay at Craven Cottage which we lost 3-0 I believe - rabbits in the headlights was bloody obvious from then onwards for anyone choosing to see it!
I can't. Is he a nice man? Seems so. Did he fit in at our club? Obviously not for whatever reason. Did I want him out? Yes. Does that make me a happy clapper? Well, no. Doesn't make me unhappy to see him do well.
Morning KIO, I only have one slight query with the above. Don´t you think Adams was in any way ´encouraged´ by McNally to resign at the time he did, with the promise of a position at the club at a later date, because I do. Also the fact that Alex Neil was so quickly appointed points to a degree of planning on McNally´s side, and had Adams´ resignation come completely out of the blue, we would never have landed Neil so quickly. I think to suggest that Neil Adams acted entirely of his own volition, is as much wishful thinking as anything else.
This is a good point, I'd not thought of it like that. I bet Neil gets just as much stick from the moaners and gripes as Hughton, but it just washes off Neil and he bounces back. Hughton was bound to be over sensitive about criticism and so made the team more and more conservative (surprised KIO didn't like that!) and ended up alienating more and more of the fans. Neil seems to take the criticism and learn from it or ignore it. Hughton probably wasn't the right manager for our fans. However, while I accept he damaged the first XI seriously, the fact is Hughton brought the club on leaps and bounds internally. I don't think we would have bounced back if we'd gone down under Lambert.
I would say, almost certainly, Rob. In fact if you look back over our history, a lot of our most successful managers have been those who were more outgoing, flamboyant, and yes, even loud-mouthed, like Lambert, John Bond, Mike Walker, and of course Alex Neil, who has the potential to join their ranks. Only really Dave Stringer and Ken Brown, of the (relatively) quieter variety, have been successful, but I don´t think even they had the same makeup as Hughton.
Very big and honest of you to say so, KIO Incidentally does anyone know if Adams is still in that strange post of ´Head of Loanee Watching´ or whatever it is, which was created solely for him.
With the draw between Derby and Sheff Wed, it would appear the top 6 is all but settled. The only team that could nick a top 6 place are Cardiff who cannot afford to drop a single point from their last 3 games to stand any chance. Today they are at home to Bolton which ought to produce 3 points but their next game is away at Hillsborough. Two wins and they would sit 1 point behind Wednesday, whose final game is away to a poor Wolves side.
I thought he opted to step down a) to avoid being dismissed and b) to facilitate a way back into the club in some coaching / scouting capacity after a suitable 'cooling off' period?
