My initial response would be ' yes please ' but it won't happen and I am a great believer in the philosophy that you shouldn't go back - says he whose 4th wife was also his first! Having said that did you watch Villa against Arsenal on Monday? Did you see the effort, work rate, enthusiasm etc etc. As I said on another thread, if we had lost Seb to injury and gone 2-0 down to the league leaders with an hour still to go I dread to think what the final score would be. Lambert changed his system 3 times rallied his players and could have got a point in the end. That is what us ' PL piners ' miss. The fact that Villa fans want PL sacked sums up what is wrong with the modern game - the modern football fan. PL is 18 months into a long term project to lower costs, lower the average age of the squad, rely more on their Academy and turn the club round. He is doing that but because after 18 months and as they are only 11th in the league the ' fans ' want him sacked. When will people return to the real world? I have looked at the table and have to say that IMO all the teams in the top half should be there and every team in the bottom half should be there and yet fans of all the clubs in the bottom half have either successfully agitated for the manager to be sacked or are currently doing so. How does that work then? Do all the bottom half clubs with new managers replace all the top half teams? No - they spend a fortune in compensation, hire a new manager who has probably failed elsewhere and 12 months later are still in the bottom half of the league at which stage the fans ' sack the managers ' merry go round starts all over again. Sometimes the more managers you sack the lower you fall - ask Wolves and Blackburn. Everybody nowadays is a ' fan ' of a football club. There are 3 such ardent City fans at our pub - none of them has been to Carrow Road in 20 years. How many of the people who telephoned Radio Norfolk this morning or called Canary Call demanding the sack for CH go to games? I don't think it is inners and outers so much as people who want Hughton sacked irrespective of the consequences and those of us who try and live in the real world and can only see the sense of it if we have a better - rather than ' can't be any worse ' - Manager who is readily available. IMO Hughton did a good job last year but this year he has not produced the minor improvements I expected and in many areas we have got worse and on top of that I cannot see him here long term unless he drastically changes some of his tactics and views. BUT AND IT IS A BIG BUT - looking round I can only see candidates who have failed elsewhere, have no experience at this level or have no experience at all. This at a time when the transfer window will shut in a fortnight. Sorry to be long winded but I remain an inner until somebody comes up with a person who would improve things as opposed to candidates ' who won't be any worse ' and at that stage I would become an outer.
What makes you think that? I'm assuming it's based on more than someone's observation that he smiled at the person next to him in a football match?
Agree 100% 1950. There are no better candidates out there who could improve this squad.IMO we are just not good enough.
Spot on 1950. But I'd like to know how you identify "a person who would improve things". You first have to know exactly what has got you into the predicament you are trying to find someone to resolve. It is too easy to place all the blame at the door of the manager, giving rise to the simplistic belief that the problem will be solved by replacing him. Also, it is simply not true that there are good managers and bad managers, as though if you have a bad one, all you need to do is replace him with a good one. Managers succeed or fail in a particular context (as is also the case in e.g. business, where a person can be a brilliantly successful CEO for one firm but a total disaster when he moves to another).
" Anyone Still Want Hughton To Stay? " - well put it this way, I´m not going to be waving my "Hughton Out!" banner just yet, as I´m quite prepared to leave it in the capable hands of D. McNally as to when and if that decision should be made. and in answering that, I´ll ask one of my own; " On The Evidence We´ve Seen So Far This Year, With Or Without Hughton, Does Anyone Really Believe We Have A Squad Capable Of Finishing Higher Than 15th? " On current form, I think I´d have to say no, but would love to be pleasantly surprised.
I wish I could answer that Robbie other than by saying ' that is what we pay a Chief Exec a lot of money to do ' which is not a satisfactory answer. You can only look at what has happened elsewhere as a guide as to what is available and bear in mind that with only 2 weeks left of the transfer window any new manager would have to hit the ground running especially as the last 4 games of the season could be a write off for points so we need 20 points from the next 13 games. Unless DM has been tapping up in the background there is a desperate shortage of time - if DM had organised a replacement CH would have gone this morning. If CH was sacked would his backroom staff walk or be sacked? 2 weeks for a new manager to organise and buy new players and a new backroom staff is asking a lot. How long did it take Fulham to find a new manager - a person who has never managed before - and complete the backroom staff? The final appointment was this week - we don't have that amount of time. WBA took 6 weeks to find a new manager - somebody with no experience in this country and who was sacked from his previous job with that club adrift at the bottom of their league. Cardiff - no experience in this country - only managed in a bit of a mickey mouse league. Sunderland - no Premiership experience - left his previous club under a cloud. Would you want Di Canio - don't bother to answer that!! What about Holloway? 2 cracks in the top flight and 2 failures. Clarke - failed in his previous job with a club in a better position than we are. Mackay - how is he an improvement? The only one in the merry go round who would probably stand a better chance of keeping us up is Pulis but he has been snapped up and would you want him here long term? I would but as is often the case I am probably a minority of one. I fear that asFulham, WBA etc found out - there isn't a lot out there.
Given how close the bottom half of the league are I'd say we could finish pretty much anywhere up to 10th doesn't really make us any better or worse though. I think are squad is probably below average in the bottom half but our best XI is above average so without injuries (Tettey and Howson being the two major ones) I think we'd look better. I do also think that we could use a better tactician and man manager in charge however I can't really see who that would be of he currently unemployed managers and so we maybe looking to poach someone. I the absolute idea world we limp over the line to he end of the season part with hughton the next day havering taken the time to ink an appointment over carefully. We have to think that we're appointing someone who will take us forward long term not just who can steady the ship now. I doubt Hughton will get to the end of the season and so we need to either appoint a caretaker (I'm not saying its a great idea but imagine the roar at Carrow road if Neil Adams and Hucks were given the temporary job) and really focus on the next appointment because it's extremely important.
also RBF I think the question is 'given the recent winless run, do we have confidence in the management team and players turning this around so we don't slip into the bottom 3' I don't really take much comfort from being 15th now when we are moving in the wrong direction and confidence in the team is low. Tough to reverse that...
Not even when some of our key players are coming back from injury, do you not think that will make a difference?
I think that there is general agreement that we are near the tipping point and that patience for many or most has gone. But, we are one of eleven or twelve teams seperated by little and that means that we have no need to panic immediately. I genuinely believe that there is no panacea (or messiah if you like) out there waiting to come in and save us, we do need though to be more clinical in the last third and following last night I think the need for Hoolahan was loud and clear because punting in crosses from the wings was bordering on the mindless at times. We lacked invention and creativity and Wes is probably the one in the squad best placed to add that quality. The return of Hooper will help too and hopefully soon Howson and Pilkington.
Newcastle United England 1 June 2009 6 December 2010 70 39 17 14 55.71 Birmingham City England 22 June 2011 7 June 2012 62 26 21 15 41.94 Norwich City England 7 June 2012 Present 70 21 20 29 30.00 Same number of games for the Toon as for us. Just see how his win % has plummeted - as has been said (and about several players, too) "the Championship is about his level". But I'd rather he wan't allowed to take us there with him!!
I think the squad is capable of a 9th-20th finish. Current form 20th! I know that this is the crux of a number of disagreements but I honestly believe that whilst the players have not covered themselves in glory, the blame is firmly at the managers door and that in this instance any change; inexperienced caretakers, foreigner, inexperienced up n comer, tea lady! could all do at least as well as the current incumbent. I have a horrible feeling that we will have left any decision to let Hootun go too late now, but whilst a newby would have no time to work in the transfer window I think the squad probably has enough to stay up, Just! Bah!
I remember the roar of approval when that nice Bryan Gunn got the job to turn round our relegation threatened squad - please remind me of the outcome. As sentimentally appealing as it may seem Hucks and Adams do not have the experience to sort this lot out.
My point was more that if anything will win the fans round and get them behind the players that would be it. Plus both currently hold coaching positions at the club, Adams in particular very successfully. Gunn was a scout and as far as I'm aware had had no involvement in the coaching set up at all. As I said though, I don't think it's a good idea just that a popular caretaker would give us time to make a proper appointment not a hurried one whilst keeping the fans happy.
Although I have spent my entire day explaining why I think it folly to just sack him at this moment in time SI have to confirm that I have lost patience with him. Why no Wes? Why does he refuse to play Fox in the league? What was the sense of his tactics last night? In the first few minutes we saw Murphy dribble past 3 players and put though a lovely little pass for Redmond cutting in from his wing. His strong drive was pushed out by the keeper to Snodgrass who smashed a superb effort against the bar. Why didn't we continue like that? For the rest of the half neither Murphy or Redmond cut in and Snodgrass retreated to the half way line where, for the rest of the game, he either went down like a dying swan every time a defender came near him - that is beginning to get on my tits - or thump the ball in the general direction of two 6'6" central defenders and a giant goalie. Who the hell did Hughton think he was aiming at? Sort it out Hughton and quick.
Why didn't we continue like that? Don't you need to ask the players that question rather than the manager. Or are you suggesting that the way they started was somehow nothing to do with Hughton?
confidence. or rather a total lack of confidence. pure and simple. the manager clearly had them gee'd up from the off, hence we started very brightly, but we didn't get the breaks that initial play deserved, we followed this up with some absolutely horrendous defending (if you can even call it that) which cost us a goal, the heads immediately dropped and it was effectively game over after 15 minutes or so. ultimately it is down to the manager to instil confidence in players and unfortunately he doesn't seem to be able to do that, at least, not for a full 90 minutes. even when we've played well this season we've had huge dips in performance levels and this has always been a confidence issue.
