Put it this way. Does anyone think (given the one competitive match AND friendlies) that the things I mentioned are present? Has the team gelled? Was the belief there? Was the enthusiasm there? If we'd played well in the friendlies, beaten Fulham 5-0, would you be allowed to judge that the team HAD gelled, was full of belief, behind the manager etc etc. Of course you would, you can't just ignore it and not form some kind of opinion because it was bad. Everything I said looks true so far, I don't think anyone would deny that. What they may deny is whether it is true which none of us know.
You cannot judge any team on one competitive game, whether they win or lose. However, I do believe that the team is gelled as fifteen of the seventeen man match squad have been here for longer than just pre-season. We played poorly in one game, that is all!
Yes, but they are playing a totally different way, its virtually the opposite to what they are used to.
I'm pretty certain that Hughton knows more about football management than any of us on here, so lets cut him some slack, and see what happens. However, he does need to brush up on his post match interviews.
