Enlighten me. What problems do you Norwich fans have with Chris Hughton? Surely you must remember that you were a League One side just a few years ago?
Unlike some on here I don't think he's a crap manager, I think he's a bit average, he has just been lumbered with a lot of injuries lately so results are down. The only gripe I have is that he doesn't seem to be able to inspire the players to give their all, I'm not a person who pines after the PL days but he could get 100% out of a player. Something that CH doesn't seem to be able to do.
Something I have picked out a few times is his apparent reluctance to change the shape of a game, whilst the game is in play. That is to say, he waits for half time (think West Ham game). When we played Cardiff, Malky made changes on around 20 minutes to try and turn the tide, which was more effective at keeping us out on the day. Moyes brought on Welbeck for the 2nd half of our game with Man Utd, and totally changed the game, while CH did nothing to counter the move by Moyes. Stoke City away was another one. Mark Hughes made half time subs, which turned the flow against us, CH did nothing to try and gain the initiative again (until about 85 minutes) The list could probably go on and on, if I thought hard enough about it. I am not talking specifically about substitutions, but changing formation while the half is in progress, or getting instructions to the players to press higher up the pitch etc. He only changes the 'shape' when he eventually changes the players (invariably too late in the game). To me, this is his biggest weakness.
I agree with a lot of what Thai has already posted although it must be caveated by saying that we don't have the likes of Wellbeck or Eto/Hazard/William to bring on to change a game. I'm sure if we had more real strength on the bench then CH would be more inclined to utilise it but as the OP says it was not that long ago that we were a league one team. CH has suffered (rightly or wrongly) in comparison with the huge success the club enjoyed under his predecessor and so fans expectations have been raised to levels which the club cannot realistically hope to achieve regardless of who is at the helm. Back in our league one and championship days the football was undeniably good to watch and we were winning a lot of games whereas in the Prem we are unlikely to batter many teams and more likely to lose than win. I don't feel CH's personality has helped him as he does not appear to care as much about the club as Lambert did when he was here. I know that this is probably not the case but the feeling is that when the chips were down Lambert would be hopping about yelling at people and making substitutions to influence the result whereas CH can look a little lost and relective. I don't think that he is less competent but just that he looks less in control than Lambert was. I think he has had a tough job and not been lucky with injuries to key players (Ruddy for most of last season, RvW for most of this) and Lambert probably knew that he had taken the squad as far as he could and jumped at the top of his popularity and CH has been left to rebuild a squad whose key players such as Holt and Wes were fading. If we beat Hull and don't lose against Newcastle we will probably be up to 12th/13th and a lot of pressure will be released. I can understand why fans are nervous as we went on a long poor run last season and we have started it a bit earlier this year and so the genuine fear is that we will just continue to slide right back into the Championship.
We all remember being in league 1 all to well, my problem with Hootun is that he looks like he would take us back there with his insipid, uninspiring football. We are in my opinion clearly going backwards under his tenure and he appears out of his depth at PL level. Nice bloke, champ manager at best. Bah! p.s. For a fuller explanation of why a number of us have wanted him out, read pretty much every thread since the Man City debacle and you will see, we have been getting upset as a fan base in greater and greater numbers from then to now (allbeit its worth pointing out that some of u, me included would have happily seen him replaced as early as last March where a number of warning signs were already evident), with a recent local paper poll suggesting 85% of fans now think his time is up (about 550-600 votes cast).
In a lot of fans eyes, the only problem Chris Hughton has, is that he´s not Paul Lambert, and doesn´t do things the Paul Lambert way, but that´s hardly his fault. He´s doing the best job he can in difficult circumstances, and with a backcloth of bubbling animosity which, for some, started pretty much as soon as he arrived, and has been getting worse ever since. Personally I´m surprised he´s still here, considering the amount of fan pressure he´s been under, but fortunately we´ve got a CEO and a board who have more faith than most of the fans. You are not the first from outside the Club to have asked the same question lately, and the fact that it needs to be asked, because so many of our own fans are turning agaÃnst him, makes me embarrassed to be a City fan, when we ought to be getting behind him. Yes, he´s got faults and weaknesses like every manager, but this year particularly, he hasn´t been helped by massive injury problems, and several under-performing players.
Spot on, I'm not sure why fans are ignoring the injury to key players, this has affected our recent run of results. I do think however getting the best out of a player is down to the manager, it's part of his job!
Cons - predictable, uncreative, ridged, ineffective, oppressive, motiveless, to tactical Pros - Solid, reliable, nonreactive, The issue with injuries for me doesnt add up, we played some good football through November when we had major players out of our team, Snod, BJ, Pilks etc, we played with a degree of freedom, some guts and verve... yes we let in a few goals but win one, lose one will ultimately keep us up come then end of the season. Its seems though we always slip back into this ridged tactical team setup which the players obviously dont like.... to many tactical decisions and not giving the players the passion and freedom of choice to just go out play there hearts out.. Now CH doesnt seem to know what to do, hes tried most of the things hes capable of now so where do we go from here? I just hope we win saturday
The answer is partly contained in the question. We do remember where we were 5 seasons ago but we also got used to how we got where we were when Hughton came here. Lambert took us as far as he thought he could and got out and we all accept that Hughton did very well to steady the ship, rebuild the squad and keep us up. In the summer he was given a lot of money to spend - not a lot to the top 6 but a lot for a club of our size - but the results have been disappointing and the football played dire. On Monday night Villa played Arsenal. During the course of the game Lambert changed his system 3 times, used his subs, spent the entire game on the touchline like a jack in the box and in the end Villa nearly got a draw. That is what we got used to. Even when we go behind the system does not change, no subs are brought on until the last 10 mins and Hughton just sits there, arms folded with a scowl on his face. If any player did not play as instructed by Lambert he would be warned and, if it continued, taken off - Hughton just lets them get on with it. As a Journalist said on local radio last night - if they were playing badly when Lambert was here they were frightened to go back into the dressing room but that fear factor has gone. Of course it is all a matter of opinion and if Lambert were the complete Messiah we wouldn't have some Villa fans wanting him sacked after only 18 months but it worked here and, as I said, that is what we were used to. The sort of match which sums up Hughton and condemns him in the eyes of many was the last time we played Hull. As we were away Hughton, as usual, set up to get a 0-0 or sneak a 1-0. After 20 mins we went 1-0 down - no change in system. After 30 mins Hull had a player sent off - no change in system. It was not until the 66th minute that he took off a midfielder and put on a second striker with two other subs being straight swaps in midfield. The match finished 1-0 to Hull without us having a single shot on target. Please also bear in mind that I am not one calling for Hughton to be sacked.
Agreed and thats why the managers position is so crucial. there is a thin line between oppression and freedom, CH deosnt seem to be able to find that middle ground... the lack of motivation and confidence is key
The strangest thing is that most of the criticisms being made against CH are being made against Lambert by Villa fans. As I've said before, most fans remember Lambert's successes and forget his failures, like losing 8 out of 12 matches in the latter half of the PL season. Lambert attacked more because his team had a weak defence. CH sorted that as soon as he arrived, which is one reason some fans think he's defensive minded. He isn't, he just wants a balance between defence and attack like every other team in the PL. I watched the whole of the Villa-Arsenal game on Monday and Villa were dire and should have been swamped by Arsenal rather than going in 2-0 at HT. For me, it's only half about the manager and half about the players. I don't buy this idea of managers inspiring hardened professional players. Tomorrow's match is the time for everyone to step up, fans included. The future of our team is at stake.
I think he's a good manager, I now think he doesn't fit Norwich and the players we have. Having said that, if relegation was not such a massive issue and teams could drop down a league, retain all their players as was possible a couple of decades ago I'd happily stick with him. I don't think most of the criticisms of him are just and that many of the accusations leveled at him apply to the vast majority of managers but the need to stay up means it's understandable that many folk are looking for him to be replaced.
The players (should) only do what the manager tells them to do within the particular set-up and tactics that he's chosen for any particular match...to use your match against Hull as an example, CH will have looked at the DVDs of how Hull play, identified potential weakness's in their midfield/defence, picked the best available team to nullify/counter any threats, and breakdown their defence...that's what professional managers do!!
I agree, Rick, that Arsenal should have been out of sight by HT but Villa stuck with it, put in the effort, responded to Lambert's changes and nearly got a point. CH would probably have done nothing except play for damage limitation. As for his last 12 matches - City were just about safe by then and Lambert was more interested in his future. CH is a nice guy - PL is ruthless and doesn't mind who he stands on to get to the top. I will agree that if the crowd turn the Hull game into a further instalment of the ' CH out/ why is he still here ' debate we might as well give up. We need Hughton and the Team to go for it, a bit more animation from the bench and for the crowd to get behind them.
Everyone keeps saying he is a nice guy, not ruthless enough, where on earth does this come from. How the feck does anyone know this?
I'd say the same about being animated on the touchline. Does anyone really think that waving your arms about, throwing your water bottle to the ground and tearing your hair out motivates the players to do better on the pitch? IMO it is far better for a manager to stay in his seat most of the time. Then his just standing up and appearing in his technical area sends a message that he's not happy about something. Chris Hughton prefers to stand, but he doesn't just stand there. Watch his hands when they come out of his pockets, and listen out for his whistles.
