Claude Puel
Just a French Chris Hughton isn't he?
Claude Puel
Based on what exactly. He's a nice man ?
I, too, agree with your sentiments. I still think that Chris Hughton is the best manager that the Albion have ever had and I am really dismayed about what has happened today, and presumably, behind the scenes in the last few weeks. Could it be that Chris has taken the team as far as he can? With the rumours flying around this could well be the case. I sincerely hope the team can somehow turn today’s debacle around and produce something worthy for the rest of the season. We await and see.
Mullery would have gone absolutely berserk if a team under him had performed like that. He would have locked them in the stadium and given them all a Gestapo type grilling under the fierce glare of the floodlights!
Much better manager!
Mullery would have gone absolutely berserk if a team under him had performed like that. He would have locked them in the stadium and given them all a Gestapo type grilling under the fierce glare of the floodlights!
Much better manager!
Don't get me wrong, I want CH to continue to be our manage now and next season - whether that's in the PL with a couple of 'midfield monsters' (to borrow somebody else's very apt phrase) bought in the summer, or in the Championship if it comes to that - but Big Sam is (I think) out of work at the moment, so what about offering him a million quid to come in as adviser/co-manager/consultant or whatever just for the remaining six matches to do a fire-fighting act? If it kept us up it would be a million quid well spent, no?
Just a thought.
There are precedents. And I don't see that TB would not be able to convince CH that he was here for the long haul. Anyway, as I said, 'twas just a thought.I don't think that could possibly work. It would undermine Chris ("sure, they say Big Sam is just here as an 'advisor', but he's obviously being lined up as a replacement, they don't want to spend the money to fire Hughton, so they're just making him quit.") Chris and Sam are two big name managers, with a lot of respect for their respective achievements, Hughton is well spoken and polite in public, but no way he would like that situation. It would be a slight on him and his ability ("we're 5 points clear of the relegation place, a game in hand, and I kept us up comfortably last season, wtf have the club brought in a 'fire fighter'?!"). Not to mention mixed messages to players with one manager suggesting one thing, another suggesting the opposite.
My concern is that there seem to be two schools of thought on management these days. One is the idea of management as a short-term job, and the pragmatism and realism this has developed in managers. They come in, make do with what they have, maybe buy a couple of players to get the team working. The other is the idea of the manager as the driving force behind the clubs philosophy - those that are there for the long haul, to build a team, squad and club ethic and identity. They engender loyalty in players who see their own performances and careers developing along with the club.
We currently have the latter. He came in when we were down, and rebuilt the squad and developed us into what we are today. I see Eddie Howe as a similar type. He has had the time to build and shape Bournemouth.
I'm not convinced it's easy to transition that type of manager these days. Because the replacement tends to take time, too. Even if it's a continuation, there's still a period of taking control, putting your stamp on every area. Look at the fates of Man Utd and Arsenal after they lost their long term managers, the way they were unsettled. We don't have the pedigree and reputation of MAn Utd or Arsenal - if we stay up and go on to struggle while replacing Hughton, I'm not sure we'd stay up next year.
The alternative is the short termer. Someone who isn't so concerned with the wider identity of the club. The problem with that is the development squad gets neglected, players come and go based on getting paid as much as they can and the moment more money is on offer elsewhere they go, potentially leaving you exposed and vulnerable to a poor season. There is just the idea that changing managers frequently becomes unsettling, becomes easier and a manager who could turn things around and lift the team higher than they were before a poor run gets sacked before they've really had a chance.
Either type of manager philosophy will have ups and downs. It's the nature of football. A team can dominate one year, and drop down the next, even with the same manager. Burnley went from having an away record like us, to having a great away record and qualifying for Europe to being one of the last teams to reach that magic 40 point mark (assuming they get there).
Can't say I'm looking forward to seeing how we react when Hughton goes (whether that's next week, the summer or ten years down the line).
Haven’t Arsenal been markedly better throughout this season, which the first post Wenger season?
Point taken. I think they seem to go through periods where it looks like they are then periods where it looks like they're not, but maybe not the strongest example.
If we're looking for someone with a proven record of developing young players, playing a passing game and winning trophies look no further than Arsene Wenger.
Hopefully he's at the stage in his life where he would be looking for an exciting project rather than a massive pay day.
He would be an incredible manager for us.
What I think will happen is that we will beat Cardiff and Chris Hughton will be our manager next season.