Harper, collocini, Jose Enrique, joey Barton, fitz hall, danny Guthrie, wayne routledge, Damien duff, danny Simpson, Alan smith, nicky butt, geremi, Leon best, Stephen Taylor, kazenga lua lua, shola ameobi, Kevin Nolan, Andy caroll.
I think that says it all. Was Hughton really that good? If...
Hughton had the likes of Caroll, Nolan, Barton, Collocini and Harper to name but a few in his squad. I'm not saying it's simple to get promoted with any squad however I'd like to think any half decent manager would have got them up.