Barracking Andy hughes...

[Trent Canary 0]

OK, we have established everyone dislikes/hates him. We have another picture ridiculing him on here, with so far total approval. Have any of you ever stopped to think that all this abuse and booing affects his performance on the pitch? Im sure I will have the usual suspects telling me, "Well hes rubbish anyway", "He is our worst player ever" etc etc and some other pointless views that ignore the point.

The simple fact is 23,000 fans getting behind a player will do a lot more for him than 23,000 fans booing him and slagging him off. And I dont know about the rest of you but I would rather he played well, and the team did well. Surely thats the definition of supporting? (I.E. "support: To Encourage".)

Im not going to get into an arguement about true fans and all that rubbish. My point is simply, dont all the Anti-Hughes fans want Norwich to do well? And if you do then surely it is best to encourage him rather than ridicule him, as it will give us a better shot of doing well as a club. By all means have a go at Worthy for signing him, I certainly do, but as long as he is a Norwich player we should be encouraging him.

Infact lets say for example Worthy gets fired today, we bring in A new manager, everyone gets optimistic again. Will you all still criticize Hughes? Or will you get behind him and try to help the team as much as possible? And therefore is everyones problem with Hughes simply a by-product of the hatred for Worthy?

But of course if you do want Norwich to do badly then please carry on criticizing him as thats your opinion, you have the right etc etc.

[Saint Canary 0]

People have very short memories Trent and it''s easier to blame one or two than take a good hard look at their "favourite" players. If they did they might have to acknowledge that every member of the squad has not been up to par this year and not everything is Andy Hughes fault.  

They forget that so called "legends" like Roberts and Mackay were awful in their first season.  In Mackay''s case he was awful in his first two seasons and people want him back now!  Despite his like for "hoofball".

Last years victim of the best fans in the world was The Doc who is this years player of the season. 

I really don''t see that constantly ridiculing Hughes is going to help at all.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,221]

Very emotive post, we wring our hands in shame at the treatment of Andy Hughes, yet Norwich fans are no different then any other fans, players have (unfairly) been singled out for this sort of abuse down the years (Daryl Sutch, Mike Sheron to name but two). Daryl was blamed for every ill of Norwich at the time, despite being a loyal, honest servant to the club. Mike Sheron was also the subject to abuse, but have a look at his goal scoring before and after he played for Norwich. I dont like abuse of players, part it is an unfortunate part of the game.

[chicken 0]

I totaly agree with you Trent - nothing unusual there!!!The one thing I find rather disturbing is that the very same people that criticise him and label him as our worse player is that they also barrack Worthington for not installing confidence, passion and commitment into the players.It was been widely commented by people around the club that Hughes is one of the best players in the dressingroom when it comes to lifting the guys. As for passion and effort - I don''t think you can deny that although he may have not had the best of seasons he has tried 100% and has appologised for not being better and has certainly done a lot to prove that he wants this club to go places. Even forgiving the fans that barrack him.My last comment on him is based upon other signings we have had in the past and that is it is very easy to look poor if everyone around you is playing poorly also. You can only play to what you have around you. Libra was a good player - we just didnt have the players to complement him. I am not saying Hughes is as skillful but I think when you have Safri firing on on cylinders and a solid right winger and right back you will see how Hughes really plays his game. Its interesting people (notable CJF) are even suggesting we should never have let Holt go when Hughes is probably a better all round player.

[Trent Canary 0]

"They forget that so called "legends" like Roberts and Mackay were awful in their first season.  In Mackay''s case he was awful in his first two seasons and people want him back now!  Despite his like for "hoofball"."

Yeah I remember back then, if I was Iwan I would have left Norwich after one season to be perfectly honest. We are lucky he turned into a Carrow road legend.

"Last years victim of the best fans in the world was The Doc who is this years player of the season. "

Yep I remember that, it was the same at the start of this season too. I went to the carling cup game and he was getting all sorts of abuse.

 

The funny thing is about Hughes, is that he is a perfectly honest bloke who obviously tries his heart out. I can understand booing someone like Francis who ended up being a lazy so and so. So blame worthy for buying him, but lets encourage him so he can become a better player? Only if thats what you all want of course.

[Trent Canary 0]

[quote user="Sons of Boadicea"]Very emotive post, we wring our hands in shame at the treatment of Andy Hughes, yet Norwich fans are no different then any other fans, players have (unfairly) been singled out for this sort of abuse down the years (Daryl Sutch, Mike Sheron to name but two). Daryl was blamed for every ill of Norwich at the time, despite being a loyal, honest servant to the club. Mike Sheron was also the subject to abuse, but have a look at his goal scoring before and after he played for Norwich. I dont like abuse of players, part it is an unfortunate part of the game.[/quote]

Yes players have had the same treatment in the past. But do Crewe fans boo their players? Do Portsmouth fans? (I wouldnt know, genuine question) Ive never come across anything like the treatment Hughes has received this season. I can understand booing a player if he is lazy, or being greedy, or harming the dressing room. But Hughes is an honest bloke and just doesnt deserve it. Blame Worthy for signing him, not Hughes.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,221]

Not condoning the abuse in anyway shape or form. I agree that Hughes is not lazy etc, his biggest problem is that (for no fault of his own) he is inextricably linked to Nigel Worthington, the way that I see it is the fans are venting their spleen at Worthington, through Andy Hughes.

[Trent Canary 0]

SOB - I know your not condoning it at all, and to be honest I think our idea of the treatment of Hughes being a by-product of the hatred for Worthy is pretty much spot on. I think Worthy making him captain didnt help matters at all!

I would like those posters that are constantly having a go at Hughes and are happy to encourage it to tell me whether they feel they are helping the team by doing this, and if they would stop if Worthy leaves.

[OTBC 0]

I don''t have any sympathy for Captain Clappy. He''s on good money, I don''t think he''s earning it.

[Trent Canary 0]

[quote user="OTBC"]I don''t have any sympathy for Captain Clappy. He''s on good money, I don''t think he''s earning it.
[/quote]

This isnt about sympathy, its about helping one of OUR players to perform better. Or do we not want that?

[seedyrom 0]

[quote user="Trent Canary"]

[quote user="OTBC"]I don''t have any sympathy for Captain Clappy. He''s on good money, I don''t think he''s earning it.
[/quote]

This isnt about sympathy, its about helping one of OUR players to perform better. Or do we not want that?

[/quote]

 

I think you''re overlooking the mentality of the Hughes-bashers, TC; they''re having an absolute BALL making the guy''s life hell, and it has squat-all to do with either caring about the club or wanting the player himself to perform better. It''s how people like this get their kicks, and the more cruel and unfair they can be, in their eyes and in those of their cerebrally challanged chums who egg them on, the more fun it becomes. Don''t bother looking for rationalty in it, because none exists.

[macdougalls perm 0]

I would just like to second the gist of this post TC. Not only is it extremely unpleasant behaviour, it is also (IMO) completely counter-productive to the benefit of the club and team.

[Ian 1,211]

[quote user="seedyrom"][quote user="Trent Canary"]

[quote user="OTBC"]I don''t have any sympathy for Captain Clappy. He''s on good money, I don''t think he''s earning it. [/quote]

This isnt about sympathy, its about helping one of OUR players to perform better. Or do we not want that?

[/quote]

 

I think you''re overlooking the mentality of the Hughes-bashers, TC; they''re having an absolute BALL making the guy''s life hell, and it has squat-all to do with either caring about the club or wanting the player himself to perform better. It''s how people like this get their kicks, and the more cruel and unfair they can be, in their eyes and in those of their cerebrally challanged chums who egg them on, the more fun it becomes. Don''t bother looking for rationalty in it, because none exists.

[/quote]For what it''s worth, I think that''s right on the money. The logic behind not booing him is pretty obvious, and anybody who says "he''s rubbish, he''s not earning his money" as a justification for the torrent of undeserved abuse he gets is trying to kid themselves that their actions are acceptable.Look at it this way; people slag him off because he''s rubbish and he isn''t worth his wage packet. However, if they were to stop slagging him off I''m pretty sure his performances would improve - it just makes no sense to me - so those who do boo and abuse him constantly, please explain what you hope to achieve?(Now I''m waiting for the usual "I have the right to boo him if I like" comments).

[Trent Canary 0]

Cheers for the responses folks, glad to see Im not the only one who thinks this way.

But please can we have some of the serious Hughes-bashers on to answer my questions above, dont want to have a go, am just curious as to why you do it. You know who you are, Paul Rankin, The Nedergaard chap who keeps putting the pictures about him on here etc etc

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="Trent Canary"]

Cheers for the responses folks, glad to see Im not the only one who thinks this way.

But please can we have some of the serious Hughes-bashers on to answer my questions above, dont want to have a go, am just curious as to why you do it. You know who you are, Paul Rankin, The Nedergaard chap who keeps putting the pictures about him on here etc etc

[/quote]

I havent booed the poor sod, but have clapped when he was subbed (the QPR game, a venting of anger).

To be honest here Trent, no it does him no good when he is booed all the time, but unfortunatly he is as a footballer exactly what worthy is as a manager, all hard work no ability.  Hard work will get you so far, but true ability gets you to the next level.

He cost a lot of money, isnt very good and was our managers no 1 target in the summer.  he represents Everything that was wrong with this season, and the way the club is heading.

He is a player whom represents Worthington on the pitch to me and I would have thought most other Hughes Bashers.  I understand it isnt fair, it isnt right and it doesnt do us any good.  But that is still the way it is.

When the frustration amongst the fans builds up, he gets lashed out at as people need something to vent their anger and concern against.  For some stupid reason he is an easier target than Worthington, if every time the fans lashed out at Hughes they had lashed out at worthy instead he would probably be gone by now.....

 

[Trent Canary 0]

Cheers for the response. And very good points you have.

If you havent booed him then fair enough, your not one of them. Im all for criticizing players on message board/down the pub etc, and given your post-pub rants on him I can see you manage to join the two together! But Im glad you agree the way he is treated on the pitch is terrible.

I take your point about him summing up the way the club is going. But as I said earlier, it is in no way his fault he is here. As you rightly say, if we have to blame anyone for Hughes blame Worthington.

However it isnt a lost cause, as someone mentioned earlier Roberts was booed at the start of his career. And a certain Gary Holt was often criticized in the centre of our midfield, even though he was there in our championship winning side (Somehow!)

And sorry I named you, Hughes-Bashers on message boards are fair enough. Although it does generate a negative image of him, which unfortuanetly manifests itself on match days, but Im glad you dont feel the need to boo our own players. Hopefully those that do can sit back over the summer and realize that we need to support our players, not hinder them.

[Creative Midfielder 2,203]

Although I broadly agree with most of what you''re saying Trent my observations would be:

1. I think to say everyone dislikes/hates him is a bit strong. I''ve seen plenty of posts on here praising his effort and commitment, its just that he doesnt seem to be much good.........

2. To some extent you''re talking about cause and effect - at the start of the season he did have 23,000 fans supporting him but this didnt have the effect you might hope for (see point 1). Have his performances deteriorated since he started taking stick? I''m not sure that they have. It cant be much fun taking the abuse but over the course of the season has either the support or the stick impacted on his performance, unconvinced on that one.

3. I think most of the abuse is really aimed at Worthington by proxy, and rightly so (in the sense of the intended target not the nature of the abuse). Worthington made the decision to bring him in, not a good one on the basis of what we''ve seen. Worthington made him captain when he''d only been here five minutes - shades of Emblem here - both very odd decisions IMO. I''m trying avoid going on a full-blown WO rant here but the worst decision of all is to keep playing him when he clearly wasnt cutting the mustard. This to me was very reminiscent of last season playing Holt until he (literally) dropped - I keep reading on here about Worthington seeing players every day and therefore knowing so much more about them than us mere mortals as being the reason he makes the weird decisions he does, but the reality seems to be that with certain players he has a complete blind spot and will play them whether they are cutting it or not on a Saturday, and irrespective of the other options that are available.

So in summary - all the abuse should be going in Worthington''s direction but poor old Hughes is on the pitch and Worthington isnt.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="chicken"]I totaly agree with you Trent - nothing unusual there!!!

 Its interesting people (notable CJF) are even suggesting we should never have let Holt go when Hughes is probably a better all round player.

[/quote]

What Holt did he did very well, he wasnt never going to be up to the premiership, and certainly wasnt as he had had an illness during this period.  Shame we let him go really as he seems to have recovered and is back in Forests lineup coinciding with their return to form since Work Rate Megson has been sacked.

As for what you say Trent, I don''t think Hughes will get half as much stick if worthy was sacked, and maybe people like me would look at his performances more objectively.  There are a large group of fans baying for blood at the moment and he is unfortunatly prone to the odd error and considered Worthy''s ''Right Hand Man'', perhaps unfairly so.

[oh huckerby 0]

wasn''t Mr Henry crap in his first season??

still, not a good comparsion!

 

[Dionysus 0]

The key word here is frustration. Many fans are frustrated that we signed Hughes when he was widely reported to be lacking in footballing ability. They''re frustrated that Worthington values work-rate and versatility (qualities that Hughes has in abundance) above flair and talent. They''re frustrated that Hughes has been made club captain and appears to be the first name on the teamsheet when he simply isn''t good enough to add anything meaningful to a team hoping to push for promotion. I don''t condone booing and shouting abuse at players but I can understand why many fans do it.

I''m hoping that supporters do not have to get behind Hughes next season. If they do then it means he is still in the team which, IMO, will mean that we have not strengthened the squad adequately in the summer. With all the encouragement in the world, Hughes is never going to be a good Championship player.

[EadiesRight Foot 0]

I can see both sides here - Trent makes a great point that Hughes is bearing the brunt of the frustration of the fans with Worthingtons failures this season. I think that the barracking he has received has intensified due the way things have panned out. If were in the playoffs or (Cant believe I am actually writing this) pushing for automatic promotion he wouldnt have half the grief.

But - he is useless. honest hard working guy, but when people are paying his wages, and they get that kind of performance, then people will vent their frustration accordingly.

Think people should lay off him in general - we knew he wasnt a World Beater in the first place.

[Trent Canary 0]

Ok Ill do my best to answer everyones points! Funnily enough it just occurred to me whether barracking is a real word?! But anyway..

Eadies right foot - I know what you mean about his wages. And Im the first to vent my spleen about footballers wages, but again I dont think you can say thats his fault. If that was offered to him then good for him. Again Blame worthy and co for offering so much money to Reading and to Hughes through wages! If I took a job somewhere for a lot of money even though I wasnt that good I would be over the moon!

Dionysus - "With all the encouragement in the world, Hughes is never going to be a good Championship player" - Although that may be true, I still think we have to do our best to encourage him to be a better player. As we said before, other people have had terrible first seasons to go on to be norwich heroes.

CJF - The fact is with players such as Hughes and Holt is they need a good skillful midfielder opposite them. Holt had it with Francis when we were successful. Holt has Kris Commons. Hughes has had a mixture of Robinson, Etuhu, Charlton etc etc. If we get a decent ball-playing midfielder (Which im hoping Etuhu will develop into) then I think he will improve. And as you refer to with "Worthys right hand man", making him captain did not help at all.

Creative midfielder - You make good points. Apologies if Im making a sweeping statement about people disliking Hughes. I realize not everyone boos him, and that there may be able that appreciate his role in the team. So sorry if Im lumping people into one large group.

Good point about him not performing too well when he was supported either. However that doesnt mean its right, which im sure you appreciate. However Im all for giving him the best chance to perform well. As mentioned a few times here some players have been poor in their first season, then turned into legends. Iwan was booed in his first season, however if he had had the treatment that Hughes has received do you think he would have ever turned into the legend he now is?

And as you rightly say this reminds me a hell of a lot about Emblem. A disaster of epic proportions. And the fact he hasnt been dropped has frustrated everyone. But as you rightly say, and the point Im trying to get across is simply; all these things are Worthys fault, not Hughes''s.

[Getting off the fence 0]

[quote user="Saint Canary"]

People have very short memories Trent and it''s easier to blame one or two than take a good hard look at their "favourite" players. If they did they might have to acknowledge that every member of the squad has not been up to par this year and not everything is Andy Hughes fault.  

They forget that so called "legends" like Roberts and Mackay were awful in their first season.  In Mackay''s case he was awful in his first two seasons and people want him back now!  Despite his like for "hoofball".

Last years victim of the best fans in the world was The Doc who is this years player of the season. 

I really don''t see that constantly ridiculing Hughes is going to help at all.

[/quote]

Going back further still, Bryan Gunn was vey unpopular at first as well.

[John Boubepo 0]

Giving abuse to Hoosy is out of order but cheering him is also dangerous and  just encourages Worthington to bring in more conference standard players - got to keep the balance  right folks!   

[Trent Canary 0]

[quote user="John Boubepo"]Giving abuse to Hoosy is out of order but cheering him is also dangerous and  just encourages Worthington to bring in more conference standard players - got to keep the balance  right folks! 
 
[/quote]

Yeah Im not advocating cheering his name every five minutes. Got to earn that first.