End of the Road for Hux

[yellow hammer 0]

There are very few individual players who have had as much impact on NCFC as Darren Huckerby.

When he signed up on Boxing Day, for most City fans it was the best Christmas present ever, after witnessing his skills over the previous three months on loan.

Hux joining City was the extra spark that kept up the momentum of our promotion winning team. In that season he was unstoppable.

There are those who will argue that his rediscovery of his best form late last season was the reason why we didn''t get dragged down into a relegation batlle when things were looking pretty dire. To many City fans, Hux is simply the best thing to have happened to NCFC in the past five years.

Unfortunately, there is another side to Hux, which imo means that he has reached the end of the road for the club. Being the the biggest fish in the pond, the guy who fans can et really excited about, also gives Darren a certain amount of power and influence at Carrow Road. And as we''ve seen, the guy hasn''t been slow to use it when he wants to.

If I remember it, NW was reluctant to go, and the board backed the manager long after his sell-by-date had expired. The fans were split down the middle over the manager''s position. But in the end it was player power, in particular Hux working to rule, that tipped NW out of his job.

One year later and the same thing happens. PG loses the dressing room. Hux had been waging a verbal war for some months beforehand, and again withdrew his labour. Once again the manager takes the long walk. Player power wins again.

So what happens next, if the board appoints a manager who does not comes up to Hux''s spec? Is he going to go in for a third round of manaer-baiting? I don''t think so. Any incoming guy is going to get clued in to what''s happening. And the only way that a new manager will win respect of the players is by rooting out the troublemakers.

This is Huckerby''s last season, so he probably feels he has the leeway to get away with what he''s doing. Funnily enough, I don''t see Dion Dublin doing the same thing - the guy''s a model professional down to the last. But DH could be in for a nasty shock and could be on his way in the January sales.

Personally, I hope so. Huckerby has kept our hopes alive over the past few years, but this season I think he''s lost the plot, and the club will not get out of this downward spiral until his bad influence is gone.

Time to move on. Mr. H.