Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
ncfcstar

Where now for NCFC and Hughton?

Recommended Posts

We''ll have posts on here for days to come debating our post Xmas slump, and whether or not Hughton is good enough.  Fine, football is all about opinions and everyone on here will have one.  Personally for Hughton to take our team to 11th place in the PL seems like an unbelievable achievement to me.  As far as I know the league table is something you judge on the final day, and 11th place is something Hughton and the team should be proud of.But where now for NCFC?  With Hughton having his fair number of critics despite an 11th place finish, can he ever placate this section of support?  If we finish in and around the same position next season will fans accept it?  How far can NCFC go?  Realistically we can''t challenge for the top 6, and this season we''ve finished 5 points off 8th.  Obviously cup success is the next step for Hughton to take.  Would fans be happy with a season finishing between 8th and 17th and a cup run to boot each year?  This is the logical step in the future of NCFC; but is it the case that a section of the support, even if Hughton delivers this, would rather see him sacked?How do you envisage the next 5 years?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have been (and am) a Hughton critic. And it essentially boils down to the negativity the team has played with for the majority of the season. The team is good enough when playing uninhibited (look at yesterday) so I see it as Hughton''s job to get us playing uninhibited more often.

I recognize that Hughton has got us to 11th in the PL but we were seriously concerned about relegation just 2 games ago, let us not forget that. That said I am prepared to give Hughton a couple of months in to the new season, if the football has improved then he will have convinced me that he is the right man for the job, if not, and we don''t get the results then i''m afraid he''ll have to go.

What do I envisage for the next 5 years? I would like to see us push on from here and get to a stage where we are no longer seen as relegation candidates. Once we are at that stage then there is no limit to our potential. Case in point look at Everton, 10 years ago perennial strugglers, now competing for most of the season for Europe.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"I recognize that Hughton has got us to 11th in the PL but we were seriously concerned about relegation just 2 games ago, let us not forget that. That said I am prepared to give Hughton a couple of months in to the new season, if the football has improved then he will have convinced me that he is the right man for the job, if not, and we don''t get the results then i''m afraid he''ll have to go. "

I''m sure he''s crapping himself knowing his future is in your hands.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Anywhere in the table above 12th would be brilliant for me, with a fantastic cup run to boot. I think we''re done with surviving now and should make a genuine push for either a top half or a cup. Might be getting ahead of myself, but I think we are in a credible position to do either and.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Stig"]Anywhere in the table above 12th would be brilliant for me, with a fantastic cup run to boot. I think we''re done with surviving now and should make a genuine push for either a top half or a cup. Might be getting ahead of myself, but I think we are in a credible position to do either and.[/quote]

Yes have to agree, the club are in a position now where as we can go and get decent players in, not that we haven''t already but we will all agree some fresh blood is needed, Club and Fans 100% to back Hughton.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I''m looking for Norwich to anchor themselves in mid table over the next few seasons. Never flirting with danger - like Swansea and West Brom this season.

 

However, despite the investment and Wolfie, I think we will actually always be a side securing safety in the final 3-4 games at best. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Walking Man "]I have been (and am) a Hughton critic. And it essentially boils down to the negativity the team has played with for the majority of the season. The team is good enough when playing uninhibited (look at yesterday) so I see it as Hughton''s job to get us playing uninhibited more often.

I recognize that Hughton has got us to 11th in the PL but we were seriously concerned about relegation just 2 games ago, let us not forget that. That said I am prepared to give Hughton a couple of months in to the new season, if the football has improved then he will have convinced me that he is the right man for the job, if not, and we don''t get the results then i''m afraid he''ll have to go.

What do I envisage for the next 5 years? I would like to see us push on from here and get to a stage where we are no longer seen as relegation candidates. Once we are at that stage then there is no limit to our potential. Case in point look at Everton, 10 years ago perennial strugglers, now competing for most of the season for Europe.[/quote]

I don''t think any team outside the top 6 can be sure of safety at the start of the season. It is such a competitive league there is very little between all the outide the big six. It will be interesting if Everton can continue their success with a new manager

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, earlier in the season I predicted that we could grab up to 7th spot with the luck and attitude, and 11th is not far away.   If only we had played a similar attacking style throughout the season, many of our players would have prospered instead of getting frustrated !!  I''m not sure a manager who believes in a defensive/cautious style can change. I still believe that with a Martinez, a Holloway or a Redknapp we would prosper far more than Hughton, but he deserves his chance next season to prove us doubters wrong.   

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
More expansive football, but hope we keep the same attitude that got us victories versus Arsenal and Man U.

I guess consistency will always be hard to keep up all season as in any sport and I heard big Sam bemoaning what little difference spending £10-15m on a player can actually do.

In a sense, he''s right. Other than the obvious need for a striker that we have addressed, where are the obvious signs for improvement?

Would spending £7m on a right back be better than trusty old Russel Martin? or £15m on a gaston ramirez type player be better than Wes? I guess it''s a gamble.

Going back to what i''d like next year, a push for 7th spot and a trophy would be nice but i''d be happy with a finish similar to this season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Some of the anger and pant wetting has been a disgrace.Ridiculous statements about how we could have done better if we had not been so defensive are evidently ill thought through.  How many more points would we have gotten from this alleged failing of Hughton?  1? 10? Win the league?  -10 for being beaten 4-3 every game?The bottom line is he kept a small, poor squad in a very tough league where bigger clubs with more money struggled as much and worse than we did.  Where other teams lost, Hughton ground out draws.  We finished only 2 points behind the much touted Swansea FFS, who have an evidently superior squad quality.  That is how fine the margins are and will be.If you think after this season we can play wonderful football and not be more worried about relegation that Europe then you might want to find another sport to follow now.The reality is going to be the same very single year - avoid relegation and hope for a it more.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The myth of the attacking style curing the problems,  Ignoring how every other team in the divison operated, ignoring player nerves and limitations, ignoring that getting a point was more important at times than losing a game while attacking.Lambert spent 20 millions quid and had a superior squad, look where his attacking style got him - worse off than us.FFS grow up and give the management of our club some credit.[quote user="paul moy"]Well, earlier in the season I predicted that we could grab up to 7th spot with the luck and attitude, and 11th is not far away.   If only we had played a similar attacking style throughout the season, many of our players would have prospered instead of getting frustrated !!  I''m not sure a manager who believes in a defensive/cautious style can change. I still believe that with a Martinez, a Holloway or a Redknapp we would prosper far more than Hughton, but he deserves his chance next season to prove us doubters wrong.    [/quote]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="ref89"]Some of the anger and pant wetting has been a disgrace.Ridiculous statements about how we could have done better if we had not been so defensive are evidently ill thought through.  How many more points would we have gotten from this alleged failing of Hughton?  1? 10? Win the league?  -10 for being beaten 4-3 every game?The bottom line is he kept a small, poor squad in a very tough league where bigger clubs with more money struggled as much and worse than we did.  Where other teams lost, Hughton ground out draws.  We finished only 2 points behind the much touted Swansea FFS, who have an evidently superior squad quality.  That is how fine the margins are and will be.If you think after this season we can play wonderful football and not be more worried about relegation that Europe then you might want to find another sport to follow now.The reality is going to be the same very single year - avoid relegation and hope for a it more.[/quote]It''s three points for a win and only one for a draw so all logic says to me, go for wins. If only we had, because rather than your constantly negative view I believe we have the quality to prosper and would have done !!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Martinez, Holloway or Redknapp?

If they canme in now, they would have a solid defence to work with, so I wonder how long they would take to dismantle that with their all out attacking teams. All of their teams are below us in the pecking order, and concede more goals

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"The bottom line is he kept a small, poor squad in a very tough league where bigger clubs with more money struggled as much and worse than we did. Where other teams lost, Hughton ground out draws. "

Blimey!....you''ve really bought into Hughton''s ethos, haven''t you?

The squad was no smaller than everybody else''s - I believe all teams have to name 25 players.

As for describing the squad as ''poor'' - an insult to the achievements of a squad of players who believed they could win most football matches and who were good enough to finish 12th in the PL.

And if grinding out draws means playing out 90 minutes of football without a meaningful shot on goal, then you''ll find a significant number of supporters looking for another sport to follow.......

The bottom line is that Norwich City''s players have shown, in the last two games, that they are capable of playing a style of football far more adventurous than Hughton has previously given them credit for. One defensive midfielder instead of Hughton''s desired two, has given the team a better balance, earned the club an extra £4m or so, and offered many exasperated followers renewed hope for next season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="paul moy"]Well, earlier in the season I predicted that we could grab up to 7th spot with the luck and attitude, and 11th is not far away.   If only we had played a similar attacking style throughout the season, many of our players would have prospered instead of getting frustrated !!  I''m not sure a manager who believes in a defensive/cautious style can change. I still believe that with a Martinez, a Holloway or a Redknapp we would prosper far more than Hughton, but he deserves his chance next season to prove us doubters wrong.    [/quote]7th Liverpool - 61 points11th Norwich City - 44 pointsIf we just had of got those extra 6 wins we needed eh?So close!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"][quote user="paul moy"]Well, earlier in the season I predicted that we could grab up to 7th spot with the luck and attitude, and 11th is not far away.   If only we had played a similar attacking style throughout the season, many of our players would have prospered instead of getting frustrated !!  I''m not sure a manager who believes in a defensive/cautious style can change. I still believe that with a Martinez, a Holloway or a Redknapp we would prosper far more than Hughton, but he deserves his chance next season to prove us doubters wrong.    [/quote]7th Liverpool - 61 points11th Norwich City - 44 pointsIf we just had of got those extra 6 wins we needed eh?So close![/quote]I can think of six where if we had gone for a win we may have got them ( Newcastle, West Ham, QPR, Wigan, Reading, Sunderland), maybe more,  and I''ve been saying that for ages.  We have underperformed this season as we aimed small (draws) rather than big (wins) because so many such as yourself thought our squad was not up to it.   That is tantamount to criminal negligence IMO.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="paul moy"][quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"][quote user="paul moy"]Well, earlier in the season I predicted that we could grab up to 7th spot with the luck and attitude, and 11th is not far away.   If only we had played a similar attacking style throughout the season, many of our players would have prospered instead of getting frustrated !!  I''m not sure a manager who believes in a defensive/cautious style can change. I still believe that with a Martinez, a Holloway or a Redknapp we would prosper far more than Hughton, but he deserves his chance next season to prove us doubters wrong.    [/quote]7th Liverpool - 61 points11th Norwich City - 44 pointsIf we just had of got those extra 6 wins we needed eh?So close![/quote]I can think of six where if we had gone for a win we may have got them ( Newcastle, West Ham, QPR, Wigan, Reading, Sunderland), maybe more,  and I''ve been saying that for ages.  We have underperformed this season as we aimed small (draws) rather than big (wins) because so many such as yourself thought our squad was not up to it.   That is tantamount to criminal negligence IMO. [/quote]Interesting.....Care to elaborate when I made such claims regarding our playing squad?I think my favourite quote though is;"we aimed small (draws) rather than big (wins)"Setting up hard to beat is not the same as "aiming small (draws)". However, lets for arguments sake say that your small minded assumption  in this statement is correct. Now, surely you realise in sport that aiming for something and actually achieving it are 2 completely different things? I mean, if it was as simple as aiming higher, then surely all teams could just aim to win every game, and then everyone would finish the season on equal first right?In saying that, I''m not saying our squad wasn''t up for it, as I not once thought we would be relegated (and that you can go through post and check). However, if you''re suggesting with another manager who "aimed big" we could have finished as high as 7th in the Premier League, I think you''ll struggle to find anyone agree with that opinion. It''s completely delusional.PM - After following your posts for a long time, I believe that you''re either a brilliant troll of very high intelligence, or an imbecile of very low intelligence. I still can''t make up my mind which. Either way, your opinions are so obviously irrelivant that I can''t believe I''ve just spent the last 5 mins bothering to reply to your drivel.So, more fool me I guess.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...