Chris Hughton Is An Excellent Manager

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[/quote]

 

I''m sure the Net spend was a little lower than this when factoring in transfer monies received. Anyway regardless my point isn''t where the cash would come from, it was just pointing out that we''re missing a key ingredient that would make the squad excel.

 

Perhaps a creative midfielder would have been more important than Redmond? And I''m not trying to doubt Redmond''s ability here. Just a thought. Or maybe we could have saved cash on one of Hooper or RVW? Once again both class players but both pretty ineffective without that elusive ball playing creative midfielder behind them.

The only effective signings that have actually made a difference are Olsson and Fer.

[Buzz Killington 0]

I also seem to remember us trying to sign a very good centre half (Alderweireld?). We didn''t get him (a bit above us I feel), but there was no back up option. How were we going for such quality, and end up bringing in nobody for that position? A creative mid would be great, too. I agree that our management didn''t get in the desired players over the summer.

[Buzz Killington 0]

I should just add, that I mean the players they wanted to get in, not me.

[First Wazzock 902]

[quote user="snake-eyes"]

Just as a counter to that TNB, you could also say he failed to get as many points, scored fewer goals anf failed to get points against teams that Lambert did and had just taken the team through 2 consecutive promotions on a shoestring budget before securing survival several games before the end of the season.

 

Hughton did well last season, but be honest we were seriously sweating with 2 games to go and we had one hell of a capitulation in the second half of the season as well as probably the most dire FA Cup exit I have ever seen by a top flight club.

 

I admire your confidence and blind faith, but some of us are not sold on him yet.  To say he is an excellent manager is extreme to say the least and before you reply that I am one of those who has always had an agenda against him, I actually recommended him before his appointment and welcomed him when he joined.

 

The last 10 months have been abysmal and although I have seen improvements in the last 3 games, I worry about his tactical nous and ability to get the best from the players.  When your front 2 have only scored 3 goals so far this season, that must be a concern and I just don''t see where they are going to get their chances from, let alone goals.

 

Maybe you can enlighten me as to what makes Chris Hughton so special and why he warrants the accolade of being called Excellent?  I am yet to see anything that makes him stand out as one of the best. I fear my initial judgement of him was wrong.  He is not a bad manager, but I just don''t think he is a good one in the Prem.

 

Sorry!

 

Snake[:(] and Wazzy [;)]

[/quote]

 

This ^^^

[Tumbleweed 106]

Agree with snake 100%. For those who say it is too early to judge him, he has had 46 games, not 8. I''m really not sure we have moved on much since day one. On the radio, it is stated thet he is a very nice guy and that does come across. But we must not let sentiment cloud our judgement of whether he is up to the job. I reckon 99% of City fans are longing for him to work out, but evidence in support is flimsy and relies on some selective facts. Just how long will we need to wait for the much-vaunted turnaround, when so many assured us that last year''s negativity was a means to an end and we would see a new Norwich this time. I''m still hoping, but getting impatient..........

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[/quote]

 

I''m sure the Net spend was a little lower than this when factoring in transfer monies received. Anyway regardless my point isn''t where the cash would come from, it was just pointing out that we''re missing a key ingredient that would make the squad excel.

 

Perhaps a creative midfielder would have been more important than Redmond? And I''m not trying to doubt Redmond''s ability here. Just a thought. Or maybe we could have saved cash on one of Hooper or RVW? Once again both class players but both pretty ineffective without that elusive ball playing creative midfielder behind them.

The only effective signings that have actually made a difference are Olsson and Fer.

[/quote]

 

No, that net spend factors in money received. And you can''t airily dismiss as irrelevant where the money would have come from. It is crucial. The type and quality of players you are talking about would each have cost a great deal more the total of £3.2m we are spending on Redmond and in the case of the midfielder certainly more than the £5m-£6m Hooper is costing and at least what we are paying for RvW. We might possibly have got a decent centre-half instead of Hooper. But any way you cut it the squad would have been short up front.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

Football is dog eat dog. Similar teams in our position have got rid of their manager, and often it has come as a shock and the club has been slated by the media, unions and the general public. But they often don''t know the real situation. Hughtons tenure as manager is perceived in the media as being successful. They think we''re ungrateful, deluded and wrong to want Hughton out. They see it as us calling for a managers head after 8 games. They think little old Norwich should be satisfied with 17th, and probably should expect relegation.

We see it as, he''s had 46 games and no improvement. We also know we''re in our third season in the premiership and have made a significant out lay in transfer funds so are within our right to expect more. Particularly with the loyalty shown by fans in recent years.

Its worked for Southampton, Fulham & WBA in recent seasons. It arguably worked for Sunderland too. Slated by many outside the club but the ones in the know made the correct call. Obviously there will be examples of it not working but my point is outsiders don''t really know how well Hughton is doing at the club yet make judgement he''s successful.

I don''t want to be seen as little old Norwich city. We need to be ruthless. Success waits for know one.

[mel0 0]

Having played abysmally in almost every game of his tenure save the 10 game run and a couple of others we now find ourselves in the relegation zone having spent £25m.

And let''s not go bringing up what top half teams we''ve played, it''s irrelevant.

Hughton still shows a complete lack of ability to change a game and his use of subs is mind boggling most of the time. We have invested about £15m in strikers and 8 league games in we still have not found a way of getting them involved in the game. I say 8 games as if it''s a new problem, this is a problem that has beaten Hughton for the last 14 months, he just does not know how to create chances for a striker. Hooper had his debut and didn''t recieve the ball within 40 yards of the goal even a single time.

Hughton was far too defensive last season and yes he is opening up a little more recently, probably due to the pressure, but 0, 1, 0, 0, 1 ,1 ,1 goals scored in recent games shows he has not one clue how to get a team attacking cohesively.

Our defending has gone to shit lately as well but I don''t have time to go into that.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[/quote]

 

I''m sure the Net spend was a little lower than this when factoring in transfer monies received. Anyway regardless my point isn''t where the cash would come from, it was just pointing out that we''re missing a key ingredient that would make the squad excel.

 

Perhaps a creative midfielder would have been more important than Redmond? And I''m not trying to doubt Redmond''s ability here. Just a thought. Or maybe we could have saved cash on one of Hooper or RVW? Once again both class players but both pretty ineffective without that elusive ball playing creative midfielder behind them.

The only effective signings that have actually made a difference are Olsson and Fer.

[/quote]

 

No, that net spend factors in money received. And you can''t airily dismiss as irrelevant where the money would have come from. It is crucial. The type and quality of players you are talking about would each have cost a great deal more the total of £3.2m we are spending on Redmond and in the case of the midfielder certainly more than the £5m-£6m Hooper is costing and at least what we are paying for RvW. We might possibly have got a decent centre-half instead of Hooper. But any way you cut it the squad would have been short up front.

[/quote]

 

As opposed having an abundance upfront and scoring one goal between them. Like I say RVW and Hooper don''t get the service. I''d have rathered had just one with a midfielder who will actually create chances!

And for 3.2m you can get a lot for your money if you know where to shop. As each season proves!

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

I think he is a good manager, saying he is excellent is a bit too far. I am not sure about his no 2 or 3 who are both failed managers in my book. If he were to lose his job then he would quickly get another one but probably in the championship.There are better than him but also a lot worse.He should be competent enough to keep us up as a lower mid table side

[Warren Hill 0]

This "more" you''re expecting Lincoln. Just explain that to me. How far above 11th do you think we should have been finishing last season?

How about this season?

And this transfer outlay, you do realise that all Premier clubs get this money? Some choose to spend it on wage packages rather than fees but you do understand that even though we improved our squad, all the other teams did too. Improvement isn''t exclusive to Norwich City, in fact, other teams might improve even more than us?!? How about that?!? Man U didn''t improve their squad as much as their competitors did, even they are finding things more difficult.

It''s not about having little Norwich mentality, it''s having a sense of perspective. I don''t think we''ll go down, I don''t think we''ll finish above 10th, I reckon we''ll finish about 12th, like we have done the last two years. Because everyone else has improved their squad, if you match your previous seasons performance, you''ve improved too, you''ve kept up with the Jones''s. As we continue to build, eventually we will be able to target beyond that, to try and break through to the next level. It''s probably a while away yet though. In the meantime, continued consolidation would represent continued improvement and relative success.

[BigFish 1,986]

[quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[/quote]

 

I''m sure the Net spend was a little lower than this when factoring in transfer monies received. Anyway regardless my point isn''t where the cash would come from, it was just pointing out that we''re missing a key ingredient that would make the squad excel.

 

Perhaps a creative midfielder would have been more important than Redmond? And I''m not trying to doubt Redmond''s ability here. Just a thought. Or maybe we could have saved cash on one of Hooper or RVW? Once again both class players but both pretty ineffective without that elusive ball playing creative midfielder behind them.

The only effective signings that have actually made a difference are Olsson and Fer.

[/quote]

 

No, that net spend factors in money received. And you can''t airily dismiss as irrelevant where the money would have come from. It is crucial. The type and quality of players you are talking about would each have cost a great deal more the total of £3.2m we are spending on Redmond and in the case of the midfielder certainly more than the £5m-£6m Hooper is costing and at least what we are paying for RvW. We might possibly have got a decent centre-half instead of Hooper. But any way you cut it the squad would have been short up front.

[/quote]

 

As opposed having an abundance upfront and scoring one goal between them. Like I say RVW and Hooper don''t get the service. I''d have rathered had just one with a midfielder who will actually create chances!

And for 3.2m you can get a lot for your money if you know where to shop. As each season proves!

[/quote]

Incredible Lincoln, do you think that Hughton doesn''t know we are short of a class attacking midfielder (or CB and a decent RB for that matter). If we hadn''t bought Hooper we would have Becchio up front on Saturday. Is that what you want?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Warren Hill"]This "more" you''re expecting Lincoln. Just explain that to me. How far above 11th do you think we should have been finishing last season?

How about this season?

And this transfer outlay, you do realise that all Premier clubs get this money? Some choose to spend it on wage packages rather than fees but you do understand that even though we improved our squad, all the other teams did too. Improvement isn''t exclusive to Norwich City, in fact, other teams might improve even more than us?!? How about that?!? Man U didn''t improve their squad as much as their competitors did, even they are finding things more difficult.

It''s not about having little Norwich mentality, it''s having a sense of perspective. I don''t think we''ll go down, I don''t think we''ll finish above 10th, I reckon we''ll finish about 12th, like we have done the last two years. Because everyone else has improved their squad, if you match your previous seasons performance, you''ve improved too, you''ve kept up with the Jones''s. As we continue to build, eventually we will be able to target beyond that, to try and break through to the next level. It''s probably a while away yet though. In the meantime, continued consolidation would represent continued improvement and relative success.[/quote]

If you read my post correctly before replying you''d have noticed that I said we expect more than 17th. A postion the media an other external opinions think we should be grateful off.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="BigFish"][quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lincoln canary"]

I''m sorry but there is no evidence to suggest Hughton is an excellent manager. His record at Norwich is poor. I really like the guy and enjoy his professional articulate approach to the media, but on the pitch his system and his players are not good enough. He signed some fantastic players in the summer, but crucially neglected the key areas. A creative midfielder and classy ball playing centre half would transform this team I feel.

 

Although he tried, Hughton failed to complete the transfer jigsaw in the summer. We''re missing key pieces needed to make the whole thing work. I think he''s paying for having too much trust in players such as Russ Martin, Jonny Howson, BJ, Garrido & to some extent Bassong.

 

If Hughton can grind out some wins and survive until January then he has one last chance. If the missing pieces are not added in the next transfer window I firmly believe this squad will go down.

[/quote]

 

We had a net spend in the summer of about £25m - certainly a record for us, one of the biggest in the Premier League and supposedly the ninth highest in Europe. The extra £15m-£20m for the midfielder and the centre-half would have come from where exactly?

[/quote]

 

I''m sure the Net spend was a little lower than this when factoring in transfer monies received. Anyway regardless my point isn''t where the cash would come from, it was just pointing out that we''re missing a key ingredient that would make the squad excel.

 

Perhaps a creative midfielder would have been more important than Redmond? And I''m not trying to doubt Redmond''s ability here. Just a thought. Or maybe we could have saved cash on one of Hooper or RVW? Once again both class players but both pretty ineffective without that elusive ball playing creative midfielder behind them.

The only effective signings that have actually made a difference are Olsson and Fer.

[/quote]

 

No, that net spend factors in money received. And you can''t airily dismiss as irrelevant where the money would have come from. It is crucial. The type and quality of players you are talking about would each have cost a great deal more the total of £3.2m we are spending on Redmond and in the case of the midfielder certainly more than the £5m-£6m Hooper is costing and at least what we are paying for RvW. We might possibly have got a decent centre-half instead of Hooper. But any way you cut it the squad would have been short up front.

[/quote]

 

As opposed having an abundance upfront and scoring one goal between them. Like I say RVW and Hooper don''t get the service. I''d have rathered had just one with a midfielder who will actually create chances!

And for 3.2m you can get a lot for your money if you know where to shop. As each season proves!

[/quote]

Incredible Lincoln, do you think that Hughton doesn''t know we are short of a class attacking midfielder (or CB and a decent RB for that matter). If we hadn''t bought Hooper we would have Becchio up front on Saturday. Is that what you want?[/quote]

Well given how late he signed hooper ( by late i mean he could have had him on day one of the window)probally means he considered going with just RVW. He tried for a true number 10 but failed and signed Hooper.

[RvWs 4 year contract 0]

[quote user="First Wizard"]

To the OP:

 

Hughton will be gone before Christmas.[Y]

[/quote]

Hopefully you''ve left this messageboard before christmas and started pissing off another messageboard...

Have you start sucking up to cardiff fans yet?Fool.

[RvWs 4 year contract 0]

[quote user="Chip20"]How did a below average manager enable a team built on below average resources to finish so high up the table last season then?

For the record, I don''t agree that he is ''exceptional''; definitely not. But I don''t see the logic that he is apparently so poor and yet he got a team built with relatively limited resources to finish the season higher than several better-resourced teams.[/quote]This post and particularly the bold part highlights why I''m still pro Hughton.Added to the fact that I thought we deserved two draws from Chels and Arsenal suggests we should stick with him......

for the time being.

[Warren Hill 0]

More than 17th? Lincoln we finished 11th, you view that as a resounding success presumably?

[QHcanary 0]

[quote user="First Wizard"]To the OP:

Hughton will be gone before Christmas.[/quote]

Fancy a bet?

If he''s not, you do one and never post again here. If he is gone I''ll do likewise.

Or I''ll happily bet you £50 quid that he''s not.

What say you?

[*** 0]

[quote user="QHcanary"][quote user="First Wizard"]To the OP: Hughton will be gone before Christmas.[/quote] Fancy a bet? If he''s not, you do one and never post again here. If he is gone I''ll do likewise. Or I''ll happily bet you £50 quid that he''s not. What say you?[/quote]

 

Oh do behave.[:D]

[QHcanary 0]

"Oh do behave.[:D]"

What''s up?

Yella?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Warren Hill"]More than 17th? Lincoln we finished 11th, you view that as a resounding success presumably?[/quote]

Yes last season 11th place was a resounding success. Weirdly you seem to think not?!

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

I think we will know a lot more come the end of November. There will have been a good few winnable games played by then, if we are still sitting in the drop zone,then this is going to be a long old season.

[The Big Bad Wolf 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]I think we will know a lot more come the end of November. There will have been a good few winnable games played by then, if we are still sitting in the drop zone,then this is going to be a long old season.[/quote]

Spot on. If we are bottom three by end of November Hughton will be gone.

[Warren Hill 0]

No, I think we did very well. 11th and 12th have been very satisfactory.

So what are you moaning about again?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Warren Hill"]No, I think we did very well. 11th and 12th have been very satisfactory.

So what are you moaning about again?[/quote]

For a change I wasn''t moaning. You commented on my post without fully understanding it.

[Warren Hill 0]

Er, no.

 

You are on the one hand saying that you think our 11th placed finish was a success, yet advocating the "ruthless" sacking of our manager because we''ve shown "no improvement" in 46 games?

 

So 38 of those 46 games you see as a success? So is it that you want him out based on the 8 games this season? If you want him out based on the 46 games and the first 38 games, by your own admission were successful, you must think that we should have achieved more than our highest placed finish in 20 years.

 

What would be acceptable for you Lincoln? How long would you give the new chap?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Warren Hill"]

Er, no.

 

You are on the one hand saying that you think our 11th placed finish was a success, yet advocating the "ruthless" sacking of our manager because we''ve shown "no improvement" in 46 games?

 

So 38 of those 46 games you see as a success? So is it that you want him out based on the 8 games this season? If you want him out based on the 46 games and the first 38 games, by your own admission were successful, you must think that we should have achieved more than our highest placed finish in 20 years.

 

What would be acceptable for you Lincoln? How long would you give the new chap?

[/quote]

 

You have to look deeper than that. 11th place does not tell the full story. It was successful given that we we''re in serious relegation trouble with two games to go. And last season the objective was to survive, so anything above 18th was successful. This season there are new objectives and Norwich fans are right to demand more than just survival, something the media and so called experts think we should be grateful of.

I''m not aggressively advocating the sacking of Hughton. I do see how it may have come across like that. However its clear since Xmas he''s struggled and is already behind this seasons targets. If the board believe they can get someone else in to improve the team then they should be ruthless and do it sooner rather than later.

[Fleckys Flip-Flop 0]

I wouldn''t say we are that far behind target, having played Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal already. Let''s see where we are in 5 games time. We have a nice run, barring a trip to the Etihad, and if we are still in the bottom 3 then we would really have to consider a change. But with Home games against Cardiff, West Ham and Palace I''d be surprised if we are.

[Warren Hill 0]

[quote user="lincoln canary"][quote user="Warren Hill"]

Er, no.

 

You are on the one hand saying that you think our 11th placed finish was a success, yet advocating the "ruthless" sacking of our manager because we''ve shown "no improvement" in 46 games?

 

So 38 of those 46 games you see as a success? So is it that you want him out based on the 8 games this season? If you want him out based on the 46 games and the first 38 games, by your own admission were successful, you must think that we should have achieved more than our highest placed finish in 20 years.

 

What would be acceptable for you Lincoln? How long would you give the new chap?

[/quote]

 

You have to look deeper than that. 11th place does not tell the full story. It was successful given that we we''re in serious relegation trouble with two games to go. And last season the objective was to survive, so anything above 18th was successful. This season there are new objectives and Norwich fans are right to demand more than just survival, something the media and so called experts think we should be grateful of.

I''m not aggressively advocating the sacking of Hughton. I do see how it may have come across like that. However its clear since Xmas he''s struggled and is already behind this seasons targets. If the board believe they can get someone else in to improve the team then they should be ruthless and do it sooner rather than later.

[/quote]

 

But we weren''t in serious relegation trouble at any point, were we? If we''d lost the two games we''d have still stayed up and relegation is decided after 38 games not 36. What are these new objectives? The tenth place finish mentioned at the fans forum? Maybe, I''m still very much of the opinion that our first objective this season and probably for the next five seasons at least is to retain our status. That might not sound ambitious but like it or not, when we start every season we are one of 13 clubs that could be relegated. Almost 25% of them will be, if you lose sight of the minimum requirement, if you think you''re "above" that as part of this "party of 13" you can get yourself in serious trouble. From that perspective, survival is objective 1 and I''d be willing to bet that there is a performance bonus related to it, probably for the manager, players and Chief Exec.

 

It''s not about being "grateful" for our status and to a man everyone involved with the club will be striving to finish as high up the table as we can - what won''t change is the natural order of things and that is that every season we are in the party of 13 running the race to 40 points along with WBA, Villa, Swansea, Newcastle etc

 

Expectation is a strange beast, finishing 12th and 11th in our first two seasons has given people expectations of a potential top half finish. Realistically, it''s unlikely that we''ll gatecrash the "Big 7" so a top half finish gives us three places to aim at. My personal expectation is that we will finish somewhere between 8th and 17th because I expect us to stay up. I''d much prefer 8th to 17th of course! Last season there was just a 10 point spread between those two positions which shows how tight that section of the table is. In the last 5 seasons the 8th placed team has achieved 49, 52, 49, 61, 51 points and only on one occasion has the team finishing 8th won more games than they lost, that team was Everton with 61 points, incidentally, that season 31 points would have been enough to stay up. In the same period the 17th placed finishers have had 39, 37, 40, 35 and 35. I guess what I''m saying is that it''s usually just a few points separating these positions (barring the 09/10 season where it was a massive 26) so often the seasons experiences for the fans won''t have been all that different. Look at West Brom last season, they had a dreadful second half to the season, their form was worse than ours and some of our own fans were touting us as having relegation form, yet they finished 8th!! Like us they picked up just 4 wins in the second half of the season, amassing 16 points compared to our 19 and finished just 5 points ahead of us, yet some on here are advocating their managerial appointment as being a success and ours a failure when really there is nothing much in it.

 

So I suppose to summarise, I reckon we''ll finish somewhere between 8th and 17th but there probably won''t be much of a margin between the two and as long as 17th is the bare minimum, Hughton will have done enough. With such small margins it''s got to be hugely debatable whether a change at the helm would be worth the 5 points that could see us finish 8th or cost us the 5 points that see us finish 17th or maybe even go down, it''s a massive gamble. I''m not sure it''s one that the board would be willing to take, moreover, I just don''t think it would be justified at the moment. Of course, by the time it looked justified it could be "too late" but I really don''t think that Hughton has done anything to warrant getting the push yet.