You are McNally

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 456]

Let us walk a mile in McNally''s shoes and work out what options are in front of us.

Hughton out is not an isolated option. Somebody else must come in. Somebody else must do better. There are 2 weeks left in the transfer window. Existing transfer plans will likely be iced. New man, new ideas. Either the new man wants players and high prices are paid. It might work, though rush purchases for a new manager who doesn''t know the existing squad well looks risky and expensive.

The new manager cannot change the inherent unbalance in the modern premier league. A dead cat bounce could be handy if it includes Hull and Newcastle. On the flip side Hughton has a good record and reputation for bounce back, backs-to-the-walls wins. Hughton has kept us out if the relegation zone. The league is very tight. There are not obvious candidates. Good, available and would come are 3 criteria that must be met - and now.

Staying up is now officially, but in reality always was, the maximum and the minimum. It represents success and will continue to do so for the foreseeable, regardless who is in charge. Being entertaining to the fans whilst losing lots of games - which is Norwich''s future whoever is manager in the Prem - would tax Mourinho. Hughton''s brief on taking over from Lambert was consolidation, he is still on course, however nervous, underwhelmed, under-entertained anybody is.

Sit in McNally''s chair. Hughton has been supported. He has bought good players. He is a good, likeable, professional employee who keeps in good contact with senior management and stakeholders. He still has the dressing room. What do you do? Hughton out is simply not the complete equation.

I suspect you do what he is doing. Pray that your investment comes good. Pray for victory against Hull. Pray that you can make good on your long term club-building plans.

Hughton out is easy, the timing, the options and the reality of the consequences are another thing for the club entirely.

Results will dictate as they must, though victory over Hull is by far the best outcome now.

[Bill 1,680]

The real question what will determine Hughton eventual sacking date. Continuing failure or the ''right'' manager becoming available ?At the moment it appears the latter.

[snake-eyes 9]

I would hope McNally would have planned for this scenario way in advance such that the risk that you have indicated is greatly reduced!

If I was McNally this is what I would have in place. Thus offsetting my investment risk with other options.

If he has not done this he is not the astute man I took him for!

[snake-eyes 9]

What we also don''t know is whether McNally wanted to make a change soon, but has been overruled by the board?

Just a thought as he has been pretty ruthless in the past so his lack of decisiveness is out of character.

[unique 148]

What evidence is there that Hughton "still has the dressing room" ?

[Bill 1,680]

" He has bought good players"Not Hughton, but the boardThe scouting and evaluation alone would require a minumum of four of five Hughtons, never mind the contracts etWhat the board must be wondering is what has happened to the players they have brought in - most have gone backwards in their development.If our scouts had been watching RVW, Fer and Becchio at City, would they have recommended them to the board. Likewise Bassong. Is Fox really that bad that he has been kept out of the team so long.If i was a youth player I certainly would not to stay around and have my development mangled by HughtonHow long can the damage continue must be the real question McNally must be asking ?

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 456]

McNally is professional. He is capable of being ruthless. His interview today was a Masterclass in giving an ultimatum without giving one.

The implication of the timing is that Hughton has been supported up until this point, with a desire to retain him. Contingencies plans will be constantly evaluated (plan B cannot be fixed, Meulensteen might go to Fulham for example), but they have to be superior and able to be implemented at the given point to the benefit of the club. It is not as easy as having a phone number in a draw.

Football is a small world and Hughton is liked and respected. People want him to succeed.

Results ultimately always dictate, it was ever thus, but we are fools to think the alternatives are simple or necessarily attractive. McNally is not being evasive or weak hoping for Hughton''s success. These remain the best odds in the absence of a better option, however unattractive they may currently appear.

[Bill 1,680]

McNally is professional. He is capable of being ruthless. His interview today was a Masterclass in giving an ultimatum without giving one.

The implication of the timing is that Hughton has been supported up until this point, with a desire to retain him. Contingencies plans will be constantly evaluated (plan B cannot be fixed, Meulensteen might go to Fulham for example), but they have to be superior and able to be implemented at the given point to the benefit of the club. It is not as easy as having a phone number in a draw.

Football is a small world and Hughton is liked and respected. People want him to succeed.

Results ultimately always dictate, it was ever thus, but we are fools to think the alternatives are simple or necessarily attractive. McNally is not being evasive or weak hoping for Hughton''s success. These remain the best odds in the absence of a better option, however unattractive they may currently appear

But what results ?I don''t think the league position is the sole arbiter as at the moment we are digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole. Yes, avoiding relegation is the prime motive, but as Bowkett has said we should be looking to move forward all the time.The only constant we have at he moment is how fast backwards Hughton is taking us.A case of when, not if.

[djc 0]

McNally cant fire Hughton. He got rid of the Gunn in August 2009......

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 456]

Make the call C1.

Who are you bringing in? How much money are you giving them? What better players are you bringing in now? Are you going to do it all in 2 weeks?

We are where we are. Hughton out is not the whole equation.

[Bill 1,680]

Make the call C1.

Who are you bringing in? How much money are you giving them? What better players are you bringing in now? Are you going to do it all in 2 weeks?

We are where we are. Hughton out is not the whole equation.

you were doing quite well up until then

ps a translation might help

[Lavanche 0]

Citys1st

as usual you are taking it out of context in lot of the ways.

Our players (not at least younger players) have not taken any steps backwards. Bassong and Snoddy might just have had that honeymoon season previous year and this might be their true form. Redmond has taken good jump to premier legue winger and even Murphy has seemed to be a bit more team player than before.

Howson and Fer have had decent season and I never expected much more from Fer for a first season.

Our strikers are no bad either, tactical problem to deliver them good ball doesn''t make them poor players.

Also manager is main person who brings players in or at least who we are trying to get here. Scouts may give him shortlists and agents offer players for the club, but most of the time in teams where there is no "player coordinator" manager is the person who most of the time gives shortlist to the scouts and still at the end when manager meets board he says try to get this player first and gives alternative choises for him. After that it is of course mostly about the board to seal the deal.

I agree with Parma with his analysis. Most likely McNally and the board would like to keep Hughton if possible in current atmosphere and look for alternative at summer.

Ofc some of the reason is that there is no clear option at the market. Malkys and Phelans are just average choises that shouldn''t be considered, if we want to develope as a club. If it must be someone from England I would suggest going for young ex-player black horse with attitude for modern game who could bring some fire for the team.

And I know already I get some sarcastic answer for this to just try to make me look bad, but this is my honest opinion and I stand behind it.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 456]

Like it or not, these are the real issues that must be addressed. Simply removing Hughton is easy.

Many simply say "he''s paid x to know / do / solve all that", but the truth is that despite opinions ad nauseum on this board about every conceivable triviality, the has been a conspicuous absence of credible alternatives to the status quo.

This remains McNally''s conundrum and simply demanding Hughton out does not address the rest of the equation.

[Bill 1,680]

"Also manager is main person who brings players in or at least who we are

trying to get here. Scouts may give him shortlists and agents offer

players for the club, but most of the time in teams where there is no

"player coordinator" manager is the person who most of the time gives

shortlist to the scouts and still at the end when manager meets board he

says try to get this player first and gives alternative choises for

him. After that it is of course mostly about the board to seal the deal.

"

The scouts report to Ewan Chester, he reports to the board - I can assure you, you are way offThe idea that the manager gives the scouts a shortlist is ridiculous ... where does the manager get that supposed shortlist from ?

[snake-eyes 9]

Agreed lavanche the signings are good players. I have no issue with them. Rather than players regressing in ability I would say that it is more a case of form and with 2 of the younger players in Redmond and Fer, burnout!

I do not think it is a coincidence we have so many out of form.

However as a team and the way we play I do believe we have regressed. When you scoring less and conceding more something clearly is not working and there is only so much you can give over to luck and injury.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Didn''t Bowkett say that Hughton spends his time at obscure Belgian matches watching players Bowkett has never heard of?

Of course Hughton knows who he wants even if the scouting network draw players to his attention

[PurpleCanary 1,849]

[quote user="Lavanche"]Citys1st

as usual you are taking it out of context in lot of the ways.

Our players (not at least younger players) have not taken any steps backwards. Bassong and Snoddy might just have had that honeymoon season previous year and this might be their true form. Redmond has taken good jump to premier legue winger and even Murphy has seemed to be a bit more team player than before.

Howson and Fer have had decent season and I never expected much more from Fer for a first season.

Our strikers are no bad either, tactical problem to deliver them good ball doesn''t make them poor players.

Also manager is main person who brings players in or at least who we are trying to get here. Scouts may give him shortlists and agents offer players for the club, but most of the time in teams where there is no "player coordinator" manager is the person who most of the time gives shortlist to the scouts and still at the end when manager meets board he says try to get this player first and gives alternative choises for him. After that it is of course mostly about the board to seal the deal.

I agree with Parma with his analysis. Most likely McNally and the board would like to keep Hughton if possible in current atmosphere and look for alternative at summer.

Ofc some of the reason is that there is no clear option at the market. Malkys and Phelans are just average choises that shouldn''t be considered, if we want to develope as a club. If it must be someone from England I would suggest going for young ex-player black horse with attitude for modern game who could bring some fire for the team.

And I know already I get some sarcastic answer for this to just try to make me look bad, but this is my honest opinion and I stand behind it.[/quote]Based on his OP and all he has said in the past about Hughton being a club builder who could stay as manager for several years (I think a whole decade was mooted recently) I don''t at all get the impression Parma is suggesting Hughton should be sacked in the summer.Parma will speak for himself but if he is now advocating a new manager at the end of the season then that is a sea-change of attitude. He has consistently praised Hughton as a long-term investment who will develop all aspects of the club.Myself I have never seen Parma explain quite why he believes this, apart from the vague notion that everyone likes Hughton and he is plesant to deal with. As far as I can see it is simply a false antithesis at work. Lambert was a wreaker of havoc so Hughton must be the opposite. That is far too simplistic and binary for my taste. And for my experience. Managers do not have to be one of those two extremes.And in any event the best way to help a club grow and develop is through the success of the first team. Without that all the niceness in the world doesn''t add up to a hill of beans.

[Lavanche 0]

Managers wouldn''t be managers if they wouldn''t know anything about the sport and for example if you look our previous year deals. Which one of them was unknown for you as a pure watcher of the sport?

In top leagues scouting gets quite much easier and easier as you have smaller pond to fish from, if you dont want to take huge risks.

Even when you look the names we got you see Hughton''s mark under their names. Jonas, Redmond and Bassong for example. Snoddy and Butterfield were probably picked from old scouting information, but rest of them seems to be quite much what Hughton has wanted.

Only Tettey seems a bit of an risk buy which probably has been found via scouts shortlist because we couldn''t land our first choise target.

You are way off, if you dont give major credit to manager from selecting players who we go after.

[lowlyfendweller 0]

I did not see any opinion in the OP about when and if CH should go. It just a thoughtful analysis of the practical problems of changing manger immediately. It was a good post and I enjoyed it

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 456]

I repeat what I have often stated; I am no apologist for Hughton.

My interest is to assess what club and manager intentions are and why. Very rarely do I offer a personal opinion, but rather endeavour to highlight interesting information or actions that indicate a methodology / pattern of play / tactical intentions / business practice.

This is done from a perspective of someone who has worked in professional football over an extended business, playing and coaching, and now running an International business.

The issue here is what action is taken. There is a great deal of Hughton out, but remarkably little of what fills the vacuum and whether and how this improves the status quo. This is the equation that McNally is faced with. Identifying this is not "supporting Hughton", it is encouraging all to face the sporting and business realities of a given action and what practical options are available now and can be achieved.