Cantiaci Canary 557 Posted January 31, 2015 [quote user="jas the barclay king"]the man who took us to our 2nd highest ever PREMIERSHIP position got no praise from the fans who thought wba were on holiday and saved us from the drop.not true as we could have lost our last 2 and still stayed up. The fans should have rejoiced 2 summers ago... not stuck the boot in to the manager and players...heaping pressure on before a ball had even been kicked and waiting for a mistake rather than a positive started a downward spiral...you all got what you wanted... funny how what you wanted now isn''t good enough.[/quote]He won 12 of his last 53 games.In his 71 matches we scored more than once only 16 times.We are the only prem side to lose at home to a conference side in the Cup under his regime.He was an appalling manager who slowly unravelled everything Lambert had built. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Budapest Canary 152 Posted February 1, 2015 "IN his 71 Matches we scored more than once only 16 times."On the other hand, last season we kept more celan sheets in the prem (10 vs 7, calculated on the same amount of games) than we have now one tier below. Defensive bloopers, in this season, have rather become the norm than the exception. The problem is that what while we still lack Lambert''s free flowing attacking football we''ve lost Hughton''s defensive tightness, despite the fact that our back fromation hardly changes. To my mind last season the poor attacking signings was the big letdown, I wonder if we could do better in this season - a division lower, and with an improved front end - with a manager who''d allow for less defensive naivety. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westcoastcanary 0 Posted February 1, 2015 Yes, Hughton should never have been sacked. Lambert built nothing but an over-achieving team, leaving Hughton to try to do in the Premier League what normally gets done while building steadily in the Championship. Keeping us up for a second year on resources limited by having to pay off the external debt at the end of the club''s second season in the Premier League was a fantastic achievement. Hughton was doing exactly what the Board appointed him to do, and sacking him was a disgrace. He was sacked even though the Board had previously accepted that dropping back into the Championship was almost inevitable given the club''s situation. The decision clearly demonstrated the foolishness of giving in to fan pressure. I hope the Board have learned their lesson and this time fully back their man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Smith 2,322 Posted February 1, 2015 See Hughton got a cracking result at Blackpool yesterday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroadstairsR 2,174 Posted February 1, 2015 I agree with everything you said Westcoastcanary.They might easily have waited ''til the end of the season, come what may.In the end, it became the biggest suicide sacking/appointment in the history of our Club. Probably in the history of the Premier League. Probably in football it''s self [;)]The whole of the football World was astounded, it seems. It was right. It has been a drip, drip erosion of our hopes ever since.Now "Mad" McNally has struck again with this current chap. A massive, massive risk taken at a time when we could least afford to take one. McN. is hoping for another Lambert. We are hoping for another Lambert. Of course, it is far to early to judge Alex Neil and some signs are good, some signs are bad, but it is an indication of a wasted opportunity that scraping into the play-offs has become the pinnacle of our expectations. Now we hope upon hope that an influential player (or two) is brought in in the next 24 hours to give us a bit more to cling onto. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,533 Posted February 1, 2015 [quote user="westcoastcanary"]Yes, Hughton should never have been sacked. Lambert built nothing but an over-achieving team, leaving Hughton to try to do in the Premier League what normally gets done while building steadily in the Championship. Keeping us up for a second year on resources limited by having to pay off the external debt at the end of the club''s second season in the Premier League was a fantastic achievement. Hughton was doing exactly what the Board appointed him to do, and sacking him was a disgrace. He was sacked even though the Board had previously accepted that dropping back into the Championship was almost inevitable given the club''s situation. The decision clearly demonstrated the foolishness of giving in to fan pressure. I hope the Board have learned their lesson and this time fully back their man.[/quote]A lot of people thought it was "inevitable" that he would be sacked and it was only a matter of time - and from what people said it seems that the board had already decided that Hughton would go at the end of the season, whether he kept us up or not. That alone is reason enough to question their judgement, let alone the sacking of Hughton with five games to go. Hughton was undoubtedly struggling and the pressure may have got to him too as well as the players - but if he had been kept on despite fan pressure, then the close season would have allowed some breathing space for everyone, a time for reassessing - and possibly a realisation that he may be well placed to bring us back up again. The board kept saying there was no-one out there they wanted earlier in that season - so why sack Hughton when they did and gamble with Adams? Maybe, just maybe they will have wished they had been stronger in resisting the fans and the short termism of putting in Adams when they did. But, it is quite possible that they have unearthed a gem in AN - and maybe that through all the difficulties, emotional stresses and strains of running a football club - the merry-go-round of football management has produced a time where we will be a bit more positive for a year or two. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Highland Canary 76 Posted February 1, 2015 Hughton, and his management team, should have been dismissed at the latest by Christmas 2014. Had that action been taken we would likely be in the PL today. We should have appointed an external, experienced, credible manager in the Summer. Had that action been taken we would likely be in the automatic promotion spots today. As for the most recent incumbent, let''s hope he has enough to take us to the playoff lottery. But, make no mistake, the opportunity to establish the club in the PL was squandered. Let''s hope it''s not our ''silverware'' which follows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lessingham Canary 99 Posted February 1, 2015 A lot has been said about Houghton, and Adams and even Neil who has only just arrived, we must be careful what we wish for.I remember last season away at Southampton (another Houghton no show) that was the point for me when we should have sacked the man, everyone who was there that day will know what i mean, we were awful, it was right he went but the timing was poor, Adams was too much in awe of the players, and as LDC just posted, maybe we have uncovered a gem in AN, please give him time, we were in a poor place before he came, we don''t have any god given right to bounce back, we are not good enough right now, Houghton was taking us nowhere, so no we should bot have kept him !!!! look forward and believe.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,562 Posted February 1, 2015 [quote user="STAN"]And like KoromaCrab said, I would''ve put more money on Hughton pulling of a shock result that I would''ve Neil Adams. With 5 games to go it was a crazy decision, predominately based on our previous at Craven Cottage.[/quote]Adams outperformed Hughton in those last five games. Hughton''s 2013-14 record against those five teams (with the advantage of three at home) = 0 points with a -11 goal difference. Adams'' record (with three away) = one point with a -8 goal difference.---"PurpleCanary, always good to hear from you!" - Norwich City chief executive David McNally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,562 Posted February 1, 2015 [quote user="Highland Canary"]Hughton, and his management team, should have been dismissed at the latest by Christmas 2014. Had that action been taken we would likely be in the PL today. We should have appointed an external, experienced, credible manager in the Summer. Had that action been taken we would likely be in the automatic promotion spots today. As for the most recent incumbent, let''s hope he has enough to take us to the playoff lottery. But, make no mistake, the opportunity to establish the club in the PL was squandered. Let''s hope it''s not our ''silverware'' which follows.[/quote]I assume you mean Christmas 2013. When we were in 14th place on 19 points from 17 games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Highland Canary 76 Posted February 1, 2015 Of course Purple. Humble apolgies etc. To be honest a significant proportion of the away fans had had enough a long while before that. The Hull defend the 0-0 against 10 men approach set the pattern for what followed and built on what had been before. Such a negative approach was always doomed to failure as subsequent facts revealed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westcoastcanary 0 Posted February 1, 2015 [quote user="Highland Canary"] But, make no mistake, the opportunity to establish the club in the PL was squandered. Let''s hope it''s not our ''silverware'' which follows.[/quote]It is next to impossible to "establish" a club in the Premier League unless most of the groundwork has already been done in the Championship or below. The idea that anyone could have "established" us in the Premier League last season is just wishful thinking. Worst of all it gives people a rod with which to beat the back of anyone now tasked to do what has always been necessary, which is to start building a properly equipped squad. You survive in the PL if you have a PL-quality squad which you can strengthen season on season by adding at most one or two players. Hughton did not have that luxury, nor would anyone brought in to replace him. As for selling the "silverware", who exactly is a proven Premier League player and irreplaceable in this current squad? Ruddy, Bassong? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,562 Posted February 1, 2015 [quote user="Highland Canary"]Of course Purple. Humble apolgies etc. To be honest a significant proportion of the away fans had had enough a long while before that. The Hull defend the 0-0 against 10 men approach set the pattern for what followed and built on what had been before. Such a negative approach was always doomed to failure as subsequent facts revealed.[/quote]Possibly, Highland, but you cannot seriously think any sensible board of directors would have sacked Hughton when we were 14th with a points per game ratio that saw us seemingly heading for 42 points and comfortable safety. I agree that Hughton''s failings over tactics and transfers led to our relegation, but that is not at all the same as saying it was obvious at Christmas 2013 that he should have been sacked. It was not. And there was a gap in your earlier post where the name of the obvious replacement manager needed to be... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KoromaCrab 0 Posted February 1, 2015 "You survive in the PL if you have a PL-quality squad which you can strengthen season on season by adding at most one or two players."Hughton did do that though with Fer and Wolfswinkle. Two players that at the time were considered good young players in Europe. But some for reason neither impressed, or in Fer''s case inconsistent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crispy 4 Posted February 1, 2015 Hughton had to leave. Carrow Road was hostile, not an environment for a positive change. We could not have kept Hughton. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
