[Albion] Article - Football Changed and Chris Hughton Didn’t Keep Up

[Guinness Boy]

Opinion piece on why I think Hughton went (with the benefit of hindsight re Potter) and what it is that the new man represents.

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?804-Football-Changed-and-Chris-Hughton-Didn%92t-Keep-Up

Again, just my opinion to stimulate discussion.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

A good read. Can't fault it at all.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Opinion piece on why I think Hughton went (with the benefit of hindsight re Potter) and what it is that the new man represents.

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?804-Football-Changed-and-Chris-Hughton-Didn%92t-Keep-Up

Again, just my opinion to stimulate discussion.

Let's hope there are no further dramatic announcements after this one.

 

[The Tactician]

Great piece. I think you’ve captured the feeling of unease, almost as though you were betraying your king, that many including myself felt when Hughton was beginning to show real signs of falling apart. Your observations surrounding the vast changes in football over such a short period also ring true - have to agree. With some who were and still are adamant that Hughton had to leave, and some who aren’t convinced he should have been sacked , in light of today’s appointment I believe it’s hugely important that everyone gets behind Potter as best we can. We have to bring the positivity, and help Bloom, Potter, Ashworth and all involved to achieve this vision, whilst keeping expectations reasonable.

 

[timbha]

Good article although I suspect your decision not to support the team with your presence was more about your marathon the next day and those WSU steps.

I was a huge CH fan and defended him to the hilt during the post Xmas haranguing of him but in the cold light of day when you stand back and think what would I have felt if this was happening at another club, I would have no doubts that the manager should be replaced.

If GP takes us a far forward (or even half the distance) as CH did in his 4 years we will be in a good place.

 

[Pavilionaire]

It's interesting that two of the top football journalists in the country - Henry Winter and Paul Hayward - criticised Bloom for sacking Hughton. There was no hint from either of them that Hughton is a football dinosaur and every suggestion he was still up to the job and had simply been a victim of other people's errors in the recruitment department.

Hughton has a proven track record in getting teams into the Championship play-offs. Personally, I think he could do the same at West Brom who missed out on promotion because they let too many goals in. If Hughton came in and added Bong and Kayal to that side I think they'd be a decent bet for promotion.

I'd add that managerial experience seems to count for something in the long slog that is the Championship, i.e. Neil Warnock, Steve Bruce, Tony Pulis, Mick McCarthy.

 

[Chicken Run]

Good read that, hard to disagree.

 

[maltaseagull]

Opinion piece on why I think Hughton went (with the benefit of hindsight re Potter) and what it is that the new man represents.

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?804-Football-Changed-and-Chris-Hughton-Didn%92t-Keep-Up

Again, just my opinion to stimulate discussion.

Excellent read.
Timing was about the same for me. Always had faith in Chris until the spate of terrible performances V Burnley, Saints, BMuff and Cardiff and then I thought the first half of the Newcastle game was possibly the worst I have seen from Brighton since the dark days of the bottom division. I flew over for that game

 

[Ernest]

Same reason why he’d struggle now in the Championship, it’s moved on there too

 

[Hugo Rune]

I think that the rest of the club had moved on to a more progressive way of playing (notably the recruitment team & U23s) and when CH tried to implement that philosophy mid-season - we failed.

I still think CH could have got us to at least 15th if backed with his types of signings but Potter could get us to Wolves’ level if things go well; that’s the difference. Will he? CH was the safer bet for me but TB has got to where he is today by rolling the dice and winning, time and time again.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Fantastic article mate, just shared it with a few non-Albion fans who have been massively critical.

I would personally have come down on the other side of the fence and opted not to get rid, but it articulates the concerns really well.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Great piece. I think you’ve captured the feeling of unease, almost as though you were betraying your king, that many including myself felt when Hughton was beginning to show real signs of falling apart. Your observations surrounding the vast changes in football over such a short period also ring true - have to agree. With some who were and still are adamant that Hughton had to leave, and some who aren’t convinced he should have been sacked , in light of today’s appointment I believe it’s hugely important that everyone gets behind Potter as best we can. We have to bring the positivity, and help Bloom, Potter, Ashworth and all involved to achieve this vision, whilst keeping expectations reasonable.

Your last few words, 'keeping expectations reasonable' are key here l think. Sadly there are those fans, plenty of them on this site too, who seem to expect us to be fighting for a European place at the end of every season.

Sadly that isn't going to happen, at least not for a very long time yet. For the time being success will be achieved just by keeping this club in the Premier League year on year, hopefully with a slight improvement as the seasons pass.

Lets all just enjoy the ride, these are great days for the Albion, heady days, just a few short years ago we were playing League One, even League Two football at little old Withdean. Now we are geracing the Premier League!

 

[Guinness Boy]

It's interesting that two of the top football journalists in the country - Henry Winter and Paul Hayward - criticised Bloom for sacking Hughton. There was no hint from either of them that Hughton is a football dinosaur and every suggestion he was still up to the job and had simply been a victim of other people's errors in the recruitment department.

Hughton has a proven track record in getting teams into the Championship play-offs. Personally, I think he could do the same at West Brom who missed out on promotion because they let too many goals in. If Hughton came in and added Bong and Kayal to that side I think they'd be a decent bet for promotion.

I'd add that managerial experience seems to count for something in the long slog that is the Championship, i.e. Neil Warnock, Steve Bruce, Tony Pulis, Mick McCarthy.

It’s hard to argue with writers who have the gravitas of Winter and Hayward. I also know at least one of my fellow moderators completely disagrees with me.

What it boils down to for me is five very poor months that seemed to split the squad, along with the arrival of Ashworth, who couldn’t be more “of the moment” if he tried. I suspect he didn’t share CH’s tactical views and won when results backed him up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Weststander]

The best written piece I can remember on the Albion, brilliant!

Summed up everything we also went through as an Albion family in those months of awful, losing football, also as CH loyalists. You remembered to cover all the key moments, including the laughable NUFC free-kick routine. Albion fan Tony Bloom must have felt like us all, fuming.

The dismissal was the only correct move to make.

Cheers.

 

[BN41Albion]

Same reason why he’d struggle now in the Championship, it’s moved on there too

I'm not sure. I think he'd still do well in the championship where he's confident enough to play more expansively.

 

[Derbyshire Seagull]

Excellent article. I would only add that there was a reluctance to play any of the promising u23 players at any stage. That must be discouraging for that group and hopefully Potter will be more inclined to give some a chance.

 

[Stato]

The performances were bad, but I can't agree that football has moved on leaving Chris behind. Chris is the same manager who joined us, the same manager who succeeded with us and football is not that different.

Most of the performances at the end of this season were dire, but they were pretty standard from a team with no confidence. Against Cardiff we looked the most likely for the first twenty minutes, but when the first goal went in the team froze and seemed to suffer some kind of breakdown. The second goal made confidence even worse and doing even the simple things seemed utterly beyond them. Hughton dealt with this in the exact same way he did when he kept us in the Championship with no strikers. If you can't score, don't concede. It worked at Wolves, it nearly worked at Spurs. The crisis management had started to rebuild confidence and he knew that we had to change and attack for the Newcastle game. He then made a common manager's mistake of trying to change too much in one go and the first half was appalling. We were then very lucky that we were playing a team managed by a manager from the same school as Chris as Benitez sent his team out in the second half with the intention to contain, rather than punish. This allowed us more of the ball and a way back into the game. We started to look like a Chris Hughton team again.

We stumbled to safety with draws and relied upon the failings of Cardiff, and it was obvious that something had gone wrong. However, this doesn't mean that football has passed Chris by. Rafa Benitez is probably Chris's closest equivalent managing in the Premier League. He has also been condemned for parking the bus in games where he feels he is outclassed. He is still being hailed as sending out a team that is organised, hard working and worth more than the sum of its parts. This seems a suprisingly rare skill in modern management. Its not a skill that Chris Hughton has lost. He will be in demand among clubs who need this.

The mantra that I will remember from Chris is 'fine margins'. He knew that success and failure at this level depends upon the finest of margins in multiple areas. He also knew that teams like ours are disadvantaged compared to their competitors when it comes to what they can spend on wages and that this means that they have to outdo their peers in other areas. They need to do something to even the playing field. Tony Bloom bringing in Graham Potter is still seeking to do this. He knows that we need a USP. It seems that he was no longer convinced that Chris and the players could work together to provide this. That doesn't make Chris Hughton an outdated manager, it just made him the wrong manager for our chairman at that particular moment. The most regular criticism of him is that he is over cautious. However the consideration and care he shows in everything he does has made him the decent successful man that we have been proud to have associated with our club. His next move will be made with the same exact consideration. He will not go to a club just to have a job like the likes of Steve McLaren would. He will choose to work somewhere where he knows his skill set can bring success. If this is managing another club, I would back him to be just as successful as he has been everywhere he has been. Tactics in football will always change, but what Chris can bring to teams and groups of players will never be out of fashion and always in demand somewhere.

 

[Mr Banana]

At the risk of dredging up a tired old debate, I haven't seen many people who watched the Albion semi-regularly away over the last year bemoaning the decision.

PH and HW are brilliant but they don't see the team play much. We might go down but at least it won't be so incredibly uninspired all the time.

Sorry, totally forgot to say - fantastic piece of course, your stuff always is

 

[chaileyjem]

Opinion piece on why I think Hughton went (with the benefit of hindsight re Potter) and what it is that the new man represents.

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/content.php?804-Football-Changed-and-Chris-Hughton-Didn%92t-Keep-Up

Again, just my opinion to stimulate discussion.

Great piece but i'm still in Team Hughton (but looking forward to Potter , who is an imaginative and exciting appointment). However, its Chris's squad, last season at least, that failed to keep up "with the changing world of British football" and likewise if Potter isn't supported in terms of players - he'll go the same way.
Don't imagine he's going to magically fill the gaps by playing Aaron Connolly , Jayson Molumby and Alex Cochrane.
He's got to make 4-5 decent new signings and nearly all of them have to be hits. But If not...

 

[Nobby]

The performances were bad, but I can't agree that football has moved on leaving Chris behind. Chris is the same manager who joined us, the same manager who succeeded with us and football is not that different.

Most of the performances at the end of this season were dire, but they were pretty standard from a team with no confidence. Against Cardiff we looked the most likely for the first twenty minutes, but when the first goal went in the team froze and seemed to suffer some kind of breakdown. The second goal made confidence even worse and doing even the simple things seemed utterly beyond them. Hughton dealt with this in the exact same way he did when he kept us in the Championship with no strikers. If you can't score, don't concede. It worked at Wolves, it nearly worked at Spurs. The crisis management had started to rebuild confidence and he knew that we had to change and attack for the Newcastle game. He then made a common manager's mistake of trying to change too much in one go and the first half was appalling. We were then very lucky that we were playing a team managed by a manager from the same school as Chris as Benitez sent his team out in the second half with the intention to contain, rather than punish. This allowed us more of the ball and a way back into the game. We started to look like a Chris Hughton team again.

We stumbled to safety with draws and relied upon the failings of Cardiff, and it was obvious that something had gone wrong. However, this doesn't mean that football has passed Chris by. Rafa Benitez is probably Chris's closest equivalent managing in the Premier League. He has also been condemned for parking the bus in games where he feels he is outclassed. He is still being hailed as sending out a team that is organised, hard working and worth more than the sum of its parts. This seems a suprisingly rare skill in modern management. Its not a skill that Chris Hughton has lost. He will be in demand among clubs who need this.

The mantra that I will remember from Chris is 'fine margins'. He knew that success and failure at this level depends upon the finest of margins in multiple areas. He also knew that teams like ours are disadvantaged compared to their competitors when it comes to what they can spend on wages and that this means that they have to outdo their peers in other areas. They need to do something to even the playing field. Tony Bloom bringing in Graham Potter is still seeking to do this. He knows that we need a USP. It seems that he was no longer convinced that Chris and the players could work together to provide this. That doesn't make Chris Hughton an outdated manager, it just made him the wrong manager for our chairman at that particular moment. The most regular criticism of him is that he is over cautious. However the consideration and care he shows in everything he does has made him the decent successful man that we have been proud to have associated with our club. His next move will be made with the same exact consideration. He will not go to a club just to have a job like the likes of Steve McLaren would. He will choose to work somewhere where he knows his skill set can bring success. If this is managing another club, I would back him to be just as successful as he has been everywhere he has been. Tactics in football will always change, but what Chris can bring to teams and groups of players will never be out of fashion and always in demand somewhere.

Very very well written
Outstanding

Chris’s biggest fault may have been to try and change the system pre Xmas.( maybe as we were approaching safety or maybe because Dan Ashworth arrived), whilst not changing the first team.

His problem was that because of a weak squad in Premier League terms, he had to use the same players, including a few who were not fit, in more ways than one, and who GP will now inherit.

Let’s hope GP gets rid of the right players and not the wrong ones

Good luck GP