[Albion] Bloom knows he got his timing wrong.

[Lincoln Imp]

I think that when Cardiff lost to Palace, that would have been the time to announce that the club and Chris would be parting company at the end of the season. I do think Chris deserved a proper goodbye and a show of appreciation for what he has done for the club.

That is the post I was going to write.

The club could have learnt something from the civilised and humane way David Wagner's Huddersfield career ended. It didn't, and now its reputation needs rebuilding.

 

[Nathan]

Why do people assume they know what other people are thinking?

Thats what I thought.

 

[dazzer6666]

Possibly, but then again maybe it was entirely deliberate. Doesn’t really matter now though.

Still personally think he might have offered CH a mutual consent deal, CH refused (‘I’ve done what you asked and not got relegated, if you want me to go you’ll have to fire me’ etc) knowing (as he’s been in this place before) the club/Bloom would look like more like the bad guys - which is how it turned out.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Timing was spot on, we survived and have longest time to recruit new man, if not done already. CH got pay off, if he wasn't expecting to go he should have realised that was a possibility, especially if he reads NSC!!!

 

[trueblue]

The PR side of it is not worth worrying about. He made the right decision after the Cardiff game because Hughton kept us up. We’ll find out if he made the right decision this week as next season unfolds.

If the new manager is a success, all the naysayers nationally putting the boot in now will be all over him and hailing Bloom as a visionary who took a brilliant, tough decision.

If he fails, there’ll be a bit of gloating. But so what? Their opinions swing with breeze and count for nothing. It’s a shame we’re no longer in the days when newspapers delivered ‘news’ rather than comment, most of it sketchily-informed.

 

[the right footed denilson]

Timing 100% correct. Hughton kept us up. Now time to move on. Let Us try to as well huh?

 

[Luke93]

Could not disagree more.

Firstly, getting a new manager in doesn’t guarantee an upturn in results. Hughton knows the players, has been in the job for over 4 years and had the skills to see the job through. Getting the ideal replacement at that stage of the season is extremely difficult. A club fighting relegation with 4 games to go isn’t a very attractive job opportunity, especially compared to a team that survived and has a whole preseason to rebuild. Furthermore, it is incredibly expensive and difficult to entice a manager away from their current job at that stage of the season. If Lampard is a target, would he leave Derby before he finishes the job of getting them into the playoffs?

If the target for the new manager is in a job now, would paying compensation to secure that target be worthwhile if they failed to secure survival? I’d argue no, as if the unfortunate did happen and Brighton got relegated, there’s one outstanding candidate for that job - and it’s Chris Hughton.

There’s also the possibility that Tony hasn’t made up his mind at that point in time. He doesn’t strike me as one to make rash decisions. He knows Chris is a good manager, he let him see it through. He made the call as soon as our season ended, that’s the prefect time in my opinion.

 

[El Presidente]

Whilst I think it was a poor decision to scapegoat CH with the sack for failings elsewhere at the club, the one thing I do think TB has got right is the timing.

 

[Albion Dan]

Too long to read especially as it’s shite

This!

 

[AlastairWatts]

Ok folks....hands up.... I should have titled it....." did Bloom get his timing wrong? ".....( I'm definitely not a mind reader )

That's not all that you got wrong. But as you clearly have a direct line into the boardroom, and even possibly Tony's office, I'm surprised that you missed the obvious: after the Cardiff debacle Chris Houghton had to go and it was merely a matter of when. Tony Bloom got it exactly right - nice big pay off and an NDA and it was done. Given that CH presumably walked away with a huge sum of money I suggest that we might now find better ways of amusing ourselves than picking over the bones of a highly forgettable five months of dismal football.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

There was an obvious and easier moment to part company with the manager and that was either, immediately after the Cardiff home game or early the following morning. The team were in disarray, many fans were angry beyond belief and the manager's personal stock was at its lowest ebb. NSC was in meltdown. Many predicted relegation and saw no hope. It was a poisonous time. We had gone 5 games without scoring, we could barely muster a shot on goal per game and whole sections of the press and neutral fans were labelling us as an ' anti-football ' team. A non-functioning attacking unit.

If Bloom decided around that time that a change was needed ( he may have decided earlier but I doubt it...feelgood factor re Wembley etc ) then he needed to have been decisive then. It would have appeared brutal but not as bad as Monday and the PR damage would have been limited. We were in freefall. Most would have recognised and understood that. Managers get sacked after poor runs and boy, were we in one.

Five games to go called for short term, fresh faces, to give everyone an immediate lift. He had the men there. Sidwell and Rosenior. Fresh out of the side, highly liked and respected. Of course it would have been a gamble but ultimately we needed one more point after the Cardiff game and I am absolutely certain that anyone new would have got that and more.

The decision to continue with the manager allowed CH to resort to the most basic and desperate tactic of all. Effectively boarding up the goal. Putting everyone behind the ball and defending for their lives. This they did well for two games but forced with the prospect of trying to attack Newcastle from the start and with a strangely predictable line-up, they looked clueless. Thankfully, substitutions rescued a point. A point from Arsenal was welcome relief, when the manager and team knew they were safe.

By allowing CH to continue, Bloom allowed his stock to rise again. Fans felt relieved at survival and the dismay, frustration and anger started to drift away. Opinions mellowed. Many who had wanted him gone, softened their view and felt that he should get a bit more time.

Bloom missed his best chance to get most on board with his decision. He didn't decide the manager had to go on Sunday evening or Monday morning, after the City game. He had already made his mind up. The trouble was, he got his timing wrong, maybe swayed by loyalty and respect and the feeling that he still believed CH could grind out a few points. Calculated and cynical, if that was the case. By delaying until the season had run its course, he put himself in the firing line and has now damaged his own reputation.

We would have gone down. Instead we stay up and get to have a new manager. What's not to like?

Anyway, you write as if the key issue in all this is how much we like TB. I would argue this is irrelevant. Anyone wanting 'Bloom Out' would be an utter madman in my view.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

That's not all that you got wrong. But as you clearly have a direct line into the boardroom, and even possibly Tony's office, I'm surprised that you missed the obvious: after the Cardiff debacle Chris Houghton had to go and it was merely a matter of when. Tony Bloom got it exactly right - nice big pay off and an NDA and it was done. Given that CH presumably walked away with a huge sum of money I suggest that we might now find better ways of amusing ourselves than picking over the bones of a highly forgettable five months of dismal football.

This. In a very expensive suit and a pair of soft leather moccasins.

 

[Fungus]

Thats what I thought.

Yes, I knew that.

 

[Surf's Up]

Too long to read especially as it’s shite

I find myself agreeing with Enrest - although I did take the trouble to read it - it's still shite though.

 

[beorhthelm]

not sure i follow, seems the OP saying we should have sacked him earlier?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Whilst I think it was a poor decision to scapegoat CH with the sack for failings elsewhere at the club, the one thing I do think TB has got right is the timing.

Who is scapegoating the manager? You think that by sacking CH, TB is scapegoating the manager? In other words if a manager is sacked he is being scapegoated for all and every failing at any club? That's nonsense.

The owner has to be able to make a managerial change without being accused of scapegoating. Indeed a managerial change is the only real way of affecting key issues surrounding how the side is set out to play, tactics on the day, and team selection. Replacing head of recruitment (or whatever) or even resigning himself (heaven forbid) won't change the way the manager works.

And it was the way the manager was working that needed changing, according to TB. Who are we to argue.

Scapegoating . . . .crikey....you're far too sensible to wander down that cul de sac.

Edit; so many typos. Boy was I cross when I drafted that!

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I think Bloom got his timing perfectly right. We stayed up by default, so his gamble paid off. Hughton lost his job as he simply proved time and again that he had no plan b and had run out of ideas months ago, bar, lets defend every game and go for a 0 conceded.

The fact we could not score made this a massive gamble but the fella has no other ideas and this was obvious pretty much from the start of the season. I think also Hughton's constant talking down of his squad and bigging up of the opposition, even Huddersfield was wearing very thin. Bloom is a winner and this must have been alien to him.

No one can seriously think that the sacking was harsh after 3 wins in 23 and just 15 points. Infact I am incredulous of the stick Blook is getting from the media and some fans

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Why do people assume they know what other people are thinking?

I know why you asked that

 

[DJ NOBO]

If you were hughton would you have wanted the chance to keep Albion up?
Of course you would, unlike at Norwich.
His reputation is in amazing shape and I’m sure he could have his pick of championship clubs.
Just one more reason why the op’s point is wrong

 

[Greg Bobkin]

In some ways he got is spectacularly wrong, but in other ways, it was spot on.

Wrong, in so much as it could be perceived as too close to the end of the season and that makes it appear worse (even though it's not) than doing it in a week/month.
Right (as opposed to just after Cardiff), because it gave Chris the chance to prove he could keep the club up, which he did (I don't think TB lost COMPLETE faith in him, just didn't see him as the man to take the club to 'the next level').
Right, from the point of view of a businessman, rather than a fan, because it means the new guy is (hopefully) in place nice and early and is a smoother transition than doing it later in the summer.

And

Wrong (PURELY from my point of view), because I still think Chris should have been given the chance to take the team into next season, but that's a whole other debate. That's already been done to death elsewhere...