[Football] Chris Hughton: 'It’s a good feeling to be the manager of a big club'

[Nobby Cybergoat]

That last couple of months under Hughton was some of the worst football I’ve ever witnessed, literally park bus and try not to concede with nothing at the top end.

We only survived due to the 3 worse teams and in most other seasons we wouldn’t have. He is tactically limited and locked in an outdated mindset as the game has moved on.

And the season we were promoted (and the one we just missed out) was probably the best football i've ever seen. For a few months there we were winning 3 or 4 nil at homes most weeks.

All good things come to an end. It will be the same one day with our current manager. It doesn't mean he was exposed as tactically limited. He was trying to keep us up with Locadia, Montoya, Ali J etc.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

In a nutshell to avoid going over ancient issues, in the end Hughton lost faith with our players and went into a defensive shell.

If the same has happened at Forest they either need to get rid of Hughton, or get some new players that he believes in fast.

 

[Acker79]

And the season we were promoted (and the one we just missed out) was probably the best football i've ever seen. For a few months there we were winning 3 or 4 nil at homes most weeks.

All good things come to an end. It will be the same one day with our current manager. It doesn't mean he was exposed as tactically limited. He was trying to keep us up with Locadia, Montoya, Ali J etc.

We only got promoted because there were 22 teams worse than us.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

We only got promoted because there were 22 teams worse than us.

ha ha. Yes mate .... and they were made to look it

 

[Albion Dan]

Chris Hughton delivered probably the two finest seasons of football in my 40 years of watching the club. Delivering great dominant football in arguably the toughest league in the world and seeing us promoted to the promised land. We were smashing teams for fun. For the last half a season it got grim and it was time to move on but anyone who thinks his mindset wouldnt get anyone promoted from the Champ with time and the right resources is clueless. He'd probably keep them up too.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think Chris's sacking is a question of when, not if.

What his tenure at Forest has shown is that Bloom was right to sack him when he did. That decision, along with the one to appoint Graham Potter, were key to our long-term fortune.

That said, Forest were bottom when Hughton took over. In the end they avoided the drop comfortably by 9 points. It is not every manager that can walk into that situation and turn it around, although the fact Forest finished 7th the previous season suggests they were seriously underperforming.

However, as soon as they were safe the players switched off.

More recently, no wins in 10 and a failure to score 2 goals in a single match in that run. What is strange is that despite such a poor 18-match run - going back to 5th April - they've yet to concede 3 goals.

It is bizarre that Hughton played in a flamboyant Tottenham side with Hoddle, Ardiles, Villa, Waddle, Clive Allen yet his DNA is defence first and foremost.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I think Chris's sacking is a question of when, not if.

What his tenure at Forest has shown is that Bloom was right to sack him when he did. That decision, along with the one to appoint Graham Potter, were key to our long-term fortune.

That said, Forest were bottom when Hughton took over. In the end they avoided the drop comfortably by 9 points. It is not every manager that can walk into that situation and turn it around, although the fact Forest finished 7th the previous season suggests they were seriously underperforming.

However, as soon as they were safe the players switched off.

More recently, no wins in 10 and a failure to score 2 goals in a single match in that run. What is strange is that despite such a poor 18-match run - going back to 5th April - they've yet to concede 3 goals.

It is bizarre that Hughton played in a flamboyant Tottenham side with Hoddle, Ardiles, Villa, Waddle, Clive Allen yet his DNA is defence first and foremost.

Not when we were smashing, Leeds, Fulham, Blackburn etc etc off the park it wasn't. I actually don't believe he has any particular ideology as a football manager. He's just a pragmatist who's guiding thought is "how can I get the best out of what i've got"

 

[Swansman]

Not when we were smashing, Leeds, Fulham, Blackburn etc etc off the park it wasn't. I actually don't believe he has any particular ideology as a football manager. He's just a pragmatist who's guiding thought is "how can I get the best out of what i've got"

He disagrees:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f0gVncpZ7U

Watch the first minute.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

That last couple of months under Hughton was some of the worst football I’ve ever witnessed, literally park bus and try not to concede with nothing at the top end.

We only survived due to the 3 worse teams and in most other seasons we wouldn’t have. He is tactically limited and locked in an outdated mindset as the game has moved on.

No, we survived because of the wins earlier in the season, but that isn’t this discussion Wardy, it’s more about the suggestion that we were defensive in the championship - which we weren’t.


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[Pavilionaire]

Not when we were smashing, Leeds, Fulham, Blackburn etc etc off the park it wasn't. I actually don't believe he has any particular ideology as a football manager. He's just a pragmatist who's guiding thought is "how can I get the best out of what i've got"

Norwich 2014, Brighton 2019 and Forest 2021. The fans reach the same conclusion.

The common thread is a lack of quality goalscorers. The difference at the Albion is that Hughton had Hemed and Murray. We got Hemed because of our connections with Almeria through the Ulloa deal, while Murray was still living in Brighton and unwanted by Bournemouth. They kind of fell into our lap.

His Newcastle strikers had joined the club before he became manager: Andy Carroll, Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi.

He needs to bring in at least one striker at Forest, probably two. His inability to do this over his career has led to his eventual downfall on a number of occasions, and if he's not careful it will happen again.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Can I just clarify something.

I said that Hughton's teams were built on a defence first approach. I did not say they were dull. Please, by all means have a hunt for the post where I have said that - you won't find it.

Hughton is focused on getting the defence sorted first. The attacking options are then built off the back of this but ultimately, in my opinion, if Forest fans are frustrated it will be because Hughton is first and foremost making them hard to beat. Then he'll look at how he can win games. That in my view is how he built our promotion winning team.

I don't think this will be counter to your views.

Just looking at the Forest results and they have not lost by more than one goal and have scored in all their games. Hughton will be thinking that this is about shoring up the defence. Then those performances are wins.

Apologies Hamilton for misrepresenting your post, but the inclination of your post #607, was that our PL performances were similar to our championship ones which simply is not the case.


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[Simster]

I think Chris's sacking is a question of when, not if.

What his tenure at Forest has shown is that Bloom was right to sack him when he did. That decision, along with the one to appoint Graham Potter, were key to our long-term fortune.

That said, Forest were bottom when Hughton took over. In the end they avoided the drop comfortably by 9 points. It is not every manager that can walk into that situation and turn it around, although the fact Forest finished 7th the previous season suggests they were seriously underperforming.

However, as soon as they were safe the players switched off.

More recently, no wins in 10 and a failure to score 2 goals in a single match in that run. What is strange is that despite such a poor 18-match run - going back to 5th April - they've yet to concede 3 goals.

It is bizarre that Hughton played in a flamboyant Tottenham side with Hoddle, Ardiles, Villa, Waddle, Clive Allen yet his DNA is defence first and foremost.

Not when we were smashing, Leeds, Fulham, Blackburn etc etc off the park it wasn't. I actually don't believe he has any particular ideology as a football manager. He's just a pragmatist who's guiding thought is "how can I get the best out of what i've got"

Totally agree Nobby. Hughton's promotion winning side (and the season before that) was full of attacking flair. However, if his brief is to keep a crap side in the division, he is happy to set them up to give as little away as possible at the expense of everything else. Hughton is a pragmatist and that only comes undone if the required negativity doesn't yield results.

I don't have a clue whether he's had enough time or influence to rebuild that crap side he was handed a year ago but I suppose if they've been served shit performances and failed to climb the table, then they were always going to turn and the writing is on wall for him.

 

[Justice]

That last couple of months under Hughton was some of the worst football I’ve ever witnessed, literally park bus and try not to concede with nothing at the top end.

We only survived due to the 3 worse teams and in most other seasons we wouldn’t have. He is tactically limited and locked in an outdated mindset as the game has moved on.

The worst football you have ever witnessed being an Albion fan

 

[peterward]

No, we survived because of the wins earlier in the season, but that isn’t this discussion Wardy, it’s more about the suggestion that we were defensive in the championship - which we weren’t.


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I replied to a post you'd made my friend, which had no mention of our of performances in championship, I made no references to those, which were often stunning.

You mentioned he kept us up in the PL on a bottom 3 budget, and the first 2 seasons he did well and we were bloody lucky to have Muzza. That last few months he totally lost his way, we were all at sea and whilst the stats say he kept us up, most seasons in the last 10 our points finish wouldve relegated us, we were shit. We survived more because that season the "3 worse teams" which you always need, we uniquely poorer than usual in that one season, there were 3 unusually low points, even shitter teams. Most seasons that points total and those performances wouldve relegated us.

I loved Hughton the man, He will always be a hero for what he did and under him we witnessed some stunning football, aided by some great fan icons like Muzza and Knocky........ I thought the Norwich fans who to a man painted the picture of how Hughtons time ended there, and said it would be the same with us, were wrong. In the end it ended seemingly the same, as it seems to be going that way now too at Forest?

Ive used this example once before, as it always seemed odd to me, but spoke more to a general defence first mindset which did seem entrenched at times. That game at the Amex V Benitez Newcastle when were vying for the title together, it was pretty 50/50, we took the lead and they scored a freak fluke goal later in the second half, where the ball was pinballing around the box and went in. The balance was pretty even. Then Hughton decides to take off, Baldock I think it was, an attacker anyway and go defensive at 1-1, Benitez straight after takes off a defenive player and puts on another attacking player and they go and win 2-1 at the death. I remember talking about that on the way out.....who knows what the score may have been if changes were not made, but those 2 substituations totally changed the dynamic and the balance of the game from pretty even to totally Newcastle dominant. We conceeded the ball and tried to defend and got punished a Newcastle went for it..... Those types of decisions of trying to play out or defend draws or narrow wins, we all remember well I'm sure..... it often worked, it was often nail biting stress, but there is a mindset there of defend first and dont concede. I often felt Hughton got locked into that box.

At Norwich there was Van Wolfswinkel, at Brighton Locadia, Ali J etc. How much of a say did he have in these deals? its easy to argue we went agricultural as those were the players at his disposal, but did he choose them or have a part in that?

Potters tactics are light and day more advanced, flexible and he seemingly will try thinngs out. I often thought Hughton stuck to more rigid patterns of substitutions or in game tactics.

Hughton is an amazing man who took us to the promised land playing some amazing football in the championship, he did well in the first 2 years, then went into his shell and reverted to patterns Norwich fans said would happen and proved correct. I'd still argue he's a good championship manager just like Colin, but similarly to Colin I cannot see him ever being a manager at the top end of the PL, whereas in GP, because of his broader flexibility he has a chance.

If CH gets the boot at Forest I for one wont laugh or be happy, hes a true gentleman and will do well at the right club.

 

[Bladders]

Have to agree with others , the championship seasons were fantastic , built on great defence when out of possession and good attacking play when in possession

The first Prem season was more defensive , but very understandable, but the second Prem season was dire , it’s as though he had zero confidence in any of the team .

There were even whispers that the players had approached him about being a bit more expansive , but he was having none of it .

I think watching him berate Andone away at Spurs for entering the opposition half to try and score was really telling on his tactical thinking .

Thank god Palace beat Cardiff in the final game


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[peterward]

The worst football you have ever witnessed being an Albion fan

"Some of"

 

[Pierre the Painter]

A big game tomorrow night for two managers already under fire, even this early in the season, you sense a defeat for either side would push their manager to the brink.

 

[peterward]

A big game tomorrow night for two managers already under fire, even this early in the season, you sense a defeat for wither side would push their manager to the brink.

I would sooner have Hughton, his behaviour and managerial experience than party time Rooney. He's lucky to have Rosenior

 

[Swansman]

A big game tomorrow night for two managers already under fire, even this early in the season, you sense a defeat for wither side would push their manager to the brink.

No chance they are sacking Rooney. Derby are delighted with their four points so far. Pretty much every Derby fan seem to be in agreement that if they avoid relegation its pretty much a miracle.

 

[JBizzle]

I would sooner have Hughton, his behaviour and managerial experience than party time Rooney. He's lucky to have Rosenior

I agree in part. He is lucky to have Rosenior, but he's managing a basket case of a club with virtually no players or funds. If he keeps them up, then although Rosenior will play a big part, dismissing Rooney's contribution so easily would be churlish at best.

On one of your earlier posts, I'm inclined to agree on Hughton's mindset. I, like you, love the man and his achievements will stand the test the time. He also was an exponent of some genuinely exciting football in the Championship, but at 1-0 in the Premier League he would always, always sub to not lose, whereas GP will almost always for for 2-0. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The amount of games like Saturday where we'd score first and then invite pressure for the next 85 minutes under Hughton rarely delivered results, but last season the opposite approach contributed to 25 points lost from winning positions.

Hughton also wasn't a dreadful manager, or even colossally defensive in the PL, but his last 4 months were absolutely hideous. Those two games where we got spanked by plucky and then rolled over for Cardiff at the Amex whilst looking increasingly less and less likely to shoot, let alone score is one of the worst periods of football to watch as a Brighton fan. I seem to recall we got through some games without even having a shot. Of course, Hyypia was dreadful, Adams mk2 was a car crash, Hinshelwood was so far out of his depth, and some of the football in the 90's was total dross - All were absolutely awful to be fair, but that 4 months wasn't much better or worse than Hyypia's 4 month tenure. It's why I look at Hughton's term as manager as a whole and not just those last few sad months.

Would I rather choose Potter or Hughton now though? Potter. Every. Single. Time.