[Albion] Chris Hughton

[symyjym]

Here is the thing that has surprised me about what has happened.

Normally, Chris teams start very slowly in matches and very often go behind because he is usually too cautious in the opening 20 minutes or so - This happened a lot when he was in charge if both Birmingham and Newcastle in the Championship. Newwcastle I think actually came back from losing positions and won 5 or 6 times in that season.

This year his team get on the front foot right from the first minute which is very good to see. I watched both his seasons with Newcastle and Birmingham and saw quite a lot of the games during those seasons. Newcastle accumulated over 100 points when they went up.

I havn't actually been down for a match at Brighton this season but I did promise to do so when Jamie was playing so should do so soon; however, I actually think that this is a better side than both his Newcastle and Birmingham teams. Newcastle had better individuals and Birmingham was a very hard work ethic team but this team he has put together at Brighton has both individuals and a good work ethic. So for that reason, I think they could even be one of the best sides he has put together.

Norwhich was actually the best side he had put together as far as I have seen but the Norwich Board and fans never appreciated what he had put together in terms of a team. I think they actually saw themselves as a team which should be top 10 team in the Premiership with the smallest playing budget. Very delusional as they will find out this year. Their loss is Brighton's gain

We are the first club that Hughton has really been able to build his own squad in. He did well at Birmingham but it wasn't his team, at Newcastle he inherited a Prem squad, but on promotion he had no influence on who he brought in. He took over Lamberts promotion squad at Norwich and he didn’t have a chance to overhaul it, nor was he trusted to.

This is the first time in his managing career where he has had license to make the squad his, no previous club has been able to see what the real Hughton is about, but we will. We are the perfect club for Hughton, he suits us in equal strength, and I can see this partnership lasting for many years to come. He may even be our Fergie.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

He may even be our Fergie.

Wow hang on, what are the odds on us winning The Champions League at this moment, might be worth a quid.

 

[NooBHA]

We are the first club that Hughton has really been able to build his own squad in. He did well at Birmingham but it wasn't his team, at Newcastle he inherited a Prem squad, but on promotion he had no influence on who he brought in. He took over Lamberts promotion squad at Norwich and he didn’t have a chance to overhaul it, nor was he trusted to.

This is the first time in his managing career where he has had license to make the squad his, no previous club has been able to see what the real Hughton is about, but we will. We are the perfect club for Hughton, he suits us in equal strength, and I can see this partnership lasting for many years to come. He may even be our Fergie.

At newcastle he didn't need to alter the squad

At birmingham. it was his squad because he lost most of the premiership players but yes he had to scrap around for loan players because, they had no money and they eventually had a transfer embargo.

At Norwich he brought in mostly his own players

Whittaker
Olsson
Redmond
Howson
Snodgrass
Fer
Tettey
Ellmander
Van Wolfswinkel.

Thats 9 players that I can think of that he signed so thats pretty much his own team

 

[symyjym]

Wow hang on, what are the odds on us winning The Champions League at this moment, might be worth a quid.

Do they take bets in advance of the 2020-21 season?

 

[NooBHA]

Oh and Bassong and Turner and mark Bunn so thats 12 players he signed for Norwich

 

[symyjym]

At newcastle he didn't need to alter the squad

At birmingham. it was his squad because he lost most of the premiership players but yes he had to scrap around for loan players because, they had no money and they eventually had a transfer embargo.

At Norwich he brought in mostly his own players

Whittaker
Olsson
Redmond
Howson
Snodgrass
Fer
Tettey
Ellmander
Van Wolfswinkel.

Thats 9 players that I can think of that he signed so thats pretty much his own team

For sure Newcastle didn’t need to recruit for the Championship, but Ashley pulled the signing strings. Birmingham was patch up job, and he was working under a DoF at Norwich with board that didn’t believe in him. Not sure if he got it all his own way on signings there, though granted, players were signed when he was.

What I am saying is that he has never had as much control on recruitment as what he has had here, so that’s what I mean when I say that we will see what the real Hughton is about, more than any of his previous clubs. He really can do it his way here.

 

[Danny-Boy]

He has one job to do last season and he did it. It was not pretty.
The board has backed him, he knows precisely what he is doing and we are seeing the benefits of a pre-season with a manager in place.
He has created a good, effective team out of a shambles - the mark of a very, very good manager.
I think everyone including himself is surprised at our start but the best thing is, he has the experience to keep that going, but also turn things around when things start to go not quite so well, as they inevitably will in this league. He will not panic, he will keep everyone on an even keel and I am starting to believe that we will do extremely well this season.
Onwards and upwards with a solid man at the helm!

Don't knock me for being pessimistic but remember there'll be some DESPERATE Premiership clubs come Christmas - the 2016/7 Sky contract will be for them like Eldorado. And good managers are hard to find...

 

[NooBHA]

For sure Newcastle didn’t need to recruit for the Championship, but Ashley pulled the signing strings. Birmingham was patch up job, and he was working under a DoF at Norwich with board that didn’t believe in him. Not sure if he got it all his own way on signings there, though granted, players were signed when he was.

What I am saying is that he has never had as much control on recruitment as what he has had here, so that’s what I mean when I say that we will see what the real Hughton is about, more than any of his previous clubs. He really can do it his way here.

No he had control of signings at Norwich - The Board were fairly supportive in the beginning but the fans never took to Chris. Although a lot did like him. It tended to be the ones who didnt like him that were the ones who screamed the loudest and the board caved in to fan pressure..

The reason i think it fits well at Brighton is because he has taken over a club that had failed miserably the year before. He can build a squad in a division where he can go and play open attacking football. Something which is difficult at a club which was always going to struggle in the Premiership, like Norwich were.

Cap all that with the fact that he is a very good hard working manager and real gentleman, then you have a recipe for success, so you are correct. Brighton and Chris fit very well at this moment in time.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Don't knock me for being pessimistic but remember there'll be some DESPERATE Premiership clubs come Christmas - the 2016/7 Sky contract will be for them like Eldorado. And good managers are hard to find...

He's onto a good job here. Supportive Chairman, one who will back him as far as he can and will not panic if things don't go to plan. He is a manager at the tail end of his career who has seen it and done it . No way would he give that up to join some PL team with a "keep us up with 10 games to go" brief. He has already seen the bad side of PL teams that panic. He is no Gus Poyet. He could be here for some time if all goes to plan.

 

[Icy Gull]

He's onto a good job here. Supportive Chairman, one who will back him as far as he can and will not panic if things don't go to plan. He is a manager at the tail end of his career who has seen it and done it . No way would he give that up to join some PL team with a "keep us up with 10 games to go" brief. He has already seen the bad side of PL teams that panic. He is no Gus Poyet. He could be here for some time if all goes to plan.

Tend to agree, he has not even remotely touted himself or talked about how wonderful our opponents are, in an "I'd like to manage at a higher level" type of way.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

To start with Chris Hughton is a cracking good coach. He was largely responsible for the limited success Spurs had when he was first team coach there. He served under ten managers at Spurs and was caretaker twice. He should have been given a chance at Spurs but was sacked with Jol because of his influence on the team.

He then became coach at Newcastle and stabilised a very erratic team under Keegan. Hughton was kept when Keegan and his staff were sacked. After al lot of huffing and puffing by Ashley, Hughton was installed as caretaker manager when Ashley announced he was selling Newcastle. Hughton was always second choice behind Kinnear, Shearer etc but was the one constant that stabilised Newcastle and rebuilt the team to win promotion and made significant progress in the PL. Ashley sacked him because he wanted a more high profile manager (and then appointed Pardew) and Pardew benefitted from the very solid base built by Hughton. There was outcry in Newcastle when he was sacked.

Hughton took over at Birmingham when the club was already in serious trouble and did a remarkable job before moving to Norwich. At Norwich he succeed in keeping them in the PL with a poor squad. The following year he did not bring in his own players - the board didn't back him - not in terms of transfer fees but in terms of the wages they were willing to pay. Hughton couldn't attract the players he actually wanted but knew he needed new players to try and strengthen the squad.

From day one of the new season the Chief Exec at Norwich was undermining him by stating he would be sacked if Norwich dropped into the bottom three. There were constant rumours that he was to be replaced and some of the players who were at Norwich before he took over undermined him in the dressing room because they knew Hughton wanted his own players in. Hughton was sacked when Norwich were 17th. Hughton is adamant that he would have kept Norwich up and I believe he would have. But elements within the club didn't want him because he was his own man and needed to be trusted to the job. It is worth noting that Alex Neil complemented the job that Hughton did at the club when he took over and it looks like Norwich have finally decided to back their current manager in a way they didn't with Hughton in the PL.

Brighton have got a good manager. He utilises his resources to the best of their potential. If he has players with ability he will use them to play football, if the players do not have flair he will make his team hard to beat. Hughton always has his team well organised and disciplined. The situation at BHA seems well suited to both him and the club. The board are buying into his approach - he is getting the players he wants - he appears to be planning long term if you look at some of his signings - and it looks like both him and the board are looking at the long-term development of the club rather than an instant fix. Hughton has the ability to get Brighton into the PL and to keep them there. It may not happen this season because the squad probably would need to be stronger.

 

[Norman Potting]

..And he is a qualified lift engineeer. What's not to like?

 

[GT49er]

Barely anyone predicted top of the league, but I think a LOT of us thought we'd be far better this season (i.e. top 8), once he'd had a settled pre-season and some of his own signings.

Exactly. Well, top half, anyway. And he was the first choice for some of us, too.

 

[NooBHA]

To start with Chris Hughton is a cracking good coach. He was largely responsible for the limited success Spurs had when he was first team coach there. He served under ten managers at Spurs and was caretaker twice. He should have been given a chance at Spurs but was sacked with Jol because of his influence on the team.

He then became coach at Newcastle and stabilised a very erratic team under Keegan. Hughton was kept when Keegan and his staff were sacked. After al lot of huffing and puffing by Ashley, Hughton was installed as caretaker manager when Ashley announced he was selling Newcastle. Hughton was always second choice behind Kinnear, Shearer etc but was the one constant that stabilised Newcastle and rebuilt the team to win promotion and made significant progress in the PL. Ashley sacked him because he wanted a more high profile manager (and then appointed Pardew) and Pardew benefitted from the very solid base built by Hughton. There was outcry in Newcastle when he was sacked.

Hughton took over at Birmingham when the club was already in serious trouble and did a remarkable job before moving to Norwich. At Norwich he succeed in keeping them in the PL with a poor squad. The following year he did not bring in his own players - the board didn't back him - not in terms of transfer fees but in terms of the wages they were willing to pay. Hughton couldn't attract the players he actually wanted but knew he needed new players to try and strengthen the squad.

From day one of the new season the Chief Exec at Norwich was undermining him by stating he would be sacked if Norwich dropped into the bottom three. There were constant rumours that he was to be replaced and some of the players who were at Norwich before he took over undermined him in the dressing room because they knew Hughton wanted his own players in. Hughton was sacked when Norwich were 17th. Hughton is adamant that he would have kept Norwich up and I believe he would have. But elements within the club didn't want him because he was his own man and needed to be trusted to the job. It is worth noting that Alex Neil complemented the job that Hughton did at the club when he took over and it looks like Norwich have finally decided to back their current manager in a way they didn't with Hughton in the PL.

Brighton have got a good manager. He utilises his resources to the best of their potential. If he has players with ability he will use them to play football, if the players do not have flair he will make his team hard to beat. Hughton always has his team well organised and disciplined. The situation at BHA seems well suited to both him and the club. The board are buying into his approach - he is getting the players he wants - he appears to be planning long term if you look at some of his signings - and it looks like both him and the board are looking at the long-term development of the club rather than an instant fix. Hughton has the ability to get Brighton into the PL and to keep them there. It may not happen this season because the squad probably would need to be stronger.

Almost perfectly correct........................one small point I would disagree with but I may not have my facts correct on that matter so I wouldn't want to contradict................I wonder if Jolly Red Giant and I perhaps know each other

 

[Triggaaar]

I wonder if Jolly Red Giant and I perhaps know each other

I hope it's not in the same way that Paul Valley knows Hove Born & Bred.

 

[Sheebo]

Does anyone still believe the myth that he's a boring, negative manager?

 

[Easy 10]

..And he is a qualified lift engineeer. What's not to like?

Should be well capable of taking us to the next level then.

 

[Seagull by the Sea]

I saw CH at the self serve checkouts at Tesco, Holmbush last week and just said a quick hello, shook his hand and thanked him for bringing the 'joy' back into watching us play.

He was an absolute gentlemen, thanked me for stopping and spoke about how 'we're doing ok at the minute' and hoped to carry on in that vein.

What struck me was how 'normal' he was; not intimidating or arrogant, just came across really well, spoke clearly and genuinely. Top, top bloke.

 

[NooBHA]

I saw CH at the self serve checkouts at Tesco, Holmbush last week and just said a quick hello, shook his hand and thanked him for bringing the 'joy' back into watching us play.

He was an absolute gentlemen, thanked me for stopping and spoke about how 'we're doing ok at the minute' and hoped to carry on in that vein.

What struck me was how 'normal' he was; not intimidating or arrogant, just came across really well, spoke clearly and genuinely. Top, top bloke.

He is very much like that with people. I have introduced him to people before and they all say that after chatting to him for 4 or 5 minutes, they feel like they have just been chatting to someone they have known for years.

 

[NooBHA]

I hope it's not in the same way that Paul Valley knows Hove Born & Bred.

Have no idea how they know each other.

With jolly Red Giant, I think I might know him from when I used to go up to the Norwich matches occasionally and that he is Norwich fan. Could be wrong though