[Albion] How much of our success is down to Chris Hughton?

[Hampster Gull]

85%. The other 15% is due to the Lizard. Could be the other way round, of course.

I would be more like 50% 50% but that too could be the other way round.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

It is true that T B provides the money and the push, but look at the mess that Sami made of it?
Also the back room staff play a big part. BUT
On the pitch , the first team are the product of our Chris. I love the man...
the team, his composure and dignity under pressure.....
if he was not ours, I would want him to manage England. But he is ours and long may remain so.

 

[Return of the Rev]

The shrewd investment of the cup final cash has got to be hugely responsible for where we are.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Cates was correct. After the previous failed play off attempts, the club reined in finances and lost most of the outstanding players for various reasons.

CH picked up the mess left by Burke, and transformed us from very nearly a League One club to mid table PL.

That was just a brief viewpoint from Cates for discussion. She wasn't attempting to give a detailed history of BHAFC under the Bloom chairmanship.

Money didn't buy us promotion, but obviously it gave us a chance. The Championship is littered with clubs that have/are throwing huge sums at promotion and have struggled - Massive, Derby, Villa, etc.

Chris Hughton asked that Burke was replaced before he took the job. Both Poyet & Garcia had problems getting the players they wanted when Burke came in.
Hughton then worked well with the recruitment team to get the players he needed, but even then he still knitted them into a team.

 

[Aveacarlin']

However I’ve noticed with some irritation, particularly after yesterday’s result, that the default opinion of pundits is that our success in the past couple of years is entirely down him.

Kelly Cates on 606 yesterday was a particular example, talking about how he had turned the club around from relegation form in the Championship to promotion and now closing in on safety in the Prem.
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She is spot on. That's exactly what CH did and is doing. Why mention previous seasons under GP/OG? You sound easily irritated.

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[Rogero]

The club and Chris have been perfect for each other. It is a great fit. My biggest fear is if England come calling . He ticks every box.

 

[JBizzle]

I think there are multiple things at play here. Pre-Hughton, the club made a couple of massive mis-steps: hiring Sami Hyypia, giving all transfer control over to David Burke, drastically reducing the playing budget etc. Individually, those may not have made for the disaster of Hyypia's tenure (although it would still have been bad), but all 3 coming together was the perfect storm to send us spiralling down the league.

Hughton's arrival coincided with all three of those issues being corrected. Burke got chucked and (the also hugely underrated) Paul Winstanley came in, money started being available again and critically, Hughton was given time to sort out the mess of that season before kicking on in the next.

In regards to Hughton though, I struggle to think about any player that he hasn't manage to improve, at least in part. Take Dunk as an example: from a cultured but slightly rash defender, with 10-15 yellow cards and 1-2 reds a season in the Championship, to a comfortable, professional and disciplined Premier League player. I think he's been a driving force in not only improvement on the field but the culture off it. Team spirit under Hughton is fantastic, the way he deals with conflict in the squad is excellent, he knits the team together so well, and his ability to get players (notably Rosenior & Sidwell) contributing even when they're not in the 25 is great too.

That's not even taking into account the fact that when he has the right players, he plays good football! Yes, our club infrastructure is second to none (for a club of our size), we have a first class chairman, recruitment team and chief exec BUT pair that with the wrong manager and it can all come to nothing. If Hughton leaves, our biggest test will be replacing him with someone of similar calibre.

Love the man. Club legend.

 

[GT49er]

Chris Hughton asked that Burke was replaced before he took the job.

Is that really the case? Burke went two days after Hyypia, a full week before CH joined. Were we a). talking to CH that quickly after Hyypia left, and b). did it really take that long (over a week) to agree to sign him (granted it was Christmas and all that, but....)?

 

[Tory Boy]

Let’s face it nothing we have achieved would have been possible without the Chairman.

Others have helped to a lesser or larger degree including the fans, CH and the players.

But it’s Tony Bloom who it’s predominantly down to.

Thank you Tony.

TB

 

[dazzer6666]

Is that really the case? Burke went two days after Hyypia, a full week before CH joined. Were we a). talking to CH that quickly after Hyypia left, and b). did it really take that long (over a week) to agree to sign him (granted it was Christmas and all that, but....)?

I'd imagine we were talking to CH quite a while before SH left.....people like TB and PB don't wait until the problem happens, they'd have been looking at contingencies before that. Most businesses are the same.
[MENTION=16359]JBizzle[/MENTION] nails it above really. It's not 'all down to Hughton' but a number of factors. CH is, however the central cog that the rest revolves around. For example no-one can now really argue that recruitment has been anything other than fantastic - but I suspect CH has the final say on who comes in. Coaching staff are obviously doing a brilliant job - but it's CH that has the final say on selection and tactics etc etc. Very much like things are on the pitch - the whole is very much greater than the sum of the parts. Brilliant times.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Is that really the case? Burke went two days after Hyypia, a full week before CH joined. Were we a). talking to CH that quickly after Hyypia left, and b). did it really take that long (over a week) to agree to sign him (granted it was Christmas and all that, but....)?

Sami resigned, but Hughton had been interviewed in the summer, so Bloom already knew he was interested. Burke was sacked, which is fairly brutal on Christmas Eve, when you think about it.

 

[worthingseagull123]

If Hughton had not been given any money, we would be struggling in the Championship. Our better players he inherited would have left and would not have been replaced with the same quality.

 

[Weststander]

Sami resigned, but Hughton had been interviewed in the summer, so Bloom already knew he was interested. Burke was sacked, which is fairly brutal on Christmas Eve, when you think about it.

At least Burke got to spend the festivities with his family.

 

[Weststander]

If Hughton had not been given any money, we would be struggling in the Championship. Our better players he inherited would have left and would not have been replaced with the same quality.

True.
As is Chelsea, ManU and ManC would not have had a huge advantage in gathering silverware; Bmuff, Leicester, Newcastle, QPR, etc would have struggled in the Championship too.

TB gave Winstanley/CH the money within FFP rules, which they used astutely and then CH coached/managed brilliantly.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I've always thought that TB must have felt pretty despondent after ceiling-gate, Garcia, then Hyppia. The recruitment structure he put in place didn't work, and suddenly his running of the club and pushing for the Premier League was heading back toward League One. Can't underestimate how he must have felt having so nearly got promoted, to it all seemingly slipping away.

Hughton couldn't have been more perfect I guess to not only rebuild the team's confidence, but rebuild the club's confidence, from Tony himself, to the recruitment team. You couldn't have had some demonstrative manager coming in demanding this or that or wanting to do everything their own way, it had to be someone like Chris, with a quiet authority, someone everyone wants to do well for. It is a case of many parts and factors, but I think he has been fundamental in them all coming together.

 

[jasetheace]

I am reminded of that video of CH giving a speech in the boardroom in the aftermath of the promotion game.

It was very clear the very high regard in which CH is held by the senior management team across "the club".

A real rarity that.

From a personal angle, his negativity has slightly (that's all) niggled me but that is starting to evolve in different ways now...

 

[worthingseagull123]

True.
As is Chelsea, ManU and ManC would not have had a huge advantage in gathering silverware; Bmuff, Leicester, Newcastle, QPR, etc would have struggled in the Championship too.

TB gave Winstanley/CH the money within FFP rules, which they used astutely and then CH coached/managed brilliantly.

That is football nowadays.

You have to buy progress.

 

[GT49er]

I'd imagine we were talking to CH quite a while before SH left.....people like TB and PB don't wait until the problem happens, they'd have been looking at contingencies before that. Most businesses are the same.

Sami resigned, but Hughton had been interviewed in the summer, so Bloom already knew he was interested. Burke was sacked, which is fairly brutal on Christmas Eve, when you think about it.

Fair enough - it just seems a bit quick between Sami's departure and Burke's, bearing in mind that there didn't appear any plan to get rid of Sami - he just resigned, and TB 'reluctantly' accepted it. Like it wasn't planned at that point.

 

[Weststander]

I am reminded of that video of CH giving a speech in the boardroom in the aftermath of the promotion game.

It was very clear the very high regard in which CH is held by the senior management team across "the club".

A real rarity that.

From a personal angle, his negativity has slightly (that's all) niggled me but that is starting to evolve in different ways now...

I personally didn't mind his caution. Last August I envisage us getting zero points against mega expensive squads such as Everton, Stoke, Stains, Bmuff and Palace, but in our first season with a quasi-Championship squad, we gained critical points in those games that look likely to keep us up.

Managers that went toe to toe such as Wagner, haven't fared quite as well, and our GD is superior too.

 

[Weststander]

That is football nowadays.

You have to buy progress.

Very true.