[Albion] Hughton

[ferring seagull]

Yes. I was emoting yesterday.

I can handle disappointment and struggle. I am dealing with someone at work who, in the last 3 years, has twice tried to change the behaviour of colleagues by explaining what she wants from them. However the outcome has twice been the same - no change. I had a meeting with her and explained that we needed to do something different. I outlined my plan (which involves having a few simple rules and someone checking that the right decisions are made). She doesn't like it because she wants our colleagues to 'see and understand' what needs to be done 'by themselves', and her plan is to explain to them again what she wants. She insists that 'things are improving' even though I have shown her the evidence that nothing has changed (classic delusional thinking - believing that the right changes are happening simply because she wants something to be the case - false pattern recognition, the sort of nonsense that makes people think they can beat the system in a casino). I am now in a situation where I either back her (and act as a 'consultant' for colleagues who are not sure what to do - exactly the same as my role has been in the past) or disengage. Mrs T thinks I am insane to have anything to do with this. She's probably right.

I feel just the same way about the Albion now. I sat back and watched the game yesterday knowing exactly what to expect. I was right. There was a chance we would get a result, but in the long term, week after week, the odds are will will lose more than we will win, and because everybody knows our game it will become easier for the others to beat us. The next game will be exactly the same. And the game after that. I am not happy saying this and I wish things were different. I am not going to start shouting 'hooten out' at games, or behave like an entitled tit, and relegation in itself, noble in the face of overwhelming odds, isn't the end of the world. Its the sense that the basic approach is set in stone, from recruitment and coaching to style of play. I'm finding this suddenly stifling - claustrophobic even. I want to feel a bit of hope. That surely means change.

Your professional experience largely reflects what is going on at the Albion !

Those at Norwich City were correct in their assessment of CH - far too defensively minded, he should perhaps seek a position without the intensity involved with a PL club ! There is a difference between accepting a challenge of keeping a club in the PL, which may conceivably fail as in the now situation, OR looking to sustain that club in the PL and for me it is the first option which appears to be motivating CH. Serious questions need to be asked in the situation which we now face. It seems we have now slept our way in to a relegation struggle which, one month/two months ago seemed unlikely. Quite obviously funds were made available to him last close season ( £60m ? spent ) only for those signings to struggle even to get on the bench, which is where we are now. CH is a nice guy but needs to leave sentiment behind and utilise those resources which the club has provided if 'he' is the one to turn this season around - which I have been doubting for some time now !

HWT - I hope you are well !

 

[chaileyjem]

I think we've been much worse. Apart Man Utd and Palace, nothing leaps to me and says we deserved to win that game!

In October we got 9 out of 9 points, and deserved nothing. We mugged Wolves at the Amex, done the same to Newcastle up there, and then West Ham will be pissed they went home with nothing. Take those lucky results away, and we are cut adrift with Fulham & Huddersfield.

The way its going unless we beat Leicester, we are going into March in the bottom three, and we have a manager who just will not change what is clearly not working. I have been a big fan of Hughton's and what he's done, but the past few weeks has shown his limitations. Why he is persisting with out of form players, when we have the strongest squad I think we have ever had, only he knows. But we are sleep walking back into the Championship.

You could probably say the same at this point last season after the West Brom and Chelsea defeats and Saints draw. Plenty on here then fed up with Hughton and saying we were going back to the Champ.

 

[ferring seagull]

Ryan, Gross, Bernardo, Propper, Montoya, Izquierdo - anyone else ?

But how many of those you mention went straight in to the team - most had to wait for their opportunity !

 

[chaileyjem]

he should perhaps seek a position without the intensity involved with a PL club ! ...Quite obviously funds were made available to him last close season ( £60m ? spent ) only for those signings to struggle even to get on the bench, which is where we are now. CH is a nice guy !

Which of the summer signings is struggling to “even to get on the bench” ?

 

[chaileyjem]

But how many of those you mention went straight in to the team - most had to wait for their opportunity !

Well 4 of them but the original point ( I think) was we sign players that aren’t first choice players or don’t get game time, except we don’t.

 

[ferring seagull]

Which of the summer signings is struggling to “even to get on the bench” ?

Perhaps I should have used past tense 'struggled' to get on the bench !

 

[chaileyjem]

Perhaps I should have used past tense 'struggled' to get on the bench !

Name em. Has it happened more than a couple of times (if fit) this season ?
Hughton sometimes leaves one of the defenders out. It’s so rare not sure what your point is ? If it’s - he’s signed players that aren’t good enough imo - then fair enough. If it’s, he’s signing players who don’t play or feature in the squad - fraid not. They do.

 

[the right footed denilson]

This is a really good thread that, for the most part, hasn't turned into a bin fest.
Personally, I'm very surprised that CH has kept faith with the team that played at Fulham. That makes no sense.
I think Bissouma or Kayal need to start. Both look to go forward and we're really missing that in midfield. AK should really be playing- whatever you say about the lad, he ****ing cares, and we need a bit of that atm. I'd play Ali J instead of Gross too. Let's give the guy a chance, he cost enough. March has been our best player the last few games. Bernardo should be starting. Murray is a big problem- we need his goals but he totally dictates the way we play. Andone is **** for getting banned.
I'm really worried now, I don't think we have enough, as it stands. This cup game could be an absolute blessing- storming games from Ali J and Yves could be enough to persuade CH that the first team needs to change. Fingers crossed.

PS
It's clearly an issue that NOBODY knows what our best team or formation is.

 

[Dick Head]

Calm down, everybody. We're better than Cardiff, Fulham and Huddersfield. We were better than Burnley too, we just lost. Keep the faith.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Calm down, everybody. We're better than Cardiff, Fulham and Huddersfield. We were better than Burnley too, we just lost. Keep the faith.

Really ? Cardiff beat us, Fulham got 4 points off us, Huddersfield we just beat when they had a player sent off and Burnley got 6 points off us

 

[Springal]

I'm not Hughton out... but genuinely at what point do you think we part company with him? Relegated? Relegated and chance to come straight back up? I do worry about how far his abilities can take us

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

Really ? Cardiff beat us, Fulham got 4 points off us, Huddersfield we just beat when they had a player sent off and Burnley got 6 points off us

I think the table suggests we have been better than those teams over the season ? On any given match we are as good (and bad) as all those teams around us. The exciting thing is that victories against these teams would mean we are pushing for Europe!!

 

[chaileyjem]

Really ? Cardiff beat us, Fulham got 4 points off us, Huddersfield we just beat when they had a player sent off and Burnley got 6 points off us

If Dale Stephens hadn't made that rash tackle v Cardiff. We'd (probably) have 30 points, be 8 points off the bottom 3 and this thread probably wouldn't exist.

Its fine margins.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I'm not Hughton out... but genuinely at what point do you think we part company with him? Relegated? Relegated and chance to come straight back up? I do worry about how far his abilities can take us

I think the majority of BHAFC fans would not want Hughton to be sacked even if we got relegated. I don't expect him to be sacked if we get relegated either. The bloke is bulletproof. It is baffling he played the same 11 that crumbled in the second half at Fulham. Will he play the same starting 11 that let in 7 goals against 2 of our relegation rivals at Leicester ? Probably

 

[sydney]

Actually, statistics show that that is total bollocks. Bet never mind. Perhaps you should try a catheter?

god your sense of humour is ****ing dire mate .......truly dire.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

I think the problem with CH is he is scared to lose so we set up in a formation that gets to nullify the opposition. Once we go behind we dont have the right players to get us out of that losing position sadly and push on for the win
Fulham are a great example of going behind to us and then being brave enough to go all out in the second half with no fear as it's only 3 points if you lose whatever the score and if your in a relegation scrap points are more valuable than worrying about goal difference

Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Bold Seagull]

Nobody has any doubt that we will finish above Huddersfield & Fulham... it's that dreaded third spot that we are worrying about.

The Sala tragedy has really pushed Cardiff on. We may be better, but they have momentum. Only 3 points in it now - the realistically could finish above us, especially considering current form.

Well, form and fortune can be very fickle things. Southampton looked to be on a wave of good form following wins away to Leicester and beating Everton at home, but that seems to have evaporated now. That will be an absolute hammer blow, and I have a Saints friend there on Saturday who said they were awful. Southampton have got Arsenal, ManUtd and Spurs in their next 4 fixtures, and go away to Watford before visiting us.

Cardiff's fixtures do look favourable for a run for them, but mess up in the home games against Watford and Everton, and that form and belief is gone. You can only ride a wave of emotion for so long. I'd say this break has come at exactly the wrong time for them, whereas a cup game for us is ideal into getting all the squad involved for the battles ahead.

We've still got Huddersfield, Cardiff, Southampton, Bournemouth, Newcastle at to come at home. Even 8 points out of that and a couple of draws away and we're okay. We really don't need to start panicking just yet, similar worries were circling us last year and we managed to pull 4 points out of the bag v Arsenal and ManUtd.

 

[sydney]

the fulham result and the burnley result shows a distinct lack of something .....i'm really not sure what , we put the fulham result down to mitrovic and the fact fulham have nearly 50 million in strikers but to lose 3-1 at home , albeit to a horrible bunch of cheating , conniving pricks and for there to be no retrospective sanctions against them ( burnley ) then i'm afraid i can only come up with the possibility that refs on the whole find us an unlikeable bunch and are happy to see us beaten . saturdays ref was woeful and Heaton had a blinder but never the less a 3-1 loss at home , to burnley , is absolute gash.