[Albion] Paul Hayward Article in Telegraph

[Tooting Gull]

Do you think Paul Hayward, who is an Albion fan by the way, in his article arguing that the club should have given Hughton another season didn't ?
It is possible to have watched the Albion this season extensively, acknowledge that the football at times has been dreadful , agree that signings have been disappointing and yet still have serious doubts about whether sacking Hughton is the right decision.
(regardless of whether he is a class act or not, which he is and should also be a factor in making the decision as well in my view).

You're right, it is a gamble. As it happens I would have (just) given CH another crack, as long as he recognised some change was needed. And Paul Hayward's article is as you'd expect informed and fair, even if you don't agree with all of it. But some of the others aren't. Henry Winter's one is plain ignorant.

 

[jessiejames]

As with all clubs, those commercial tremors were picked up by the board, who ignored four creditable performances in a row, against Wolves, Spurs, Newcastle and Arsenal, to end Hughton’s reign after a predictable last-day home defeat to Man City.
Wolves where the press were all over us about our negativity, we stank the place out with our tactics.
Spurs 87 min defending only to lose.
Newcastle poor first half no shots on target they should have been out of site with the chances they missed first half.
Arsenal we were safe because our rival beat Cardiff. Hardly credible results.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I don't remember any of these journalists, pundits and social media keyboard warriors exactly pouring praise on Brighton in recent months for our stultefying brand of football.

Yet sacking the man responsible for it is somehow a massive mistake.

If it wasn't CH, the media such as Winter and Hayward wouldn't be so up in arms. Same goes for some of the posters on here - Just because he's such a decent man shouldn't make him unsackable. If it had been Warnock, Moyes, Pulis etc. it would have been 'Dreadful second half of season - terrible football, no plan B, dire to watch he had to go'. etc.etc.

I'm afraid if you're doing a poor job - and don't look like the job you are doing is going to improve, then in any walk of life you're on borrowed time, however honourable a person you may be.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Perhaps the near universal support from the press for Chris Hughton was due to him being one of, if not the most, popular managers in the industry. Someone who was modest, fair, open and honest in a profession full of egos, charlatans, crooks and chancers.

And that makes him unsackable?

 

[TSB]

As with all clubs, those commercial tremors were picked up by the board, who ignored four creditable performances in a row, against Wolves, Spurs, Newcastle and Arsenal, to end Hughton’s reign after a predictable last-day home defeat to Man City.
Wolves where the press were all over us about our negativity, we stank the place out with our tactics.
Spurs 87 min defending only to lose.
Newcastle poor first half no shots on target they should have been out of site with the chances they missed first half.
Arsenal we were safe because our rival beat Cardiff. Hardly credible results.

Late 1-0 defeat away against the team that finished fourth.
0-0 draw away against the team that finished seventh.
1-1 draw away against the team that finished fifth
1-1 draw at home against a team fourth in the form table for March-May.

'Hardly credible results'.

 

[El Presidente]

And that makes him unsackable?

Not at all, it makes him a decent human being and a ****ing great bloke as anyone who has spent time in his company will testify.

Whether he’s a scapegoat for failures elsewhere at the club is best discussed in other threads.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chaileyjem]

If it wasn't CH, the media such as Winter and Hayward wouldn't be so up in arms. Same goes for some of the posters on here - Just because he's such a decent man shouldn't make him unsackable. If it had been Warnock, Moyes, Pulis etc. it would have been 'Dreadful second half of season - terrible football, no plan B, dire to watch he had to go'. etc.etc.

I'm afraid if you're doing a poor job - and don't look like the job you are doing is going to improve, then in any walk of life you're on borrowed time, however honourable a person you may be.

Hayward and (some) others are arguing that Hughton deserves more time because there are other factors in Albion’s struggles this season (recruitment primarily) but mostly because he’s a successful and talented manager. His track record demonstrates that.


Not sure why his character isn’t also an important factor in making your decision .

 

[Bold Seagull]

And that makes him unsackable?

Doesn't make him unsackable, but after 1 poor period in 4.5 years, perhaps should have given him the benefit of the doubt for a chance to turn this poor 2019 around.

 

[jessiejames]

Late 1-0 defeat away against the team that finished fourth.
0-0 draw away against the team that finished seventh.
1-1 draw away against the team that finished fifth
1-1 draw at home against a team fourth in the form table for March-May.

'Hardly credible results'.

We were poor all season, the people from the media who seem to be unhappy that we have sacked CH were the ones who were slating us for our lack of attacking intent. How Hayward can say that the games he mentioned were credible results is beyond me.
All we done was try to defend even when playing teams at the bottom, when we needed wins our tactics were let's not conceed. Our front line spent more time in our own half. When we did get the ball clear it would come straight back as we had no one up front.

.

 

[LamieRobertson]

To be fair, so is 90% of what is posted on NSC, but it keeps us mods in hookers and cocaine thanks to Google Ads.

All your posts are in the other 10%

 

[LamieRobertson]

As with all clubs, those commercial tremors were picked up by the board, who ignored four creditable performances in a row, against Wolves, Spurs, Newcastle and Arsenal, to end Hughton’s reign after a predictable last-day home defeat to Man City.
Wolves where the press were all over us about our negativity, we stank the place out with our tactics.
Spurs 87 min defending only to lose.
Newcastle poor first half no shots on target they should have been out of site with the chances they missed first half.
Arsenal we were safe because our rival beat Cardiff. Hardly credible results.

In the context of what had happened in the previous matches they were creditable results......and if you are taking their Wolves match as one of your examples the manner of how we achieved it isn’t really relevant to the actual result

 

[El Presidente]

All your posts are in the other 10%

I would be devastated if that was the case. Talking out of my bottom is what comes naturally.

 

[El Presidente]

If it wasn't CH, the media such as Winter and Hayward wouldn't be so up in arms. Same goes for some of the posters on here - Just because he's such a decent man shouldn't make him unsackable. If it had been Warnock, Moyes, Pulis etc. it would have been 'Dreadful second half of season - terrible football, no plan B, dire to watch he had to go'. etc.etc.

I'm afraid if you're doing a poor job - and don't look like the job you are doing is going to improve, then in any walk of life you're on borrowed time, however honourable a person you may be.

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

I don't sack people who achieve what I ask them to, but it's Tony Bloom's business and he's entitled to move the goalposts if that's what he wants, it's his £300 million in the club, not mine.

 

[Icy Gull]

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

I don't sack people who achieve what I ask them to, but it's Tony Bloom's business and he's entitled to move the goalposts if that's what he wants, it's his £300 million in the club, not mine.

You know this for a fact? Were the goalposts moved? Maybe it was to keep us up but with an improvement on the previous season given the money spent on new recruits.

I don’t know TB but he doesn’t appear to me to be the sort of person who would expect the way the season went to be acceptable.

 

[Springal]

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

I don't sack people who achieve what I ask them to, but it's Tony Bloom's business and he's entitled to move the goalposts if that's what he wants, it's his £300 million in the club, not mine.

Was that his only objective? Was this not broken down into anymore detail? Hughton was skating on thin ice when we were at best treading water, but probably going backwards in my opinion.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

.

How do you know that?

Would it not be to improve on the season before?

 

[Tooting Gull]

I'd be absolutely amazed if part of Hughton's brief wasn't 'consolidation in the PL' and it hasn't been, it has been regression. Add to that that you are clearly going to look more at the last 5 months than the first 4 with a view to next season and I don't think anyone, including Hughton himself, would describe this season as a success.

 

[Pavilionaire]

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

I don't sack people who achieve what I ask them to, but it's Tony Bloom's business and he's entitled to move the goalposts if that's what he wants, it's his £300 million in the club, not mine.

It's not a simple as that. He was given a stronger squad and finished 2 places lower, got 4 points less and -5 goal difference worse off.

He had the whole of the 2017/18 matchday squad available - minus Izquierdo and minus Gross for 1/3rd of the season granted - but with Bernardo, Bissouma, Jahanbaksh and Andone as additional options. He should have done better with what he had.

I suppose you could say he overachieved in 2017/18 and set the bar too high for himself, but that goes out the window when you go on a run of 3 wins in 23 matches.

As an aside I see Watford finished 1 place and 1 point above us in 2017/18, spent £11.5 million on Deulofeu, finished top half with a Cup Final to come. Meanwhile, we have £17 mill Jahanbaksh on a 5-year contract.

 

[El Presidente]

As an aside I see Watford finished 1 place and 1 point above us in 2017/18, spent £11.5 million on Deulofeu, finished top half with a Cup Final to come. Meanwhile, we have £17 mill Jahanbaksh on a 5-year contract.

Further evidence that player recruitment at our level is a bit of a lucky dip?

 

[B.W.]

His brief from the board at the start of the season was to preserve the club's position in the Premier League on a bottom three budget. He achieved that objective.

I don't sack people who achieve what I ask them to, but it's Tony Bloom's business and he's entitled to move the goalposts if that's what he wants, it's his £300 million in the club, not mine.

Errr, he was also targetted to improve on last season, so he failed... and paid the price...