The venom directed towards Chris Hughton on Saturday caught me a little off guard if I’m honest.
Not because it revealed discontent at his perceived management style – a quick dip into any Canary Call since the turn of the year would have confirmed that – but (1) because of its sheer ferocity and (2) because of the proportion of the Yellow Army who now appear to be part of the ‘out’ movement.
For the first time (on this particular issue anyway), I’m feeling a little out of step with the majority.
While the boos and chants that greeted the withdrawal of Nathan Redmond may have been music to the ears of a ruddy-faced Scot in the opposite dugout, they were quite the opposite to a bald forty-something sitting with his young son in the River End.
Aidan: “What are they singing dad?”
Dad: “They’re telling Chris Hughton that they don’t think he knows what he’s doing”.
Aidan: “Why are they saying that Dad?”
Dad: “Ermm…” *Silence*
In whichever camp you find yourself, and there don’t appear too many in ‘no man’s land’ on this one, more of the same could soon see us edging toward ‘civil war’ on a Worthington and Roeder scale… and that’s not good… for anyone.
If supporting Norwich for over forty years has taught me one thing, it’s that scenarios such as this rarely end well. While there has been much talk of Hughton ‘losing the dressing room’ – something that will remain conjecture to all but a few – to lose the crowd is arguably even more damaging.
For many however the die was already cast; the bleak mid-winter of 2012/13 evidence enough for some that the new manager’s pragmatic style was not for City. Even the ten-game unbeaten run is now being perceived as one huge but glorious blip in an otherwise conservative and cautious reign of Team Hughton.
What the indifferent start to the new season has done is to give those who fell silent at the back end of last season a renewed voice; to them this is further confirmation that their questioning of Hughton’s stewardship was justified. And now they’re growing in number.
But were they right all along? Or is this a typically over-the-top knee-jerk reaction from City supporter?
No rights or wrongs course. We all have an opinion and we’re all entitled to voice it, but there is a tipping point where such vocal and public displays of dissent end up having an unavoidable impact.
Both sides are convinced their arguments are so compelling it’s inconceivable that Hughton should stay/go (delete as appropriate) and the issues are crystal clear. Black and white.
Alas the reality is never that clear cut.
In the event that David McNally saw fit to pull the trigger, how easy would it be to replace Hughton? The obvious names of Di Matteo and Poyet would get bandied around, but assuming Sunderland are shopping in the same aisle and/or neither fancies a spell in Norfolk where then? Presumably we move on to the ‘Alan Curbishly pool’, and I’m sure we don’t want to go there.
And there’s the messy and thorny issue of compensation. With fingers still burning after the last episode I’m fairly sure Delia and co will be doing their upmost to avoid another.
But what’s the alternative I hear some cry…
Do we stick with what we’ve got on the basis that the talented eleven individuals we currently have masquerading as a team will eventually gel as one?
I’m loath to mention the name, but Lambert’s City succeeded where others had failed because (with apologies to Aristotle) the team was greater than the sum of its parts. Alas, as things stand, we’re in opposite territory with a group of talented individuals playing as if they hardly know each other… which, in all likelihood, is a reflection of reality.
We all – well most of us anyway – hope that sooner rather than later things will click and we’ll start seeing value for our £27 million, but with Stoke (a), Chelsea (h) and Arsenal (a) on the horizon it needs to happen quickly. Whisper it quietly, but three defeats from those games and the brow of McNally would be getting ever more furrowed and, perhaps, the finger a tad twitchier?
But Norwich being Norwich we’re not beyond getting an unexpected result or two in these next three weeks; stranger things have certainly happened, like beating Manchester United and Arsenal within the space of a month last autumn.
Unfortunately, as things stand, that’s the only way I can visualise the heat being taken out of the current head of steam.
Certainly Hughton did himself no favours around the issue of Saturday’s penalty taker. His uncertainty when questioned by Chris Goreham told a story of its own, and I can only hope his desire to keep such matters in-house prompted such a vague response.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel should be on penalties – end of – and just because Robert Snodgrass “felt good about it” and threatened to take his ball home should not matter one jot. With man-management playing a bigger role than ever in Premier League management (just ask Paolo di Canio) it’s inconceivable that McNally wouldn’t have made a mental note of this particular sub-plot.
Hughton’s desperately needs the respect of the players, without which City will be heading southwards sooner than you can say Ipswich Town. As far as the Yellow Army is concerned, for some I fear the point of no return has long been passed. When that changes from ‘some’ to ‘most’ is when the rot really starts to set in.
We’re not there yet, and a win at Watford would certainly afford him a lifeline, but consecutive defeats in the upcoming league games and… well, let’s not go there.
When all is said and done the biggest problem currently befalling Hughton is the one he can do not one jot about.
He’ll never be Paul Lambert.
However, ‘in McNally we trust’ is a mantra that has served us well so far. I see no reason for that to change now.
I cannot see why there is the groundswell of opinion against Chris Hughton. He is an experienced manager and has been responsible for bringing more than half of the squad to Carrow Road. Who would be better than him in tinkering to get the best out of them.
He is not a gung ho attacker but, may I remind our fellow fans, that policy served neither Hull or Blackpool well in the past. He is cautious by nature but he does try to follow a consistent policy. The last thing City need is for Hughton to be influenced into adopting a style of play unnatural to him and the players he has selected.
It is always possible to look for might have beens. But remember we missed a penalty before Villa scored. Fer almost scored with a header before Hull scored. Despite their manifest shortcomings, our team might have won games we subsequently lost.
Let us get behind our manager and remember progress for teams without big money behind them is often slow and erratic. OTBC
Well following my reply to your saturday article, mine was No14, which I started with CH’s man management ability ???? I’m pleased to see you have bought it up in this article. I totally agree with your comment of it playing a bigger role. Having spent some 40 years in management before retiring, I know you will never achieve anything without it. I must admit I wrote No14 without reading the other 13 but have since read them and it was gratifying to have been close to the thread. Now living to far away to get to Carrow Rd and listen to Radio Norfolk to keep a breast of the day to day trials and tribulations of the side I’ve supported for 58 yrs, yes I’ve been through the lot, I can still get the feel of what’s going on. The lack of the Lambert adage of the team being greater than the parts, hence my previous comments in No14 about Snodgrass and the body language of a number of players when I watched the Villa game on BT sport. Not wishing to necessarily to get rid of CH, I would say if can’t be a man and wheeled the big stick after saturday he must be replaced.
It was the substitution that seemed to be the tipping point, yet the 19 year old had clearly faded 10 mins before he came off and was struggling to make an impact. Whereas Snodgrass who had been pretty ineffective for much of the game was actually starting to liven up. I think the right changes were made at that point in time, but I would have had Snoddy off at half time frankly, so poor was his first half. No idea what Elmander was doing much of the game either. Plenty of endeavour, but where was it aimed?
However, Fer continues to impress and Wolfy is starting to look the article if only others would play the right balls. Hooper needs to start against Stoke. With a pretty solid looking defence I see absolutely no need to panic and was ashamed to listen to some of the vegetables on Radio Local after the game. Sheer ignorance.
It beggers belief, Norwich have no god given right to stay in the prem and yes, it’s going to be hard, every season is going to be hard. If you want happy mid table obscurity every season there’s a place not too far away!
We have been blessed with two managers capable of fantastic transfer business and I look forward to this current group blending.
My biggest gripe is that we set up negatively away thus putting pressure on the home games. If results don’t improve then maybe replace Hughton but he’s got to have until christmas.
Is it really that hard to believe that the knives are out for Mr Hughton? Anyone who went to Fulham, Stoke, Wigan etc. etc. last season and witnessed the complete absence of an attacking strategy and a big fat zero in the “shots on target” column recognised that this was a manager “out of tune” with what it takes to succeed in the premiership. Yes he kept us up, but we all owe WBA & Man City a big thank you for starting their summer holidays 2 weeks early!
This season has continued in the same depressing style, Hull away must be the 2nd most winnable away game of the season, a chance to give it a go with two strikers, no excuses about “not having the players to play attacking football”. But no, we start with 3 defensive midfielders and look to “not lose” again. Even with a man advantage we didn’t look like a team that was allowed to attack! Spurs away, beaten by a good team who knew they could play a high line and attack at will with no fear of anything coming the other way! And whilst we had our moments in the first half on Saturday, 2nd half we failed to threaten Villa with anything other than sideways passes and hoofballs to Guzan. Pathetic, insiped, bland – these we’re the words used by the BT Sport studio pundits, not by the fans! That on the same day that a positive, forward thinking (not “gung ho”) Southampton side won at Liverpool and an aggressive, committed (again not “gung ho”) Hull side won at Newcastle.
Many have already worked out that Hughton’s style, such as it is, is not going to work this season. The teams in our mini-league will win more away games than us because they “have a go”, they will win their home games against us because they know we will play for a draw and they’ll come to Carrow Road believing that we are one of their easier chances for an away win.
Credit to him for assembling a fantastic group of attack minded players, but what a shame that he either doesn’t want or know how to use them!
The thread of your article is sound, the worm has already turned for many and it is only a matter of time before McNasty pulls the trigger, losing badly at Watford & Stoke could just do it….
As a season ticket Vet in the Upper Barclays I am frustrated with the style we have adopted .We have lost the passion that we had under a manager who injected enthusiasm into situations that seemed a lost caused.Saturdays loss to Villa was summed up by the pundits on BT sport when they pointed out the lack of enthusiasm by our 4 players in the box who were walking back to our half heads down shrugging shoulders and pointing fingers at each other.This allowed a roll out from their goal keeper a open field to run down and wham bam thank you Chris 1-0 down.
Although on paper we have bought well , who was behind that Houghton or Mc Nally? If Houghton then play what you bought in the right position if Mc Nally then get a manager who knows how to put together the weapon of destruction you have purchased.
I agree that Hoooton is too predictable. There’s plan A and…….. Lamberts great talent was/is being unpredictable.
When will we learn that Hoolahan feeds the front line as nobody else can. Johnson seems to have spoken out of turn, Fer looked subdued last two games, its all very transparent. But its also true that we would need a replacement lined up before we start throwing P45’s around. And whilst the list might not be as short as when previous appointments were by necessity hastily made, its not a buyers market for sure.
Why is it whenever people bring up Hughton replacements, it’s like we’re stuck with only being able to appoint English based managers.
We are in our 3rd Premier League season, we can cast our net a bit further than that. There are plenty of good managers on the continent for us to have a look at.
I like Hughton but it’s looking very ominous already…
To play 4-2-3-1 you MUST have a technically talented player playing behind the striker. Look how Christian Eriksen has single handedly transformed Spurs’ mass of stars into a coherent team. We only have Wes in that mould and have been crying out for a long term replacement for the last 3 seasons and it hasn’t arrived. The position is vital in opening defences up….. A target man in Elmander simply won’t work. You rely solely on your wide players and Redmond was marked out the game and Snoddy, who I still think is an important player for us, hates to put early crosses in, which becomes increasingly easy to defend against. Frustrating is a complete understatement as it’s clear why we can’t create any shooting opportunities!!
It’s difficult to imagine that anyone could be daft enough to believe that you can go out and spend a fortune on two tiny strikers and think you are going to feed them with high balls from the wide areas with no midfielder who has a clue how to pass the ball forward rather than sideways. Take a look at van Wolfswinkel’s or Hooper’s goal gallery on youtube and see for yourself how many came from high balls from wide areas and how many from a creative midfield able to put a ball through for them to run onto. Start by allowing your central midfielders to get into the opposition half without bawling at them from the sideline to get back.
In summary – I think we have a good coach with a good football brain, but no idea how to construct a side for matchday or motivate it to play attractive football. Give him the weekends off and let someone else do the matchday bit.
Could it be that in taking Redmond off, he took off the only player that has caused enough excitement to get the fans of their seats? I’ve long been a Hughton in-er, but as someone who gets up at 2am to watch a game here on the other side of the world, who doesn’t have the experience of the atmosphere at Carrow Road, you want to be entertained. Pragmatic style or no pragmatic style.
I’ve got to admit that I’ve rarely been on the edge of my seat for a Hughton game, but throughout that time I felt it was a necessary evil as we looked to consolidate in the division.
We did that last season, and now people are expecting – given the signings we have made and the money we have spent – for the style to change more for the more entertaining.
As I sat in my living room in the dark of night tune in on my laptop, the only moment that raised genuine emotion was the scream of “Why the hell is he taking it?”.
23 points from the last 78. Not good enough, get rid.
If I was Hughton I would engineer myself the ROI job and gracefully exit stage left with pride intact.
Nothing wrong with our new acquisitions, they just need creative, positive play coaching which is unlikely under Hughton. What’s all this aspiring to a “clean sheet” like some kind of Holy Grail about if it’s not to counter balance the fact we are just not scoring goals. Who cares if we concede 2 but score 4.
we have won 5 of last 26 matches! away fans can only
travel in hope,never expectation,how many shots on target will we get at stoke? things will unravel very quickly after 3 further consecutive league defeats which seems more than likely
Well done to 9 and 10 for the football analysis. If we have to criticise the manager let’s be specific and focussed rather than use words like negative and boring. Apparently Bayern, Barcelona and even Spain occasionally pass the ball sideways. Its not a crime, although the spitting fountain of bile who sits behind me appears to think it is.
Hughton was right to sub Redmond, and wrong on other things. The officials were wrong to allow Guzan to move forward 2 yards to save the pen. I was wrong to put money on us to win at Hull! But City fans were wrong to say Hull away would be easy, when Man City lost at Cardiff the same weekend.
This is the Premier League, and its worth being in because its tough. Hughton will get the time he needs and deserves to get this revamped squad working as a team, and that is the key to success, as the article says. Its still too early to judge if Hughton has what it takes. I hope the ‘boo boys’ don’t turn us into Sunderland!
Notwithstanding the fact that the football has been turgid to say the least(especially away from home), football IS and WILL always be a results game. Hughton’s record is appalling just 5 WINS IN 26 PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES and as someone has already said two of those were against teams who were already ‘on the beach’ at the back end of last season. Name me another manager who has kept his job with such a dire record, not good enough, this worm has finally turned. McNasty, wield that axe !
To do nothing when there is a problem is pretty bad.
To do nothing when you KNOW there is a problem is worse, to do nothing, when you know there is a problem and fail to acknowledge it’s severity is inexcusable.
I have, above all else, questioned the manager about his cautious and rigid tactics although I never ask for anyone to be sacked.
I hope he allows the players to play, comes up with a way of playing that allows RVW to express himself (not 50-50 hoofed crosses, Snoddy to become a team player, Ollsen to be given a chance, Redmond to be allowed off the wing, Hooper to be given a chance, RVW to have at least one perfect through ball this season, Neil Adams to be Assistant Manager, Santa to be real, my 6 numbers to come up in the SAME week. i hope Hoots changes and succeeds.
However, if he doesn’t and we fail to address and recognise the full extent of this problem, for his sake, fans and my sake and my clubs sake, i hope it is dealt with quickly, very quickly.
My fear is that the HOBNOBS may get what they want in the short term – but to the detriment of the Club. Given that, in some peoples mind, if it wasn’t Paul Lambert, then nobody else would do, it is all rather academic. Typically these people are the loudest of them all.
Regarding the Lambert obsession, one thing they fail to understand is that without Benteke, Lambert’s gung-ho approach would have consigned him and AV to failure! But hey ho, don’t let facts get in the way of mob rule.
The worrying thing about the reaction to Redmond’s substitution is that the crowd apparently have more faith in a 19-year-old rookie who wasn’t really performing that day than in Pilkington.
The concern about Hughton is that the downturn is now 9 months old and not apparently going to end soon. I don’t desperately want to see him out, but nor do I want us to get to, say, Christmas rooted in the bottom 3 or 4 because by then it’s too late. Yes, you can make a change, but the new arrival has little time to plan the transfer window and put it in place.
If there is no marked improvement over the next 3 or 4 games then I think the Board will HAVE to act whilst they can.
Yes Keith I too thought it made no sense to boo the subbing of Redmond. We can’t pin all our hopes on such a young lad who, though talented, clearly still has a lot to learn.
I have to disagree with this article’s claim that the malcontents are now the majority. It’s too easy to boo and doesn’t take an enormous number of people for it to be heard. If only there was a noise for “I’m reasonably satisfied and excited by the signings but hope they start to gel sooner rather than later”, THAT noise would drown out the boos!