Chris Hughton’s demise at Brighton probably surprised nobody. Certainly not myself.
Captain Negative does his stuff in the only way he can. Park that proverbial bus, aim for a 0-0 and a 1-0 is a bonus. If you’re lucky. No freedom for his players to express themselves and no creativity in his squad. Or at least none that is encouraged.
Ask Nathan Redmond, for instance.
Now, I had the privilege of meeting Hughton in (I believe) the Arras Club in North London – it could have been the Chanticleer – shortly after he retired at Spurs. A nicer, more decent and articulate man you will not come across – and I mean it. I think he was there with the old Spurs winger, Tony Galvin. I could be wrong.
But it got me thinking… “We are Premier League, said we are Premier League”. So who can we compete with – for sure?
It sounds like Brighton are first on the list. How old is Glenn Murray? Who’s the next manager? I like the look of Matt Ryan in goal but he’s going to be one busy dude next season.
We’ll outdo them.
Sheffield United and Villa (I’m really sticking my neck out there; it could yet be Leeds) I’m really not worried about. Premier League officials and VAR? Sorry Mr Grealish, you’re sussed through the middle. We don’t do it and nor should you.
Burnley? I admire Sean Dyche for the job he has done but can he sustain it? I have serious doubts and I’ve seen “passing” sides cut them apart. If we are not a passing side the Lord knows who is.
Southampton? Not a bad side at all but I reckon we could hold our own with them. Especially when Nathan Redmond has to change sides to get away from Max and then faces Jamal. Both can at least keep up with him for pace and does Nathan track back with diligence and enthusiasm? Oh no. Fast forward to Max and Jamal.
Then there’s the likes of Watford and the dreaded Palace (sorry, I despise Selhurst Park as a football venue). Yes, they’ll most likely try to kick us and rough as up but I’m not sure they’ll get away with it twice around – both home and away.
Then there is Bournemouth. I like Eddie Howe, I honestly do. But they are beatable as we have already discovered.
Wolves aren’t that dissimilar to us – I don’t expect to double them but there are points up for grabs in those fixtures.
And the West Hams. Evertons and Leicesters of the world are prone to the odd hiccup.
So that, by my primitive arithmetic, is eight sides we could finish above.
And that’s without a so-called top club falling apart – reference Man United this season.
Let’s all enjoy our summer break with no fear.
Yes, I’m also going to go for a mid-table finish for us next year, Martin. It is interesting that early signs are that after being the surprise package in the Championship this year, any pundit who’s looked at City is NOT going to write us off next year. In one of the articles posted currently on the MFW front page, Nick Ames from ESPN is tipping Norwich to be the season’s surprise PL package. It might seem complacent to think that we can walk into the Premier League and finish mid-table, but it is precisely because I don’t expect anything about City’s approach to be remotely complacent that I think we have a good chance of doing so. Webber and Farke’s preparations will already be full underway. Some of whom they’ve let go already in the academy show their approach is not going to have a jot of sentimentality about it too.
Mind you, about Brighton… I agree I had already put them down as the type of team we would expect to beat next year. But if they are successful in landing their top managerial target, Graham Potter, then I would be revising that thought. After the defensive ennui of Hughton, you can see why the Brighton board are drooling at the lips at getting in the expressive freedom of Potter’s style of play.
It’s a big step up for us. We will have to be defensively tighter, and it will be important to get a good start. Early season preparations are extremely important for Farke, as he uses them to build that extra level of fitness above our opponents. But that also makes players susceptible to pre-season injuries as he steps up the pressure – both his seasons so far we have lost key players in the early part of the year. So there is much that can happen, but continue to develop a squad where the substitutes are interchangeable with the original starters, and yes, what it will be next season is exciting, and if most matches were tense this season, then we can expect even more of that too. The only recent PL season we have had like that is the first season we were promoted under Lambert.
Hi Michael.
Wise words mate as one of my favourite TV comedians used to say – can’t remember if it was Smashy or Nicey, aka Enfield and Whitehouse.
I read the ESPN article too very early this morning and there have been a few others along similar lines recently,
Of course we have no entitlement to mid-table next season but with my usual big mouth to the fore I said on MFW that we could comfortably survive in the PL. And that was at the beginning of February.
I get your point about Graham Potter but if appointed he’ll have an entire squad mindset to change, which is no easy job in itself.
Maybe it was a bit negative of me to suggest we are in a league within a league to aim for 15th or thereabouts but I think that’s quite realistic for a first season back in the PL.
Great comment and thank you.
35 rather than the mythical 40 is the minimum target for staying up (7 wins and 14 draws or 8 wins and 11 draws) Who are we likely to beat? Any of the bottom 14 in all honesty and we are unlikely to be doubled by all of the top 6 even Huddersfield avoided that. We possibly have a chance of over 40 points and could be like the Lambert PL season with a comfortable 12th but as long as it is higher than 18th the actual final position is less important than the way we got there. Hughton’s first season was an example of that, we were often too close to the bottom 3 and went into the last 2 matches in danger of relegation but we ended up 11th. Was this a better season than the previous one where we got 4 more points? No but we only finished 12th in that season
Hi John
That first season under Hughton was set on fire when we beat West Brom 4-1 (with an assist from Becchio!) Then Jonny Howson did his stuff at Man City as we won 3-2.
Looking back it was papering over the cracks but I wasn’t astute enough to realise that at the time.
I fully expect the odd point against the top six too. As folks more pessimistic than myself constantly mention, maybe discovering three sides worse than us is the key to survival. And they appear to be out there as I hinted at in the original article.
It’s going to be a bumpy old ride but I truly think we’ll make it safely to journey’s end.
Thank you.
Hi Martin
A very good optimistic read for next season.
In some ways, I have a little regret for Hughton and it seems 80% of the Brighton supporters according to Sky poll also feel for him.
They were really going nowhere till he took over and organised them and as people are saying be careful what you wish for.
Many clubs have dumped a pragmatic manager that works in the confines of what a club can afford and who uses the transfer market to get players in that can do a job his way that City needed at one time – soon another club will need his methods and he will be back.
There are as you say a few clubs that City should target to get all the 3 points from and a few that we can get a well-deserved draw from but those same clubs will be thinking the same as City so in all it will be an interesting season.
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Hi Alex.
There’s a very good article by Dave Kidd in The Sun today (yeah, I know, The Sun) about Hughton’s dismissal – it’s well worth a gander. He kind of agrees with you, as do I.
Where we have a real advantage this time around is that Daniel Farke is charismatic to say the least – and charisma was something CH simply didn’t possess.
I don’t see DF being fazed by the MotD crew, I really don’t.
He’s not Bondy or Ken Brown, but equably personable in his own way. If not even more so – the word is charm and he has it in spades.
Bring it on!
Thanks as always.
I have more faith in our current setup to work out how to survive than I did under Neil, but despite that I think it’s looking very tough next season, because I cannot see anyone in the current league who is going to be as bad as Huddersfield.
Brighton will certainly be everyone’s favourite to drop unless they can strengthen their squad considerably – clearly they’ve already taken the first step in changing manager.
Finishing ahead of one current member may not be enough anyway.
There’s no guarantee that Wilder will suffer the same fate at Sheff U as his sometime predecessor did at Cardiff. His track record is very good, and whilst he seems to be built in the Warnock image, it doesn’t automatically mean that he’ll won’t work out how to keep teams in the PL.
A promoted Villa would also be in a stronger position than us when it comes to offering wages – and Dean Smith is no mug, as he’s proved already this year.
In normal circumstances you might think that one or more of the clubs who have apparently established themselves in recent years must be due for a fall – these things are often cyclical. So Bournemouth, Watford, Burnley, Southampton, West Spam, ought to be vulnerable. But are they? I’m not sure.
But that’s looking at the teams as they are now. There’s a whole transfer window to get through first and a lot can change – hopefully to our advantage..
Consider for example the issue of home-grown players post-Brexit, and how attractive they may be to the clubs playing in Europe. Many below have England hopes and you would think their agents will be looking at how to get them playing in the Champions League or UEFA cup:
Maguire, Madison and Chilwell at Leicester
Wan Bissaka and possibly Zaha at Palace (I know Hodgson says only one will be allowed to leave – but we’ll see)
Dunk at Brighton
Wilson at Bournemouth
Ward-Prowse at Southampton (Redmond too maybe?)
Rice at West Ham
Heaton and Tarkowski at Burnley
Grealish at Villa, assuming they are promoted
I’m sure there are others I’ve not thought of. If some of those move on the prospects for their current teams might dip considerably – depends on who they replace them with of course. In particular Wan-Bissaka moving on could be bad news for us as Aarons would be a very obvious target to replace him, and in the end money talks.
The landscape could have changed enormously by the start of the season. But whilst I am convinced that long-term we are better set up than we have been for a very long time, at the moment it wouldn’t surprise me if we finish up winning the Championship again in 2021.
That “winning the Championship again in 2021” comment would still be within the timeframe of Stuart Webber’s “project” though – we just happen to be two years ahead of things at the moment.
Indeed it is.
I’ve always believed that the SECOND season after promotion to the PL is more significant than the first.
The first season is a free hit as it were. Nobody expects you to stay up, so if you do, good on ya. Whatever happens the expectations in the following season will be much higher.
If in the first you fail and are relegated, you really must get back up again asap – as Burnley did a couple of years back, and indeed we did before that.
If in the first you cling on, as Bournemouth did, you must build on it, rather than do a Huddersfield.
Spot on.
Agree Jim.
Patience over Farke and team has really paid dividends for us.
And unlike the Alex Neil playoff win scenario (as much as we had a terrific day out at Wembley – I’ve still got the hangover) our planning will be so much more advanced.
No Naismiths, no Wildschuts and no need for any panic. I’m sure our plans for (albeit limited) recruitment have been in place for some time.
Two days until the window officially opens – but don’t expect a glut of incomings cos I doubt we really need that. Three or four judicial acquisitions will certainly do for me!
Thank you.
Hi Keith.
Some extremely interesting views there.
Sure Huddersfield have been dire this season – I couldn’t agree more.
I just get the feeling that with Daniel Farke at the helm we will NOT be scared of anyone as such, just because they are a big name.
Of course Dean Smith is no mug and I genuinely admire the fella. Chris Wilder I am far less sure about. at PL level. If he chucks the toys out of the pram the “big boys” will respond in kind whereas Farke has far too much dignity to get involved in that scene.
Agree with you about the players you highlight but I wouldn’t want to be an agent dealing with Stuart Webber.
I’m pretty sure our additions will once more come from leftfield. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Let’s see what happens between now and pre-season. I really think we could survive as we are, although we all know that a DM, winger and an alternative to Pukki would be excellent additions.
Thanks as always.
Martin, although Chris Hughton is often regarded as a negative manager, it was him who brought Redmond to City from Birmingham, and at Brighton he has had a couple of creative players in Knockaert and Izquierdo,plus encouraging the Premier League’s oldest player, Bruno, to get forward frequently.
His style of play may not be up there with Farkeball, but I’ve seen worse teams in the Premier League this season.
Fair point Jim.
I saw Huddersfield and Fulham too – Cardiff were hardly any better.
The table never lies, at least it didn’t this season.
Bruno has now retired so that is (possibly) the PL’s last long throw merchant gone
Here’s hoping!
Very thought provoking Mr Penney.
I agree pretty much totally with what you say, however, in my mind if Brighton do appoint Potter then they will be a mighty different propositionto what they were this season.
For my money, Hughton’s first season at NCFC involved the dismantling of Lambert’s squad who had comfotably finished mid-table.
I had heard that the following season, the senior squad members were rather more than dis-illusioned by Hughton’s tactics and continual bigging up of whoever they were next to face, that towards the end of the season they decided to play their own way, hence the victories over West Brom and Manchester City.
Third season was totally Hughton’s work, and we all know how that ended.
As for next season, I’ll take seventeenth now, but under our current stewardship am sure we’ll do rather better.
Yes, in the Premier League there are a big 6 (who are not totally infallible), but of the others, whilst some are slightly better than the rest, we should be able to garner enough points for a second season.
O T B C
Hi John
I guess it’s how we have to think tbh. We’re not going to win the PL or qualify for the Europa League or whatever they call it these days but I really feel we can give a good account of ourselves.
Thinking back to the Hughton era is a little like walking over hot coals that have turned cold. What finally finished me with CH is when he claimed we could escape while looking at our final five fixtures that season.
He’ll get a job with another Club and he deserves to. I’m just glad it won’t be with us.
While it’s impossible to dislike the man he really did us no favours.
As for Graham Potter, if he lands the Brighton gig (and all the best to him – he comes across as first class) he’ll have a lot of work on his hands.
Thank you.
Blimey, that’s a relief, no need to worry now, cheers Martin.
Would never go back to Selhurst Park it is the most gruesome football ground I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of. Rather go to Kenilworth Road Luton in the rain on a dark November evening.
I reckon we will fair okay against some of the top six, VAR could narrow the margins a little too overall as I still reckon the big clubs get the rub of the green.
All our players will be so up for it next season, with points to prove and reputations to enhance. Emi Buendia will be a star next season in the Prem, can’t wait.
Hi Colin
Kenilworth Road is the only “professional” pitch I’ve ever played on. When it was plastic of course. The walk from where we dumped our cars in the broadest of daylight for the short stroll to the ground was, erm, scary. Too many people awake.
But my old Rover 827 was left unscathed, unlike my mate’s Toyota Celica. Jeez.
Don’t be fooled by me – it could all go threepennies up – but I genuinely feel that we’ll be okay.
Don’t think I’ve ever met a football fan of any club who thinks well of Selhurst.
My only nailed on aways next season will be Spurs and Arsenal – and I’ll be sitting with friends in their areas both times!
I can’t wait to see the new Spurs stadium tbh.
Thank you.
Another good write Mr P, I chucked my season ticket an McNasty just as Hughton’s first season finished, I was so bored, depressed by the type of football he got us trying to play, wrists and knife came to mind.
I saw the Brighton, Spurs game the other week, they were booing their own team at half time, a team who were in the Prem and looking to stay there, Players were on leashes, that only stretched to just over the half way line. Better to lose 1-nil than to try and score.
I lived in the Town a few years ago, met some great people who I have stayed in touch with, their thoughts and views matched mine under poor old Chris., as you say a smashing bloke. I also have a journo Newcastle supporter, he told me that the players there locked him out of the dressing room more than once to take control of games. I cannot prove it, but then I have no reason to disbelieve my friend.
I have this rumbling in my tum tum. no not for honey, but that we will surprise a few people, I am not going to try and sort games out where points are likely, that was Hughton’s way. Farke wants to win every game, be greedy for points. So I’ll stick with that, it may not work out like that, but I am sure it will be a rite ol rollacoaster ride bor.
Hi Lad
Yeah I guess we must all speak as we find. I miswrote it in the original article by saying that CH had just retired from Spurs – I think about a fortnight later he signed for West Ham!
He spent quite a few minutes speaking with myself and the girl I was with at the time, who was about as interested in football as I was in underwater hang-gliding.
No side to him whatsoever – a really good guy. Maybe not up for the cut and thrust of modern management? I dunno.
I was once told by a section head steward who I’ve known for years and have much respect for that Dave Stringer was once excluded from a half-time team talk which was delivered instead by a man who scored against Bayern Munich and it wasn’t Jerry Goss.
Football is indeed a “funny old game”.
Thanks as ever.
I suppose it depends on what Brighton think their expectations should be Martin. Hughton gave them real success after many years of mediocrity and was probably owed half a season to see if he could get things right. Charlton fans started to think that they could do better than Curbishley after he gave them Premier League stability and look at how that turned out.
Hi Andy
Yes that’s valid. I can’t think of many managers who have retained PL status AND got to the FA Cup semis getting a P45 for their efforts!
As I’ve said above, Hughton deserves a job very soon as he’s rather good at getting clubs promoted.
Maybe it’s just CH’s style of play that doesn’t go down so well with supporters which is why I love Farke – win or lose, entertainment guaranteed.
Thank you.