The Great Mass Debater
New Member
Major difference of course with this is that When Hughton was manager of Birmingham and Newcastle it was in the Championship. He wasnt managing against Premier League managers or teams. His job description wasnt just to avoid relegation - he had the most talented squad ever to grace the Championship with Newcastle and promotion was expected. You dont win promotion plying 11 men behind the ball. he couldnt afford to be defensive, but that Newcastle team was far superior to every other team in the division, so he didnt need to be. Birmingham was an achievement, but again doesnt really translate to what happened with us as it was in a different division with a different objective.
Hughtons time in the Premiership with Newcastle was short, and he was quickly dismissed. The whole world thought this was harsh, but as we well know, a lot of the time the whole world doesnt have a clue what is really going on a lot of the time. We were roundly criticised by Linekers and Shearers around the world, who didnt know the first thing about our situation other than Hughton is 'a nice bloke', and that we werent in the relegation zone (despite our final run and awful performances) so was apparently doing a good job. Whereas those inside Norwich knew the writing was on the wall for a very long time. Difference is Newcastle fans also thought he had been harshly sacked, whereas most Norwich fans thought it was long overdue.
My point is that I feel Hughton did not seek to continue the momentum that had been acquired over the previous 3 years. Our players whilst not being overly talented were hard working, ambitious and 'hungry' to prove themselves. I dont think Lambert left as a vote of no confidence in his players - I think he left simply because he is ambitious and Villa are a bigger club. Lambert could have stayed and consolidated - I've never believed this idea that he felt the house of cards was about to topple/the bubble to burst and he wanted to leave a sinking ship. I simply think he realised Norwich were probably at the ceiling of their achievements and that he wanted to move to a bigger club. Thats not the same as implying bankruptcy of the Lambert era.
Hughton should have been more respectful and less ignorant of what had happened to the club since the 7-1 loss at Colchester. From nothing we had built up something that was really impressive. Rather than continue that, recognize and continue what was effective for the club and what was the driving force for the success of the club, he seemed to completely dismiss this. He immediately tried to impose a completely different approach to games which didnt suit our existing players, which necessitated almost a complete change in personnel. This destroyed the momentum that had been so vital to our progression. We needed evolution, not revolution. Swansea have gone through several managers in recent years, but they have not done massive swings in football philosophy with each managerial change, so they have worked on steady foundations, with evolution every season.
Hughton came in and effectively chose to p*ss all over everything that had gone before. When we had the 10 game run, it seemed to be a master-stroke - as I said before, this was the only preiod in Hughtons reign where his approach seemed to make sense - we looked defensively unbreachable, organised and most of all effective. We looked capable of nicking a lead and then defending it. It was impressive. But it was also the exception, not the rule. Bar that one brief period, our football never looked effective, and seemed defeatist and baffling.
I just feel that Hughton should have tried to continue the work that had gone before, and more gradually effect the changes he wanted to make. I think he massively undervalued the achievements of the team under his predecessor. A good manager would have tried to continue what was effective about our team, keep the players full of belief, and gradually turn over the playing squad and its ethos. Instead, he seemed to simply dismiss the entire squad as 'not good enough' - and this is where, psychologically the rot set in imo.
Lambert generally knew how to keep players happy whether they were in the team or not. The whole team felt appreciated. I dont think this was the case under Hughton. Im not saying Hughton was the worst manager we've ever had, and Im not saying he cant be an effective manager at Championship level. But I think he got things badly wrong at Norwich. I think his approach was fundamentally flawed and if he gets another job with a club of similar stature as Norwich in the Premiership and doenst learn from his mistakes, then the exact same thing will happen.
Hughtons time in the Premiership with Newcastle was short, and he was quickly dismissed. The whole world thought this was harsh, but as we well know, a lot of the time the whole world doesnt have a clue what is really going on a lot of the time. We were roundly criticised by Linekers and Shearers around the world, who didnt know the first thing about our situation other than Hughton is 'a nice bloke', and that we werent in the relegation zone (despite our final run and awful performances) so was apparently doing a good job. Whereas those inside Norwich knew the writing was on the wall for a very long time. Difference is Newcastle fans also thought he had been harshly sacked, whereas most Norwich fans thought it was long overdue.
My point is that I feel Hughton did not seek to continue the momentum that had been acquired over the previous 3 years. Our players whilst not being overly talented were hard working, ambitious and 'hungry' to prove themselves. I dont think Lambert left as a vote of no confidence in his players - I think he left simply because he is ambitious and Villa are a bigger club. Lambert could have stayed and consolidated - I've never believed this idea that he felt the house of cards was about to topple/the bubble to burst and he wanted to leave a sinking ship. I simply think he realised Norwich were probably at the ceiling of their achievements and that he wanted to move to a bigger club. Thats not the same as implying bankruptcy of the Lambert era.
Hughton should have been more respectful and less ignorant of what had happened to the club since the 7-1 loss at Colchester. From nothing we had built up something that was really impressive. Rather than continue that, recognize and continue what was effective for the club and what was the driving force for the success of the club, he seemed to completely dismiss this. He immediately tried to impose a completely different approach to games which didnt suit our existing players, which necessitated almost a complete change in personnel. This destroyed the momentum that had been so vital to our progression. We needed evolution, not revolution. Swansea have gone through several managers in recent years, but they have not done massive swings in football philosophy with each managerial change, so they have worked on steady foundations, with evolution every season.
Hughton came in and effectively chose to p*ss all over everything that had gone before. When we had the 10 game run, it seemed to be a master-stroke - as I said before, this was the only preiod in Hughtons reign where his approach seemed to make sense - we looked defensively unbreachable, organised and most of all effective. We looked capable of nicking a lead and then defending it. It was impressive. But it was also the exception, not the rule. Bar that one brief period, our football never looked effective, and seemed defeatist and baffling.
I just feel that Hughton should have tried to continue the work that had gone before, and more gradually effect the changes he wanted to make. I think he massively undervalued the achievements of the team under his predecessor. A good manager would have tried to continue what was effective about our team, keep the players full of belief, and gradually turn over the playing squad and its ethos. Instead, he seemed to simply dismiss the entire squad as 'not good enough' - and this is where, psychologically the rot set in imo.
Lambert generally knew how to keep players happy whether they were in the team or not. The whole team felt appreciated. I dont think this was the case under Hughton. Im not saying Hughton was the worst manager we've ever had, and Im not saying he cant be an effective manager at Championship level. But I think he got things badly wrong at Norwich. I think his approach was fundamentally flawed and if he gets another job with a club of similar stature as Norwich in the Premiership and doenst learn from his mistakes, then the exact same thing will happen.
