[Archived] Hughes Up For The Chop

[adopted scouser]

I really don't understand where you are coming from Eddie.

France. Throwing in the towel comes easily.

[1864roverite]

ya beat me too it Scouse

[Billy Castell]

I'm stating that I am officially concerned. Whilst I do like Hughes, there is something wrong at the club, and with the rumours of Sheringham and/or Beattie being our new striker I'm close to having another panic attack and going all Dad's Army.

[USABlue]

If we go down we go down. Hughes will stay, however that increases the chances he will leave for another club if we are in the Championship.

Personally I think we will pull out still but as I said it is going to get much worse and the fans are going to become more irritated. The good news is that over the last couple of weeks the teams above us are becoming more buched and within striking distance. However my predictions mostly go wrong so there you have it.

[tonygreenbank]

BTW are you the Tony Greenbank who contributes the the Guardian's Country Diary

Unfortunately no I`m not just a mad Rovers fan!

[glory hunter]

i don't doubt hughes at the minute the teams in trouble and its plain to anyone with eyes where the glaring problems are. With the windows he has'nt been able to do anything, my confidence will be tested if he does'nt rectify certain positions and goes ahead bringing in more over the hill has beens i'll cry with desperation if he signs a 40 year old. If he persists much longer with ooijer i'll worry about his ability to hold his hands up and admit an expensive flop, maybe our chairman should be more like the charlton fella and point out what everyone but the manager see's a waste of space liability !

[AxesFirstTouch]

Chop Chop Sparky

[USABlue]

i don't doubt hughes at the minute the teams in trouble and its plain to anyone with eyes where the glaring problems are. With the windows he has'nt been able to do anything, my confidence will be tested if he does'nt rectify certain positions and goes ahead bringing in more over the hill has beens i'll cry with desperation if he signs a 40 year old. If he persists much longer with ooijer i'll worry about his ability to hold his hands up and admit an expensive flop, maybe our chairman should be more like the charlton fella and point out what everyone but the manager see's a waste of space liability !

tHat's odd I was thinking Ooyah had been relatively good for several games now. I certainley don't think he is our biggest liability. HE has not even had a settled partner. Good Name that, Glory Hunter.

[modes98]

Given our form, league position and some appalling defeats i don't think this is a bad topic. I wouldn't even consider getting rid of Hughes but the question is how long does a manager get to turn things around?

I don't doubt Hughes or anything he has done to try and change things. The problem is the injuries to key players, but you can't use the same excuses week in week out, even if they are true! Hughes has done an amazing job and pulls off some great cheap signings and i don't doubt his ability to bring in the players who will pull us away from the bottom of the table.

[rover6]

In defence of Eddie, I think some people posting rather smug and dismissive responses on this thread are in denial about Hughes' errors. Sure, there's no way he should be threatened with the sack (barring four consecutive 4-0 thrashings or something and things getting out of hand - which won't happen).

However, there is a valid argument to be made (and has been made) that Hughes bears considerable responsibility for our current position. The most crucial, imo, is the failure to sign a central midfielder having let Jon Douglas go. Even if Hughes couldn't bring in a top quality player, we needed a stop-gap at least to cover. You can't go into a season with a 36 year old and Aaron Mokoena as your back up CMs.

[Bobby G]

I think our next 3 games will give us a better perspective of what will happen with our season. We could easily lose all 3 but knowing Rovers we could pick up 2 wins at least too.

Id be very happy with 2 wins and considering the Watford game is still in hand, I think we could be reasonably happy with the first 20 games of our season if thats how it ends.

[Shaddy]

However, there is a valid argument to be made (and has been made) that Hughes bears considerable responsibility for our current position. The most crucial, imo, is the failure to sign a central midfielder having let Jon Douglas go. Even if Hughes couldn't bring in a top quality player, we needed a stop-gap at least to cover. You can't go into a season with a 36 year old and Aaron Mokoena as your back up CMs.

Agree. IMO that was one of Souness's strengths. He had a midfield bias when strengthening. On the other hand, it might be said he did not address the striking options adequately.

Not that Hughes should lose his job over it. I'm a fan of managerial stability. In fact, despite being derided, Birmingham's backing of Bruce, who appears likely to take them back up, is an example of how knee jerk sackings are not always the way forward.

[G Somerset Rover]

Id be very happy with 2 wins and considering the Watford game is still in hand, I think we could be reasonably happy with the first 20 games of our season if thats how it ends.

You don't seriously think we'll win or draw away to Watford do you Bobby G?! They're bound to get their first win in donkeys years against us (Les Reed and West Ham style).

[Bobby G]

Well its good to have a game in hand against the bottom team, in theory!

[Timmy]

Best manager since Kenny, the fans and board are behind Hughes so simply a pointless thread like many that have sprung up today.

maybe but his record is no better than souness, 1 promotion. league cup and 1 6th place in 4 full seasons vs 1 6th place finish in 2 seasons

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Take away the 1 6th place finish and many would say Hughes record does not come close to that of Souness Gav!.....having said that Souness spent a small fortune(50 million?) during his tenure in comparison.

I agree with Bobby G that the next three games(all difficult on paper) will give us a better indicator going into the new year.Like USABlue though, I fear we wont see a dramatic turn around in fortunes until new blood is bought into this side.

[roversWASmylife]

Wouldn't get rid of Hughes.

He's a good manager, wasn't so long ago we were all wanting him to sign a long term contract after finishing 6th last May.

[thenodrog]

However, there is a valid argument to be made (and has been made) that Hughes bears considerable responsibility for our current position. The most crucial, imo, is the failure to sign a central midfielder having let Jon Douglas go. Even if Hughes couldn't bring in a top quality player, we needed a stop-gap at least to cover. You can't go into a season with a 36 year old and Aaron Mokoena as your back up CMs.

He has said that he will only spend to bring in players who improve the team and not necessarily the squad e.g. He tried hard to get Petrov. Jon Douglas was never good enough and a drain on the wage bill, thereby tying Hughes hands in Jan.

"You can't go into a season with a 36 year old and Aaron Mokoena as your back up CMs." C'mon Rover 6 put your thinking cap on please........ Hughes has been hit hard by long term injuries to key players. Don't forget that Nelsen and Reid were only deemed long term injured after the deadline when there was sweet FA that he could do about it. Jesus H.... if he had known about Nelsen he would no doubt have driven him to Portsmouth himself ffs! Sav, Tugay, Bentley, Reid, Mokoena should have been OK until one who will push them out of the team becomes available...... Petrov would have been superb but try to rem that Villa got O'Neill and some dosh right out of the blue and that was that. I'm afraid that Jon Douglas would only have rivalled Mokoena in that company and as he was not matey with Benni that was that.

Lets employ our memories better and keep some sense of perspective eh? Knee jerk reaction is for losers.

Take away the 1 6th place finish and many would say Hughes record does not come close to that of Souness Gav!.....

Timing is all! I've pointed out on here more than once that if Souness had been poached by Spuds as the press speculation at the time suggested (just after he had qualified us for Europe and 2 seasons before he actually left) we would have regarded him as up there with KMD! Come to think about it has anybody considered that if KMD had not resigned then he too might have experienced it all going tits up like it had at Liverpool?

Funny old game Saint........

[USABlue]

Well its good to have a game in hand against the bottom team, in theory!

Yeah but!! This is Rovers who have been dismissed by both Charlton and WHam so, like you said, in theory.

[McClarky]

I can't believe that anyone would even consider getting rid of MH. Its lunacy in the extreme. Who would we get instead? I am sure we'll finish safely in mid-table but even if we went down I'd still stick with him because he's a good manager.

Clubs like Rovers ain't going to be up there challenging for Europe every year but with a fit squad and a bit of luck we saw last season what can be achieved. Personally I thought we were a bit lucky last year to finish as high as we did but with a manager like MH at least we can aspire to a decent positiopn. I worry about what would happen if he did move on because very often you don't realise the predicament you are in as a club until you lose your manager.

The thing I like most about MH is his can do attitude. Last season he predicted we would qualify for Europe and we did when most people thought he was taking the ######. Its a positive message and I like that. Better than the old "lets just try and get 40 points and not bother about the cups" we used to get. I think you can put most of this sseasons problems down to injuries and Europe which are linked because we have played loads of games with a small squad but thats better than mid-table mediocrity in my book. If he was just less of a moaning git he would be a top bloke.

Look at Charlton and be careful what you wish for because it might well come true.

[tchocky]

Chop Suey?

This is Hughes, he'll stick around for about as long as he wants.

[herbergeehh]

Chop Souey, a Geordie version of SOAD's "classic".

[thenodrog]

Can we merge this with the 'Pardew back' thread and then we could discuss with eddie etc the possibilities of replacing Sparky with Les Reed!

[G Somerset Rover]

Hughes has warned us that we're in for a rollercoaster of a ride for the next few games at least in the LET. His words also suggest that he has finally conceded to the media that we're in quite a bit of danger at the moment. Strap yourself in folks!

[joey_big_nose]

I personally think that Hughes is the best manager we have had since Kenny but has been hurt badly by injuries to key players. I have no doubt with Nelsen and Reid available for selection we would be four or five places higher at the the absolute minimum.

However it's periods like this that really test a manager. He will not keep his job if we go down, he will be sacked week before as we try to climb out of the danger zone. This is just the way football works.

It is up to Hughes to save his own hide, yet his attitude about it has seemed a bit strange- going to Arsenal and playing open attacking football seemed a bizarre choice. And though he did not know Reid would be injured it was clear we needed another central midfielder on top of what we already had.

For Spark's sake we need a result today.