[Archived] Mark Hughes - Good Choice ?

[Martin]

If someone would have said to me a month ago you can swap SOuness for Hughes I would have snapped thier hand off.

I think this appointment can leave us all felling very optimistic. Although he will have little contact with the players before Saturday.

[Quack]

On reflection, I am pleased with the appointment, it would appear that the player's are behind him, the board feel he will improve Rovers and it is imperative that we support him wholeheartedly. I am really looking forward to Saturday for MH's team selection. Call me sad but I also relishing Wednesday night against Bournemouth, I hope that some of the youngsters play a blinder to give MH a real selection headache.

Let's get down to Ewood on Saturday & Wednesday to show our support to the new manager and the board, Rovers onwards and upwards.

Edited September 15, 2004 by Quack

[Derbyshire Blue]

Well pleased…buzz all day as every 30 minutes we were mentioned on national radio, 3: 30pm announced that the Wales FA had allowed Rovers to speak to Mark Hughes…then radio5 break into the champions league commentary to announce “from this moment on Mark Hughes is Blackburn Rovers manager” top day…Rovers everywhere….

[Maverick]

Not my first choice as the new manager, but I think it might be what Rovers need. Hughes have shown that he can make players work as a team with high working moral. That's what I think have been missing for some time now. Players should not just wear the shirt they should bleed for it aswell.

BBC reports that Hughes might bring with him Mark Bowen. Anyone know if his did well as a first team coach in Birmingham?

Edited September 15, 2004 by Maverick

[Ninjathunder]

I'm pleased with the appointment of Mark Hughes, though I must point out that (at the time) I was pleased with the appointment of Brian Kidd.

[percy]

Our board has acted swiftly and competently.  They have appointed a manager that they knew posessed great managerial potential from his time playing here.  Hughes was also the players favourite choice for next manager, in addition to being the boards first choice, and certainly a top 3 favourite amongst the fans. 

Have to agree with your post, samtheozzy, let's hope that the enthusiasm that the signing of Hughes has brought to the club has a positive effect on the results. There has been alot of positive backing for Hughes from just about everyone involved with the club, from staff to players to fans, so it's vital he gets 100% support from the everyone. The players have got the new manager that it seems they were hoping for, so they need to start doing their bit on the pitch now - no excuses. The fans have got someone they can relate to, having seen Sparky play in blue and white halves, so we've no excuse either for not trying to raise the roof on Saturday (and hopefully drown out those flamin' cowbells ).

I'm surprised that the deal's been wrapped up so quickly, the majority of the negotiaions must have been done prior to Blackburn contacting the FAW for official permission it seems. I can't say Hughes was my 1st choice (like bob f I didn't really have 1 particular candidate in mind), I just hoped it'd be someone with some potential and we've certainly got that. For every Kidd flashback, let's try and stay positive and think of the impact Coleman's had at Fulham, with even less managerial experience than Sparky (great point, blue/white ). A big 'Yes' for me.

I hope his arrival has the desired impact for the Pompey game (even if he doesn't get much time with the players), I'm feeling alot more confident about the result, and like others have mentioned, this is the most I've looked forward to going to Ewood for a fair while. I'd like to think Portsmouth will be now be wary of their trip to Ewood this Saturday, even though last week's performance against the Geordies was poor.

It's a fresh start for Blackburn this Saturday - there's a fair bit of work to be done to get some points on the board and lift this team up the table - the fans can help by getting behind the manager and his team by getting bums on seats and singing like loons.

Good luck, Sparky !

[sumps]

Can't help but feel underwhelmed by the whole thing. It's been built up so much in the past week that it has come as an anti-climax. Personally I would have prefered Dowie, but I'm happy with Hughes. I just hope he can prove himself at club level with us.

We all said that Kidd would be a good manager because he had been working wit Fergie for god knows how long, and look where that got us.

Good luck to him though and I hope that the usual pessimists and critics of all our managers will give him a chance.

Edited September 15, 2004 by sumps

[Exiled in Toronto]

Definitely a yes, and delighted that he appears to be bringing a competent coach with him - McLair didn't help Kidd's cause one bit.

I think it was the right appointment, I couldn't really see Dowie being able to command the respect of the likes of Ferguson. Sad, but true that "Show us yer medals" is a key factor with the thicko footballers.

Also delighted to have a relatively young manager - youngest since Kendall?

I am convinced we will stay up.

[Philly Rover ®]

1st choice was Dowie, Hughes was a very close second so overall I'm happy.

My thoughts exactly.

I've just gone away to school as this whole mess has blown up, so I haven't been able to pay as much attention to it as I would have liked. Still, I would have been happy with any from (in order) Dowie, Hughes, Strachan, and Moyes, and I'm thrilled to see that Sparky has been chosen.

Let's hope this is a turning point for the club. Best of luck to Mark.

[pg]

I'm undecided.

Many people on this board posted such ringing endorsements of Dowie, that I became a fan of his. My first choice was Strachan.

And yes, I'm a bit gun-shy after the Harford/Hodgson/Kidd appointments of managers with little to no premier league experience.

But the flipside of that (as others have pointed out) is Chris Coleman. Mabye we can get lucky this time with a young and inexperienced manager?

I regard his ability to motivate the national team as fairly irrelevant. I think a national team almost runs itself in terms of spirit and attitude... especially 'underdog' nations such as Wales. The players want to do well for their country, and they only play a handful of games a season. After all, Frank Farina often gets some decent results from the Australian squad... but one could argue that is almost despite his involvement!

Can he motivate the overpaid lazy SOB's on a cold windswept night at Bournemouth?

I await with interest.

Please Mark.. don't *% it up!!!!

[Florida Rover]

I voted yes.I hope,as we all do, that Sparky produces the goods for us.Moreover,I would that this appointment would unify all the disparate groups/factions of Rovers supporters.(Fat chance huh?)

It is quite simple really :we all want success.(It's just different people define success differently)Here is hoping for a long and distiguished career for Sparky in his tenure for us.

Up the Rovers!

Florida Rover

Edited September 16, 2004 by Florida Rover

[bubblerrovers]

People have just got to forget about the past managers kidd/harford/hodgson who had no premiership experience. Like all new relationships if you enter it with doubts in the back of your mind it usually messes up. Hughes is just what we need. He will unite the team and is much more of a players manager than souness ever was and that will go a long way with the players. Bring on the revolution. get behind the team

[USABlue]

Before you ask I'm number 3.  I have stated my reasons.  This is nothing more than a cop out by the Board, it was a popularity contest rather than scouring the length and breadth of the football World to find the right man.

It reeks of a self preservation type appointment by John Williams and show him to be less of a forward moving CEO than I thought of him being.

Our club should not be the one to see if Hughes can cut it at this level.  I fear relegation, and I fear the man has no savvy to rebuild this club from the grass roots level.  Then again what do I know.

Good luck Mark Hughes, welcome and please save my Football Team.  If you should happen to be a success, how long will you stay?

USABlue. Would you prefer a situation in which the fans had no voice ? Would you prefer a situation like Tottenham when David Pleat was appointed? Or a Southampton limbo situatiuon where they have no manager? Our board has acted swiftly and competently. They have appointed a manager that they knew posessed great managerial potential from his time playing here. Hughes was also the players favourite choice for next manager, in addition to being the boards first choice, and certainly a top 3 favourite amongst the fans.

We could have been like every other club that replaces a manager mid-season and gone with the usual suspects that may have seen us safe for this season (if we were extremely lucky) but would have had us struggling the next season forcing us to repeat the same managerial merry-go-round then. Reid, Hoddle, Houllier, Gregory, just think how much worse it could have been!

I doubt that the fans had anything to do with this appointment but if they did it was certainly not a detriment to the process.

You contradict yourself a bit there mr ozzy. You start out asking if I prefer the fans had no voice and end up saying you doubt the fans had anything to do with it.

I am simply saying, for the last time I hope, that based on QUALIFICATIONS Hughes is one of the least qualified, it is a feel good appointment. Williams has been swayed by the masses and I feel it is a mistake, but if it deosn't work out then John does not look too bad cos everyone else wanted him too. I have strong reservations. ( Where's W. Bancroft when you need him, that bloke always seemd to have the balls to go out on a limb and found GOOD managers for us.)

I will give him a fair crack, I have no option. How long will you lot give him before you turn on him. What is it you all know in football terms that makes him MORE qualified than say Glenn Hoddle, who no one wanted. Nothing, it's simply a popularity contest driven by fear of ridicule. Same thing with Strachan a fun guy talks good and everyone likes him but when push comes to shove what has he done (apart from take over from Hoddles good work) nothing. I just think it is sad when all you self proclaimed football experts based the appointment of our new boss on nothing more than how he does on camera.

It better bloody work, no one wants to be proved wrong but in this case I do. I HAVE NOT written him off, I will give him credit where it is due, you will not see an obsession of a jim/Souness nature. I simply feel we missed the boat.

I hope Hughes can find time to say hello to jims kid or we will have more of the same from Mr Personality. My crystal ball says many of you will be crying in you champers come New Year.

[USABlue]

People have just got to forget about the past managers kidd/harford/hodgson who had no premiership experience. Like all new relationships if you enter it with doubts in the back of your mind it usually messes up. Hughes is just what we need. He will unite the team and is much more of a players manager than souness ever was and that will go a long way with the players. Bring on the revolution. get behind the team

How can you say they had no Prem experience some of them worked day in day out along some of the all time greats. One of the "pluses" I have seen bandied around here for Hughes is he has played under great managers. Well the aforementioned Mssrs Kidd etc were assistants to great amangers and failed miserably.

You say this ..."He will unite the team and is much more of a players manager than souness ever was and that will go a long way with the players." Ho wdo you know that? What do you base that argument on, could the downside then be that Sparky will be too soft.

Do we want a boss or do we want a bloke in a track suit who will not upset anyone?

[LeChuck]

I am simply saying, for the last time I hope, that based on QUALIFICATIONS Hughes is one of the least qualified, it is a feel good appointment.  Williams has been swayed by the masses and I feel it is a mistake, but if it deosn't work out then John does not look too bad cos everyone else wanted him too.

I am happy that we got Hughes because I think he will make a good manager, but that's not based on his achievements, it's about how I see him as a person and the qualities he has.

However...there is no-one that can argue with the above. All he's done is failed with more respect than the managers who preceeded him with a Welsh team that has more talent at it's disposal than for many a year. There is no doubt in my mind that this appointment is being made because of the reputation he built as a player and as a person whilst at Rovers previously...to make such an appointment based on his managerial achievements would be ludicrous.

Edited September 16, 2004 by LeChuck

[USABlue]

A few people are calling me on the mat about Hughes' lack of Premeirship experience, throwing around names like Wenger and Ferguson. Come off it for every Wenger there are a hundred Sturrocks, for every Fergie there are a hundred, Houlliers. My complaint, if you have been keeping up is not about PREMIERSHIP experience it is that he has a total lack of ANY CLUB experience at ANY LEVEL. Running a Club side is a whole different kettle of fish.

I should end this now and just see what Sparky does, remember many of you backing him to be boss berated Souness for signing him as a player a la' Dickov, Let's see and let hope you all get to tell me I told you so rather than me telling you .

BTW Mr Fleming, the jim comment was below the belt and un called for . jim's issues with Souness were of a strictly personal nature and little to do with football.

Edited September 16, 2004 by USABlue

[USABlue]

Great job???  Fight and hold their own?? against Azerbjain and N. Ireland, wow, that's me suitably impressed.  Oh he NEARLY got to the Euro's it was theirs to lose and they did.

Will we all think it's so great if he NEARLY saves us from relegation.

USABlue, go and look at the Welsh defence. Also look at some of the journeymen and never-will-be men who pad out the rest of the Welsh squad.

Jones, Delaney, Collins, Gabbidon, Thatcher, Oster all played against NI. not any of these players would get a sniff of an England B side.

I don't care how good a manager you are. With that defence you will have bad results such as the two Wales have suffered. The thing Hughes has been able to do is also produce good results such as those against Italy, Germany, Argentina and the Czechs. The fact that Wales were disapponted not to qualify for Euro2004 after a playoff defeat just shows how far they have come since the mid to late 90's.

I can understand your concerns with Hughes with regards to lack of club managerial experience and a step into the unknown. It's for these reasons I would rather have had Dowie. However I think throwing the last 2 Welsh results as examples of Hughes managerial shortcomings is unfair.

As regards to how long will he stay how long will anybody stay. Souness was quick enough to drop us and leave and he wasn't even doing that well. Any successfull manager will eventually be eyed up by supposed bigger clubs and it's naive to think that a love of blue and white will keep them at Ewood. Sven was quick enough to drop us for a better opportunity and he never even managed 1 game. Dowie and Strachan would be no different.

At least from reading your posts over the last few years I know you will hold your hands up and admit your fears were unfounded if that proves to be the case. Let's hope for all our sakes it is.

Would any of our defence get in the Welsh National team. It was not just the last two results either the Welsh choked when it was theirs to win. If you remember when we struggled we did well against Arse Man U Chelsea but the little boys stuffed us. Bit like Wales. When the chips were down the Taffs were annhialated.

[samtheozzy]

You contradict yourself a bit there mr ozzy.  You start out asking if I prefer the fans had no voice and end up saying you doubt the fans had anything to do with it.

I am simply saying, for the last time I hope, that based on QUALIFICATIONS Hughes is one of the least qualified, it is a feel good appointment.

Ir's not a contradiction to say that it's better that the fans have some say in the choice of manager but they probably didn't in this case. It's simply a statement of a possible situation followed by a statement of the actual situation.

As for qualifications we're well into the season and the only possibilities for replacement managers are experienced losers (let's face it, otherwise they would have a job), experienced winners (who would never condescend to managing Blackburn anyway), and unproven "youngsters".

Even with the Bryan Kidd debacle i would still prefer an unproven manager to an established failure like Hoddle or Reid. Let's face it Hodgson did a fair bit of damage to the team (understatement of the year), leaving them last in the premiership before Bryan Kidd came along and haplessly tried to avoid relegation and then gain promotion. Hodgson was not without your lauded experience before coming to Blackburn Rovers either, even if it was continental experience with one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Edited September 16, 2004 by samtheozzy

[Paul]

A few links for you all, nice to be in the spotlight for a while:

Media Watch

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

WELCOME BACK TO EWOOD SPARKY!!

The missing 3-4k now have roughly 2 days to get of their backsides and let the ticket office see the colour of their money....LETS GET THIS CLUB ROLLING AGAIN!

Like many others, I'm very much looking forward to Saturday now for the first time in a long while.

[Duffer*Norway]

Great! He and Dowie was my favourites! Hughes a bit ahead as he probably can attract more players to the club.

Is he in charge from today or day after the Portsmouth game?

[bob fleming]

BTW Mr Fleming, the jim comment was below the belt and un called for .  jim's issues with Souness were of a strictly personal nature and little to do with football.

I apologise for that USA. Sorry, got a bit carried away.

[Hughesy]

Im soooo happy today. Bring on the good times Mr Hughes.

Mark Hughes' Blue and white Army.

I hope he is given the financial backing he needs and I hope the fans stay behind him. I think he will be a great asset to the club and I cant wait to see his team take shape, how he wants it.

[doggybix]

A few people are calling me on the mat about Hughes' lack of Premeirship experience, throwing around names like Wenger and Ferguson.  Come off it for every Wenger there are a hundred Sturrocks, for every Fergie there are a hundred, Houlliers. 

There's only one Sturrock. Thank God.

A hundred failures for each success is a massive overstatement.

In any event, what's your point? Of course some managers have failed at their first attempt in th PL. (Although I'm unsure as to how winning the Uefa Cup is failure but that's a thread for the Scousers.)

The point about Fergie and Wenger is that the most successful managers in the PL came from outside. The only other manager to win it also won the league at his first attempt.

No one is claiming that Hughes is going to be another Wenger/ Fergusson/ His Holiness the Daglish just pointing out that having no experience in the PL proves nothing.

Some could point ot that no manager has gained experience at a PL club without winning the league and then gone on to win the PL elswhere. But that'd be stirring it.

The comment about you focusing on club rather than international is irrelevant. If he'd been sat doing nothing for the last two years, he'd have even less experience.

[trueblue]

Great! He and Dowie was my favourites! Hughes a bit ahead as he probably can attract more players to the club.

Is he in charge from today or day after the Portsmouth game?

His appointment was announced as 'with immediate effect' so he will be in charge for the Portsmouth game (not much time to prepare, but still - must be a big lift for the players)