[Archived] Mark Hughes - Good Choice ?

[roversWASmylife]

Disapppointing to read all this negative reaction to the appointment of Mark Hughes.

We should all extend him a very warm welcome to the club and wish him luck in sorting out the mess left by Souness, starting with victory over Pompey on Saturday.

Well said that man, can't really complain if he does half as good a job as he did with wales we'll be up there in the top 10

Totally agree.

The man hasn’t even managed a game yet.

In my opinion I think he’ll do well for us, he seems a level-headed manager and will quietly get on with the job, which is what we needed.

Whether you like it or not, Hughes is going to be our manager for some years to come.

Support him; don’t get on his back straight away.

I’m confident that he’ll do well for us.

[bob fleming]

Disapppointing to read all this negative reaction to the appointment of Mark Hughes.

Jim you scamp. Get it in context.

To date: 8 people have voted that they aren't happy. 29 have said they're undecided (they don't count). 238 are well made up and 6 wanted Lee Grooby (they don't count either) That's 3.3% who aren't happy. Or 96.7% who are extremely happy!

[nolan9]

Bring On Pompey!! Hughes was my choice and im a happy rover for the 1st time in a while.

[tchocky]

I haven't read the tread, but looking at the poll it doesn't look very negative to me. Almost 85% are in favour of the appointment, with 10% being undecided. That only leaves about 5% of the voters unhappy with the appointment. I'm sure we can all take some poitives from those figures!

[brfcshabba]

not sure, he's never bought a player in his life, its a complete gamble, look at Hodgson international level, a lot more successful then Hughes and look how bad he was in the PL.

However it could have been worse

Hodgson got us into europe. It just fell away after that

hope you are not defending him, he took over a team with players like Flowers, Hendry, Sherwood, Sutton, Gallacher, Ripley, Duff and bought players like Valery, Davidson, Dailly, Peacock, Blake, Davies, Pedersen.

Buying and selling is the most important part of being and manager, and Hughes has no experience, hopefully he will do really good, but we will just be a stepping stone anyway

I wasn't defending him i was just commenting on that Hodgsons record in the premiership shows that in his first (and only) full season he got us into Europe. However i agree that his signings were very poor and proved to be his downfall as they were not good enough.

With the transfer window being closed for the moment there is no danger of Hughes doing a Hodgson and buying for the sake of it and so it gives Hughes a chance to monitor his current squad and spot weaknesses and hopefully not waste money like Hodgson did.

[frosty]

By some distance my third choice out of the main 3 behind Strachan and Dowie . Very much in the "wait and see" camp ; I've still a bad feeling about this Rovers team and just wonder if Hughes can motivate them enough . One thing's for certain - he can only improve on the recent rubbish we've seen.

3rd choice, B.P! Honestly! When I first heard soness had gone one guy sprung to my mind - mark hughes. I would have liked Dowie or Strachan but trust me, hughes will be a big hit!

[Shaddy]

Two year deal and then rolling contract for Souness

MUST DELIVER SILVERWARE TO 'MASSIVE CLUB'

Unfortunately for us, I think he will.

[1864roverite]

a wooden spoon is not silverware !

[joey_big_nose]

I voted 'yes' as I couldnt really see a stand out first choice.

Hughes is young, articulate and ambitious lacking the ego of Souness and his confrontational nature but sharing the passion for the game. Hughes will want to buid a good side and obviously cares for the club.

The most hertening thing for me is that he seems to want to say abrest of he latest developments in the game and embrace them, Speed was saying as much on SSN.

I expect Hughes to come out fighting and not build a side to merely stave off relegation- I think he is exactly the kind of man to piece together a long term plan for Rovers. I am not saying that we will neccesarily have an excellent season this year, but Sparky will always be thinking a few moves ahead. And that, in my mind, is the mark of a good manager.

Looking forward to saturday.

[The Producer]

I still think that it's a gamble for a club in our league position/defensive inadequacies, given we're signing a manager hoping he'll prove his potential, rather than because he's got good club manager experience. I'd have preferred Moyes or, failing that, Dowie because more club experience. However, he's not Reid, Robson, Hoddle or Strachan, so that's great news for me. Plus I do think he's a high profile signing, which can only do good things for attendances and attracting players. So overall a decent decision that could work out really well IF Hughes fulfills potential. Come on Sparkey!

[Martin]

To be honest Hughes should not have a problem in the fact he can't bring in X, Y and Z just yet. It's basically like the Welsh job he knows he has these players and these players only (until Jan) and he has to get the best out of them to leave us comfortable at Xmas.

This window may well be a good thing, also gives the current crop a decent chance to impress. The Bournemouth game comes at a good time for Hughes to get a glimpse of everyone early on. I don't think it could be much better set for Sparky.

[Eddie]

I see Saunders is one of the favourites to take over from Hughes. Is it possible that Souness will now lose his little lover?

[booth]

Wow, the managerial merry-go-round, in full-swing and Rovers are at the heart of it

[vindaloobob]

My scepticism is because of our current situation in the league where more than anything we need an experienced tried and tested manager rather than a complete novice.

i don't buy this and i don't think many of the other people on this board do either. let's look at the concept of a "tried and tested" manager objectively. most of them have been tried, and tested, and are now unemployed or are likely to be fighting around the relegation area come april and may - surely this tells its own story?

whilst it is true that in several cases a "tried and tested" manager has been able to achieve the short term stability nececcary to help a club avoid the drop, in the longer term they have failed to deliver, hence why most of them are now out of work. contrast this with the relative successes of several "untried" managers who have managed to help take some of the clubs from relegation scraps to being on the fringes of a UEFA cup place.

i think this is the sort of appointment that the rovers board had in mind, someone young with fresh ideas. when you consider that hughes has had such a distinguished career as a player and is so widely respected (both for his achievements and for personality traits that i think will make him a good manager), then he seems like an ideal candidate for the role.

i am very happy with this appointment, i think the rovers board have shown that they are looking beyond the "survival is our only aim" mantra of souness that would have been continued by bringing in a quick-fix appointment, and are looking to provide the club with a sound future. i hope that hughes will develope into the manager we all want him to become, and (especially) that the players respond well to him and start to fulfill their potential - now that we have a talented young manager and some talented young players, i think that the next couple of seasons are already looking brighter than they were a couple of weeks ago

Edited September 16, 2004 by vindaloobob

[USABlue]

Disapppointing to read all this negative reaction to the appointment of Mark Hughes.

We should all extend him a very warm welcome to the club and wish him luck in sorting out the mess left by Souness, starting with victory over Pompey on Saturday.

jim, one question. Will you feel the same if Hughes neglects to say hello to your boy or will Hughes be faced with a Souness type hate obsession.

I wish Mark Hughes all the best too, I have he's managing my team. Interesting that some folks have taken the stance that it is wrong to criticize Mark Hughes before he has even sat in his office. Two points, 1) I am not criticising Hughes I am saddened by the Board. 2) How many of you taking this stance gleefully bad mouthed Dickov, Amoruso, Stead, Friedal etc etc before they even kicked a ball.

Now, back to reality.

[PSM]

excellent appointment and another fine effort by JW.

whilst making a poor start to the season, in context we have played Arsenal , Man Utd & Newcastle ( a potential top 5 side pre - GS !) & put in satisfactory performances against Arsenal ( 1st half ) & Man Utd to suggest a mid table finish is a realistic target.

yes, things were becoming stale under GS but the squad is good enough, especially if MH can tap the potential of Emerton, De Pedro & Pedersen etc.

2-0 on saturday and yes, you have got to believe it, a penalty !

[mick]

if i were a young striker or forward at rovers, i would be excited to be able to learn from such a consumate professional. he can only help the goal production, the skill level and creativity. good luck to him.

[brfcjon]

I was hoping for a real tactitian. A mastermind at reading opponents weaknesses og our own strengts. But who would that be. Jose Mourinho is currently unavaliable I hear as is Benites. The next best thing is a talented fella that is respected by his squad.

Bottom line is - If we win a lot of games I am happy. If we lose and strugly I am not. simple. Good luck sparke. Make us happy...

[Dan]

not sure, he's never bought a player in his life, its a complete gamble, look at Hodgson international level, a lot more successful then Hughes and look how bad he was in the PL.

However it could have been worse

Hodgson got us into europe. It just fell away after that

hope you are not defending him, he took over a team with players like Flowers, Hendry, Sherwood, Sutton, Gallacher, Ripley, Duff and bought players like Valery, Davidson, Dailly, Peacock, Blake, Davies, Pedersen.

Buying and selling is the most important part of being and manager, and Hughes has no experience, hopefully he will do really good, but we will just be a stepping stone anyway

Pedersen was a Tony Parkes signing, but you're right he did make some shocking signing! That will be one of the big tests for Hughes; the transer market. Being an international manager means they concentrate on the players they have, not ones they want. Though saying they international managers have to scout up and coming talent also.

I am hoping he will help Jansen to maybe regain confidence and start to play like he used and still can. Also if players like Emerton can get some confidence it will be excellent.

If only we'd kept Grabbi, Hguhes could have taught him how to shoot!

[Paul]

PS talking of owning up I asked a question too which has been ignored.  'How many would have voted for him if he had never played for us?'

I voted "yes". I don't really know who my number one choice would have been. I did not want the club to appoint:

• Hoddle
• Houllier
• Reid
• Keegan ( I know)
• Newell
• Jewell
• Robson
• Venables
• Graham
• Gregory
• Sturrock
• and a a host of others

So that left Hughes, Strachan and possibly Dowie. The fact Hughes played for us doesn't really come into it other than we've had the opportunity to gauge the type of man he is. Hughes strikes me as being hard-working, decent, honest and, I think, could be "fatherly" towards the younger players. While I don't follow international football he seems to have taken a bunch of disparate players - 1st, 2nd & 3rd division plus Giggs and Hartson (I don't know any other Welsh footballers) and moulded them into a team capable of beating anyone on their night. Also capable of being stuffed on occassions. The Welsh public seem delighted with his achievements with near sell-outs at the Millenium stadium.

When I look at Blackburn Rovers, we seem to have a few very good players plus a bunch who don't really know where they are going. I don't believe Souness deliberatley signed bad players so I'm inclined to feel they have the potential to do well. The crowd is declining, voting with it's feet - we couldn't sell-out against United, and I hope Hughes can endear himself to the Blackburn public and get the ground full again.

Hughes worked well with a pretty motley collection at international level whom he was able to train infrequently. It's to be hoped that daily contact and influence on our motley collection will have an even better result.

This is why i'm happy with Mark Hughes as manager of my football club.

My son is mascot for the Bournemouth game. I'm looking forward to shaking Sparky's hand and wishing him well................and he better speak to my lad!!

[trueblue]

If only we'd kept Grabbi, Hguhes could have taught him how to shoot!

He was here when Sparky played for us.. so either he didn't want to learn, or his ears were bunged up with pasta !

[AlanK]

But I'm quite confident that it's the right appointment.

We are honoured and priveledged.

[AlanK]

Disapppointing to read all this negative reaction to the appointment of Mark Hughes.

We should all extend him a very warm welcome to the club and wish him luck in sorting out the mess left by Souness, starting with victory over Pompey on Saturday.

Can`t take this. The pair of you in one evening. Where`s Jan. I`m on the wrong board aren`t I !?!

[Alan75]

I am one of the happy's as well. He wasn't my first choice- Strachan was, but for sentimental rather than purely logical reasons.

I've been happy since the short list was "announced". I'd have been happy with them. I'd even have tolerated Advocaat until I was looking up some stats on the dirties website and realised just how rubbish he was.

Will see you all at the Middlesbrough game.

Alank, here you go.

[samtheozzy]

Disapppointing to read all this negative reaction to the appointment of Mark Hughes.

I agree but it's only a vocal opinionated minority that are against Huges' appointment. USABlue seems to be coming in for a bit of unfair criticism as he has hardly been unreasonable in stating his reasons for opposing Hughes as manager of Blackburn. At least he has the courage of his convictions.

That said i think he's wrong (face it ) and i am in the vast majority. 85% are happy with Hughes as manager, a formidable approval rating wherever you're from. Only a miniscule 2.5% actively oppose the appointment yet it seems like most of the discussion on this thread is aimed at abusing/addressing the opinions of that 2.5%. That's completely normal of course, after all conflict is far more interesting than harmony ever was. Just get over it. Hughes has the backing of the overwhelming majority of fans, the board, and the players which is all he could really ask for when starting out. You can be damn sure that Souness has no such support at Newcastle...

Edited September 16, 2004 by samtheozzy