[Archived] Hughes Out

[Guest WestSussexTombo]

Souness certainly had more money, but he also brought in more money through sales. Even with that taken out, he probably had a bit more, but not a huge amount. Also, I know that he was lucky to have Duff and Dunn (first version) in the team to sell anyway.

The problem with that was he was selling our best players and buying players who wouldnt necessarily improve our squad more than the players he let go. He was more on numbers of players then quality IMO!

Their is no doubt, that if Sparky had the money Souness waisted, we would be in the top 6-7 at the moment...

[OscarRaven]

Hughes: Don't Panic

For those of you over reacting and drawing comparisons to Souness - please read. Mark Hughes is one of the best managers we have ever had.

[waggy]

For the 1st time in sparky's management spell i have been dismayed with some of his recent team selections,picking the axe,playing pedersen when he is having a confidence crisis?not using his subs/bringing them on too late!!not giving the younger players a chance***but all in all he is doing a fine job

[FourLaneBlue]

This is a particularly challenging time for Hughes as a manager and the recent results are - strange as it may seem - not necessarily the most important thing he will have to rectify.

Instead the major obstacle he now faces is what seems to be multiple cases of, if not outright player revolt, then certainly enough members of the squad being disgruntled enough to be affecting team morale. This can threaten to disrupt the whole season whereas bad patches of form happen every year whatever this doesn't. This has not really happened before in such a direct fashion. The principal cases seem to be these...

Aaron Mokoena - Probably the easiest resolved of the players wanting out. Although he has handed in a transfer request there haven't been any suggestions of a lack of professionalism playing-wise. Not a particularly good player anyway despite being decent enough when sitting in front of the back four and not being required to pass anywhere more than about five yards. While he has done a job he is still merely a squad player.

Jason Roberts - The other transfer requestee and - seemingly - less likely to be able to keep his feelings to himself. We have all been witness to him having a strop earlier in the season when he refused to celebrate his goal properly in the...was it the MyPa game? He looked about as happy as an undertaker would do when doing his job. While there are grounds for him to be unhappy...he hasn't got bad stats either. Seven goals in about seventeen or so started games IIRC...not exactly up there with Benni but not bad,..and what number of assists he has given? Regardless though...rumours suggest he is one of the players helping to unsettle the squad so needs to be shipped out.

Benni - Ah...the mercurial Mr McCarthy. It's pretty obvious to a blind man on a galloping horse that what he cares about is Benni McCarthy...and this season he has been in a self-acknowledged sulk. While he seemed to be getting over it have other parties been buzzing in his ear regarding a January move? Although a great goalscorer Benni has shown before that if not happy he is of little use to a club. Just ask Porto fans about his - finally successful - attempt to leave them even when the club said no. Sometimes a star player leaving is better for the club as a whole. Besides...can he actually manage tp form a successful partnership with Santa Cruz? It seems that Benni had his nose put out of joint by not getting a dream move in the summer and that has still not yet been resolved.

Savage/Ooijer/Pedersen - None of them really the happiest of bunnies we are led to believe. Savage wants in the team, Andre has made insinuations about not staying after this season whereas MGP is having an awful time. Hardly Conducive to team morale.

For the first time since working with Souness' squad Hughes is facing a lot of unhappiness from within the club. In previous seasons it seemed largely to be isolated disgruntled players such as Todd and Neill wanting to run down his contract. Now he is facing a revolt that is threatening to derail the team and ruin what was an excellent start to the season and even now is still a good one.

We currently have 26 points from 17 games. After 18 games last season we only had 19 points so even if we lose to Chelsea on Sunday we will still be seven points better off than at the same stage last season.

Hughes faces his toughest test since steering Rovers away from the relegation spots to safety in his first season at the club. If he turns it around we can still have a very successful season in the league and we are still only four points off fifth place. It will be interesting to see just how Hughes comes out of this while trying to satisfy the ambitions and egos of his players.

Edited December 20, 2007 by FourLaneBlue

[philipl]

Hughes interviewed in the Times. He says fan abuse is no worse than it has been before.

Proof he does not read brfcs then.

[tcj_jones]

That's a good summary there FLB, but I'd be interested to know what you think Hughes should do to resolve the situation?

I suppose a lot comes down to the right replacements being available. It is all well and good getting a trouble maker off the books, but if there is nobody as good, or better, available, then we weaken the side as a result. Better to have an unhappy player than none at all.

What we need is another Roque Santa Cruz so that we can let that sulk McCarthy go. We'd probably make a profit in any transfer roundabout too!

[S15]

Hughes: Don't Panic

For those of you over reacting and drawing comparisons to Souness - please read. Mark Hughes is one of the best managers we have ever had.

What was I worried about?

[FourLaneBlue]

That's a good summary there FLB, but I'd be interested to know what you think Hughes should do to resolve the situation?

Well he obviously needs to get out any disruptive influences who aren't vital for the team. Roberts certainly isn't and Hughes seems unwilling to play him. There has to be a reason for the unwillingness of Hughes to play him much despite some lacklustre performances from others and if there are personal issues at stake then he has to be got rid of. Better not to have a bit-part player than one disrupting the more important players. Neglecting to throw him on against Arsenal AT ALL was a strange decision if there is no history around it. If anyone could disrupt their defence with presence and power then surely it would have to be Roberts?

Ultimately we don't know what has been going on but Hughes seems unimpressed by Roberts this season. Personally I would have liked to have seen him given more time on the pitch. However he is replacable...there are many decent but not great strikers around. It's top-class ones like Benni and Roque that are really thin on the ground for a club like ours.

I suppose a lot comes down to the right replacements being available. It is all well and good getting a trouble maker off the books, but if there is nobody as good, or better, available, then we weaken the side as a result. Better to have an unhappy player than none at all.

True but there a lot of players we could go for. We are a Premiership side so are attractive to many players. Top class players are much more difficult...but ultimately if Benni wants to leave then he will get his wish. If he has got over the Chelsea rumours and will be happy to stay that is obviously the best solution for us. The opinion on here in the main seems to be he doesn't look happy. Is it just a loss of confidence or is he hoping to leave for a bigger club in January?

What we need is another Roque Santa Cruz so that we can let that sulk McCarthy go. We'd probably make a profit in any transfer roundabout too!

Exactly. Hughes himself has proved time and again that there are good players out there and they don't have to cost the earth. Can he pull a rabbit out of the hat again? It is critical the board back him if he needs to do so,

Some players when unhappy or looking to leave will put their head down and get on with it. Lucas Neill has a lot of critics on here but to be fair to him he did do that even when playing at left back. Some players won't do that and instead help create a bad atmosphere within a club.

So to suggest that it is "better to have an unhappy player than none at all" is only partly true...it depends on the player.

We are all second-guessing here but the recent rumblings from Ewood certainly suggest all is not right within the squad.

Edited December 20, 2007 by FourLaneBlue

[John]

Just been looking through some of our negative results so far this season and its pretty depressing reading. Looking at some of the games we have lost (in all competitions).

Cannot remember where I read it, but you do need luck during a season with regards to the timing of when you play teams. That is not just making your own luck during matches, but when you play certain sides. I accept we played pretty well in the Villa game, but it did not do our goal difference much good.

Lost to Chelsea at home without (arguably) their two best/most important players in Terry and Drogba. Plus Cech off for a 1/4 of the game. Thats their spine missing.

Lost to West Ham at home. They had a horrendous injury crisis when we played them (and still do).

Hammered by Aston Villa at home, who themselves are currently going through a poor run of form.

Lost to Arsenal reserve team/back-up players/youngsters in the league cup.

Larissa.

Edited December 23, 2007 by John

[Rovers_4_life]

Just been looking through our negative results so far this season and its pretty depressing reading. Looking at some of the games we have lost (in all competitions).

Cannot remember where I read it, but you do need luck during a season with regards to the timing of when you play teams. That is not just making your own luck during matches, but when you play certain sides. I accept we played pretty well in the Villa game, but it did not do our goal difference much good.

Lost to Chelsea at home without (arguably) their two best/most important players in Terry and Drogba. Plus Cech off for a 1/4 of the game. Thats their spine missing.

Lost to West Ham at home. They had a horrendous injury crisis when we played them (and still do).

Hammered by Aston Villa at home, who themselves are currently going through a poor run of form.

Lost to Arsenal reserve team/back-up players/youngsters in the league cup.

Larissa.

When we played Villa they were on a fantastic run of form, winning 4 on the run or 5 if i remember right, scoring lots of goals away from home. Plus 4-1 flattered them quite alot.

West Ham and Chelsea were both fortunate, we played well enough to get something from both and missed some very good chances, not good i know but it happens.

Arsenal youth are still a pretty awesome side, would finish above Rovers if that team played a season in the PL imo, they have beaten other PL sides than Rovers as well, they are a good side if they are young, they paid 9 million or so for Eduardo, when was the last time Rovers paid that for 1 player? We still played half decent on Tuesday as well and on another night could easily have snuck through.

Bad results happen, Rovers always go through a bad run of form as does every team each season, lets just ride it out and things will improve. Getting rid of Hughes would be insane, we would still be a small town club with limited funds, punching above out weight and not a very attractable target for the top players availible and WITHOUT a world class manager who can attract the higher quality of players to the club.

[John]

Not saying get rid of Hughes. I just think we should have done better in some of the games we have lost. Fair enough when you play one of the big four and they 'turn it on'.

It is just frustrating.

Need to be careful though, as we seem to be saying 'on another day we would have won' quite frequently. We could run out of days eventually.

[Eddie]

I'm losing faith in him, big time.

[Alex Rover]

I'm losing faith in him, big time.

Oh God here we go. We're flipping 9th in the PL on a shoe-string. Get a grip of yourself.

[JAL]

I'm losing faith in him, big time.

Hughes deserves all the crticism thats coming his way, are his football management days coming to an end he gets his bumper pay rise and the wheels come completely off.

Arron Mokoena a quality central midfielder what can he do he shouldnt be any where near the premiership.

[Mr. E]

Oh God here we go. We're flipping 9th in the PL on a shoe-string. Get a grip of yourself.

As bad as the players are playing, with our performances and results in the past few months a big chunk of the blame must also fall on the manager. 4-1 to Coventry at home with the majority of our starting 11 says it all.

The players simply have no fear of playing like sh*t and getting embarrassed.

[greggyk]

Well im sure if he had even a quarter of what most premier league clubs have to spend, he wouldnt need to play him!

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I wonder if the same happened to Ferguson when they beat them 2-0.

Results haven't gone our way lately but it's certainly no reason to give up on Hughes. Times like these will show just how good a manager he is. Let's wait to see how he can use the transfer window to change our situation we're currently in. We might be out of the cups but we're in a decent league position and we've got half the season to go.

[des]

I think that MH is a very g00d manager, but there all come to the end of the shelf life. Is it time fir MH to go, I think not, but this jan is a big time for him, players need to be changed around some need to go to get mnoey to re buy, for most top teams is knowing when to let players go and to re-buy new ones the time has come.

Edited January 5, 2008 by des

[SamTheShrew]

what worries me is how people like steve bruce who is working with alot worse squad is able to get big victories against us, sunderland today, and liverpool midweek, and we are proving embarassing time and time again

there is always the new manager aspect, but clearly something is wrong with the unity of our squad in terms of attitude where no-one seems to trust each other, basic mistakes are being made, and no-one generally seems to give 2 s**ts. it needs sorting, and it needs sorting now

[Mozzer]

i just knew someone would bring this thread back..

its so pathetic how fans can say hughes has to go..okay we have had some bad results, but every team has them....

what i would like to know, some of you are saying he needs to go, you tell me who could do a better job then him with the sources we have??

with the resources hughes has had hes done a brilliant job..he needs the backing tho ie money..

[rebelmswar]

Do people really advocate the removal of Mark Hughes due to the last few games. Give the man some bloody money!! Don't sack him and get some crap manager and then give him money. Just because there is some players "maybe" causing moral to slump in the dressing room and we are distracted doesn't mean fire one of the best British managers of late.

Who would you rather have that is sensible? How much money would he get?

Remember this is pretty much the same team from last year with the addition of a great striker. It is obviously a moral problem once that is sorted and seems to be about to with all the transfer speculation, things will turn around.

Yes we are out of the cup and that hurts, I am very bothered about it but until he blows bags of money on @#/? and still get us a lower than top ten finish I will stand by him.

Edited January 5, 2008 by rebelmswar

[joey_big_nose]

Fact is we are ninth in the Premiership and Hughes has spent virtually nothing. It was a terrible result but to be honest I can't see anyone else to have put us in a position where we are 6 points off fourth in January.

[rebelmswar]

Fact is we are ninth in the Premiership and Hughes has spent virtually nothing. It was a terrible result but to be honest I can't see anyone else to have put us in a position where we are 6 points off fourth in January.

Here, here.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Here, here.

The posters who are criticising Hughes are not taking into consideration what position the club and squad was in when he found it. Without hughes this club would of been relgated thats for sure.

He has spent less in his tenure than any other premier league club, infact some teams in the fizzy pop league have spent more. Some of our players are sub-standard but that’s what our manager has been dealt with as the club will not back him.

If fans want to vent their anger ; vent it at the owner not our excellent manager , who has done a marvellous job

[Eddie]

I'm not advocating getting rid of him, just that I'm losing faith in hime. It is based more on performances, his own decisions and the inability to improve certain aspects of the team and remove basics errors. I'm not really judging him on the results themselves. How anyone can't be seriously concerned with the level of performances for the past two months or so really worries me. It's a tough pill to swallow, but he has to be held accountable for them and they have been well below par. Is there a single person on this board who would have accepted being out of the UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA cup whilst sitting 9th in the table at this point in the season? You can defend him all you want with the fact that he doesn't have as much money as some others, but he gets a lot of money to do his job and I think he has a core group of some very good players.