Whoever comes in will have a hard act to follow.
Posted on December 8th, 2010 | 100 Comments |
It’s a move that has left many Newcastle fans, neutral fans and media-types scratching their heads, but it’s been done now and can’t be reversed.
Naturally all of the speculation at the moment is regarding just who will be the successor to Hughton.
Names are being thrown about left, right and centre but nobody really knows anything. A lot of the rumours are being pushed by eager journalists who are dying to be the first one to get it right. Whatever, listen to them if you wish, but nothing is certain as yet.
One thing that is certain however is that whoever is charged with building on all the good work that Hughton has done will have a bloody hard act to follow, in more ways than one.
I’m not really talking results here as Hughton can’t be held responsible for the new managers record as a Newcastle boss, but first things first whoever that new manager ends up being will need to win the fans around.
I recognise that there are some fans who weren’t behind Hughton, but they are in a very small minority. I’d wager that the vast majority of fans were right behind Hughton and understood that he was working in a job essentially with his hands tied.
Hughton was having to act like Oliver Twist, begging for “more please sir” when it came to receiving some backing from the board, and I think a lot of fans realise this and respect the fact that Hughton was doing the best with what he had. My feeling is that everything Hughton achieved was despite Ashley, and not because of him.
Hughton earned the respect of the majority of fans. He wasn’t perfect and had his faults, but he was learning as he went. The new man will have to earn that respect, especially if it is someone like Alan Pardew who is being strongly tipped to become our next manager. That will be obstacle number one.
Obstacle number two will be how the new boss manages to get along with the players. I know they are professionals and should get along with their jobs, but we all know that it doesn’t work like that. I have colleagues that I dislike, and I dare say that some aren’t to keen on me, but we all have a job to do.
The players loved Hughton and have come out and said as much since his sacking. Most of them are shocked by the news as they were right behind him, in the public eye at least. The new gaffer will have to get his charges on side quickly if we are to stick to our aim of surviving in the Premier League this season.
Then there is the fact that this decision has opened up old wounds between the fans and the board. In many cases those wounds had remained open anyway, but there was also a lot of people willing to leave Ashley well enough alone as the club had looked to be stable for the first time in a long time. Bang goes that idea.
There will be a backlash over this, and I expect that Chris Hughton will be the name that is sounding around St James’ Park against Liverpool on Saturday. It’s pointless, but at least it will show just how unpopular the decision to sack Hughton has been in front of a worldwide TV audience.
We are back in turbulent times now, and the level of that turbulence will depend on who is named as our new manager. If it is to be Alan Pardew I feel that there will be a lot more discontent shown than if it was, say, a Martin O’Neill for example as Pardew will be viewed as a sideways step as opposed to a move forwards.
All we can do, as ever, is wait!
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
Kill me please if Pardew is appointed, :(