Delighted when Hughton got the boot – Your Time Is Up

After Chris Hughton was cynically dumped by Mike Ashley’s Newcastle earlier this week I was as stunned as most people at the board’s decision, but delighted to see the football community united for once in support of a decent guy.

Of course as football followers – fans, players and media professionals alike – we are a fickle bunch and what is this week’s top story soon gets replaced by something else. Last week we were all fuming about missing out on the World Cup – this week it’s Hughton.

I’ve noticed that a quite a few commentators have used the word ‘decent’ in association with Hughton and, as I have only met the guy once (after Toon’s FA Cup draw at Plymouth last season), I can hardly put myself up as a close confidant. However, on the strength of that one meeting I can say that I found him to be pleasant, humourous and approachable.

At the time Newcastle were still in the Cup of course (and would go on to beat the Pilgrims at St. James Park) and so from a result point of view it wasn’t a disaster. The pitch that day was in an awful state and neither side could get to grips with it. It was one of those uninspiring games that you get from time to time and Hughton shrugged it off as just that.

He was a realist. The FA Cup was a fun competition, but the bread and butter was the league and, in particular, Newcastle’s push for promotion.

Newcastle are a big club. Many fans around the country disagree with that statement, but it’s true. Look at the size of the local support, the stadium and the history (five league titles and six FA Cup wins). Sadly for them they don’t have ‘recent’ history despite the passion.

When Kevin Keegan had the audacity to suggest it would take several seasons for Newcastle to get back into Champions League contention he was rapped over the knuckles by Ashley’s cronies.

But Toon fans knew in their hearts he was right even if – like Ashley - they didn’t want to hear it. Unfortunately Ashley didn’t know he was right. Keegan’s vast experience of the football world counted for nothing as his casino buddies (including Hughton’s possible replacement Alan Pardew if some reports are to believed) had his ear.

Relegation to the Championship, the very real possibility of dropping down another division and an owner who was repeatedly trying to offload the club at a vastly inflated price in a seriously depressed economic market, ensured realism set in fast within the ranks of the Toon Army.

As usual they wanted a big name to help them out of the ‘clart’, but no-one fancied the challenge and so Hughton got the job without the board’s whole-hearted support.

He did their bidding though and sold off as many stars as possible to slash the wage bill. Then he was instructed to take the club back to the Premier League with effectively a smaller version of the same squad that took them down.

The fans saw the difficult situation he was faced with and increasingly appreciated his honest efforts.

Unfortunately the board didn’t and having taken them back up at the first time of asking - with over 100 points - he was rewarded with … procrastination over a new contract.

Toon’s season has been up and down so far – very much a reflection of the Premier League as a whole. They have won games they weren’t expected to win and lost games they should have picked up points from, but they have achieved mid-table respectability.

Several key players have been injured for spells and yet still the results were ground out.

The most important person at any football club is the manager – not something owners like to be told. Say what you want about the Glazers at Manchester United, they know better than to mess with Sir Alex!

The problem with Ashley is that he and his ego want instant success and it isn’t going to happen – it rarely does unless you’re prepared to outspend the opposition and he certainly isn’t.

I get the feeling that he sees football managers in the same light as his sporting goods store managers. If the monthly sales figures aren’t equivalent or better than the store down the street then you better watch out. No real long term planning, just make sure the shelves are empty after the Christmas period is over. Then slash and burn any remaining stock in the January sales and start again.

His stores sell cut price tat (in my humble opinion) and that business philosophy won’t work in the Premier League.

If you want footballing success these days you either have to have an oil sheik as an owner or be prepared to build slowly, but surely and fans (customers) aren’t stupid, they are prepared to wait a little longer if the club is moving in the right direction.

Look at West Brom, for example. The side that gave Newcastle a real tonking in Hughton’s last game in charge on Sunday have been up and down more often than a whore’s drawers in recent seasons, but they’ve slowly been getting stronger and are now in a position to compete and they look like a good solid Premier League outfit.

Under Hughton Newcastle looked like they weren’t going to suffer the same yo-yo effect between Premeir League and Championship that West Brom did, but Ashley’s over-inflated sense of the club’s current worth led him to wield the axe. This might be a decision he lives to regret if the Toon implode again and, in some ways, I hope they do.

The fans have suffered enough in recent years and so it would be harsh to wish relegation on them, but fourth from bottom and an FA Cup giant killing by Stevenage would serve as a metaphorical slap in the face for Ashley.

The irony is that Hughton won’t take any pleasure from that scenario because he’s a more decent man than me.