So who should we have? I thought we could look at a few people.
We have suffered a couple years of pretty ordinary football except for the odd game and maybe the cup run this year. It’s time we changed the approach to the way we play.
One manager who could make his sides play football, was Chris Hughton.
Well let’s look at the raw facts of his Management career.
Spurs Sep – Oct 1998. He was in charge for 6 games. He won 3, drew 2 and lost 1. A 50% win rate, but an 83% unbeaten record.
His start at Newcastle wasn’t good. he lost his 1st 4 games in 2008. However in June 2009 he was manager again, and this time did much better. In his following 70 games, he won 39, drew 17 and lost 14. That is a win rate of 55% and an unbeaten rate of 80%.
This is a pretty decent performance. His Newcastle team stormed the Championship playing the sort of football most Blues fans would like. They scored 90 goals and conceded 35, so a near 3-1 ratio, they only lost 2 games on the trot once and actually only lost four games in total. They won the league with 102 points.
The following season in the Premier League was more difficult as expected, however when he was sacked newcastle were 11th with 19 points – already half way to safety. His sacking seemed utterly bizarre! His stats were P16 W5 D4 and L7. To be fair a pretty respectable return for a newly promoted side.
When you look at those stats a bit closer, the wins included a 6-0 win over Villa, a 5-1 win over rivals Sunderland, and 1-0 wins at Arsenal and Everton. They also drew against Chelsea.
So this seems a really good return, so why is Chris Hughton not in work now? Some say that part of his success was down to what he inherited at the club – this may well be true, and it is fair to say that they were a strong side in the Championship. BUT they STILL had to win those games.
So I think he should at least be considered as a candidate.
What do you think?
Chris Hughton
chris hughton by saturday.
I agree,i hope pannu comes out and tells the fans that the board want to see us play football.We have been starved of this for to long.It was dreadful at times under Mckleish.Listening to the forest fans the football under Bily Davies was the best they had seen in years!
Yep – Chris ticks all of my boxes. Lets take the £3.0 million from the Villa and see them in the Premiership the year after next.
Thanks for all of the pies Eck.
Chris would be perfect. I’ve a fiver on him a 6-1, so here’s hoping !
This is a difficult one and one we MUST get right. We can tell by the type of signings that we are making (free transfers!) that the new manager will not have any money to spend. It is likely that Foster, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell and possibly Gardner will be sold. The owners (who I do not trust) will place all of the money into their ailing business model (Birmingham International Holdings) – a prospective new manager will know all of this so it will be who we can get to to come and work at the club under these circumstances. I personally would go for Gus Poyet or Billy Davies but unfortuneately I think we will end up with Cotterill. I hope I am wrong but I see no real commitment from these owners – they are SKINT, naive and ill prepared. I love Blues but I am worried about the future – I just hope I am wrong and maybe it will be that they just didn’t trust Eck and his men any more so were not willing to give them money to spend. We will know within the next 4 to 6 weeks.
Roberto di Matteo would be my first choice. My misgivings about Hughton are that he inherited a Newcastle squad that was always too good for the Championship and managed to keep his players for the campaign. For us to have any chance we have to do the same and bring in young, technically adept players with PACE in the wide areas. Aw sod it I’ve just woken up 🙁
KRO SOTV
Curbs
From what I understand, Cotterill is not on the list of possibles.
In regard to the finances, you are saying we’re skint – but you are taking that from London based press who are biased.
Let’s wait and see eh?
If Cotterill is appointed, the board may as well admit they are settling for Championship mid-table mediocrity for evermore and the football would be dull, direct and worse than under AM. Davies ultimately failed at Derby & Forest and would do the same at Blues. Don’t like ’em as people, but ideally Hughes or O’Neill (that would stir things up!) would do for me, but won’t happen. So, yes, it has to be Hughton, still highly rated by the majority of Magpies fans and he would have enough about him to stop all the better players from leaving (they’d all go if Cotterill gets in).
Eck to the Villa ,O’Neil to the Blues then we draw them in the cup?
What about me? Available, no legal issues, lots of proven leadership experience in another field, but, hey – that translates. Just lash me to the bench during matches – I can lose my composure easily you see. Hardly surprising then that I bring unique player management/punishment methods, one of which involves a public slapping – roughly on the halfway line so everyone can see – with a wet mackerel,which may or may not be – depending on the severity of the offence – combined with confiscation of the car.
For example, giving the ball away when under no pressure would qualify for the mackerel treatment and confiscation of the car, being substituted for a club bike (3 gears only) – “Yes, and don’t look at me like that son, that is how you are getting home. See you at training.”
Other punishments include the loss, on a sliding scale, to be published on the club’s website, of 25% to 100% of the week’s wages. Again: don’t complain son – read your contract, or have your agent read it for you. Well forget that last bit, because NO agents allowed.
So far then, just a flavour to bring in the punters. My mate Gary, a Tottenham fan, will give a reference. I’m ready.
Alf (remember another great manager called Alf?) born and bred in Small Heath, went to the school in Somerville Road which now stands on the Small Heath Alliance pitch. True.
I think we need to beware of putting all of our eggs into one basket. If we as a fanbase decide we ‘definitely want Hughton’, we run the risk of ‘doing a Villa’ in that, when Martinez turned them down, it was publicly difficult for the club to turn to the ‘second choice’ (who was probably third choice after Ancellotti). Hughton may not be interested, or he may turn out to have lost his reputation in footbal for reasons we don’t know or understand (hence his being unemployed still)…
I wouldn’t be unhappy to see Hughton, based on previous experience, Poyet has a lot of kudos for his work at Leeds and Brighton. Dave Jones may be a ‘nearly man’ but at least he has experience of the pressure at the top of the Championship, where we’re expected to be…
Keep Right On
Chris Hughton or Billy Davies, both would have the enthusiasum for the job.
Worried about all the backroom staff fallout though. That could be our biggest problem. managers are the Capatains of the ship but the ship can’t run without the engineers.
KRO fingers crossed – don’t you just love being a Blues fan!
Call me paranoid but I do get the feeling our board needled Eck to this point as they didn’t want him after the relegation. As Kiwi says losing the backroom staff (to be expected) would be monumental and the loss of Dave Watson could really hit us hard. Then there’s the fall out from players, they all signed for us and for Eck for a reason, now Eck has gone how much will they want to stay, especially as we’re in the Championship.
Hughton had a remarkable team at Newcastel, he had a phenominal forward line that boasted Andy Carrol, we don’t have a prospective £35m young, english centre forward.
Regardless of who we get I don’t think we’ll be promoted this year, I think if we can manage a lower half finish we’ll have done well. I’d like to be proved wrong, but I’ve been a Birmingham City fan too long to believe in miracles.
Kev – I hope you are right about the biased London media but what worries me is, that apparently after agreeing a strategy with the board on how to go forward, Eck (love him or loathe him) has suddenly resigned in a fashion that doesn’t become him. I think the Vile debacle is just circumstantial – I really believe Mark Hughes is nailed on for that job and he will be installed at the cess pitt on July 1st. How can the way forward be signing a geezer with a criminal record aged 31 (I know he can score goals at this level and that may endear him to us eventually), a guy who has done nothing at Rangers and Cardiff, another unknown midfielder from Dundee Utd who formerly represented the giants of Dagenham & Redbridge and Barnet and a 32 year old washed up unknown forward from PSV? These actions smack of an organisation with no money – or at least not until they sell all of our assets. But you are right – lets wait and see – whatever happens I will always support and love my Blues – always have ever since I stood on the Kop with my father in 1967. KRO.
I think Martin O’neill should be first on the Blues list. He has the experience and gravitas to attract good players and even be able to persuade some of the existing mob to stop. Failing that di mattao or hughton are good shouts as well as Mr Curbishly . Just heard Cotteral been ruled out and I dont fancy billy davis. As for Mcleish I hope the vile change tack and appoint dave jones or Basil Brush who cares ! The way the vile fans are crapping themselves and talking there usual scallops should put a smile on all Bluenoses faces.Fair play to Pannu recently not rolling over to bids for our players and his conduct over Mcleish has been admirable. It boils down to finance and how much blues can afford this coming season is going to answer whether we can trust our board. KRO SOTV
Chris Hughton would be the best decision the board could make. I am a Toon fan and feel he was given a raw deal by the board here, which is not a suprise but for me he is the man to have. He took over at NUFC when the heart was ripped out of the team but he galvanised them into a forceful working unit and they stormed the Championship. He should have been Knighted for his exploits at the Toon but instead they sacked him??
it si not anything to do with me but by god he would do a good job at Birmingham and lets face it McLeish did look after the team when you were relegated!!
Go on go for Hughton he will be great for you.
Kiwis clearly think alike – Chris Hughton or Billy Davies would do for mine too. I do however share some of Topcat’s pessimism about the year ahead, including due to the flow on effects of all this. But i am sure as hell aiming for better than a lower half finish !! Never a dull moment being a bluenose …..KRO
Blues / Panu have not accepted Ecks resignation which legally means untill it’s resolved we can not appoint a new manager.
So come on Penu start thinking like a large proportion of us Blues fans be thankfull he as walked , accept it lets move on and hope and pray that the ville do give him the job ( not lickley thou).
Chris Houghton would be an excellent choice when the legal stuff is all done.
Mr 4-5-1 has gone.Happy days.
Roberto Di Mateo for me proven record in the championship and maybe a little unlucky not to still be at WBA. He Plays good footbal on a tight budget…..
He still lives in Leamington Spa, so could give Foster a lift to work in the morning.
If no Tactics Eck is lucky enough to get a job at the Vile (god bless em) we should have a clause of not being able to sign any of our players for 2 years written in to the compensation.
I won’t miss him or his Tictacs.
O’Driscoll would be brilliant for Blues, but I doubt the Board have the wherewithall to go for, or get, a manager such as him.
KRO
Hughton (contrary to what Moxley says in the Mail) did something wonderful when at Newcastle. Team spirit. Then were relegated with infighting. They were a unit under him. He leaves and they are not quite a team now (Nolan/Barton complaining).