Bad times

I’m really disappointed that Chris Hughton has been sacked from Newcastle United. He was not only decent and talented, but was committed to the club. Long-tern club success is secured by long-term managerial appointments. Moreover, whatever measure of success, if any, the succeeding manager achieves, there is a right way to treat people and Hughton was abused. This is a man who from a temporary position became a permanent manager on comparatively small wages and won the Championship with more than 100 points. Aston Villa and Sunderland have been crushed and Chelsea and Arsenal have suffered home defeats at the hands of Newcastle. Indeed, Ancelotti’s Chelsea had never beaten Hughton’s NUFC in the two times they have met. Some are saying that if you lie down with dogs expect to get fleas, but you would have thought that the leadership of the club would have learnt their lesson from the past and become Pavlovian dogs. Think of a swear word and Mike Ashley in some way defines almost all of them. Hughton’s realistic target of survival was never going to be enough for the owner, who wants European football as quickly as possible so he can sell the club for a profit rather than build the club up. Who is to say Hughton would not have achieved that, given they were only a few points off a European position? If it gets Ashley out though, it can’t happen soon enough. Chris, you will be missed. In the long-run, this will hurt Newcastle United more than you. I can imagine the job offers will not be long in coming.