Hughsey

[saint-crinny]

I'm wary of this - lots of the stuff on this thread feels like the euphoria of the nerve jangling win as much as anything. The players felt that relief as much as us and celebrated a lot, as did Hughes - of course - it was a big win. And yes, the players are saying the right things - they've said the right things all season.

 

I'm as pleased as anyone by the win and it's given us half a chance.

 

But I can't forget the West Ham display, where Hughes set the team up ridiculously and we got totally overrun, or possibly worse, Leicester, where he basically admitted he was scared that we'd lose so didn't open it up. that was against a team already on the beach, as demonstrated by their thrashing from Palace at the weekend.

 

For me it's more of a case that anyone would be better than Pellegrino.

 

I obviously hope Hughes keeps us up, but I'm not sure I'd want him to get the job for next season if he does

[Whitey Grandad]

Well... it is discriminatory towards foreigners, and in a rather biased fashion.

 

Its also a stupid comment since some of the key players behind that win were not English. Unless Lemina and Tadic are English surnames?!??! And against this, some of the players people have been moaning about for most on this are Forster, Bertrand and JWP... And unless I am very much mistake they all speak English as their first (and probably only) language.

 

In fact, someone come and get me when the fans come up with a regular chant for our English players.

 

 

Nationality is not a Race.

[aintforever]

I'm wary of this - lots of the stuff on this thread feels like the euphoria of the nerve jangling win as much as anything. The players felt that relief as much as us and celebrated a lot, as did Hughes - of course - it was a big win. And yes, the players are saying the right things - they've said the right things all season.

 

I'm as pleased as anyone by the win and it's given us half a chance.

 

But I can't forget the West Ham display, where Hughes set the team up ridiculously and we got totally overrun, or possibly worse, Leicester, where he basically admitted he was scared that we'd lose so didn't open it up. that was against a team already on the beach, as demonstrated by their thrashing from Palace at the weekend.

 

For me it's more of a case that anyone would be better than Pellegrino.

 

I obviously hope Hughes keeps us up, but I'm not sure I'd want him to get the job for next season if he does

 

To be fair he came in at a ridiculously late stage of the season and took over a team devoid of confidence and a pretty horrible set of fixtures. If he keeps us up he will have earned the right to be here next season without a doubt.

[captainchris]

I'm wary of this - lots of the stuff on this thread feels like the euphoria of the nerve jangling win as much as anything. The players felt that relief as much as us and celebrated a lot, as did Hughes - of course - it was a big win. And yes, the players are saying the right things - they've said the right things all season.

 

I'm as pleased as anyone by the win and it's given us half a chance.

 

But I can't forget the West Ham display, where Hughes set the team up ridiculously and we got totally overrun, or possibly worse, Leicester, where he basically admitted he was scared that we'd lose so didn't open it up. that was against a team already on the beach, as demonstrated by their thrashing from Palace at the weekend.

 

For me it's more of a case that anyone would be better than Pellegrino.

 

I obviously hope Hughes keeps us up, but I'm not sure I'd want him to get the job for next season if he does

 

Yes there is some post match euphoria going on but then you can’t blame people for being pleased with a win.

As for Hughes, at least he seems to learn by his mistakes. There are things I don’t agree with him on - the main one being Hooedt still in the team, however we are scoring some goals, the football is infinitely more exciting to watch and he doesn’t suffer fools.

I was underwhelmed at the appointment but he is doing well in my view and I would like to keep him next season which ever league we are in....

[doddisalegend]

Go, why is it racist? What race is the victim here

 

 

Go.

 

Its not racist it's xenophobic. It's still a pretty stupid comment though considering most of the top managers and players in the PL are from other countries the idea that you need a British manager who speaks proper English, and has to teach all the foreign players speak proper English, to get the best out of a team is laughable...

[OldNick]

I'm wary of this - lots of the stuff on this thread feels like the euphoria of the nerve jangling win as much as anything. The players felt that relief as much as us and celebrated a lot, as did Hughes - of course - it was a big win. And yes, the players are saying the right things - they've said the right things all season.

 

I'm as pleased as anyone by the win and it's given us half a chance.

 

But I can't forget the West Ham display, where Hughes set the team up ridiculously and we got totally overrun, or possibly worse, Leicester, where he basically admitted he was scared that we'd lose so didn't open it up. that was against a team already on the beach, as demonstrated by their thrashing from Palace at the weekend.

 

For me it's more of a case that anyone would be better than Pellegrino.

 

I obviously hope Hughes keeps us up, but I'm not sure I'd want him to get the job for next season if he does

If we had opened up against Leicester and lost to a late goal, we would basically be out of it now. Lets hope that the point at Leicester is crucial at the end of the season

[saint-crinny]

If we had opened up against Leicester and lost to a late goal, we would basically be out of it now. Lets hope that the point at Leicester is crucial at the end of the season

 

True, and I hope that's how it proves. But anyone who watched that game could see it was there for the taking for us. You cannot deny it was a hugely negative approach, especially the substitutions. We're talking about who we want next year in charge - if we stay up (or go down) I think I would rather someone who was more progressive and attacking in games.

 

The alternative to your point is that we may go down by a point and then sitting in for a 0-0 against a team finishing the season in dreadful form could be crucial for the wrong reasons.

 

(Well, that an about 10 other ridiculous draws at home too)

 

Given that we lost relatively comfortably to Chelsea in the cup semi anyway, I think most of us would have preferred to see us have a real go at them in that game too, rather than basically play a back 5 with 3 defensive midfielders, waiting to go behind.

 

All my opinion of course and a lot of this is ifs and buts of course, but if we had conceded from one of those late chances for Bournemouth, I'm not sure this thread would even be happening.

[OldNick]

True, and I hope that's how it proves. But anyone who watched that game could see it was there for the taking for us. You cannot deny it was a hugely negative approach, especially the substitutions. We're talking about who we want next year in charge - if we stay up (or go down) I think I would rather someone who was more progressive and attacking in games.

 

The alternative to your point is that we may go down by a point and then sitting in for a 0-0 against a team finishing the season in dreadful form could be crucial for the wrong reasons.

 

(Well, that an about 10 other ridiculous draws at home too)

 

Given that we lost relatively comfortably to Chelsea in the cup semi anyway, I think most of us would have preferred to see us have a real go at them in that game too, rather than basically play a back 5 with 3 defensive midfielders, waiting to go behind.

 

All my opinion of course and a lot of this is ifs and buts of course, but if we had conceded from one of those late chances for Bournemouth, I'm not sure this thread would even be happening.

Fair point. I wasn't a fan of Hughes coming here, but seeing the players and him showing a great togetherness may my heart sing

[Sheaf Saint]

Its not racist it's xenophobic. It's still a pretty stupid comment though considering most of the top managers and players in the PL are from other countries the idea that you need a British manager who speaks proper English, and has to teach all the foreign players speak proper English, to get the best out of a team is laughable...

 

It's not even xenophobic.

 

Is it really unreasonable to expect someone who lives and works in England to know the language in order to perform better at his job? If I went to work in a bar in Spain, for instance, I would expect to have to learn Spanish and I completely understand why, because it would enable me to do my job better.

 

Ask anybody in any business and they will tell you that effective communication is by far the biggest aspect of good teamwork. If everybody speaks the same dialect, then that is surely a good starting point towards that, don't you think?

[LeBizzier69]

Another example of not being able to say anything at all, without someone saying it's racist/sexist/feminist/anti-feminist etc etc. Soon, Baa Baa Pink Sheep will be the standard version of the nursery rhyme.

[benjii]

As someone who identifies as a pink sheep, I'd like to ask you to please kindly check your privilege.

[shurlock]

Another example of not being able to say anything at all, without someone saying it's racist/sexist/feminist/anti-feminist etc etc. Soon, Baa Baa Pink Sheep will be the standard version of the nursery rhyme.

 

Good lad.

[Batman]

Good lad.

 

How dare you identify someone by their gender!!!

 

Disgusting

[sammysaint]

Hughes has done well to get the squad more organised and playing better, unlucky for him and stupid by the board that he had to manage us with a tough run in, the way we played agaist arsenal and Chelsea if it was any team outside the top 7 we win get 4-6 points from them and only needing 1-2 points to stay up.

 

If he gets 4 points from the next two games and keeps us up he's a hero for me like Pearson was, just this time i hope we keep him and go for mid table next season, he's the sort of manager to tell this board how it is, like Koeman did and demand reinvestment for players going.

[Badger]

Just seen this on the Echo site:

 

 

MARK Hughes's solution to Southampton's current football plight is "to commit more fouls and be more cynical".

 

If this appalling advice is followed, then the team really do not deserve to stay in the top league.

 

There is still time to get rid of him!

 

Nick Pritchard

 

Southampton

 

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16176859.READER_LETTER___There_s_still_time_to_get_rid_of_Hughes_/?ref=ar

 

Unbelievable !!!

[John Boy Saint]

Just seen this on the Echo site:

 

 

 

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16176859.READER_LETTER___There_s_still_time_to_get_rid_of_Hughes_/?ref=ar

 

Unbelievable !!!

What a winkle

[sambosa75]

Another example of not being able to say anything at all, without someone saying it's racist/sexist/feminist/anti-feminist etc etc. Soon, Baa Baa Pink Sheep will be the standard version of the nursery rhyme.

 

Homophobe.

[captainchris]

Just seen this on the Echo site:

 

 

 

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16176859.READER_LETTER___There_s_still_time_to_get_rid_of_Hughes_/?ref=ar

 

Unbelievable !!!

 

My God Mr Pritchard - really .....

Go on Hughesy toughen em up they needed it and are obviously loving it!

Poor Mr Pritchard .....He means well ...

[S-Clarke]

People who 'write' letters to the echo are of the special variety.

[Suomi Saint]

Another example of not being able to say anything at all, without someone saying it's racist/sexist/feminist/anti-feminist etc etc. Soon, Baa Baa Pink Sheep will be the standard version of the nursery rhyme.

Yep, PC will be the death of society. My daughter gets called ‘vanilla face’ on her flights to Lagos, but she doesn’t fein hurt or outrage. Being offended is now a profession it seems.

[benjii]

Yep, PC will be the death of society. My daughter gets called ‘vanilla face’ on her flights to Lagos, but she doesn’t fein hurt or outrage. Being offended is now a profession it seems.

 

Maybe if she came from a culture which had been colonised and controlled by black people she might find it offensive.

 

Or maybe you're right and I should start calling black people "chocolate face" and tell them to man the **** up.

[Suomi Saint]

Maybe if she came from a culture which had been colonised and controlled by black people she might find it offensive.

 

Or maybe you're right and I should start calling black people "chocolate face" and tell them to man the **** up.

I get your point, but racism works both ways. Our colonial past is what it is, and those people are long gone. Personally, I don’t feel any shame or culpability. The race card is such an easy one to play when it suits. Believe me, your average Brit is far less racist than most inhabitants of this flawed planet, yet we indulge so much time and effort on this PC subject, which will eventually lead to a curtailment of freedom of speech if a balance is not found at some point. The Old Bill doesn’t care if your home is ransacked by some useless druggie, but they are all over you if you are a twit and teach your dog to do a Nazi salute. There has to be balance.

[manzo]

Yep, PC will be the death of society. My daughter gets called ‘vanilla face’ on her flights to Lagos, but she doesn’t fein hurt or outrage. Being offended is now a profession it seems.

 

I do like all these special snowflakes who object to being asked to try to not be a c*nt to other people, because that's all that "being PC" actually means.

[the saint in winchester]

If we had opened up against Leicester and lost to a late goal, we would basically be out of it now. Lets hope that the point at Leicester is crucial at the end of the season

 

And if we had opened up against Leicester and won by a late goal, we would be out of the relegation places now!

[Suomi Saint]

I do like all these special snowflakes who object to being asked to try to not be a c*nt to other people, because that's all that "being PC" actually means.

 

Personally, I think not having the enthusiasm to learn the correct term for a physically challenged transgender with a Welsh father and a Chinese mother borders on being horrible to other people.

[Special K]

Christ on a bike, It doesn't take long for antagonists and apologists to ruin a thread.

 

IMHO, Hughes seems to like the language if Victory, which after the previous two managers (who only spoke Caution), is a breath of fresh air and if he can teach the players that, then that's all that ****ing matters at the moment.

[East Kent Saint]

Hughes struggled at Barca as he would/could not learn spanish , Linaker however did learn the lingo and did well until Cruyff came along and put him on the right wing !

The thought that Hughes speaks english to the team is a bonus rather misses the point that most of the players have english as their second language . The fact that he speaks english is obviously a benefit for most fans as english is their first language .

[OldNick]

And if we had opened up against Leicester and won by a late goal, we would be out of the relegation places now!

if you were the manager and had the responsibility of all that goes with it you may be a bit more cautious. It is easy to go for it when you do not have to feel the repercussions. If we go down by 2 points then you may have a valid point

[mrfahaji]

And if we had opened up against Leicester and won by a late goal, we would be out of the relegation places now!

 

The chances of us losing that game by being more open were higher than us winning it. Of course we should have gone into the game with the mentality of trying to win not draw, but with 15 minutes left it only looked like one team was going to win the game, and it wasn't us.

[Saint86]

And if we had opened up against Leicester and won by a late goal, we would be out of the relegation places now!

 

We'd have got smashed. As any sensible fan who watches the team knows.

 

As was said by a few of us, that could be a very good point come the end of the season. It may not. But either way, Hughes knew we could not win that game so he took the point and hoped its enough in the long run.

 

Anyone who thinks we could have attacked that Leicester line (at that point in time) and won the game is a complete dreamer tbh. I still think it would be hard for us to go there and better a point now, and I don't think I'd risk it as survival is in our own hands now. Beat Swansea and we really should stay up.

 

Beat Swansea and draw with Everton/City and we will... all thanks to that Leicester point.

 

Fail to stay up and its not even remotely Hughes' fault.

[Stud mark of doom]

I think communication has been a genuine problem with some recent managers. The “word salad” post match interviews of the last two stand out.

 

A point that has not come up is that communicating well in English must benefit the whole squad. Although many don’t have English as their first language, it’s more likely to be their second language than whatever the manager’s native tongue happens to be. I wouldn’t like to have to try to work out what point Pellegrino was trying to make if English wasn’t my first language!

 

All the best managers in England are both foreign and great at communicating in English.

 

As for suggesting that requesting a manager be able to communicate in English is racist - sacre bleu.

[saint77]

We'd have got smashed. As any sensible fan who watches the team knows.

 

As was said by a few of us, that could be a very good point come the end of the season. It may not. But either way, Hughes knew we could not win that game so he took the point and hoped its enough in the long run.

 

Anyone who thinks we could have attacked that Leicester line (at that point in time) and won the game is a complete dreamer tbh. I still think it would be hard for us to go there and better a point now, and I don't think I'd risk it as survival is in our own hands now. Beat Swansea and we really should stay up.

 

Beat Swansea and draw with Everton/City and we will... all thanks to that Leicester point.

 

Fail to stay up and its not even remotely Hughes' fault.

 

Spot on mate

[Lastman73]

Another example of not being able to say anything at all, without someone saying it's racist/sexist/feminist/anti-feminist etc etc. Soon, Baa Baa Pink Sheep will be the standard version of the nursery rhyme.

 

It’s already baa baa woolly sheep !! Wtf

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deano6]

Good to have a manager who speaks English. Now all he has to do is get the dressing room to speak and think in our English language.

 

Why should they speak and think in the English language?

[VectisSaint]

Good to have a manager who speaks English. Now all he has to do is get the dressing room to speak and think in our English language.

Yeah, just remember how bad it was when Poch was our manager, or when Koeman came in and took English lessons. Both of them were dreadful because of their inabiity to speak English. Puel and Pellegrino actually spoke English better than Poch.

It has nothing to do with being able to speak English, it is to do with communicating and getting your messages across, that doesn't need to be by a native English speaker to be effective. Sparky is no more English than any of the other aforementioned managers for that matter. Given the majority of our players are not native English speakers (Forster for instance) it really is not a necessity, but it is nice to have someone who is able to communicate easily from a supporter's pov.

[aintforever]

It has nothing to do with being able to speak English, it is to do with communicating and getting your messages across, that doesn't need to be by a native English speaker to be effective.

 

No, but obviously being better at English improves your communication skills.

[a1ex2001]

Just wondering who you'd get in instead?

 

No idea but if there isn't someone better out there then I'd be amazed!

[hughieslastminutegoal]

It's not even xenophobic.

 

Is it really unreasonable to expect someone who lives and works in England to know the language in order to perform better at his job? If I went to work in a bar in Spain, for instance, I would expect to have to learn Spanish and I completely understand why, because it would enable me to do my job better.

 

Ask anybody in any business and they will tell you that effective communication is by far the biggest aspect of good teamwork. If everybody speaks the same dialect, then that is surely a good starting point towards that, don't you think?

 

How many nationalities and languages do we have being spoken in PL? These are young guys many of which may already have a smattering of English. How many English players have any knowledge of a foreign language? Young English players generally are too scared to move abroad - we might have a decent England team if they did.

 

To compare current football with being a bar worker in Spain is pointless, though on the Costas English might be more useful than Spanish I'd suggest. We will soon all be speaking our own languages into our iPhones which will immediately translate into whatever language you select, so we need to get used to the fact that the world is an increasingly integrated place, and let's stop exaggerating issues that are fast becoming outdated. With all the money in football I'm sure clubs can afford numerous translators, and language classes aimed at developing the required vocabulary for working in the football business.

[mrfahaji]

How many nationalities and languages do we have being spoken in PL? These are young guys many of which may already have a smattering of English. How many English players have any knowledge of a foreign language? Young English players generally are too scared to move abroad - we might have a decent England team if they did.

 

To compare current football with being a bar worker in Spain is pointless, though on the Costas English might be more useful than Spanish I'd suggest. We will soon all be speaking our own languages into our iPhones which will immediately translate into whatever language you select, so we need to get used to the fact that the world is an increasingly integrated place, and let's stop exaggerating issues that are fast becoming outdated. With all the money in football I'm sure clubs can afford numerous translators, and language classes aimed at developing the required vocabulary for working in the football business.

 

Although there has been a lot of exaggerated stuff written on here, and even some comments bordering on the ignorant or inappropriate, I don't think it's wrong to say that the better grasp of language you have, all other things being equal, the better your message gets across. Of course, Pep Guardiola has a good grasp of the English language and no doubt delivers his instructions with more vigour and infectiousness than say, Bryan Robson. Pellegrino's problem was not that he couldn't find the right words, more that he oozed hesitancy and insecurity. Puel struggled with the language but also had a dull manner. Pochettino was boring in interviews but you could tell that the players warmed to him, regardless of his struggles with English.

 

But anyone who has had to listen to a talk or speech by someone with a heavy accent will know that it takes a lot more to be engaged than it does by someone with perfect diction. I would not want that to be the case, but it is nevertheless something I have found. It doesn't mean that a non-native speaker is necessarily worse of course, it just means they have to make up for it in other areas, as no doubt the likes of Mourinho, Klopp, Pochettino, Wenger, Guardiola manage to do.

 

Having said that, I could listen to Sean Dyche talk all day

[striker]

I think if Hughes keeps us up he's earned the job for next season

[striker]

I think if Hughes keeps us up he's earned the job for next season

 

Regardless of what language he speaks

[labibs]

Poch has proved conclusively that unless you have a perfect grasp of English (including grammar and diction) ifrom Day 1, its impossible to be a success in the Premier League...

[Badger]

No idea but if there isn't someone better out there then I'd be amazed!

 

Care to elaborate on a shortlist ? The immediate name that springs to mind for me might be Jokanovic, but that depends on which division we and Fulham find ourselves in.

 

I think if Hughes keeps us up he's earned the job for next season

 

Inclined to agree, although it wouldn't be summer without a couple of months of turmoil and rumour..

 

Don't forget Les will need to do his season review, followed by pontificating and dithering..... unless LR is out the door after the final ball is kicked.