Mark Hughes appreciation thread

[SaintAndy14]

Thank you, Mark Hughes! What a great job you have done. Please now stay on and build on this next season. He already knows the squad, staff, way the club operates and who he wants to keep/ship out.

[CB Fry]

I'll be disappointed if we don't manage to string this along until at least mid-June.

[Pilchards]

Forgot that after the Chelsea game we were 5 points from safety with 5 games to go. We had a lucky escape in that other teams were even worse than us.

 

 

How many games did Saints win under Mark Hughes in the Premiership?

Can’t understand why everyone is begging the club to sign him up like nobody else could of done the job.

[DuncanRG]

Anyone who was at St Mary's today saw why he should and will stay. The team, fans and manager are pulling happily in the same direction for the first time in ages and we have the chance to build on that with a full preseason. Tadic said after the game that all the players want him to stay, even said that he "needs" to stay and that it would help keep players here. Why would you want to hit their morale again when we've managed to finish the season on a high?

 

If we were managerless and needed to appoint someone I don't think Hughes would be my first choice, but we've already caught the ball and need to run with it rather than lobbing it in the air again.

[angelman]

How many games did Saints win under Mark Hughes in the Premiership?

Can’t understand why everyone is begging the club to sign him up like nobody else could of done the job.

 

OK he got a point a game. WHU was his sighter and after got us playing better. Sure we lost vs 3 big boys (bad against Chelsea).

 

So you don't want him. Fine. Who would you like? Someone from the Championship or an unheard of manager from Ligue 1 or La Liga? Hughes has 6,7,8,9,9,9 finishes with clubs no bigger than us.

[Batman]

OK he got a point a game. WHU was his sighter and after got us playing better. Sure we lost vs 3 big boys (bad against Chelsea).

 

So you don't want him. Fine. Who would you like? Someone from the Championship or an unheard of manager from Ligue 1 or La Liga? Hughes has 6,7,8,9,9,9 finishes with clubs no bigger than us.

 

*awaits a saints hipster to mention graham potter

[angelman]

Potter going to Swansea isn't he? Or is everyone going to call for Marco Silva, after all, he has a stunning record.

[Saint Pete]

How many games did Saints win under Mark Hughes in the Premiership?

Can’t understand why everyone is begging the club to sign him up like nobody else could of done the job.

 

Have you been watching the last 6 games? Surely you must acknowledge that there has been a marked improvement in performance? He’s only been in charge for 8 league games and 3 of those were against Chelsea, Arsenal and City. Put in that context, the results he has achieved have been very good and just as importantly he seems to have the backing of the players, something the last 2 managers never seemed to achieve.

 

I personally think it’s very unlikely we will be able to attract a manager with a much better record than Hughes at the moment, and I certainly don’t trust Les and co to unearth any gems if we go into another lengthy round of “due diligence” on other available candidates. Any talk of the likes of Tuchel or Ancelotti, etc is absolute pie in the sky.

 

So let’s get on with appointing Hughes, so that everyone can work towards improving the squad, which should be what we are focused on this summer.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Potter going to Swansea isn't he? Or is everyone going to call for Marco Silva, after all, he has a stunning record.

 

He must have been snapped up already surely........

[Evil Monkey]

We were dead and burried when he took over. Not mathematically, but we could all see where we were heading. Hughes instilled passion and pride back into the players and fans. He made us competitive in every game (except WHU). One club always seems to save themselves right at the last second. I genuinely didn't think it could be us. Maybe not our greatest of escapes, but certainly one that I didn't see coming. Hughes saved us no question. He deserves a 2/3 year contract. Thank you Mark!

[Foxstone]

Hopefully Les won't do his usual fannying around and get Sparky nailed into a 3 year contract this week!

[hypochondriac]

How many games did Saints win under Mark Hughes in the Premiership?

Can’t understand why everyone is begging the club to sign him up like nobody else could of done the job.

I think the fact you are in the extreme minority here should tell you something about your opinion. Hughes kept us up and deserves a crack to see what he can do on that basis alone. The fact the players like him and are playing for him is another bonus. It would be incredibly harsh to discard him now.

[FloridaMarlin]

I had an interesting discussion with a Stoke supporter yesterday. He repeated the view I've heard from several on the radio etc, that Hughes was fantastic for them for the first two three years, but it stagnated, and in truth they should have parted company at the end of last season before it turned really sour.

 

Interesting though about who is responsible for signings at Stoke, and who/how they are worked, by the manager, DoF, board or combination of them. This is one of the issues their supporters are up in arms about. There is no real understanding of this (same for us really). Berahino they believe rests with the board,and CEO. Wimmer they think is Hughes choice, yet they also signed Zouma on loan.

 

Hughes transfer record is a source for concern, as is his record of falling out with players (although understand this with Boufal, but wonder what the history was with Arnautovic). Wonder why we appeared so much more attractive to Cedric, and Lemina than Stoke.(apart from nicer part of the country perhaps!), didn't one of them sign for us after visiting the Stoke training ground ?

 

 

 

 

Who would be on this shortlist then ?

 

Safely rule out the bold capture of a Tuchel (who has already rejected our approach)or similar, and Emery as unrealistic, I wonder who is left.

 

 

Other than exceptions like Fergie and Wenger, who built a dynasty at their respective clubs, most managers appear to have a shelf life of around three years.

 

Yes, point to Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe, but most players - if they stay long enough at a club - have pretty much heard everything a manager has to say in terns of motivation and coaching in that time.

 

Strachan was a classic example. He was great for the first two or three years but then the players stopped playing for him as they were fed up with him.

 

Perhaps that is more of an indictment on players than it is on managers but most PL clubs turn their managers over every three years or so.

[Junior Mullet]

Hughes is a good fit for Saints. Sign him up 100%. It's not all about who looks good on paper or who the next best young manager with a Spanish accent may be. Hughes inherited a team bereft of confidence, lacking style and unable to score goals. Under Hughes we have competed with Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City, we have scored goals, the football is more exciting, the players look like they are playing as a team and (here is the clincher) we managed to hold on to a lead in vital games against Bournemouth and Swansea.

 

I was unimpressed when news broke that he was joining. I then thought, well give the man a chance. Now, I really do think he will be good for us and we will be good for him.

 

Get his contract signed quick so that we can get on with the rebuild.

[John Boy Saint]

Firstly Well done Mark Eddie and Mark for keeping the team up, also well done for pulling a bunch of talented lads into playing unit when for much of the past 2 seasons many of them have looked like complete strangers to each other at times.

 

So the big decision is do we keep him on, one camp is of the view “nah there is better out there, he hasn’t done anything” yet can’t name anyone aside from the usual pie in the sky names. The other camp is “yeah why not” - given what he has achieved in recent weeks given the tools (and condition they were in) he had to work with.

 

Given the last 2 appointments, that is the pedigree of Manager we are going to appoint from overseas, Pochettino was, as it turned out, was a good find. But as they say lightening never strikes twice.

I think quite simply many managers do or don’t fit the club they are managing, just a weird dynamic.

Pardew didn’t fit us. Adkins fitted like a glove - but elsewhere hasn’t seemingly achieved the level he did with us. Pochettino fitted with us and has fitted with Spurs. Koeman fitted with us - went to Everton, which should have been his next level and failed ultimately (he only got the Dutch gig because both him and the KNVB buried the hatchet). Puel (who) fitted in France but didn’t fit us. Pellegrino (again who) we know didn’t fit us either.

What’s to say Hughes isn’t the next right fit for us, and given the tools we have beyond the playing staff actually take us back to where we were 2 seasons ago.

[manji]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

[buctootim]

The sad thing is that a couple of years ago we could have attracted much better than Hughes. Now he is pretty much the best we can hope for.

[buctootim]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

 

The post match interview on the BBC seemed to indicate he wants to stay but hasnt heard anything - which is a bit odd. You'd think the club would have said something along the lines of "If you you keep us up we want you to stay" when they appointed him.

[Doctoroncall]

I don't know when all this occurred, if Hughes was there for some of it, but this is from the Guardian regarding Stoke players:

 

Jesé – whose brilliant season-opening, match-winning debut against Arsenal predated months of mediocrity or complete invisibility – disappeared after being allowed to go back to Spain to care for his sick son, whose mother then accused him on Instagram of skipping hospital and spending time instead in a Madrid nightclub, “smoking, drinking and [enjoying the company of another woman] in the bathroom”. Goalless Saido Berahino arrived late for an Under-23 game and was fined and relegated to the reserves. Erik Pieters was fined two weeks’ wages for ignoring a club curfew to go to a nightclub the night before a match. Ibrahim Afellay’s attitude in training was so dismal Paul Lambert told him to stop turning up. After Stoke’s relegation was confirmed Jack Butland said their transfer dealings had been “farcical”, while Charlie Adam said “some players have been getting away with murder for a long time”. The cumulative effect of these stories was to suggest that part of the squad had experienced a total breakdown in discipline, while the remainder watched them and simmered with resentment.Future employers will want to consider this period of their careers very carefully, assuming they – unlike Stoke, it seems – do any due diligence at all.

 

I think it highlights that unless the club is moneyed to buy known talent or winning there will be problems with so many large egos around regardless of manager and club.

 

I wouldn't mind if Hughes does continue for the next couple of seasons at least we know what to expect.

[S-Clarke]

I don't know when all this occurred, if Hughes was there for some of it, but this is from the Guardian regarding Stoke players:

 

Jesé – whose brilliant season-opening, match-winning debut against Arsenal predated months of mediocrity or complete invisibility – disappeared after being allowed to go back to Spain to care for his sick son, whose mother then accused him on Instagram of skipping hospital and spending time instead in a Madrid nightclub, “smoking, drinking and [enjoying the company of another woman] in the bathroom”. Goalless Saido Berahino arrived late for an Under-23 game and was fined and relegated to the reserves. Erik Pieters was fined two weeks’ wages for ignoring a club curfew to go to a nightclub the night before a match. Ibrahim Afellay’s attitude in training was so dismal Paul Lambert told him to stop turning up. After Stoke’s relegation was confirmed Jack Butland said their transfer dealings had been “farcical”, while Charlie Adam said “some players have been getting away with murder for a long time”. The cumulative effect of these stories was to suggest that part of the squad had experienced a total breakdown in discipline, while the remainder watched them and simmered with resentment.Future employers will want to consider this period of their careers very carefully, assuming they – unlike Stoke, it seems – do any due diligence at all.

 

I think it highlights that unless the club is moneyed to buy known talent or winning there will be problems with so many large egos around regardless of manager and club.

 

I wouldn't mind if Hughes does continue for the next couple of seasons at least we know what to expect.

 

The only slight concern I have over Hughes is his transfer record. Obviously, his recent record at Stoke was awful, lots of highly paid, expensive additions in the likes of Imbula, Saido, Jese etc.

 

Then you've got his stint at QPR where he signed expensive dross like Cesar, Boswinga, Granero, Fabio.

 

Not too sure how much input he had, as QPR was clearly a basket case at the time he was there. I’d say the jury is certainly out though...

[St Louis]

Some managers just fit with certain clubs, and Hughes feels a good fit to me.

Remember when we appointed Strachan and the fans were up in arms as he had just taken Coventry City down, and that worked out OK.

Sometimes certain managers just work at certain clubs, and I have a feeling that could be Hughes with Saints.

Fulham & Palace fans think Roy Hodgson is the best thing since sliced bread, yet WBA and Liverpool fans think he is the worst manager ever!?

[Matthew Le God]

Some managers just fit with certain clubs, and Hughes feels a good fit to me.

Remember when we appointed Strachan and the fans were up in arms as he had just taken Coventry City down, and that worked out OK.

Sometimes certain managers just work at certain clubs, and I have a feeling that could be Hughes with Saints.

Fulham & Palace fans think Roy Hodgson is the best thing since sliced bread, yet WBA and Liverpool fans think he is the worst manager ever!?

 

Do they? His work at West Brom led to him getting the England job, he finished 11th and 10th with them... WBA's highest league finishes since the early 1980s. He left for the England job so was hardly going to turn it down. Why would the West Brom fans think he is the "worst manager ever"?

Edited 14 May, 2018 by Matthew Le God

[Pamplemousse]

He's very highly regarded at West Brom

[aintforever]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

 

**** me, here we go. You just know Reed is going to make a complete balls up of this.

 

I expect we are going to have the usual month of dithering before the wrong decision is made.

[St Louis]

Do they? His work at West Brom led to him getting the England job, he finished 11th and 10th with them... WBA's highest league finishes since the early 1980s. He left for the England job so was hardly going to turn it down. Why would the West Brom fans think he is the "worst manager ever"?

 

Fair point, they didnt like his style at all but he did fairly well, but I'm sure you get the point.

 

Another example is Big Sam at Bolton, a mate of mine follows them thinks he's a football, genius and swears he built the best 'footballing' team they have ever seen.... Jay Jay Okocha, Djorkaeff, Campo, etc.

 

I think Hughes has showed a lot of passion, he seems to understand the club and the players looked (and sound) like they were playing for him.

[striker]

Hodgson did an unbelievable job at CP, need to give credit where its due. They finished getting 13 pts in their final 5 matches, only Man City was as good.

[saint77]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

 

he certainly enjoyed the after party at dock gate 4 with reed etc

[beatlesaint]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

 

This doesn’t quite fit with the Reed is going in the summer rumours which seem to be taken as gospel.

[Wurzel]

The post match interview on the BBC seemed to indicate he wants to stay but hasnt heard anything - which is a bit odd. You'd think the club would have said something along the lines of "If you you keep us up we want you to stay" when they appointed him.

 

I hope they didn't. He kept us up with 8 points from 8 games. He could have achieved that with 8 0-0 draws but that would have made him even more boring than the last two, and we'd have no idea of he was any better than that. I wouldn't want to keep him under those circumstances.

 

Thankfully his 8 points were achieved by arguably improving the side with every game, so no reason not to think he can't continue improving it into next season. I'd like to think with hindsight it's now just a case of the board rubber stamping a new contract.

[saint lard]

You watch Les et al dismiss the thought of Hughes and delusions of grandeur take over....we then spend the summer trying to tempt Unai Emery to the club.

2 weeks prior to kick off of the new season....we remain managerless after being turned down....again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pilchards]

he certainly enjoyed the after party at dock gate 4 with reed etc

 

So would you if he put 2m into your bank.

[simo]

Sign him up before someone like Watford do !

[Saint Billy]

I’ve heard Hughes won’t be staying because he can’t work with Reed. If you remember that was also touched on in that Radio Solent debate.

Of course that might be a Hughes negotiating ploy but he didn’t hang around much after the game.

 

If that happens to be the case I fekin give up.

 

Obviously Reed still wants control of transfers etc and will obviously settle for another no name brown noser of a manager, and has probably been told by Gao to keep the spending down to an absolute minimum which Hughes wont buy into understandably.

 

Just a hunch but I bet its not far off the truth knowing the morons that run our club.