Next Senior Men's Team Manager - Runners and Riders

[John83]

The Premiership has become the wealthiest league in Europe. I don't think there's much point fishing in that pool any more. We're out of our depth.

According to this, the Bundesliga managers bottom out at €500k/year https://www.totalsportal.com/money/bundesliga-managers-salaries/
This site says similar about Serie A managers: https://cultofcalcio.com/revealed-highest-grossing-2021-22-serie-a-managers/

[JR89]

Reports in Ghana that Chris Hughton is close to being sacked as Ghana manager and may happen this weekend.

[Diggs246]

Reports in Ghana that Chris Hughton is close to being sacked as Ghana manager and may happen this weekend.

I would happily fly out and pick him up and bring him straight to the AVIVA

When I hear names like Neil Lennon I despair ....

[Stuttgart88]

Only time will tell if the new FAI are any significant improvement over the last lot, but I get the feeling yer man Marc Canham is quite clued in and has an idea of the kind of appointment that's needed. And I don't think the likes of Lennon or Bruce fit the bill.

[nigel-harps1954]

Only time will tell if the new FAI are any significant improvement over the last lot, but I get the feeling yer man Marc Canham is quite clued in and has an idea of the kind of appointment that's needed. And I don't think the likes of Lennon or Bruce fit the bill.

Nor do I think Chris Hughton fits the bill either. Needs to be a progressive manager who doesn't revert back to hoof football and ten men behind the ball, which I fear is exactly what Hughton would do.

[zero]

Nor do I think Chris Hughton fits the bill either. Needs to be a progressive manager who doesn't revert back to hoof football and ten men behind the ball, which I fear is exactly what Hughton would do.

I may be wrong but I don't think Hughton has ever played 'hoof ball'. Defensively rigid, sure but his teams pass in my experience - and we could use some defensive solidity as under Kenny we're effectively starting a goal behind against any side other than your Giblratars since we have completely lost the ability to keep a clean sheet.

[passinginterest]

My main memories with Houghton are that he had a very good football playing Norwich side in the championship. It was built around Wes Holohan, but as soon as they got into the premier league he abandoned that style and benched Holohan in favour of much more limited and defensive players. The fear is that he'd view the Ireland squad like the Norwich squad he took to the premier league and he'd adopt a similar ultra negative approach. Although, to be honest, unless we unearth a couple of really top class central midfield, every manager, no matter what the approach is going to have issues implementing it. Josh Cullen is pivotal to the team at the moment and he's at best an average mid to low level premier league player. We need another couple at that level, or at least one who's a level above that. Unfortunately, it seems to be the one area of the field where we still have no serious prospects emerging.

[Razors left peg]

Hughton would be up there with Neil Lennon as an absolute disaster. Theres a very good reason Ghana, like Forest before him cant get him out the door quickly enough.

He did well ok the past, but so did David O'Leary and I dont see anyone calling for him

[Diggs246]

Hughton would be up there with Neil Lennon as an absolute disaster. Theres a very good reason Ghana, like Forest before him cant get him out the door quickly enough.

He did well ok the past, but so did David O'Leary and I dont see anyone calling for him

Did ok in the past is very unfair. He did very well with Newcastle and Brighton.

I think he won the championship?

David O Leary was deemed toxic because he sued everyone and everything and that's why he's has been unemployed for quite awhile

[Razors left peg]

Did ok in the past is very unfair. He did very well with Newcastle and Brighton.

I think he won the championship?

David O Leary was deemed toxic because he sued everyone and everything and that's why he's has been unemployed for quite awhile

I posted his record with Ghana a page or 2 ago. That should be enough to rule him out, but just in case it wasnt, Forest getting promoted in the same season he had them bottom should be enough to rule him out completely.

He's a nice man but his day is gone.

[Diggs246]

I posted his record with Ghana a page or 2 ago. That should be enough to rule him out, but just in case it wasnt, Forest getting promoted in the same season he had them bottom should be enough to rule him out completely.

He's a nice man but his day is gone.

Having him in the same category as Neil Lennon is a bit mad!!

He won the championship with Newcastle and in 2016 got automatic qualification with Brighton
Hes not perfect but the perfect candidate for us just doesn't exist anymore

[Razors left peg]

Having him in the same category as Neil Lennon is a bit mad!!

He won the championship with Newcastle and in 2016 got automatic qualification with Brighton
Hes not perfect but the perfect candidate for us just doesn't exist anymore

Didnt Lennon get Celtic into the Champions League knockout stages beating Barcelona along the way in the group? Still doesnt mean I'd want him anywhere near the Ireland job.

Roy Keane won the Championship with Sunderland, and again I wouldnt be calling for him to take over either.

[Diggs246]

Didnt Lennon get Celtic into the Champions League knockout stages beating Barcelona along the way in the group? Still doesnt mean I'd want him anywhere near the Ireland job.

Roy Keane won the Championship with Sunderland, and again I wouldnt be calling for him to take over either.

I know it's a tricky maybe even unfair question, but who do u want
( available or soon to be)?

[Jolly Red Giant]

I posted his record with Ghana a page or 2 ago. That should be enough to rule him out, but just in case it wasnt, Forest getting promoted in the same season he had them bottom should be enough to rule him out completely.
And I answered all the points that you made - Ghana had been in freefall before Hughton took over and he managed to qualify for the AFCON


He's a nice man but his day is gone.
He is a nice man and an exceptional coach - and I notice that you didn't comment on the reason why the Ghanaian FA are planning on sacking him - because he wants to make major changes to the squad for AFCON to bring in younger players rather than rely on the dinosaurs that the bureaucrats want in the squad. That reason alone should elevate his standing.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Hughton would be up there with Neil Lennon as an absolute disaster. Theres a very good reason Ghana, like Forest before him cant get him out the door quickly enough.


You came out with this nonsense a couple of weeks ago -

He took over Newcastle in the Championship and won the championship with 102points. In the PL Newcastle played a broad expansive passing game - and despite Newcastle doing very welll in the PL Ashley sacked Hughton because his gambling buddy ran up big debts and Ashley was bailing him out by giving him a big contract.

Hughton took over at Brimingham in the Championship - they played in Europe and came fourth, losing in the play-offs.

He was poached by Norwich to replace Paul Lambert - but Delia Smith did her usual of tightening the purse strings and while it was a tough season, they finished 11th. In the second season he had even less money and a poorer squad - They battled relegation all season - but in April, and with Norwich five points above relegation with four games to play - the Norwich board panicked, sacked Hughton and got the club relegated.

Hughton then took over at Brighton who were a shambles after Sami Hyppia - he saved them from relegation - got them to the play-offs the following season - and then won automatic promotion with 93 points playing an exciting, passing game. In the PL Hughton was operating with a bottom 3 budget and finished 15th in the first season with what was effectively a Championship standard squad (and finished two spots above Southampton - where the entire first eleven were earning more money than the highest paid player at Brighton). In the second season he was still operating with a bottom three budget and like all clubs in the PL with that kind of a budget, they struggled to bring in quality players - most came in on free transfers. Once again - he kept Brighton in the PL. The fact that he managed to keep Brighton up those two seasons is quite remarkable - and he laid the foundations for Potter - Hughton was responsible for signing of Gross, Propper, Gyokeres, Bissouma, Burn, Steele, MacAllister, and he gave Liam Rosenior his start in coaching.

The less said about Forest the better - Hughton was sold a pig-in-a-poke by the owners - I think he made a mistake taking the Forest job and should have gone to WBA who were a much better run club at the time. At the start of the season when they lost all those games Hughton had 7 first team regulars out with injuries and was still trying to get Garner back in on loan. The team that Cooper had the last game of that season only had two players that started the first game for Hughton. Three months after sacking Hughton Forest were still stuck in 17th place (after another run of seven games without a win). The Championship is the type of division where if you string together 5-6 wins you can go from fighting relegation to the play-offs - and that is exactly what happened Forest (after they brought in more players in January).

But the Ghana job is another remarkable achievement for Hughton - the Ghanaian FA is riddled and rampant with corruption and he has made great strides sorting out a team that was in freefall for three years before he started working there. They had begun to turn a corner and doing a clearout of the squad was needed to continue the progress. Unfortunately it is clear that the Ghanaian FA bureaucrats as more interested in exercising their own power than in the team doing well - and Hughton would probably be well off out of it.



He did well ok the past, but so did David O'Leary and I dont see anyone calling for him
1. Hughton is still doing well today - he has just qualified an international team for a major tournament.

2. David O'Leary had a sh*tload of money to spend and he started with a squad at Leeds that had finished 5th in the PL the previous season. He didn't have to clean up a mess at the bottom of the Championship. In fact O'Leary spent more money on both Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Keane than Hughton spent on any player at Brighton 20 years later.

Hughton knows how to organise a defence - and by hell we need that - and he knows how to coach players (he is still one of the most highly regarded coaches in English football and would walk into practically any assistant managers job in the PL even today) - and that is just the type of manager Ireland need.

Would Chris Hughton be the best manager out there - probably not - the problem is that the FAI are going to be fishing in a very small pond - and Hughton ranks way above practically any other potential candidate who has been mentioned. The likes of Neil Lennon isn't fit to polish his boots.

[Fixer82]

Hughton has already been involved with FAI as player and as part of a management team

[geysir]

snippet


Would Chris Hughton be the best manager out there - probably not - the problem is that the FAI are going to be fishing in a very small pond - and Hughton ranks way above practically any other potential candidate who has been mentioned. The likes of Neil Lennon isn't fit to polish his boots.

Should it not be "not fit to lace his boots"? though I think it lessens the value of one's opinions when you belittle other manager's achievements and boost your own choices with a selective copy and paste from a wikipedia type cv.
His club career has had its ups and downs, yet the down parts always have a reasoned excuse offered to explain it away.
Norwich for sure he was prematurely sacked and the Newcastle sacking was bonkers., Brighton improved solidly after he departed, it was a decision which was well vindicated.
Regardless, I think Chris would be a very good choice to coach of the national team, he has the coaching and management credentials, possibly he could thrive in an environment where he just has to work with eligible players and be relatively independent - not having to deal with the complex vagaries of club management.

[SkStu]

You came out with this nonsense a couple of weeks ago -

He took over Newcastle in the Championship and won the championship with 102points. In the PL Newcastle played a broad expansive passing game - and despite Newcastle doing very welll in the PL Ashley sacked Hughton because his gambling buddy ran up big debts and Ashley was bailing him out by giving him a big contract.

Hughton took over at Brimingham in the Championship - they played in Europe and came fourth, losing in the play-offs.

He was poached by Norwich to replace Paul Lambert - but Delia Smith did her usual of tightening the purse strings and while it was a tough season, they finished 11th. In the second season he had even less money and a poorer squad - They battled relegation all season - but in April, and with Norwich five points above relegation with four games to play - the Norwich board panicked, sacked Hughton and got the club relegated.

Hughton then took over at Brighton who were a shambles after Sami Hyppia - he saved them from relegation - got them to the play-offs the following season - and then won automatic promotion with 93 points playing an exciting, passing game. In the PL Hughton was operating with a bottom 3 budget and finished 15th in the first season with what was effectively a Championship standard squad (and finished two spots above Southampton - where the entire first eleven were earning more money than the highest paid player at Brighton). In the second season he was still operating with a bottom three budget and like all clubs in the PL with that kind of a budget, they struggled to bring in quality players - most came in on free transfers. Once again - he kept Brighton in the PL. The fact that he managed to keep Brighton up those two seasons is quite remarkable - and he laid the foundations for Potter - Hughton was responsible for signing of Gross, Propper, Gyokeres, Bissouma, Burn, Steele, MacAllister, and he gave Liam Rosenior his start in coaching.

The less said about Forest the better - Hughton was sold a pig-in-a-poke by the owners - I think he made a mistake taking the Forest job and should have gone to WBA who were a much better run club at the time. At the start of the season when they lost all those games Hughton had 7 first team regulars out with injuries and was still trying to get Garner back in on loan. The team that Cooper had the last game of that season only had two players that started the first game for Hughton. Three months after sacking Hughton Forest were still stuck in 17th place (after another run of seven games without a win). The Championship is the type of division where if you string together 5-6 wins you can go from fighting relegation to the play-offs - and that is exactly what happened Forest (after they brought in more players in January).

But the Ghana job is another remarkable achievement for Hughton - the Ghanaian FA is riddled and rampant with corruption and he has made great strides sorting out a team that was in freefall for three years before he started working there. They had begun to turn a corner and doing a clearout of the squad was needed to continue the progress. Unfortunately it is clear that the Ghanaian FA bureaucrats as more interested in exercising their own power than in the team doing well - and Hughton would probably be well off out of it.


1. Hughton is still doing well today - he has just qualified an international team for a major tournament.

2. David O'Leary had a sh*tload of money to spend and he started with a squad at Leeds that had finished 5th in the PL the previous season. He didn't have to clean up a mess at the bottom of the Championship. In fact O'Leary spent more money on both Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Keane than Hughton spent on any player at Brighton 20 years later.

Hughton knows how to organise a defence - and by hell we need that - and he knows how to coach players (he is still one of the most highly regarded coaches in English football and would walk into practically any assistant managers job in the PL even today) - and that is just the type of manager Ireland need.

Would Chris Hughton be the best manager out there - probably not - the problem is that the FAI are going to be fishing in a very small pond - and Hughton ranks way above practically any other potential candidate who has been mentioned. The likes of Neil Lennon isn't fit to polish his boots.

That’s an exceptional post, whether or not people would agree. Hughton isn’t an exciting appointment for me and I’d prefer a bigger name but that post has got me wondering if it might be the right next step for us.

[CraftyToePoke]

That’s an exceptional post, whether or not people would agree. Hughton isn’t an exciting appointment for me and I’d prefer a bigger name but that post has got me wondering if it might be the right next step for us.

Yeah, its a fine post but if you are capable of walking into practically any EPL assistant role I don't think you end up in Ghana, simply put.

He is ( give or take ) twenty years younger than Trap, ten than MON and the same age as MickMack so he is in that bracket age wise we have seen several times where the game / life / whatever, moves beyond these guys while in the Ireland job, he represents a very real risk of that happening again. He stunk the place out at Forest to an extent he ended up where he now is, if it was only a few injuries and everything was about to be ok, he would have had those UK options and he would have chosen them. He didn't have them. Just because JRG shouts loudly and to be fair convincingly, there isn't any balance to his post, its not remotely objective.

Would he make things better than they now are, yes.
Is he the guy who can make us greater than the sum of our parts to the extent we need, no I don't think so.
Is he potentially a compromise candidate which the fanbase could unite behind as is badly needed, to be fair I think he could be, for a bit at least.

[seanfhear]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023/1109/1415645-kenny-remains-in-the-dark-ahead-of-final-fixtures/

You have to wonder about Stephen Kenny's " Thinking " ? !

Does he any way possible think, that the Results or Performances were in any way good enough over the entire-ity of his run as Irish Manager ? !

He has been darned lucky to have kept the job for so long, and leaving with a bit of dignity would obviously be the best way to go ! !

[ifk101]

Let’s not forget that Hughton was assistant to Kerr. He had Kerr’s ear, he had influence on how we played.
And to add balance to the praise of Hughton here’s some criticism:

Chris Hughton’s style of play is reliant on a sturdy defence. He opts to sit back, soaking up pressure and winning the game by a slim margin. Unfortunately for Hughton this defensive mentality didn’t work and as Forest became leaky at the back, they became even worse up top.

Attacking creativity was nonexistent and there was no emphasis on creating scoring opportunities. Each game Forest would look poor going forward, hardly testing opposing keepers. So even in games when Forest were level they rarely looked like taking the lead.

His game management was also questionable. Substitutions would often be used too late in the game to have an impact, or he would use like-for-like substitutes that couldn’t change the game. For example, in the 2-1 defeat against Cardiff, Phillip Zinckernagel, one of Forest’s better players, was replaced by the inconsistent Joe Lolley while the game was level. Forest later went behind and Johnson was taken off for Alex Mighten, a like-for-like change when a defensive player could have been taken off for a more attacking threat.

His stubbornness to change his style never waived. Forest would fall behind and the system would remain the same: two holding midfielders and a defensive set up – which impeded all chances of getting back into the game. If Hughton was open to changing his game plan, Forest might have more than a point to their name.
https://thefamousclub.co.uk/2021/09/16/where-did-it-go-wrong-for-chris-hughton-at-nottingham-forest/


Hughton had insisted on playing his new 4-3-3 formation when it was obvious it wasn’t working. The changing room looked lost to him when Plucky Little Bournemouth inflicted a heaviest home defeat on Brighton since 1973 and Cardiff City then won 2-0 at the Amex three days later.

The football itself had turned from dull-yet-effective to downright boring. At times, you wanted to scratch your eyes out. …..
One of the major criticisms of Hughton was his style of football. Supporters had become bored of grinding out 1-0 victories, the atmosphere at the Amex was dissipating with each passing home game and if you were brave enough to go away, you knew that you’d be lucky to see a shot on target, let alone a goal. …..
Watching Hughton pick the same players and same formation every week in the second half of last season became something of a soul destroying experience.

From the moment that the Albion threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 in the snow at Fulham as January came to a close, it became obvious that Hughton’s decision to move to 4-3-3 wasn’t working. Even Stevie Wonder could see it.

And yet Hughton persevered until the end of the April with the new formation. Either he was blind to the problems it was causing – exposed full backs, Dale Stephens not suited as a single holding player, Pascal Gross’ effectiveness blunted by not being in the number 10 role, no options good enough to play as the two wide strikers alongside Glenn Murray – or he was too stubborn to return to 4-4-1-1…..
With Hughton, you knew that he wouldn’t change anything until at least 70 minutes had elapsed unless something was going seriously awry…..
Bloom has invested a significant amount of money into Brighton’s academy. Under Chris Hughton, it never really looked like Brighton would get a return on that investment, another factor which played a part in his sacking.

In his four-and-a-half years in charge, Hughton gave academy graduates just 18 minutes of league football…..
https://www.wearebrighton.com/newsopinion/analysing-brighton-sacking-chris-hughton-one-year-on/
Sounds familiar, no? Haven’t we seen enough of this style of play?
Kenny’s time is up but should we give up on the vision with a young and capable team coming through? Personally, my preference is for progression, not regression

[seanfhear]

If Gus Poyet was genuinely interested and we could afford him, then he would certainly be worth consideration.

[JR89]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023/1109/1415645-kenny-remains-in-the-dark-ahead-of-final-fixtures/

You have to wonder about Stephen Kenny's " Thinking " ? !

Does he any way possible think, that the Results or Performances were in any way good enough over the entire-ity of his run as Irish Manager ? !

He has been darned lucky to have kept the job for so long, and leaving with a bit of dignity would obviously be the best way to go ! !

FAI should just put everyone out of their misery and announce before the game that it will be his last game in charge. Let the fans on the night wish him well and goodbye. No stupid interviews then with TOD talking ****** about will I won't I be here.

[ifk101]

If Gus Poyet was genuinely interested and we could afford him, then he would certainly be worth consideration.

John Eustace is still available ....

Strongly linked with Oxford but maybe we are a bigger draw that a L1 club (or maybe not)

[weldoninhio]

I think the challenge here is that it needs to be someone who carries some proven experience at either club level or as an international manager. Someone that the players, fans and media can buy into. That doesn't come without a baseline cost, obviously. The second would be someone that brings a pragmatic v. idealistic approach to the game. In retrospect, I think Kenny was a bit too much of an idealist and it cost him in terms of results and goodwill (over time) - even if some performances were good. A coach who plays to the strengths of his pool and balances that against the strengths/weaknesses of the opposition. I know someone threw out Jose Mourinho earlier and he would be ideal from a pragmatic perspective but i cannot see us being able to afford him plus he has a few more big jobs (pay days) left in him, i reckon. Rafa Benitez is another who, for his faults, is a pragmatician - but just signed on with Celta Vigo for a few years. Dont think he could be tempted away. Same goes for a few of the names mentioned on here who i would also class as fairly pragmatic.

Who/what does that leave? You really are starting to look like a Sam Allardyce type at this point - unless there is someone out of left-field not on the main radars...

Benitez is the Spanish version of Allardyce. Disaster at Real, Newcastle and Everton. Wouldn't want him at all.

[zero]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2023/1109/1415645-kenny-remains-in-the-dark-ahead-of-final-fixtures/

You have to wonder about Stephen Kenny's " Thinking " ? !

Does he any way possible think, that the Results or Performances were in any way good enough over the entire-ity of his run as Irish Manager ? !

He has been darned lucky to have kept the job for so long, and leaving with a bit of dignity would obviously be the best way to go ! !

I'm starting to worry that the FAI are maybe considering keeping him on.

[JR89]

John Eustace is still available ....

Strongly linked with Oxford but maybe we are a bigger draw that a L1 club (or maybe not)

There'll be plenty of championship jobs coming up over the next few months. Surprised Millwall didn't move for him or a couple of other lads like Mick Beale and Nathan Jones. Instead they appointed a 37yr old with no managerial experience except club underage and England U20s.

Though that hasn't affected Portsmouth who are top of League One and haven't lost a league game since March 14th. Their manager was still playing with Oxford United last season and retired mid season to take the job back in January.

For all we know a completely left field option could end up getting the Ireland job rather than some of the names being floated about. Canham supposedly being tasked with drawing up a shortlist and he'd know a few coaches from his time working with the Premier League.

[weldoninhio]

There'll be plenty of championship jobs coming up over the next few months. Surprised Millwall didn't move for him or a couple of other lads like Mick Beale and Nathan Jones. Instead they appointed a 37yr old with no managerial experience except club underage and England U20s.

Though that hasn't affected Portsmouth who are top of League One and haven't lost a league game since March 14th. Their manager was still playing with Oxford United last season and retired mid season to take the job back in January.

For all we know a completely left field option could end up getting the Ireland job rather than some of the names being floated about. Canham supposedly being tasked with drawing up a shortlist and he'd know a few coaches from his time working with the Premier League.

Mick Beale?? More used car salesman than manager.

[ifk101]

There'll be plenty of championship jobs coming up over the next few months. Surprised Millwall didn't move for him or a couple of other lads like Mick Beale and Nathan Jones. Instead they appointed a 37yr old with no managerial experience except club underage and England U20s.

Though that hasn't affected Portsmouth who are top of League One and haven't lost a league game since March 14th. Their manager was still playing with Oxford United last season and retired mid season to take the job back in January.

For all we know a completely left field option could end up getting the Ireland job rather than some of the names being floated about. Canham supposedly being tasked with drawing up a shortlist and he'd know a few coaches from his time working with the Premier League.

Maybe finances dictate a left field appointment? Would be great to know the criteria being used to draw up a short list (if any :-)).

[tetsujin1979]

Benitez is the Spanish version of Allardyce. Disaster at Real, Newcastle and Everton. Wouldn't want him at all.
Fair enough he was bad at Everton, the fans were on his back before the season started, but there's no way he was a disaster at the other two
Lost three games of the 25 games he was in charge at Real, topped their group in the champions league, winning five and drawing one. was third in the league when he was sacked, Real eventually finished second.
Newcastle were sinking fast when he took over in March 2016, and were relegated by a point. Got them promoted at the first attempt, and finished tenth in the PL the next season and thirteenth the following. Left because he couldn't work with Ashley, not the only manager to have that problem

[SkStu]

Rafa at Everton was always a disaster waiting to happen. Club is a shambles and the fans hated him from day 1 because of his past. I wasnt really advocating for him anyway - just trying to share some thoughts around who is considered at the higher end of the list when it comes to being pragmatic and playing to the teams best abilities.

[seanfhear]

Rafa at Everton was always a disaster waiting to happen. Club is a shambles and the fans hated him from day 1 because of his past. I wasnt really advocating for him anyway - just trying to share some thoughts around who is considered at the higher end of the list when it comes to being pragmatic and playing to the teams best abilities.
Why would Rafa be taking the Everton Job / Chelsea job when you consider the " history " he had with those clubs.

Rafa is a bit of a strange guy and his choices could also be strange. Did he ever do much with Liverpool in the league ( the most important championship for Liverpool )

I believe that there was a stat that he never put out the same Liverpool team in the league for two games in a row ~ ~ That is kinda Insane ! ! !

[Diggs246]

I'm not sure Rafa would be absolutely guaranteed to accept an offer from the FAI either!

[JR89]

Maybe finances dictate a left field appointment? Would be great to know the criteria being used to draw up a short list (if any :-)).

Possibly. The wages in the championship are better than what we can offer if what Darren Moore was looking for is anything to go by.

Probably gonna be looking at lads that can't get a job with a championship club or going the route of a coach looking to get into management ala Eustace, Beale, and McKenna once were.

If Canham is the one respondable for finding our next manager then hopefully the search is spread far and wide rather than just looking at lads who've worked in the UK.

[Razors left peg]

You came out with this nonsense a couple of weeks ago -

He took over Newcastle in the Championship and won the championship with 102points. In the PL Newcastle played a broad expansive passing game - and despite Newcastle doing very welll in the PL Ashley sacked Hughton because his gambling buddy ran up big debts and Ashley was bailing him out by giving him a big contract.

Hughton took over at Brimingham in the Championship - they played in Europe and came fourth, losing in the play-offs.

He was poached by Norwich to replace Paul Lambert - but Delia Smith did her usual of tightening the purse strings and while it was a tough season, they finished 11th. In the second season he had even less money and a poorer squad - They battled relegation all season - but in April, and with Norwich five points above relegation with four games to play - the Norwich board panicked, sacked Hughton and got the club relegated.

Hughton then took over at Brighton who were a shambles after Sami Hyppia - he saved them from relegation - got them to the play-offs the following season - and then won automatic promotion with 93 points playing an exciting, passing game. In the PL Hughton was operating with a bottom 3 budget and finished 15th in the first season with what was effectively a Championship standard squad (and finished two spots above Southampton - where the entire first eleven were earning more money than the highest paid player at Brighton). In the second season he was still operating with a bottom three budget and like all clubs in the PL with that kind of a budget, they struggled to bring in quality players - most came in on free transfers. Once again - he kept Brighton in the PL. The fact that he managed to keep Brighton up those two seasons is quite remarkable - and he laid the foundations for Potter - Hughton was responsible for signing of Gross, Propper, Gyokeres, Bissouma, Burn, Steele, MacAllister, and he gave Liam Rosenior his start in coaching.

The less said about Forest the better - Hughton was sold a pig-in-a-poke by the owners - I think he made a mistake taking the Forest job and should have gone to WBA who were a much better run club at the time. At the start of the season when they lost all those games Hughton had 7 first team regulars out with injuries and was still trying to get Garner back in on loan. The team that Cooper had the last game of that season only had two players that started the first game for Hughton. Three months after sacking Hughton Forest were still stuck in 17th place (after another run of seven games without a win). The Championship is the type of division where if you string together 5-6 wins you can go from fighting relegation to the play-offs - and that is exactly what happened Forest (after they brought in more players in January).

But the Ghana job is another remarkable achievement for Hughton - the Ghanaian FA is riddled and rampant with corruption and he has made great strides sorting out a team that was in freefall for three years before he started working there. They had begun to turn a corner and doing a clearout of the squad was needed to continue the progress. Unfortunately it is clear that the Ghanaian FA bureaucrats as more interested in exercising their own power than in the team doing well - and Hughton would probably be well off out of it.


1. Hughton is still doing well today - he has just qualified an international team for a major tournament.

2. David O'Leary had a sh*tload of money to spend and he started with a squad at Leeds that had finished 5th in the PL the previous season. He didn't have to clean up a mess at the bottom of the Championship. In fact O'Leary spent more money on both Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Keane than Hughton spent on any player at Brighton 20 years later.

Hughton knows how to organise a defence - and by hell we need that - and he knows how to coach players (he is still one of the most highly regarded coaches in English football and would walk into practically any assistant managers job in the PL even today) - and that is just the type of manager Ireland need.

Would Chris Hughton be the best manager out there - probably not - the problem is that the FAI are going to be fishing in a very small pond - and Hughton ranks way above practically any other potential candidate who has been mentioned. The likes of Neil Lennon isn't fit to polish his boots.

Fair play, with a post like that you have a job waiting for you as Hughtons PR man, or maybe his Manuela who can translate his recent lack of success into positives :)

To say that the Ghana job is a remarkable achievement is quite something. Would we say that Kenny has done a remarkable job in the face of the FAIs corruption/amateurism/lack of finances? Results matter and his results in Ghana have been awful. As have his results at Forest.

Hes you're favorite, and like all of us your entitled to your opinion. If he gets the job I think many of us will be disappointed, but we'll all back him in the job until we see how he does.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Should it not be "not fit to lace his boots"? though I think it lessens the value of one's opinions when you belittle other manager's achievements and boost your own choices with a selective copy and paste from a wikipedia type cv.
His club career has had its ups and downs, yet the down parts always have a reasoned excuse offered to explain it away.
Norwich for sure he was prematurely sacked and the Newcastle sacking was bonkers., Brighton improved solidly after he departed, it was a decision which was well vindicated.
Regardless, I think Chris would be a very good choice to coach of the national team, he has the coaching and management credentials, possibly he could thrive in an environment where he just has to work with eligible players and be relatively independent - not having to deal with the complex vagaries of club management.
I have already outlined Hughton's record - and unfortunately Lennon's does not remotely compare

Lennon was manager of Celtic while Rangers were insolvent - they weren't even in the Scottish PL. His second stint at Celtic was when that kluts Gerrard was manager of Rangers, a covid shortened season and then he got sacked after two years, with Celtic 18 points behind Rangers in Feb 2021. But more important is what Lennon did outside of Celtic. An 18 month stint at Bolton where they finished 18th in the Championship and the following season they spent the entire season at the bottom of the Championship having won 3 games - and got relegated after Lennon was sacked in March. At Hibs he got them promoted to the PL - and then got suspended after a massive blow-up during a team meeting where the players attacking Lennon's ability to coach the team. He then ended up in the Cypriot League with Omonia (21 times champions) and was sacked after losing four of their first seven games in the 22-23 season.

Now - just to be clear with Hughton's position at Brighton - In early 2019 Dan Ashworth was appointed Brighton's technical director and from day one he wanted Hughton out of the club because he wanted to bring in his own man (Graham Potter). Irrespective of what Hughton did for the remainder of the season, Ashworth was intent on getting him out. At the end of the season Hughton met with the owner Tony Bloom and they held a four hour meeting to discuss the transfer targets and plans for the off-season with every indication that Hughton would remain in charge. It was then that Ashworth made his move, attacked Hughton's player recommendations and persuaded Bloom to sack Hughton.

Now - it could certainly be argued that the decision was vindicated - because Potter did well and RDZ has done even better. But it must be remembered that following Hughton's sacking Ashworth broke the Brighton transfer record four times, one after another, and spent more money in that off-season than Hughton had been given in the previous two seasons and the Brighton wage budget also increased significantly. But the reality is that the Brighton team under Potter bore Hughton's signiture all over it - Bissouma, MacAllister, Gross, Propper, Burn, Steele, Solly March, Ryan, Ben White, Sanchez - all players signed by Hughton or groomed by Hughton as young players. Indeed, I would argue that Potter bears a large responsibility for ruining Aaron Connolly. The kid was not ready to play in the PL and Hughton intended to send him out on loan - instead Potter put him into the first team squad and everything went sideways.

The great unknown here is that we do not know what Hughton would have done if he had been given close to £100m for players in 2019 and how the team would have performed during the following season. But the situation in 2019 was very similar to the situation Hughton faced when he took over Brighton at the foot of the Championship four years earlier. He had kept them in the PL for two tough seasons when most promoted teams go straight back down or are relegated after the second season - and his team could very well have kicked on with the players coming through and the money that was used to buy players for Potter. We will never know - and that is largely down to Dan Ashworth (and it is worth noting that Potter was gone from Brighton within months of Ashworth leaving to take a job with Newcastle).

[Jolly Red Giant]

Yeah, its a fine post but if you are capable of walking into practically any EPL assistant role I don't think you end up in Ghana, simply put.
After Hughton was sacked by Brighton he was offered at least 13 jobs as first team coach with PL clubs. He turned them all down because he wanted to manage again and he tried to take his time to try and find the right job (he took Forest but also was in the frame for Watford, Bristol City and WBA - and apparently two other clubs as well - indeed he was being lined up to take over at West Ham who seriously contemplated sacking David Moyes in 2020 (he was saved by covid).

He took the Ghana job for one simple reason - his father is Ghanaian - he had an affinity with the country.


He is ( give or take ) twenty years younger than Trap, ten than MON and the same age as MickMack so he is in that bracket age wise we have seen several times where the game / life / whatever, moves beyond these guys while in the Ireland job, he represents a very real risk of that happening again. He stunk the place out at Forest to an extent he ended up where he now is, if it was only a few injuries and everything was about to be ok, he would have had those UK options and he would have chosen them. He didn't have them. Just because JRG shouts loudly and to be fair convincingly, there isn't any balance to his post, its not remotely objective.
You may be 100 per cent correct in this assessment.

I believe that Chris Hughton is a very underrated coach/manager - just as he was as a player. He is a very intelligent man, who thinks carefully about what needs to be done and then acts with conviction. Some people regard him as soft because of his polite and pleasant demeanor - but he is a determined individual and usually does very well. The whole Forest thing was a mistake from start to finish and it did damage his reputation - but that does not mean that he is a bad manager. You can list all the managers that Ireland have ever had and few, if any, of them have the record that Chris Hughton has (and I would even include Johnny Giles in that category - and I think he was one of the best managers of his era - but even he did not have the same success managing at club level as Hughton).


Would he make things better than they now are, yes.
Is he the guy who can make us greater than the sum of our parts to the extent we need, no I don't think so.
Is he potentially a compromise candidate which the fanbase could unite behind as is badly needed, to be fair I think he could be, for a bit at least.
1. Good to see that you think its a possibility
2. Hughton's teams have always been better than the sum of their parts - that is what good coaches do.
3. If he gets the job I don't think he would be a compromise candidate.

As I said before - the FAI are going to be fishing in a very small pool - and I think Hughton stands head and shoulders above most of what is being touted. Yes - maybe a hot new young gun might bring a major spark to the team. But the downside is that as soon as they show promise they will be poached by a big club and you are back to square one. That, at least, would not happen with Hughton.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Fair play, with a post like that you have a job waiting for you as Hughtons PR man, or maybe his Manuela who can translate his recent lack of success into positives :)
his 'recent lack of success' - Hughton has just qualified a team for a major international tournament.


To say that the Ghana job is a remarkable achievement is quite something. Would we say that Kenny has done a remarkable job in the face of the FAIs corruption/amateurism/lack of finances? Results matter and his results in Ghana have been awful. As have his results at Forest.
I have dealt with the Forest stuff -

Stephen Kenny has one game to play in a qualifying group and Ireland will probably end up with two wins (against Gibraltar) and six losses and finish fourth just above Gibraltar.

Chrish Hughton has just qualified Ghana for a major international tournament.

The difference is clear.

And by the way - Hughton is not being paid by the Ghanaian FA - he is being paid by the Ghanaian government who initially brought him in as technical director to try and sort out the shambles that exists in Ghanaian football. No matter how bad things are with the FAI, things are fifty times worse in Ghana - and the FAI bureaucrats are not telling Kenny what players to pick and threatening him with the sack if he doesn't do it.

Since Hughton took over with Ghana they have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 0 in competitive internationals -

Stephen Kenny's record in competitive internationals - played 26 - won 6 - drawn 10 - lost 15 (and the six wins were Gibraltar x2, Armenia, Scotland, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan)


you're favorite, and like all of us your entitled to your opinion. If he gets the job I think many of us will be disappointed, but we'll all back him in the job until we see how he does.
Name a better candidate that the FAI has a chance of recruiting - and one that won't jump at the first club job that comes along and I am all ears.

[Jolly Red Giant]

By the way - Rafa is not an option - the guy chases the money

[Razors left peg]

Everyone should aspire to find someone in life that loves them the way JRG loves Chris Hughton!

[LurcherLover]

Everyone should aspire to find someone in life that loves them the way JRG loves Chris Hughton!

He makes some valid points and a good argument in terms of benchmarking against other potential replacements, albeit from a somewhat biased view of his management career.

[Razors left peg]

He makes some valid points and a good argument in terms of benchmarking against other potential replacements, albeit from a somewhat biased view of his management career.

The case is well argued but very biased towards his own opinion, and thats fair enough, we are all entitled to our opinions and favorites for the job. We are also entitled to want to avoid some managers at all costs. Lennon, Roy Keane and Hughton are on that list for me. All who have had some form of success, all who I think would be a disaster for us.

[LurcherLover]

The case is well argued but very biased towards his own opinion, and thats fair enough, we are all entitled to our opinions and favorites for the job. We are also entitled to want to avoid some managers at all costs. Lennon, Roy Keane and Hughton are on that list for me. All who have had some form of success, all who I think would be a disaster for us.
I agree the likes of Keane and Lennon would be disastrous. Although I wouldn't necessarily be delighted if Hughton got the nod, he's a better candidate than the vast majority of names that have been thrown out to date. We're in position now where there wouldn't be too many candidates that will please everyone. I've a feeling it's going to be a major disappointment unless Canham etc surprises us.

[JR89]

1724120307441557847

I'd say the chances of that contract extension happening are getting slimmer.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Everyone should aspire to find someone in life that loves them the way JRG loves Chris Hughton!
I've been a long time admirer of Hughton - an underrated player and an underrated coach who probably would have had a much higher profile if he wasn't such a nice guy (and he is also way too loyal to the people he works for).

Is he the best coach in England - no - is he the best coach Ireland has ever produced - no - but he is a damned good one and is better than any other name currently in the frame for the job.

Now - just because he is a good coach doesn't mean that he is going to be a success if he was appointed Ireland manager - but he has a better chance of doing it than the likes of Neil Lennon or either of the Keanes etc.

I have to say that the prospect of Poyet coming into the frame is interesting and he is another good coach. Unlike Hughton, Poyet is a bit of a loose cannon - but things would be interesting with him at the helm.

And by the way - I have absolutely no issue with anyone disagreeing with me - it would be good to have a proper debate about it, rather than simply dismissing the idea with off the cuff comments about Brighton, Forest and Ghana.

[Jolly Red Giant]

He makes some valid points and a good argument in terms of benchmarking against other potential replacements, albeit from a somewhat biased view of his management career.
I think my approach to Hughton is partly impacted by the fact that I do know someone who is reasonably close to Hughton in professional terms and I have gained some limited insights into stuff going on behind the scenes.

[Razors left peg]

I've been a long time admirer of Hughton - an underrated player and an underrated coach who probably would have had a much higher profile if he wasn't such a nice guy (and he is also way too loyal to the people he works for).

Is he the best coach in England - no - is he the best coach Ireland has ever produced - no - but he is a damned good one and is better than any other name currently in the frame for the job.

Now - just because he is a good coach doesn't mean that he is going to be a success if he was appointed Ireland manager - but he has a better chance of doing it than the likes of Neil Lennon or either of the Keanes etc.

I have to say that the prospect of Poyet coming into the frame is interesting and he is another good coach. Unlike Hughton, Poyet is a bit of a loose cannon - but things would be interesting with him at the helm.

And by the way - I have absolutely no issue with anyone disagreeing with me - it would be good to have a proper debate about it, rather than simply dismissing the idea with off the cuff comments about Brighton, Forest and Ghana.

I didnt write an off the cuff remark about his time with Ghana, in fact I went into detail about each result he had there more than I normally would do usually from an individual game point of view and respective FIFA rankings. You are of the opinion that there are mitigating circumstances that I dont agree with because the teams the results have come against are so bad.

It is what it is, I dont hate Chris Hughton, I just dont think he is the right man for the job.

[Fixer82]

Imagine having a father from Ghana and a mother from Ireland and managing both countries in your career?

He can't turn it down if he's offered it

[JR89]

I didnt write an off the cuff remark about his time with Ghana, in fact I went into detail about each result he had there more than I normally would do usually from an individual game point of view and respective FIFA rankings. You are of the opinion that there are mitigating circumstances that I dont agree with because the teams the results have come against are so bad.

It is what it is, I dont hate Chris Hughton, I just dont think he is the right man for the job.

Of the usual suspects (Keane, Lennon, Hughton etc) that normally get named when it comes time for a new manager I'd have had him as the preferred choice. That I wouldn't mind if he got the job as it's slim pickings when it comes to experienced managers but after ifk's post on the last page he's got me second guessing myself.

As he's recently come out talking about the Irish job publicly it's rumoured that Gus Poyet is close to being sacked after going public the other day about his assistant not being paid.

[pineapple stu]

Getting sacked for complaining about not being paid?

That'll work out well I'm sure

Though if his contract is close to up, then it'd be more than he wasn't kept on rather than that he was sacked