Mark Hughes - NEW POLL

Yes, the pace issue was glaringly evident last night, as I posted at half time. Losing Wright was a massive blow to us. Quite apart from his goal threat he was able to get us up the pitch quickly, without hoofing, and also did lots of covering back at pace. When Crewe broke they did so at speed and we were cacking ourselves. But whenever we get a breakout it almost always breaks down before we reach the oppo penalty box because we simply don't have anyone with the speed to break clear. We hardly ever get one on one chances with the oppo keeper for this reason.

 

I don’t favour 442 to any other but I would prefer a pressing game which requires fitness to keep up. And I definitely think playing out from the back is a no no it just invites pressure.
The object of football is to score more goals than the opposition and to do that we need to get the players and the ball in the box as often as possible and you don’t do that by messing about passing sideways on the edge of your own area

 

You can pass out of the back without going side to side and messing about, it doesn’t have to be one extreme to the other.

 

It doesn't. But to do it effectively you need a mobile midfield who take up good positions quickly, get themselves unmarked and are therefore available for the back four to pass to. What so often happens is that our back four are forced to keep making the square passes, or play the tight ball up the touchline, or just hoof it long, because Gilliead and Smallwood aren't canny enough to get into good positions quickly enough. When Clayton was anchoring the midfield we saw a reduction in the square passing and an increase in good passing through the channels, because he knows what he's doing there.

 

Watching Hughes management this season it is no surprise that he has won nothing and be considered a failure in management in his career .
However he should be allowed another season in the hope he can learn from his mistakes and bring the club success and a first management reward of his many attempts

 

This season isn’t over just yet Trev

 

Let's hope not but either way he needs another season

 

Harsh to consider him a failure. Hes had some decent jobs and did well at Blackburn and Fulham. There is far worse out there.

Time to judge him is either Monday or in a few weeks. All these injury time goals could be forgiven and forgotten.

Regardless of Monday, he will get another crack at it unless he walks. Deffo gets another go for me and like you say - hopefully puts things right next season. L2

He has made mistakes but so have the players. Individual errors have cost us automatic ptomotion this season.

 

I don't know what's worse, the stupidity to want Hughes sacked or the stupidity of writing 300 word paragraphs about why Hughes should be sacked. It's much easier just to write “I don't know anything about football”

 

This is spot on and for me is the biggest weakness we have as a team going forward. I've noticed fans complaining when the centre backs pass between themselves but that's because the two central midfielders rarely offer themselves up as an outball, essential if your strategy is to pass out from your own goal line. It also another reason that Halliday has spells just passing back to Platt as there was no inside ball because the midfield option wasn't there.

 

Speechless...

 

Another frustration for me is that a lot of the time when our opponents have been on the offence and Lewis has the ball, none of our players are ready to receive it from him quickly and start a counter attack because they are all walking away with their backs to goal like they have all the time in the world. For a team whose main ethos is playing out from the back, that's absolutely criminal.

 

You only need look at Burnley this season to see how it can work with average players, but coached to play a system.

 

Some nonsence comments on here about sacking MH but for me the key is has Hughes learnt from the mistakes this season or is his 'my way or the highway' ego unbreakable.
Our style of play can be stodgy and lacking pace, our signings have been a real mixed bunch and our achievements no better than hoped for (despite Mark saying its our best season for years )

I am certain Hughes will still be here next season (unless he determines otherwise) and hopefully under all his occasional bravado he has seen more clearly what works and where we need to adapt - whichever division we are in!

 

Or a fellow poster not accepting another posters opinion ?.

 

Will he get head hunted?

https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-birmingham-city-plot-move-to-appoint-ex-man-city-boss-mark-hughes/

 

Silly season has started early it seems. Dafter things have happened i guess.

 

As long as he takes us up first, it was always going to be a talking point that some club would be in for him.

 

If you listen to his pre match interview. He talks about how he has enjoyed his foray back into football management. He chose us because we are a big club who were struggling, and he wanted to achieve great things together. He certainly doesn’t appear he is going anywhere else anytime soon. He described this season as good, but we need to make that final step and make it great.