Mark Hughes - NEW POLL

I vote stick on the proviso he has learned where he went wrong and acts upon it,he certainly gives the club a higher profile and more publicity

 

Are you doubling up as Trevor ?

 

Ok so its not been the end to the season we all wanted but trying to look at this in a balanced way.
On the plus side a massive improvement albeit from a very low base! Fans reconnected with the club after a toxic few years. Some cracking away days and big home crowds. The atmosphere for the Carlisle game was the best I've seen in years and would have been unthinkable under Adams.
On the negative side, the squad always felt a little short. Januarys recruitment very poor, and all season we've had slowest midfield I can remember. Thats the reason we've dropped so many points at home as we've been so easy to play against. I'm not going to mention the substitution yesterday!
Theres a lot of talk about us playing from the back. I actually don't have a problem with that continuing. We need pace and movement throughout though to pull it off as Orient have shown.
MH has another year on his contract. For me, he gets the oportunity to build on the pluses of this season whilst hopefully learning from whats gone wrong and putting that right. If it doesnt work out then a parting of the ways is of course inevitable

 

A very fair assessment.

 

problem is from his post match comments I don’t think he has learned

 

I voted twist. Firstly, not taken with the view that this season was a “free hit” for Hughes. He had the end of last season and a full pre-season. We ended 21/22 level on points with Orient and well above Stevenage (and Carlisle). MH was therefore dealt a comparatively strong hand as a starting point compared to most of this season’s promotion contenders.

Yesterday was such a huge chance - the opportunity was right then and there before us, and we failed to grasp it in the most exasperating manner. It’s all very well trying to quickly brush aside the disappointment and look ahead, but a massive opportunity was passively wasted and much of the blame lies with MH for me.

Banks’ substitution was appalling, no matter how poor we’d been before we were suddenly on level terms and the momentum with us and ten minutes to win it. Off goes the creative spark and on comes a defender. Carlisle in contrast go for it, leave a defender pushed up in an attacking situation after a corner had been cleared and he wins it for them. Hughes skulks in the dugout with a blank face while the Carlisle bench urge their team on.

His post match demeanour also didn’t sit right with me. There’s always been this undercurrent that MH himself feels he is too big to be a League 2 manager and that he’s not fully buying into the club, he doesn’t really feel the highs and lows because he’s done bigger and better things before. As if him simply being Mark Hughes should be enough to get us promoted.

He didn’t look or sound gutted or gutted for the fans yesterday, just a little tetchy and embarrassed that the mighty MH hasn’t succeeded in lowly League Two.

So many things need to come together to win promotion, recruitment, team spirit, luck with injuries, luck with referees etc. On paper next season’s League 2 looks stronger at the top end and that’s not accounting for any dark horses on lower budgets that might emerge as Stevenage did this season. There’s no guarantee we wouldn’t end up in the play offs again next year even after a good season. Would we want MH to lead us into those again?

I personally believe we’ll get off to a mediocre start to next season and he’ll leave by mutual consent end of September or early October.

 

Summer recruitment is the key and I agree if the start is mediocre in results and performance then he wont be here beyond Christmas. He's made mistakes for sure, and the substitution yesterday was an almighty clanger, but I just dont think that getting rid now and starting again is the right thing to do. Our track record in managerial recruitments in recent years hasnt been great.

 

I don't think anyone has said this season was a free hit. Although it wasn't the finish to the season we all wanted, we have improved significantly.
By clearing some of the dead wood out like Threlkeld, Songo'o & Eisa, we should be in a position to add a bit more pace and quality.
Chapman's injury did hurt us in the end as Nevers/Costelloe/Eisa weren't up to it on the left. Bar Walker for 4 months and Chapman/Oliver at the end, I can't think of too many injuries. We probably got off lightly.
There were other's much worse off than us though. Mansfield were carrying 10 injured players from Xmas onwards.

 

I'm going for stick at the moment.

I think the summer got off to a poor start, to be honest. Handing out contracts to players who were never good enough for a promotion bid - We should have thanked the likes of Sutton and Angol and moved them on right there and then. I hope he's a little more ruthless with the out-of-contract players, and the players who aren't deemed good enough - Hendrie, Young, etc. I'm hoping we go for a smaller squad with more quality as mentioned above.

Get the recruitment right, have a good pre-season and VP will be rocking again.

 

Our resident car valeter @Fordy117 said it was a free hit for him this season but as usual has moaned about everything possible

 

I couldn't believe it when I saw Hughes sat back in the dug out after they scored the third. Very poor management when he should have been on the touchline cajoling and encouraging the players

 

You just did .

Fair overall assessment @Morley Bantam.

 

Totally agree and posted some thing similar here, https://bantamtalk.com/index.php?threads/carlisle-united-vs-bradford-city-saturday-20th-may-2023-3-00pm.7217/page-43#post-756019 .

 

He was like a stuffed dummy. His team were out fought and he was out thought. An uninspiring individual who has little know how of League Two and the tactics required to get out of it.

I see little point in persevering with him.

 

Well I do believe he did have a free hit this season and it’s all about next for him.

You only have to look at the summer plus Jan transfers to understand that. Oliver on a 3 year contract etc.

However, the season started and it was weak ( you only have to see the teams that have gone up or finish above us to understand this) and as the season went along even though we were bad you thought hmmm maybe it can happen this season. However, we messed up yet again!! Utter shite!

However, we go again!

 

Speaking to one of the first team players this evening I got a fascinating insight into what it's been like within the camp this season.
Spoke highly of Hughes.
Very calm and not a shouter.
Said he's more of a face for the whole project.
Said Hodges did a lot of the work and was around the players a lot more.
Spoke very highly of both him and Trueman.
Came across that mental strength in the team isn't the best.
Said that the team weren't confident of winning once they saw the opposition warming up and felt the atmosphere from the home fans.
Mentioned Lewis not being himself.
To me that's down to strength of mind.
None of the players that started looked comfortable.
Might be why Osadebe and East improved us??
Time to take it all in and get over any doubts.
All 3 goals conceded were from our players losing their nerve.

Like I said, the conversation was fascinating and explains why the whole team who started the match seemed to freeze.

 

As you say an interesting insight. That tells me all I need to know. Hughes ain't the man to build that confidence

 

Well that is certainly how they come across. It has been like this before, we wanted strong characters and leaders in the dressing room. It is the weight of expectations of the fans that plays on their mind. A good leader can help lift that off their shoulders.

 

“Came across that mental strength in the team isn't the best.
Said that the team weren't confident of winning once they saw the opposition warming up and felt the atmosphere from the home fans.”

This doesn’t present a very impressive picture if true. We’d beaten the same opposition in front of a bigger crowd less than a week ago. How could we be intimidated by their warm-up? Need a clear out of those who bottled it in that case.

 

And that leader most certainly isn't our captain.
Doesn't appear to motivate his team, puts hands on hips and looks to the ground when things go against us.
Oh for a Gary Jones or Stuart McCall in that team.
For me I give the armband to Sam Stubbs - he was the only player to come out and face the media after the game - where was Captain 'crab' Smallwood, still sulking??