Chris Hughton will be at St. James’ Park on Saturday and we fully expect the Newcastle fans to give this man a fantastic reception for what he did while he was at Newcastle as the manager for a short 18 months from the summer of 2009.
At that time the Newcastle club was in total disarray.
Chris was one of the prime reasons we were able to get instantly promoted back to the Premier League with a fantastic 102 points and 30 wins in the 2009-2010 season and we will never forget what Chris did for Newcastle.
Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood while at Newcastle
It’s interesting we are down below again and Chris will bring his Brighton side to Newcastle – a side that was 3rd by goal difference just behind Middlesbrough last season.
Both clubs had 89 points and Middlesbrough’s goal difference was +32, which was 2 goals better than Brighton’s.
How close can you get?
In an interview with Ian Holloway on Sky Sports, Chris has admitted that the reception he has received from Geordie fans after leaving the area has helped him get over being suddenly (and ruthlessly) sacked by Derek Llambias in December, 2010.
At the time we were doing quite well and had recently hammered Sunderland 5-1 at home and won for the only time ever at the Emirates Stadium with a headed goal by Andy Carroll.
This is what Chris has said:
“The reception I got from Newcastle United supporters afterwards was something that made any bad feeling that I might have had disappear.” “It was taken away from the fans’ reaction to me.”
“That helps, but also, particularly at Newcastle when I did lose my job when the club were in a good position in the Premier League, it really helps.”
“You can always look at yourself and know you’ve done the best job you can. You have worked as hard as you can.”
“If you can walk away from that situation knowing you couldn’t have given any more.”
“We are no different to any teams looking at the points target and how many wins we need.” “The annoying thing last year was we met all the targets, and missed out on goal difference.”
“The points tally we had has got most teams promoted on most years. The play-offs probably just caught up with us.”
“The emotions afterwards are certainly different if you have lost a game or you win.” “But I do find it difficult to unwind even if you’ve won a game.”
“The emotions are so high for that period of time it’s hard to come down from that. We don’t do too much, generally a meal and family.”
“We have lots of grandchildren who are a great leveler.” “They only see you as an individual they don’t see whether you have won or lost.”
“They don’t see the meaning of winning and losing and they don’t change.” “I’ve got six grand kids and we try to see them as much as possible.”
Colin Calderwood is still Chris’ right hand man and Colin will be in the dugout on Saturday with Chris.
Usually Chris lets us win 1-0 at home and we would take that result on Saturday – for sure.
🙂
Comments welcome.
56 comments so far
Lee Charnley Bunga Party
Aug 24, 2016 at 12:59 PM
Comment #1Just goes to show what a mess Carr and Charnley have made of this club over the last couple of years ! This overhaul of staff has been needed for ages if we had done it gradually over every window we would have been fine !
Jail for Ashley
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:01 PM
Comment #2BandB,
What did they talk about in those meetings then. Just Rafas wages?
Pat on the Heed,
He wasn’t sent off before punching the wall.
giimps
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:01 PM
Comment #3Chris Hughton…..True Gent
GeordieinOhio
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:03 PM
Comment #4I see on Sky sports Krul maybe going on loan to Ajax
Pat On The Heed
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:05 PM
Comment #5Should have a statue up for this guy. Hour of need and the man came through stuff. Couldn’t wait for match day under Chrissy.
WWSBRD
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:05 PM
Comment #6Will always have a lot of time for Hoots, deserved better than what he got from NUFC (certainly not the only one that applies to)
giimps
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:05 PM
Comment #7Kul has apparently signed a 1 yr extension so he can go on loan to Ajax and the club can still get a fee for him after the year ,not sure if there is a compulsory purchase clause after so many games or what that fee might be but it looks like he offski
Bobbybee
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:07 PM
Comment #8Lee, that might have been ideal matey, but we don’t have the luxury of time. He’s removed so many players who had failure ingrained into them and a losing mentality. Obviously he can’t sign like for like because we’re in the Championship, but he’s signed a team capable of getting promoted without spending a lot of money. Once this side gels we’ll fly up the league.
mad-serb
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:10 PM
Comment #9Afternoon Guys
Decent result and objective achieved which was getting in the 3rd round. Maybe not the best game but games rarely are and from what I have read they did not come here to play nice football, they tried to disrupt us and we took some time to get to terms with it and in the process lost 3 players to injury.
8 changes and some minutes for players needing them will always disrupt the flow of the game. I am just sorry Mitro did not get the minutes required to get his match sharpness up, which means if he is available he will probably come of the bench on Saturday.
On Mitro, I think its a bit harsh some of the comments flying around this morning. From What I read and not watching the game, it was more of the same for him. Never got one decent cross in the box. They bossed the game in the first half so to say he was unimpressive is taking it a bit far. I heard of one cross in the box the whole time he was on the field which he controlled well but was forced the wrong way and layed the ball of the Perez who did not make anything of it. That hardly a reason to criticize. I remember the first 2 games we had similar problems and people started complaining about Gayle. Still very early in the season and he have not had Ritchie and Mitro on the same pitch to supply the service4 he needs.
On the Yedlin discussion, anyone thinking that Rafa could use him as well on the wing with his pace especially away from home playing him infront of anita on the right and Ritchie on the left. He seems to be another that has some versatility to him which is what Rafa wants in his squad of 25. As for Janmaat he was looking for a move and from what I have heard the fee is closer to 10m which is a decent price. Its probably going to be a 7.5 with add ons like all transfer have these days bring it probably to around 10. So that a fair price.
Also saw some comments yesterday that Rafa wants rid of all the bad apples of last season which I believe Janmaat was one off so Rafa is more than happy to let him go. Anyone also thinks this Jedlin signing might allow Sterry to go out on loan as well for the first 6 months to get some more game time as he will probably not see to much time on the pitch.
posada
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:11 PM
Comment #10Saivet back off to France on loan.
I just don’t get it. A French U21 international several times.
A full international for Senegal.
Comes to the club and cannot offer anything.
Not a thing not one game.
Something going on here that is not obvious to us bloggers.
BandB
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:13 PM
Comment #11Jail,
I don’t know what they talked about, and neither do you.
I don’t understand you. You spent years calling people fans boys because they wouldn’t even debate whether everything about Ashley or Pardew wasn’t just peachy.
Now it’s you who only posts to moan about others moaning..
I think this will all turn out brilliantly in the end. I support Rafa completely, and I think he has to take us back into Europe for his tenure here to be judged a success.
Ashley might even want to get off before that point.
Who knows?
posada
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:14 PM
Comment #12Too much importance placed on this go out on loan business as far as young players are concerned.
If you are good enough you will come through.
The overrated Frenchman
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:14 PM
Comment #13Always seems like a decent man Hughton. Decent team he has too. I think they are probably a fair bet to get a win or draw. In fact, I think I’ll make that bet.
bettyswallocks
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:16 PM
Comment #14As Magscar rightly points out on previous thread, Rafa is performing a very delicate balancing act. To streamline the squad and get rid of the long list of players who have been hanging around for ages without ever being likely to play in the first team should have happened a long time ago.
The enormity of Rafa’s task has to be appreciated and he’s addressing every failed policy at the club whilst also trying to put together and coach a team to win football matches.
He has applied himself with genuine and tireless enthusiasm to date and has also tried to find time to communicate with the fans. He is a sincere guy who says it how it is , so to suggest he is a money grabbing yes man boils my urine.
Blackley and Brownlie
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Comment #15People not at the game do make some bold comments like Mitro “did not get one decent cross”. What about the rest of his game? You weren’t there to see him get bullied.
Jib
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Comment #16boiling urine can make one’s b@llocks sweaty you know – be careful Betty
magscar
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Comment #17Tsunki@6 last thread
Sorry been back out in garden again – coming in out of sun for short while ( not complaining though).
Yes however things seem to be progressing we are never far away from another calamitous decision whilst Ashley stays or can be judged to have been Rafa’d.
Only thing is I don’t see us returning to the Carr Charnley axis again at least not without someone there to ensure they don’t get beyond their competences.
Hopefully Rafa is here for sometime yet and can steer us away from the rocks and repair ship without having to be in dry dock for long or at all 🙂
bettyswallocks
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:23 PM
Comment #18TOF @13,,… At least you got something right.
magscar
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:24 PM
Comment #19… or until can be judged ….
bettyswallocks
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:24 PM
Comment #20Jib…. Tres drole.
mad-serb
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:27 PM
Comment #21Blackley and Brownlie
Note sure what was in your breakfast this morning mate, all I am saying is that he needed the minutes and from your own words and others that were there they controlled of the 1st half till the goal.
Others reported he ran around and tried and look a yard quicker, which to me is good sign.
Can´t score without been given the ball. As for him being pushed around apart from 1 or 2 games overall he pushed around other and I saw all the games of last year.
Lee Charnley Bunga Party
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:28 PM
Comment #22@BobbyBee
I must be one of the few who actually like Rafa’s signings so far ! Although we need 3 or 4 attacking players with pace and height signed before this window closes or it could be a struggle to break teams down!
I think by January we will be near the top 3 slots and more funds might need released !
Blackley and Brownlie
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:28 PM
Comment #23If we play like that again and we’re well capable of it, we will get gubbed on Saturday.
magscar
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:29 PM
Comment #24Betty@14
Too right! Let us hope he has underestimated the gargantuan task he has taken on. We need to give him time however difficult it is given how desperate we all are for some reasonable football and continuing progress.
Have been around long enough to know nearly every manager comes to club saying it is going to take time. Some get that and others squander the honeymoon goodwill very quickly and fans are on their case just as quickly.
mad-serb
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:30 PM
Comment #25auto correct done me in on the phone, but you get the point
magscar
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:30 PM
Comment #26Doh. Sun getting to me has = hasn’t of course
OneAlanShearer
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:32 PM
Comment #27Some people simply don’t settle abroad. Saivet looked like a scared rabbit in the headlights when he did come on. He’d been with his previous club for years. Some players need more time on the ball and a less physical game. He started on the wing but injuries made them convert him to a central midfielder. Just the wrong fit for this league.
Tsunki
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:32 PM
Comment #28While the reformation at nufc is an admittedly Work In Progress, we can all pinpoint the start of the doomed model – to the time when Ashley and his cohorts set out their blueprint for disastrous middle-for-diddling and accounts supremacy: the bit where Chris Hughton did not fit in going forward (or rather along, then down as it transpired) and had to be dispensed for the required vanilla, decidedly average ( not good, but not bad mind you) treadmill of coaching failures that would service that bland scheme.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But it proves how long suffering and patient Toon fans can be. That’s the good description of the Toon fan though 😉
Blackley and Brownlie
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:35 PM
Comment #29Mad-Serb
Mitro did look slimmer and quicker. So does wor lass when I hide the chocolate biscuits.
BandB
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:37 PM
Comment #30Jail
What if something far more fundamental was discussed?
What if Ashley said: “To be honest mate, I just want out of here.”
Meanwhile, Rafa seems to require a transformation of the club’s fortunes to maintain his future credibility.
It’s possible for people with different aims to agree a plan. They don’t HAVE to want the same thing.
Rafa might have replied: “Okay, if you don’t want Europe, I’ll put you in a nice position to make way for someone who does.
“You can sell most of this junk for a start. There’s too much dead money lying round the club. Take some of your money back. I’ll get us promoted and then you see if you can sell as a club with a top manager and the decks cleared.”
It’s a crazy theory. Not put forward as a fact. But something odd is happening we don’t grasp. It doesn’t tie up.
Who knows?
Slank
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:39 PM
Comment #31mad-serb
‘..comments yesterday that Rafa wants rid of all the bad apples of last season..’
Pure comments, not facts.
Rafa is doing what all managers do when new to a club. Managers get rid of the players the previous manager(s) has bought with a few exceptions.
Often this is justified as the style of playing introduced by the new manager doesn’t suit some of the existing players. Sometimes it is to reduce the wage bill, which I don’t believe is the case at the moment.
There will always be ‘bad apples’. Only time will tell who are the ‘bad apples’ from the players Rafa has bought.
Jib
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:45 PM
Comment #32It’s a crazy theory. Not put forward as a fact. But something odd is happening we don’t grasp. It doesn’t tie up.
Stick to bingo pet
BandB
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:45 PM
Comment #33Stick to Sunderland, Ken.
Jib
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:55 PM
Comment #34I’m sure Mr Tuff’s real name aint Ken
mad-serb
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:56 PM
Comment #35Slank
Totally agree there will be hits and misses in the bunch of players he brought in and some will sulk when they don’t get played, that s normal. But for far to long these bunch have taken us for a ride and with the coach not manger flawed policy some player probably ran the show inside that dressing room.
But I trust that Rafa will get it right in the long run and he will get rid of the bad apples once he realizes them and wont get pushed around.
Yo-yo
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:59 PM
Comment #36For those saying if we play like last night etc., we’ll get dubbed by XY and Z.
We have not been playing brilliantly, though last night was easier than the score suggests, but we are still winning.
If you win when you are not playing on the top of your form, then there is more hope and not less.
The time to worry is when you are playing at your best form and losing consistently.
bettyswallocks
Aug 24, 2016 at 2:00 PM
Comment #37BandB……….. What if Ashley has finally realised that to have a decent football team a decent manager is required and we might now be able to progress on the pitch, with Ashley able to enjoy watching his club being more successful whilst regaining a bit of respect.
Only a theory like , but I’m sure his ambitions and expectations for the club were discussed with Rafa and the outcome satisfactory enough for Rafa to stay and give it a real go.
Bobbybee
Aug 24, 2016 at 2:00 PM
Comment #38Lee, I’m reasonably happy with the signings so far, given that we are in the Championship and can’t attract top notch mercenaries. Another couple of signings and we should be promoted bext May. I’d have loved to get Knockaert and would still make them an offer they can’t refuse – but that’s just me and I don’t count for much at SJP! 😉 I think we’ll go up, then he can spend properly on PL players once we get there.
Bobbybee
Aug 24, 2016 at 2:01 PM
Comment #39Yo Yo, spot on mate.
BandB
Aug 24, 2016 at 2:08 PM
Comment #40We have won three in a row.
Not great performances, so I hear, and not the strongest opposition. But WWW hasn’t been on our form guide that often in recent years.
The more we win, the easier it will get to win.