Last night’s cool night air was crackling with word that Chris Hughton was heading for the chop after the game.
Unsettling vibes for the boy Hughts then. He’s no stranger of course to this Night Of The Long Knives type atmosphere. God only knows he worked beneath it for years in his protracted stint at Tottenham. His time at White Hart Lane saw him assist more people than an orderly at an old folks home.
I was never a fan of Chris the Assistant Manager at Spurs. Too many apologists confused loyalty with ever presence. But whatever gripes I might drum up about his time Spurs, Mike Ashley hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
Hughton put up with the considerably less than glamorous manner in which he was eventually appointed and his response was to knuckle down and be as focused and industrious as he was able. The net result was after the all the carnival of the Shearer fiasco, he was the man who not only held the wheel of the ship steady, but turned the boat around and managed Newcastle out of the Championship.
I don’t know Mike Ashley. But there was a great line posted on a Toon forum when they went down. The Newcastle faithful had to wait what seemed like an age for a statement. Remember that,‘parties interested in purchasing the Club please email info@nufc.co.uk’ ? The line from the forum was, ‘He should just say, ‘I ran this club like a 70% off shoe shop and as result, it’s f*cked.”
Hughton has earned respect and damn well ought to be shown it by the Club that he kept afloat. I’m no mind reader, but I always tend to err along the path of never underestimating the complete and utter stupidity of people. Consequently I really wouldn’t put it past Ashley to bin Hughton and replace him with yet another so called saviour.
A golden opportunity for Ashley not to f*ck up. Again. But will he seize it?
