Chris Hughton leaves Brighton

Chipper

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I guess one of the merry-go-round managers of Allardyce, Redknapp, Pulis, Hughes and co will come in next.
Well the fans wouldn't like any of those barring maybe Redknapp who is surely retired now anyway? Fans have been complaining about the style of play for a while now and nothing would change in that regard with those other names.

Not that boards/chairmen are noted for listening to the fans, but if I had to guess I think they'll go for someone younger. Graham Potter is the early favourite with the bookies, Arteta, Wagner and Phil Neville being mentioned too.
 

Rozay

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Well the fans wouldn't like any of those barring maybe Redknapp who is surely retired now anyway? Fans have been complaining about the style of play for a while now and nothing would change in that regard with those other names.

Not that boards/chairmen are noted for listening to the fans, but if I had to guess I think they'll go for someone younger. Graham Potter is the early favourite with the bookies, Arteta, Wagner and Phil Neville being mentioned too.
Fair enough.

I’m not sure Phil Neville deserves a PL role just yet personally. And Wagner has just taken over at Schalke I’m sure.
 

NYAS

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Apart from Mathew Ryan who I actually rate highly as a keeper and Davy Propper who looks like a solid midfielder, can't say I agree with that comment.
Bissouma is good and then the rest of their decent players are in attack.

An attacking group of Izquierdo, Jahanbakhsh, Locadia, Andone, Knockaert, Glen Murray and Groß should not be finishing 17th.
 

Chipper

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Fair enough.

I’m not sure Phil Neville deserves a PL role just yet personally. And Wagner has just taken over at Schalke I’m sure.
You're right about Wagner, stupid bookies putting him on the list.

Would agree about Neville too. In his favour I'd say he's come across well in the media in the snippets I've heard lately. Think he made one or two gaffes when first took over the Women's team but now he sounds quite the progressive coach. It would be a bit of a leap into the unknown.
 

11101

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This is the third time Hughton has been sacked really harshly. What is it about him?
That's a good point. 3 in 4 now have ended badly despite having done a reasonable job in all of them. When he's taken 3 teams to promotion spots and Norwich to 11th in the PL and he's getting sacked like this, and not getting any better opportunities, there's got to be something more to it.

They're a dead cert to go down next year now. They've never been good enough on the sum of their parts for the PL. He's had an awful 2019 but he was the difference for them.
 

Samid

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He was doing a lot more than that at Newcastle before they sacked him. He had them in a better position than their Messiah Benitez. Not only did they sack him, they sacked him for Alan Pardew, who had no greater pedigree at all.
Pardew had far bigger pedigree at the time. He had several years of PL experience, Hughton on the other hand was barely into his second season as manager at any level. In the end they were vindicated as Pardew barely finished outside top 4 and won MOTS in his first full season.

Regarding Benitez, he has the fans wrapped around his finger. Done an excellent job convincing the world that he has a shit squad and that he's some sort of miracle worker. If it wasn't for his reputation he would have been sacked ages ago.
 

Brophs

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I’m surprised so many people are up in arms about this one. He’s done a good job to get them into the PL and stabilise then for a season but the run they’ve been on at the end of this season has been nothing short of abysmal. The football they’ve played at times (Newcastle for example was really really poor). They were lucky not to be relegated and only won two games in the league in 2019. Fair enough the cup run they managed to put together was great but I think Hughton has reached his peak there imo. He strikes me as another Warnock. Excellent in the Championship and getting clubs promoted but just doesn’t have the next level.
I think you’re basically right - albeit the fact he keeps clubs up means he does have a next level, one that Warnock doesn’t have - in as much as clubs are entitled to want more. That said, some of the stories, this for example


suggest to me that Hughton was far from the only problem there. The rumours have been that all of their big signings were churned out by a black box somewhere. Which is perfectly fine if that’s your preferred model, but blaming a manager for not doing the job you expect of him, after giving him players he didn’t want, means that it’ll never solely be his fault, albeit it may well prove to be the right decision to make a change.
 

Rozay

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Pardew had far bigger pedigree at the time. He had several years of PL experience, Hughton on the other hand was barely into his second season as manager at any level. In the end they were vindicated as Pardew barely finished outside top 4 and won MOTS in his first full season.

Regarding Benitez, he has the fans wrapped around his finger. Done an excellent job convincing the world that he has a shit squad and that he's some sort of miracle worker. If it wasn't for his reputation he would have been sacked ages ago.
By pedigree, I meant that he had not proven much better than a survival manager himself. If he was a manager who had over-achieved, or a young progressive manager like Poch, then I’d get it more, but to me, Pardew was just Pardew.

I agree he did a great job that season, finishing 5th or 6th I don’t recall, but a lot of that was Hughton’s work. Newcastle were already 6th when they sacked him.
 

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That's a good point. 3 in 4 now have ended badly despite having done a reasonable job in all of them. When he's taken 3 teams to promotion spots and Norwich to 11th in the PL and he's getting sacked like this, and not getting any better opportunities, there's got to be something more to it.

They're a dead cert to go down next year now. They've never been good enough on the sum of their parts for the PL. He's had an awful 2019 but he was the difference for them.
On the contary I actually think they have a slight chance now. Under Hughton they were doomed, he ran out of ideas and had no idea how to turn the tide.

I thought they were going to be sentimental and give him a chance to turn things round but now they give themselves a fighting chance if they get their appointment right and have a good window.
 

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Apart from Mathew Ryan who I actually rate highly as a keeper and Davy Propper who looks like a solid midfielder, can't say I agree with that comment.
I think Brighton have the core of a solid, safe premiership team. Ryan, Dunk, Duffy, Gross, Bernardo, Propper, Bissouma, Murray are all good players and they have a quite a few decent attacking wingers who could be much better utilised - Knockeart, Izquierdo, possibly Jahanbakhsh (worth another season, even though he's been poor this year). Murray is probably too old to be relied on now as the main goal source so they will need to get a decent striker in. Perhaps someone like Bas Dost (not sure how realistic that is) but a reliable goal scorer. Doesn't have to be the most exciting player.

Brighton's main issue is their focus on super negative football for the last half of the season. They bought a bunch of attacking players but then proceed to play super anti-football which is counter-productive and doesn't make the most sense. Hughton did amazingly well to get them up but think realistically this probably is his level.

Fair play to the chairman for allowing him until the end of the season when it seems he made his mind up earlier.

I also don't understand the negative comments from fans of other teams who think clubs should be punished for sacking an underperforming manager, it's odd to me. People have been shitting on Brighton for playing terrible football and now they sack the manager to try and rectify this yet this is also unacceptable apparently.
 

ToToMarshall

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Reminds me of West Brom sacking Pulis. I get it, they’re shite to watch, tumescent and boring, but also they’re safe? Huge risk.

Feel sorry for Hughton too, he seems like a proper gent. One of the good guys.
 

Al-T

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I'm saddened for Chris Hughton. When he took over from Hypia, Brighton were heading for league 1. He turned them round and has survived two seasons in the prem. They also appointed Dan Ashworth as technical director last September who said one of his roles was to keep CH in a job. That didn't go so well. Brighton have been on a poor trot since January, however, Hughton hasn't had the best of fortune. Their two key players from last season, Gross and Izquierdo have both had seasons blighted by injury. Goalkeeper Ryan's form dropped off after he returned from the Asia Cup. The two signings he didn't want - Locadia and Jahanbaskhsh - have not performed and they have had little alternative to the ageing Glenn Murray up front as Florin Andone arrived injured and has been on and off all season - a Romanian Phil Jones.

They have a state of the art training facility near Lancing and a decent academy set up so I imagine they want a manager who can bring through youth and play a more attacking style. They should be careful what they wish for. If the free flowing football revolution isn't working at Christmas, they'll be on the phone to Allardyce.
 

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Harsh sacking. They, like Fulham are basically a moneyball team. Buying players because of data rather than how they'd fit into the managers system. Don't see them lasting next year.
 

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Overall I think it’s harsh based on what he’s achieved. Saying that if they’re looking for a change in direction and approach then at least there’s a method to it. If they go for a more modern thinking manager then I guess it’s a case of Hughton’s taken us this far now it’s someone else’s turn. If they turn up with one of Allardyce, Moyes, Pardew, Pulis then they should hang their heads in shame.
 

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Whenever a side who survive relegation make a change they are met with a lot of condescending nonsense from other fans (usually of big clubs) who rarely watched them play all season.

He's done a good job overall but there comes a point where a change is needed for all parties. Freshen the place up, new voice, different ideas. It might backfire or it could be a catalyst for better things.
 

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Very Harsh, did well with what he's got.
And I like Brighton (city) shame to see them drop out of the league as a result
 

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I’m surprised so many people are up in arms about this one. He’s done a good job to get them into the PL and stabilise then for a season but the run they’ve been on at the end of this season has been nothing short of abysmal. The football they’ve played at times (Newcastle for example was really really poor). They were lucky not to be relegated and only won two games in the league in 2019. Fair enough the cup run they managed to put together was great but I think Hughton has reached his peak there imo. He strikes me as another Warnock. Excellent in the Championship and getting clubs promoted but just doesn’t have the next level.
Warnock would be a fine premier league manager if he was given a proper chance. He’s absolutely a victim of his own success. He gets average to good championship sides promoted and virtually never gets decent money to spend. He then has to try and keep a championship squad in the Premier League. He’s a very underrated manager. QPR was probably the only exception.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Warnock would be a fine premier league manager if he was given a proper chance. He’s absolutely a victim of his own success. He gets average to good championship sides promoted and virtually never gets decent money to spend. He then has to try and keep a championship squad in the Premier League. He’s a very underrated manager. QPR was probably the only exception.
The Sala tragedy has affected him massively
 

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No sympathy from me. Didn’t do the business yesterday, should never have conceded so quick after their goal and should have gone into HT with a lead or a draw at least. They only stayed up because Cardiff fluffed their lines in the couple games before, they just limped over. Deserved sacking.
 

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I think you’re basically right - albeit the fact he keeps clubs up means he does have a next level, one that Warnock doesn’t have - in as much as clubs are entitled to want more. That said, some of the stories, this for example


suggest to me that Hughton was far from the only problem there. The rumours have been that all of their big signings were churned out by a black box somewhere. Which is perfectly fine if that’s your preferred model, but blaming a manager for not doing the job you expect of him, after giving him players he didn’t want, means that it’ll never solely be his fault, albeit it may well prove to be the right decision to make a change.
Tony bloom runs star lizard, which is a betting investment company. They run mainly on statistical algorithms for that so imagine they incorporate the data for signings as well, similar to moneyball. Brentford do the same with Benham in charge (he owns Blooms biggest rival Smartodds)
 

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When I heard he left, I assumed he quit because he'd probably walk into a superior job easily enough.

Absolute madness he's been sacked.
 

André Dominguez

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Bissouma is good and then the rest of their decent players are in attack.

An attacking group of Izquierdo, Jahanbakhsh, Locadia, Andone, Knockaert, Glen Murray and Groß should not be finishing 17th.
That attacking group has nothing special. The only consistent player from there is the veteran Murray that will guarantee you goals. The rest are just players that are good to decent, as you state. But also inconsistent.


I think Brighton have the core of a solid, safe premiership team. Ryan, Dunk, Duffy, Gross, Bernardo, Propper, Bissouma, Murray are all good players and they have a quite a few decent attacking wingers who could be much better utilised - Knockeart, Izquierdo, possibly Jahanbakhsh (worth another season, even though he's been poor this year). Murray is probably too old to be relied on now as the main goal source so they will need to get a decent striker in. Perhaps someone like Bas Dost (not sure how realistic that is) but a reliable goal scorer. Doesn't have to be the most exciting player.

Brighton's main issue is their focus on super negative football for the last half of the season. They bought a bunch of attacking players but then proceed to play super anti-football which is counter-productive and doesn't make the most sense. Hughton did amazingly well to get them up but think realistically this probably is his level.

Fair play to the chairman for allowing him until the end of the season when it seems he made his mind up earlier.

I also don't understand the negative comments from fans of other teams who think clubs should be punished for sacking an underperforming manager, it's odd to me. People have been shitting on Brighton for playing terrible football and now they sack the manager to try and rectify this yet this is also unacceptable apparently.
The problem is always the same:

either the board takes the risk and hire a "positive" manager and hope for the best, or they follow the "low defensive block and quick counter" recipe that if well drilled will guarantee a safe season more often than not.

I see that Brighton has indeed a decent squad, but clearly a lower mid table squad.

Bas Dost is basically a poacher: he adds little without the ball, but if you deliver good crosses into the box he will score more often than not.

Also he's quite a flat track bully, meaning that he will probably perform well against the lower mid-table teams who defend deep, but will struggle against high pressure teams that demand him to play outside the box too much.
 

Lay

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Good manager but it’s the right decision. Taken them as far as he can.
 

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It's amazing that after a few seasons in the Premier League, a lot of club chairman seem to develop this sense of entitlement. Brighton seems to have fallen into this same spiral.
 

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Not too surprised. Spent loads on flops and they had a horrid 2nd half of the season, going from challenging for the top half to nearly being relegated.
Good Championship manager. Seems capable of keeping a side up for a year and a half, then it all goes to pot.

The football must have been awful too. 5 goals in 11 games, going 13 hours without a goal, and they haven't improved the squad since going up.

People on here saying it is harsh basically expect mid-table teams to be content with whatever dross they are served up because they are overachieving and/or can't do any better. All rubbish. They kept Hughton until the end of the season despite the fact he was taking them down since February. He was only saved by Warnock going pragmatic initially against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
 

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Harsh, but the only stayed in the league because of the other teams. He hasn't won a game since early march.
 

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I’m surprised so many people are up in arms about this one. He’s done a good job to get them into the PL and stabilise then for a season but the run they’ve been on at the end of this season has been nothing short of abysmal. The football they’ve played at times (Newcastle for example was really really poor). They were lucky not to be relegated and only won two games in the league in 2019. Fair enough the cup run they managed to put together was great but I think Hughton has reached his peak there imo. He strikes me as another Warnock. Excellent in the Championship and getting clubs promoted but just doesn’t have the next level.
This.

And I'd also add good luck to Hughton, will be interesting to see him (hopefully) in the PL again soon.
 

Oggmonster

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It's amazing that after a few seasons in the Premier League, a lot of club chairman seem to develop this sense of entitlement. Brighton seems to have fallen into this same spiral.
Why is it entitlement though? Maybe they want to progress and can't see it happening under Hughton. They've won 2 games since the new year and 9 overall, they didn't get to the 40 point mark of usual safety and were lucky that the 3 teams that went down included 2 of the worst to ever play in the league, they should of gone down and you wouldn't of bet against them doing so next season. I don't see it an entitlement more that they've seemingly hit a bit of a wall with him and want to try going elsewhere, it could end in tears but it equally could go well and they have a chance to push on now.
 

GaryLifo

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Will this be as astute as when Charlton decided Alan Curbishley had taken them as far as he could?

Or when Sunderland said the same about Peter Reid?
 

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That attacking group has nothing special. The only consistent player from there is the veteran Murray that will guarantee you goals. The rest are just players that are good to decent, as you state. But also inconsistent.

The problem is always the same:

either the board takes the risk and hire a "positive" manager and hope for the best, or they follow the "low defensive block and quick counter" recipe that if well drilled will guarantee a safe season more often than not.

I see that Brighton has indeed a decent squad, but clearly a lower mid table squad.

Bas Dost is basically a poacher: he adds little without the ball, but if you deliver good crosses into the box he will score more often than not.

Also he's quite a flat track bully, meaning that he will probably perform well against the lower mid-table teams who defend deep, but will struggle against high pressure teams that demand him to play outside the box too much.
I think the reality for a team of Brighton's stature is that it'll be very difficult with or without Hughton. I know the quality of football was quite unacceptable for most Brighton fans in the second half of the season. It could potentially be a proposition of playing positive football and going down or playing the same awful dross and just staying up or still go down. It's a question of what the fans/team want more, shite football and safety or a having a pop and taking the risk for something more.

I personally think there's some quality players there. In the first half of the season Brighton looked comfortably mid/lower league (but safe).

I mentioned Dost as think what you describe is similar to Murray. A reliable source for goals but not much else, which is a reasonable summation of what Murray has provided.