Despite promotion to the Premier League and an encouraging start to the season, Newcastle United have managed to draw yet more negative attention to themselves.
They have done this by simply not offering their manager Chris Hughton a new contract, resulting in widespread speculation that he will get sacked.
On hearing this story it immediately brought back memories of when the club sacked Sir Bobby Robson for failing to qualify for the Champions League and not winning any of the club’s first four league games in August 2004.
And that decision worked out well didn’t it….
There is absolutely no reason for Hughton’s reign at Newcastle to be questioned.
He took over at the club when they were in disarray.
The club had been relegated to the Championship, Alan Shearer had proven himself to be totally inept as a manager, and the team was full of players simply turning up to pick up their weekly wage.
Names like Viduka, Owen and Duff immediately spring to mind.
As a result Hughton inherited a complete mess.
Not only did he have to bring stability to the club, but he was also faced with the challenge of being in charge of the team that everyone wanted to beat in the Championship.
Every opposing team must have looked forward to making the trip to St James’ Park and playing in front of 50,000 people.
But, Hughton and his side rose to the challenge and won promotion back to the Premier League comfortably.
Since that point Newcastle have made an impressive start to the season and sit 7th in the table with 14 points from 10 games.
As well as excellent wins against Everton at Goodison Park, Hughton’s side demolished Aston Villa 6-0 at home, and then beat their local rivals Sunderland 5-1 last weekend.
Plus they knocked Chelsea out of the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.
The players must take as much praise as the manager, but it is the rejuvenation of the likes of Joey Barton, Fabricio Coloccini, Jonas Gutierez and Kevin Nolan that suggests Hughton must take some serious credit.
Therefore to think he has had to consistently answer questions about his future over the past couple of weeks is farcical.
After all the statistics do not lie.
Since taking charge last year, Hughton has won over 50 % of his matches in charge (38 out of 68) and lost just 15 of them.
Hardly the facts to show that the manager should be shown the exit door.
For once in their recent history, the people in charge at Newcastle should realise that they are going in the right direction and reward their manager with unwavering support in the form of a new contract.
The ownership hierarchy at Newcastle and the fans need to realise quickly that they are not as big as they think they are. Yes they always get big attendances, but they are a one-team city. They haven’t won anything of note in the last fifty years and have recently tasted the humiliation of relegation.
As a result, they should be reminded of the reality of their recent history and look to stabilise and build the club under the guidance of Chris Hughton.
Whether they do that awaits to be seen.
Image from goal.com
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