Something Just Not Right.

[DontLookBackInAnger]

I saw Hughes interviewed before yesterday's match and he said we were playing well. We were not and something is up with that. I mean, something is up if thats what he believed.

I heard that, but do you actually believe he thinks that?

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I saw Hughes interviewed before yesterday's match and he said we were playing well. We were not and something is up with that. I mean, something is up if thats what he believed.

I heard that, but do you actually believe he thinks that?

Yeh. I think MH would have a lot more support from fans if he came across with a more appropriate description of what we have just seen. WE HAVE JUST SEEN IT, WE WANT YOU TO ANALYSE WHAT WE HAVE JUST SEEN, NOT DESCRIBE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MATCH AND OFFER A RANGE OF IDEAS FOR WHAT COULD BE PUT RIGHT FOR A MATCH WHICH DIDN'T TAKE PLACE. (Apologies for upper case!)

 

[LEE BRADBURY]

I think your right, something is very wrong, but it goes much deeper than the 3 players you talk about. Little things here and there, but put together show that the club is far from happy. The supposed "meeting with the players" Elano, TBH and Hamann where the players that reported as having gone to see him to complain about the training the players where undergoing. Everyone picks on the Elano part the lazy Brazilian, but consider the other 2, TBH for all that he is a limited player(at this level)was in the Israeli Army, thus I am sure is used to shall we say "basic" training methods. Hamann is a ex-German international that no one has ever claimed as anything other than a true model professional and one that I'm sure has worked under more world class coaches than anyone at the club. Since complaining about the training system he has of course also been injured(in training)and will likely never play again for the club. That brings me to the next point the clubs injuries so far this season we have had a fair number of them and a number of which raise questions about Hughes and his staff and/or the moral within the club. Before the Villa game, we had Benjani(injered in training), then as the players where warming up in a supervised environment we lost Bojinov, again this asks questions of the skills of the people working at the club. Within weeks of that the club had to add Johnston and Etuhu to that list(again both injured outside match environment). Once we got Benjani back, he as you will all remember re-injured himself but continued to play in the next game only to knock himself out for months. Finally let's talk about the situation we Sturridge, as many have pointed out, IF the sort of money he is looking for is true, clearly he can't get it elsewhere then surely the answer is tied to the fact that under Hughes the club is unhappy and players would sooner play elsewhere for less than under Hughes. One interesting point I have noticed Bellamy(the player closest to Hughes)warms-up alone from the other players and with the coaching staff(before the team drills).

A very good read, with some very good points, it is true what you have said about Hamman also.

 

[LEE BRADBURY]

I saw Hughes interviewed before yesterday's match and he said we were playing well. We were not and something is up with that. I mean, something is up if thats what he believed.

So true Pam it hardly inspires one with confidence, when the manager appears to believe there is no problem.

And if that really is the case then we are in trouble.

 

[scall11]

As Don't Look Back in Anger said, the un-neccessary injuries we've been picking up is worrying, especially when we have so many physios. What do they do?! Is training so hard that the players bodies are more prone to injury?

I've not seen Hughes train the players, but would guess that they spend a lot of time doing physical exercise rather than skill training, because it shows on the pitch. The play isn't fluid, it's not dynamic, it's methodical, clinical and lame. No creativity.

Considering that our managers nickname is "Sparky", I'm worried about how we lack a spark. We have no presence, no spark of enthusiasm or creativity. These are professional footballers, they shouldn't need to be told to play well, or what to do, they should be professional enough to go out and given the freedom to create and play. But it seems that Hughes is stifling creativity and issuing orders. We had 2 Brazillians playing for us yesterday, the same 2 scored blinding goals for Brazil, yet couldn't score against Portsmouth. These are the same players, why the change? It has to be the manager and the environment in which they play.

You are correct, something isn't right, something isn't clicking. We're trudging along, but we should be bursting with energy and excitement.

I'm so glad we didn't sign Kaka, he'd have been a wasted and demoralised player by now after playing a few games with us. Just look at what we've done to Robinho!