I get so, so hacked off with all this 'clueless clown Chris' stuff

(& worse) that appears every time we lose.
He is none of those. He is trying to manage in a logical, rational manner to maximise the points from every game.
Last night he tried to shut up shop, because he didn't believe we were going to score; what's the point in having Redmond on the pitch if any chances he creates go begging (& he can't score himself?). So he brought on subs to hold on to the point.

The flaw in his approach lies in his basic premise. Football is not, can never be, a logical game. If it was, it would have the same following as chess ( I must say that, for me, football at its best looks like 3D chess played at 90 mph).

The best managers have a little bit of insanity in their approach - Brian Clough being the prime example. You cannot manage a football team in the manner of Isiah Berlin.

Snodgrass probably epitomises Hughton's failings. There is no rational reason not to play him. Tricky, tenacious, wholly committed & determined, can score, he is probably one of our better players, so, rationally, he should play. Unfortunately he dominates our style so much - slows everything down so much - that he should be used much more rarely. A good, instinctive manager would know when.

I've run out of steam now.
I don't know whether changing the manager would make a difference any more. I just feel resigned.
It's down to the players to provide the spark. Hughton can't

Que sera sera.

Posted By: dennis moore, Feb 12, 08:55:05