It could be Hugh...
Just like Glenn Roeder did in 2006, Chris Hughton now finds himself in a position where he could win the job as Newcastle United manager with many feeling he would deserve nothing less after making a superb start to the season.
Hughton still has two years left on his contract at St James's Park and against all of the odds has managed to keep Newcastle not only stable in the Coca-Cola Championship but also at time oozing quality with some teams torn apart.
Granted the last two matches have been a big disappointment but still with Hughton picking up manager of the month twice, there have been no shortages of pats on the back for one of the football's really nice blokes.
Whatever people say, I will stick to my belief that Alan Shearer is still the only man to take Newcastle United forward in the long term.
And without jumping the gun I have to say that if the season did stop now and we were promoted I would have serious concerns over how the current crop of players would do in the Premier League.
Sunderland and Derby fans know fine well that failure to prepare means you have no choice but to prepare to fail at top level.
In Shearer you have a man who is capable of attracting some of the best players to St James's Park in the same way as Kevin Keegan did in his first stint - in my view a man who can rebuild.
In Shearer you have an icon that most fans trust and a manager that won't take any cr** from his players.
The Shearer approach is totally different to that of Hughton's.
But I fear that when a player has reached the point of no return (like Barton), Hughton could end up spending too much time with them and trying to show them the error of their ways.
Yet I don't see anything wrong with Hughton the coach.
Without a doubt he seems to have won over the whole dressing room in a short space of time.
And he's done an excellent job.
It's quite obvious that Mike Ashley WILL NOT give Shearer the job.
Firstly, Shearer is too powerful.
He was always going to be running the whole place in the same way that Brian Clough did at Nottingham Forest and why the FA ran a mile from giving Cloughie the England job.
Secondly, they were never going to hand Shearer any cheque to sign players and to cut costs appointing the already contracted Hughton was a cheaper option.
In doing so they took a major gamble but it's a gamble that has so far paid off for Ashley.
Whether it does pay off entirely is another matter, especially in Toonland.
But for now, whether you like Hughton or not, it's hats off to the caretaker!
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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Shearer for the long term? Based on what? What did he show as manager that Hughton hasn't since he took over? There is absolutely nothing to say Shearer will be a good manager other than a vague hope that he will have the ability to be one and that's not a way to appoint a manager.
Same old messianic nonsense, get a life.
chuck's right..sack lee & appoint hughton to write instead!
Cloughie earned his rep. I'd like to think Shearer will, but he hasn't yet. He didn't do too well at the end of last season, but the team was dreadful under Hughton and Calderwood too. After the last couple of games, it's beginning to look like Hughton's been lucky so far. Let's face it, we're still short of 15 players before we'll be strong enough to deal with the Premiership. I mean, we've got Harper and Krul who both seem decent enough; Enrique and Steven Taylor; Smith only if he stays as the holding player in central midfield; and the promise of Carroll and Ranger. To be perfectly honest, that's about it.
To emotive Lee. Would you seriously pick Shearer ahead of someone like Stevie Coppell ??
We need to get out of this - and someone of Coppell's track record and skill would be just the man.
Ryder's reply: How long would he last at a club were the expectations go through the roof? Or better still how long did he last at Manchester City?
Oh yes 33 days.
Sorry Lee, Shearer has on 8 games experience as any sort of manager, now if you said someone like Steve Bruce who has gone elsewhere and made his mistakes and is now an experienced Prem Manager, then i'd agree with you, IMO good players will run a mile if they see Shearer get the job, he will attract nobody beacuse he has no experience.
Ryder's reply: Just the experience of a life in football, captaining England, working with Sir Bobby, Keegan, Dalglish, Gullit, Hoddle, Taylor and Venables, captaining Newcastle, being the club's all time record scorer and being one of the world's most famous icons - I'm sure he'd learn all that by being manager of Rochdale or Bury.
Sorry Lee, simply working under some of the great names wont help either as Steve Claridge pointed out on his bbc blog the other day, you'd need to be able to read the game the same way they do, which you've either got or you dont, time will tell if Shearer has this but I'd prefer Shearer to start further down and begin to build a solid reputation first before he gets a crack at the top ala Darren Ferguson, Ince,Martinez if Shearer get the job without this top players will simply see as a PR stunt. & they wont come
Ryder's reply: I see what you are saying - but Shearer is capable of learning the job at Newcastle, he's a born winner and he will be a success as Toon boss when he gets the chance to do what he intended to do last summer.
I agree Shearer is born winner and a fighter too, however if he gets the job he will bring with him a spotlight that will intensify every mistake he make which he will as he'll be new to management, the media who love making Newcastle out to be a club in crisis will jump on his back and if Shearer has anyone advising him it would be to start away from newcastle then come back as proven, if doesnt agree then just ask Roy at Ipswich, and Barnes at Tranmere
This league is miles off premier, anyone managing us would have done well, even with the players we have left.
get your captcha sorted!
I commented here recently about the Shearer for Manager situation. To reiterate, Shearer took over at a time when the team was demoralised and disinterested, no-one could have revitalised them! Chris Hughton has done well but has been helped by the remaining players finally facing reality and performing well; I remember that he didn't have any success when we were in the Prem! Chris is cutting his teeth in management much as Shearer would have been and who's to say that Shearer wouldn't have had the same success??
Okay here's my take on it. And I'm a Yank so you can ignore it if you wish.
Chris Hughton is a great guy. He is doing wonderful with NUFC in the Coca Cola league, but in the Premiership we are going to need someone who is more aggressive and proactive. Chris is too nice for that. He's a great #2.
That's my read.
Thanks,
Dave
Against all odds? Yes there are loads of other teams in the Championship that regularly field teams consisting of Argentine internationals and England Under-21 players.
Whether or not Shearer is the way forward, he implemented a sense of discipline and personal responsibility that had been lacking for most of the season.
He even got Viduka to play.