Chrissy Yid Houghton Sacked.

Chris Houghton sacked from Newcastle United

6 December 2010by Donal McEntee
It has emerged today that Newcastle have sacked manager Chris Houghton following the disappointing loss at the Hawthorns on Sunday.Houghton becomes the second manager to see the exit door this Premier League season following in the footsteps of Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa.It seems their was a divergence in agreements on Tine-side and Houghton was not deemed to be the right man to take the Magpies forward. This sacking will be seen as particularly harsh considering the difficult situation the Irish man was placed in. An absence of money in the club and a long list of players out of commission (either through injury or suspension) meant he always had an uphill struggle to preserve Newcastle’s top flight status. Additionally the team which he inherited was not a particularly settled one. Houghton became the fifth manager at St. James’ Park in three years following the dismissal of Glenn Roeder in 2007. Since then the club has been on a slippery slope regarding it’s management. The disastrous reign of “Big” Sam Allardyce was matched only by the return of King Kev. Realizing their Premier League lives hung by the thinnest of threads in 2008/09 season the club brass recruited cult hero Alan Shearer to take over the reins of the club from the floundering Joe Kinear who looked like he didn’t belong at that level of football.And now just as it seemed some stability might be restored in the club, Chris Houghton, having dragged the club back from the dark abyss of Championship football has now been dismissed. It will be the club, however, who ultimately pay the price for this in the long run. Recent history suggests as much.And on right on cue, the typical list of names, allegedly in line to be Houghton’s successor, begins. The bookies warm up their collective larynx preparing to tell anyone who will listen the supposed favorite to take over the Hot Seat at the famous club. The usual names will, I’m sure, be thrown into the ring; Curbishly, Sven, Martin Jol. The sad truth from the Newcastle perspective is that none of these names can do as good a job as the now previous Toon manager did.And so the inquest begins; why exactly was the Newcastle boss sent packing? The official statement coming out of the North East is that they are looking for someone with “more managerial experience”, although experience wasn’t among their thoughts last May when the club secured a return to the top division of English football. So it would appear poor league showings so far this season are to blame. Newcastle sit 11th in the league with just 16 games played in the campaign, above sides such as Liverpool, Everton and AstonVilla. Not bad for a side who 7 months ago were in the second tier. However inconsistency in the Premier League this season have meant that Newcastle’s position has fluctuated relentlessly since August. It appears that the abysmal defeat at West Brom was the final nail in the Chris Houghton coffin. This follows the disheartening thumping Newcastle suffered at the hands of relegation rivals Bolton and a crushing 2-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers. Had Newcastle capitalized on these winnable opportunities their season could be looking alot less bleak today.Undoubtedly anger towards club owner Mike Ashley will grow over the coming days amongst fans. This decision is one of his more mystifying considering the job Houghton did with the resources available to him. Their has been growing calls for the resignation of Ashley in the club in recent years although they seemed to have eased in the Chris Houghton era (hardly a coincidence). The sacking of the popular 51 year old will return Ashley to square one with the fans. This can benefit no-one involved with Newcastle United.The unhappy reality is that Houghton was not alone in being under pressure in his job. Avram Grant,Rot Hodgson, Roberto Mancini and even the much esteemed Carlo Ancellotti will all sympathize with him. They know all too well the pressure that can accompany managing in this league.The final line is this; it appears the quality of work being done by a manager at a club no longer matters. Foolish owners with itchy feet will sack whoever they want as they see fit. The future of even the most successful manger can be abolished in an instant without as much as a valid reason given.

mr jol dont stay anywhere long. anyway i think its a disgrace hughton getting the sack.

the beat arsenal away drew with chelsea. ashley should of given hughton the money to buy players he wanted.

I feel Hughton has been unlucky in losing Barton and Nolan in their last few games and this has shown in their results bar the draw with the Chavs...They not won a game in five



Newcastle chairman Ashley ( above ) wants Jol

Hughton brought a touch of class, not to mention stability to the Toon. Clearly his approach did not fit in with the total shambles that Newcastle have been since 1996. I see Jol is hotly tipped for the job and that is disappointing as no sane manager should touch SJP with a barge-pole -presumably the recently redundant Arnesen will turn up too

BazSpur wrote:I would be surprised to see Jol take up the mantle at Newcastle Nic but perhaps he sees it as a stepping stone to something better in the future. We'll see.

What Sunderland?